PURIM SHPIEL
A bright and energetic retelling of
the Purim holiday for young and old!
Based on the Yitzhak Manger stage production that was shown internationally in the late 1950’s, our performance is filled with laughter, wisdom, tears, and Klezmer music as well as colorful
costumes and Persian scenery.
Scene 1. Prologue.
The Taylor and the Chorus tell the audience what is in the show and introduce the principle personages of the Megillah.
Scene 2. Dem Melekh’s Sudeh -The King’s Feast.
At the royal banquet, Haman provokes the drunk King to order his Queen Vashti to appear in front of all his ministers so they might admire her beauty. Vashti refuses and curses the King, whereupon he decides to banish her from the throne.
Scene 3. Vashti’s Klog Lid – Vashti’s Lament.
Vashti sings a farewell song bewailing her past life.
Scene 4. Der Alter Nussenbouim – The walnut tree.
Esther waits for her wedding. She won the King’s heart! She is going to be the new Queen!…But where is her uncle Mordechai?..
Scene 5. The Plot Song of Bigtam and Teresh
Mordechai stands at the King’s Gate and… listens how two servants, Bigtam and Teresh, planning to kill the King!..
Scene 6. Der Nigun Fun der Megille – Song of the Megillah.
The Chorus sings that Mordechai pleased the King by informing on Bigtam and Teresh and was granted the right to set up a shop at the Gate… He saved King’s Life!…
Scene 7. S’aMechaye – It’s a pleasure.
King Ahasueras rejoices! He is happy to drink the wine, to count the stars in the sky, to breathe the evening breeze!.. He is happy to be alive!..
Scene 8. Haman song.
Wicked Haman fumes with anger! All the people bow before him, except for Mordechai, that Jew!.. Haman decides to destroy Mordechai… along with all the Jews in the Kingdom…
Scene 9. In Droysn Iz A Regn – Outside it’s raining.
Haman persuades the King to go along with his evil plan… Esther convinces the King to get rid of Haman… And outside it is raining.
Scene 10. Der Fetter Mord’che Heyst– The uncle Mordechai says.
The story ends happily with the feast of Purim, which celebrates the victory of Esther and Mordechai over the evil Haman, whom the furious King ordered to execute.
Joy reigns; Haman is led to the gallows.
Scene 11. Chiribim.
The Dance
Scene 13. Narrator’s blessing.
Scene 14. Lechaim
All Purim Players celebrate with a Purim Feast..
In the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, on its thirteenth day … on the day that the enemies of the Jews were expected to prevail over them, it was turned about: the Jews prevailed over their adversaries. – Esther 9:1
And they gained relief on the fourteenth, making it a day of feasting and gladness. – Esther 9:17
[Mordecai instructed them] to observe them as days of feasting and gladness, and sending delicacies to one another, and gifts to the poor. – Esther 9:22
Purim is one of the most joyous and fun holidays on the Jewish calendar. It commemorates a time when the Jewish people living in Persia were saved from extermination.
The story of Purim is told in the Biblical book of Esther. The heroes of the story are Esther, a beautiful young Jewish woman living in Persia, and her cousin Mordecai, who raised her as if she were his daughter. Esther was taken to the house of Ahasuerus, King of Persia, to become part of his harem. King Ahasuerus loved Esther more than his other women and made Esther queen, but the king did not know that Esther was a Jew, because Mordecai told her not to reveal her identity.
The villain of the story is Haman, an arrogant, egotistical advisor to the king. Haman hated Mordecai because Mordecai refused to bow down to Haman, so Haman plotted to destroy the Jewish people. In a speech that is all too familiar to Jews, Haman told the king, “There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your realm. Their laws are different from those of every other people’s, and they do not observe the king’s laws; therefore it is not befitting the king to tolerate them.” Esther 3:8. The king gave the fate of the Jewish people to Haman, to do as he pleased to them. Haman planned to exterminate all of the Jews.
Mordecai persuaded Esther to speak to the king on behalf of the Jewish people. This was a dangerous thing for Esther to do, because anyone who came into the king’s presence without being summoned could be put to death, and she had not been summoned. Esther fasted for three days to prepare herself, then went into the king. He welcomed her. Later, she told him of Haman’s plot against her people. The Jewish people were saved, and Haman was hanged on the gallows that had been prepared for Mordecai.
The book of Esther is unusual in that it is the only book of the Bible that does not contain the name of G-d. In fact, it includes virtually no reference to G-d. Mordecai makes a vague reference to the fact that the Jews will be saved by someone else, if not by Esther, but that is the closest the book comes to mentioning G-d. Thus, one important message that can be gained from the story is that G-d often works in ways that are not apparent, in ways that appear to be chance, coincidence or ordinary good luck.
Purim is celebrated on the 14th day of Adar, which is usually in March. The 13th of Adar is the day that Haman chose for the extermination of the Jews, and the day that the Jews battled their enemies for their lives. On the day afterwards, the 14th, they celebrated their survival. In cities that were walled in the time of Joshua, Purim is celebrated on the 15th of the month, because the book of Esther says that in Shushan (a walled city), deliverance from the massacre was not complete until the next day. The 15th is referred to as Shushan Purim.
In leap years, when there are two months of Adar, Purim is celebrated in the second month of Adar, so it is always one month before Passover. The 14th day of the first Adar in a leap year is celebrated as a minor holiday called Purim Katan, which means “little Purim.” There are no specific observances for Purim Katan; however, a person should celebrate the holiday and should not mourn or fast. Some communities also observe a “Purim Katan” on the anniversary of any day when their community was saved from a catastrophe, destruction, evil or oppression.
The word “Purim” means “lots” and refers to the lottery that Haman used to choose the date for the massacre.
The Purim holiday is preceded by a minor fast, the Fast of Esther, which commemorates Esther’s three days of fasting in preparation for her meeting with the king.
The primary commandment related to Purim is to hear the reading of the book of Esther. The book of Esther is commonly known as the Megillah, which means scroll. Although there are five books of Jewish scripture that are properly referred to as megillahs (Esther, Ruth, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, and Lamentations), this is the one people usually mean when they speak of The Megillah. It is customary to boo, hiss, stamp feet and rattle gragers (noisemakers; see illustration) whenever the name of Haman is mentioned in the service. The purpose of this custom is to “blot out the name of Haman.”
We are also commanded to eat, drink and be merry. According to the Talmud, a person is required to drink until he cannot tell the difference between “cursed be Haman” and “blessed be Mordecai,” though opinions differ as to exactly how drunk that is. A person certainly should not become so drunk that he might violate other commandments or get seriously ill. In addition, recovering alcoholics or others who might suffer serious harm from alcohol are exempt from this obligation.
In addition, we are commanded to send out gifts of food or drink, and to make gifts to charity. The sending of gifts of food and drink is referred to as shalach manos (lit. sending out portions). Among Ashkenazic Jews, a common treat at this time of year is hamentaschen (lit. Haman’s pockets). These triangular fruit-filled cookies are supposed to represent Haman’s three-cornered hat. My recipe is included below.
It is customary to hold carnival-like celebrations on Purim, to perform plays and parodies, and to hold beauty contests. I have heard that the usual prohibitions against cross-dressing are lifted during this holiday, but I am not certain about that. Americans sometimes refer to Purim as the Jewish Mardi Gras.
Purim is not subject to the sabbath-like restrictions on work that some other holidays are; however, some sources indicate that we should not go about our ordinary business on Purim out of respect for the holiday.
