Mem Moment | Purim Costumes: Adar Nonsense or Adar Joy
Parashat Tetzaveh “You Shall Command” /
Shabbat Zachor “Shabbat of Remembrance”
Purim is finally upon us! It’s that one glorious time of year where rules are optional and conventions are nothing more than suggestions. One of the fun delights on Purim, is that you get to be whatever you want to be: superheroes, historical figures, or maybe just a giant inflatable dinosaur. It’s a real hoot and holler to trade our everyday identities for masks and capes. Something that often gets overlooked in between the chaos and fun of it all, is that there is something really unique that happens when we costume ourselves. If you have the opportunity to scan a synagogue on this wacky holiday, you might see a Darth Vader and his partner, SpongeBob SquarePants, pushing Pennywise in a stroller (which is either a dream come true or nightmare fuel depending who you’re asking). Pop into that same synagogue 72 hours later and everyone is wearing the same black suit and tie all lined up in a row. This is to say that costumes help us break free from uniformity.
As serendipity would have it though, the Torah this week actually beats us to the costume party. In this week’s portion, Parashat Tetzaveh, we find the most elaborate set of “costumes” ever designed: The sacred garments of the Jewish priests otherwise known as the Bigdei Kehunah. The #PriestHaul is complete with bell bottoms no, like literally bells on the bottoms of their robes (also called the Me’il), a chef’s kiss apron (or the Ephod) and obviously what costume would be complete without a diva crown (also known as the Tzitz)?!?! There is extensive rabbinic literature of the symbolism behind each of these (ehhhm)… Fashion Statements (let’s go with that). The irony is thus very clear, by prescribing a flamboyantly outlandish, costume to the priests into an actual uniform, we are saying that the holy temple has room for both. We need our routines and structures, but we can’t let go of the playful fun. In honor of this, each day in the month of Adar, I have made a video with a different costume to lean into the “Adar Nonsense” of it all. Follow the journey at this playlist here, which will be populated in the coming weeks: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLklXac_V8KY6fvr1aHqyJPWJ1xaWvxRPZ&si=VbzUAne2khV499h6