Monday, March 11, 2024. What a 24 hours it’s been! – 6 inches of snow yesterday, headed to 50 degrees F today, and even warmer tomorrow. This morning it was below freezing, very cold but with the promise of spring. In this second month of Adar, we get to extend the anticipation of spring just a little longer – yes, the buds are fatter and the birds are singing at last!
This second month of Adar gives us time to slow down and savor the Purim story itself, and the characters that have so much meaning for us. They are especially vivid among our tradition’s stories – perhaps because the Megillah story is a vivid one with more detail than most, but perhaps also because we bring them from imagination to reality, dressing up in Purim spiels, reading children’s books of the story with characters in opulent costumes, winding our groggers and noisemakers in synagogue as if Haman were really there, and singing when Mordechai and Esther prevail.
In our discussion, we noted that the end of the Purim story is particularly problematic for us this year. In the story, instead of cancelling the decree authorizing a pogrom against the Jews, King Ahashuerus reverses it, authorizing the Jews to inflict a pogrom on the citizens of Shushan. For most of us this is too close to home and too hard to stomach. Our member Linda pointed us to Rabbi Arthur Waskow’s Shalom Center, which has initiated a “Chapter 9 Project” to write new and peaceable endings for the Purim story.[1]
Rabbi Jill Hammer draws parallels between Esther and Ishtar, the ancient “goddess of the morning star, and keeper of love and abundance”. Hammer notes that Esther’s bravery and action created “a new dawn for her people”, her story gradually unfolding toward victory and redemption.[2] How much deeper the redemption would be if a peaceable ending were the result. As we move toward Nisan and Passover in this second Adar, each day unfolds, and spring unfolds for us as the birds sing and buds ripen. May this joyous holiday bring an unfolding of our hearts – holding joy in the face of evil and challenge, and working together for peace. Chag sameach! — K. Miriam
Our next walking meditation will honor the month of Nisan, Tuesday, April 9, 8:30 am. Rain or snow or shine! – contact us for location.
[1] See https://theshalomcenter.org/chapter9project
[2] Jill Hammer, the Jewish Book of Days, p. 201. See Sources tab for full citation.
Rosh Chodesh Cleveland 
Thanks Kirby for keeping us going, for this great blog, and for mentioning The Shalom Center.
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