Friday, February 19, 2016

Things that Almost Were

A lot of you know that my Hebrew birthday is Purim, but that's not exactly true.  Actually, I was born on Purim Katan; "Little Purim", Shadow Purim.  You see, the Hebrew calendar is mad cray; one of it's peculiar fuckeries is that every couple of years, the month of Adar (early Spring) occurs twice.  But, asked the rabbis, in which Adar should we celebrate Purim?  After much debate, they decided on second Adar.  But, what about the 14th of Adar 1?  That is Purim Katan, the Purim that Could Have Been.  Purim Katan is the best of all holidays; the only obligation is to be festive and joyous.

Purim, as we know it, celebrates the events of the Book of Esther, but it's obviously a cover for an older holiday, a festival of Ishtar.  Don't believe me?  Read the Book of Esther, but swap every occurrence of "Esther" with "Ishtar",  every occurrence of "Mordechai" with "Marduk", and every occurance of "Haman" with...well..."Haman".  Does the story sound familiar now?

And so, Purim Katan is the Foreshadow of Purim, the most ancient holiday of my beloved Queen of Heaven and Earth.