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February 13, 2012
Binyamin Rose: Back to the Bunker: How a life-risking act by a Christian family during the Holocaust saved a family and built a thriving community a world away
Menachem Wecker: Business Schools Teach Real Estate Despite Troubled Housing Market
February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
March 4, 2004
/11 Adar, 5764
The Wise, the Wicked and the Fool
By
Leo Lieberman
What the Purim story taught a 9 year-old about the world around him
http://www.jewishworldreview.com |
Purim is certainly one of the happiest holidays in the Jewish calendar. After all, it has all the makings of the perfect story to delight young and old alike. There's a king and a beautiful queen — and a Jewish queen, no less! Now you can't get much better than that.
But you can! Because in this story even though there is a villain and such a villain you shouldn't know from. (But of course, you do, because after all, we do not live in an egg shell, and unfortunately the world has had its share of mamzerim.) Even though there is a Haman, there is also a Mordechai. And at the end of the story, Haman gets his, gets it in spades. (Whatever that means) The story has a happy ending and we can go back to eating our hamantaschen and drinking a little extra wine. Because, as you all know, getting a bit tipsy on Purim is a mitzvah, religious duty.
So that should be the end of the story. Except that I should wish you all a Happy Purim and may all your cookies be light and flaky and have three corners. Yes? No! Because as Tanta (Aunt) Pesha so often pointed out to me as I was growing up in the Bronx, "There is always a fly in the oatmeal."
And the fly in this case happens to be Queen Vashti.
In case you forgot the cast of characters, Vashti was the Queen before Esther. She was married to King Achashverus, the King of Persia. And if you remember when the King summoned her to appear before all his cronies for some hanky-panky, she said, "Thanky-but -no thanky!" That, of course, goes with the panky from the hanky. And since this was a king who expected everyone to respond "How high?" when he said JUMP! — POOF! Queen Vashti was history.
Now, as a nine-year-old in the Talmud Torah in the Bronx, I worried about poor Vashti. She just disappeared from the story. I sort of liked Vashti. Here was a lady, before Women's Lib, who stood up for what she believed and wouldn't take garbage from the King. So I asked Morah Kramer, my teacher, about this and she told me to speak to the Rabbi who, of course, was busy but who told me that: "In those days..."
And when I told him that people were people and it didn't matter when they lived, his response was that the story had a happy ending and the Jews of Shushan in Persia survived. When I tried to interrupt, he offered me a hamantash that the rebbitzen had baked and told me to go back to my class.
I went back, but I was not a happy camper. I worried about Esther living with such a bossy husband, who had his former wife put away. (My buddy Sonny said that he had her head chopped off, but Morah Kramer said that it wasn't true.)
Still, what did become of Vashti? Did she go back to her Mama and Papa? Did she ever get married again? Maybe the next time it was to someone who wouldn't order her around. And that would be better than wearing a crown on her head.
And so I went to Tanta Pesha again and asked for her opinion. And she was not at a loss for words. (She never is.) She told me that in those days there were no places for wives who were mistreated, but anything was better than living with a man who was such a shtik holtz, a real fool, and that where ever she went she was better off.
And she pointed out, in this story the good guys came out ahead and the bad guys were punished. And that Queen Esther was one smart cookie, because she knew how to handle a fool, and that husband of hers, even though he was such a big-shot king, in Pesha's book, he was and he is and he always will be a fool.
Then she added, "Let me tell you what the wise men of old used to say: When the Messiah comes, the crippled will be able to walk and the blind will once again see, but the fool, well, he will always remain a fool."
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Excerpted from the book "Memories of Laughter and Garlic: Jewish Wit, Wisdom, and Humor To Warm Your Heart" by Leo Lieberman, who was awarded First Place by the American Jewish Press Association in the category of Excellence in Editorial and Commentary. (Click HERE to purchase. Sales help fund JWR.) Comment by clicking here.
© 2004, Leo Lieberman
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