The Purim Shpiel

Rabbi Eva Goldfinger reflects on the origins and the expression of the Purim Spiel (or Play). The Purim Play was a way to mock both church (in Christian traditions) and governmental officials. It has become a reflection of current society allowing criticism couched in theater. A time for irreverence and ridicule, the mocking can become a satire on mocking itself. -Rabbi Miriam Jerris

The Purim Shpiel/Play is just one of the traditional rituals attached to Purim festivities.  Unlike the unique Megillah/Scroll or Story of Esther which is in Ketuvim/Writings, the final anthology in the bible, there are endless Purim plays.  The Purim Shpiel originated from the Christian Mardi Gras carnival, celebrated just before the fast of Lent.  The carnival itself is rooted in the ancient Roman spring festival of Saturnalia.  It is traditional during the Mardi Gras to have public plays which satirize or mock the Pope and other church officials.  It is that tradition of mocking ‘authorities’ that Jews adopted from the carnival, then adapted to fit our values.  Some plays mock rabbis; others mock all the characters in the fictional story of the Scroll of Esther and still others mock kings, political figures and people in power.  In our secular Purim Shpiels, we mock rulers, servants, Jews, Jew-haters, the power-hungry, the weak, the inequality of men, women, LGBTQ+, misogyny, partying, drinking, fools, smart people….there are no limits.   Purim encourages us via ‘drinking’ (till we cannot differentiate between Mordechai the righteous and Haman the evil one) and through ‘mocking’ or poking fun at everyone (except our parents) to blur the lines between us and our differences in order to equalize everyone.  Some believe that Purim is the one Jewish holiday when you can even mock God.   Among more secular people of all cultures and faiths, this mocking is not limited only to Purim. 

Judaism has two important philosophies around the use of words.  We are told to be very careful how we use words to avoid dangerous consequences.  At the same time, we are told that humour should be used as the ‘great equalizer’.  As we laugh at ‘everyone’ equally, we can laugh ‘with everyone’, and come to understand that people with all their diversity are essentially equals—not the same, but equal.   This is an important lesson of Purim where we mock all stereotypes to show how silly stereotyping can be.    We hope that through laughter, we can learn some important life lessons.