F7: Purim

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Purim = Batman + Joker

What does the Batman and his arch enemy the Joker have to do with Purim? Frankly, everything! These comic book heroes and villains are our modern culture's version of the Purim story. Don't laugh! Purim is about deep rooted ideas of human psychology, so you shouldn't be surprised that these same ideas turn up in other places too.

Let me explain. Some people who watched the first Batman film said to me: "Yeah, OK, great costumes, but what was the Joker doing? What was he trying to achieve? He didn't even have an evil plan. He just went around causing mad chaos and killing innocent people! What was the point?" EXACTLY! No point was the point! The Joker had no aim. He was opposed to aims and tried to destroy any values that he saw. The Joker character is like Haman the Amalekite. Why do you think the Joker is so violent and funny? Like Amalek, he is cynical, evil, hysterical and totally destructive. Read the following extract from one of the classic Batman comics, and judge for yourself.... Just to set the scene, the Joker is delivering a long monologue as Batman chases him through a 'House of Fun' fairground ride...

"...My point is, I went crazy. When I saw what a black awful joke the world was, I went crazy as a coot! I admit it! Why can't you? I mean, you're not unintelligent! You must see the reality of the situation. Do you know how many times we've come close to World War Three over a flock of geese on a computer screen? ...It's all a joke! Everything anybody ever valued or struggled for... it's all a monstrous, demented gag!"

Batman, like us, is not impressed with this. He beats up the Joker and returns him once again to 'Arkham Asylum' to be locked up. Batman is a justice obsessed hero and the Joker is his chaotic and cynical nemesis. These rivals dramatically mirror the fight of Mordechai the Jew with Haman the Amalekite and show us that the issues addressed on Purim are relevant enough to pop up in the popular modern day fiction of our culture.

Remember, Don't forget!

On Purim, we laugh at the cynicism of Amalek and their kind. But there is another point that the Torah makes about Amalek, which initially appears to be rather paradoxical: "You must erase the memory of Amalek from beneath the heaven: Do not forget!" (Deuteronomy 25:19) How exactly do we erase something that isn't meant to be forgotten? If we are successful in wiping it out then we will forget it! Are we supposed to retell the story forever or erase it from the history books altogether? What does the Torah mean? The answer is subtle but incredible...it concerns memory and the 'Amalek' in all of us.

One of the most dramatic and memorable moments of our history was when we left Egypt. We were freed from slavery and free to be Jews. Amalek tried to ruin this. They tried to destroy the lives of our ancestors and what they stood for i.e. they actually wanted to destroy our memories! Think about it: your memory is an account of your significant past, history is the memory of the collective, and the most memorable events of world history are the most significant. So if you wipe out the significant events of a nation then you wipe out their memories. If your historic moments are eradicated then you have no history! That's what Amalek tried to do!

The Torah is teaching us to reject what Amalek does to memory. How? Don't forget! Not just this, anything! Don't be forgetful! Forgetting your history means that you forget who you are. What kind of you is there without your memories? Memories are what make you you! You have your own personal memories and you have the memories of your people - the Jewish people. The 'Amalek' in us is when we forget our past, when we disengage from our history. By celebrating Purim and shouting Haman down, we are shouting down Amalek's call to forget. Don't ever forget to have a memorable Purim!

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