Ad d'lo yada? --
Until You Can't Tell the Difference?

By Rabbi Elyse Winick
KOACH Assistant Director

Purim and its celebratory aspects seem to be the Jewish answer to Mardi Gras and Halloween, combining revelry, festivity, food and drink. We mark our joy over our survival by remembering -- but also by forgetting. Purim is a celebration of the inside out and the upside down, of revealing that which has been hidden and hiding that which has been revealed.

What gives Purim its well-earned fame on campus, though, is the sanction -- nay, the command -- to become inebriated beyond comprehension. The college campus is home to kegs and beer balls, pubs and parties; why, there could be no more appropriate locale for marking the occasion.

The Talmud gives a marvelous and mysterious account of the Purim celebration. In Masekhet (Tractate) Megillah 7b, we read the story of Rabba and Rabbi Zeira.

Rabba invites Rabbi Zeira to his Purim seudah (festive meal). Both drink to the point of distraction, and Rabba rises and slaughters Rabbi Zeira. The next morning, Rabba is dismayed by what has transpired. He prays for the restoration and revival of Rabbi Zeira, and Rabbi Zeira comes back to life. The following year, Rabba invites Rabbi Zeira to join him for the Purim seudah once again. Rabbi Zeira's simple response? "Miracles don't happen every day."

This is a fascinating and baffling story, particularly since it comes on the heels of the injunction to drink on Purim, to the point where one is unable to distinguish between cursed be Haman and blessed be Mordekhai.

Later commentators weigh in heavily with minute details designed to mitigate the command to become inebriated. They tell us that there was a Purim song with the words "Cursed be Haman" and "Blessed be Mordekhai" in its refrain, words which were apparently easily confused under the most sober of circumstances. They tell us in many different ways that drinking to the point of total inebriation is not the tradition's intent.

Are these commentators giving us a simple or interpretive understanding of the story? It's hard to know, but one thing is clear: whether the story's original intent was to caution us or not, the evolution of our understanding has led to moderation long before beer balls became a familiar phenomenon.

Purim is a wonderful holiday. It gives us the opportunity to let loose, to put on and take off our masks. It encourages us to extend ourselves to our neighbors through the giving of gifts of food (mishloah manot) and to support those in need (matanot la-evyonim).

It's a chance to let loose and celebrate, giving voice to our joy.

Have a wonderful Purim, celebrate with reckless abandon and stay safe!

[Posted 2/20/02]