Purim is my favorite Jewish holiday. It’s a whirlwind day, rich with original costumes, extravagant city parades, and gift baskets filled with the reason for your next cavity – what’s not to like about Purim?
When I was a student in elementary school in Israel, come the 13th of the Hebrew month of Adar, my school would throw a Purim party.
Many young girls dressed up as Queen Esther, using Purim as an excuse to prance around in tulle skirts, faces covered in grown-up make-up and a bejeweled plastic crown on their heads. Every little girl wants to be a queen, even tomboys like me that weren’t brave enough to admit it and dressed as a punk rock star with torn jeans for the 2nd time in a row.
We thought of Esther, this orphan girl turned queen, as a feminist – an icon of bravery and elegance. On the other hand, Vashti was considered a deviant, subordinate, almost villain-like, and rebellious queen.
Maybe we were too young to understand, or perhaps we were comfortable...
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