Purim Darkness

I just returned from the rebbe's on this Purim eve and several things struck me about the experience. The table was reversed from it's usual position, so the rebbe sat at what is normally the foot. There was a lot of alcohol and wine being drunk. Most of the people there were drunk by the time I got there at 9:30 pm. And the spirits in the room were not at all who I expected.

Purim is a holiday where most people dress up, though most of the hasids were not. I always assumed is was very different from Halloween as there are none of the scary costumes or traditions. Halloween is a night the dead return and we dress up so they don't recognize us. Purim has always been light and frivolous: we dress up to have fun.

But when I got there, the spirits in the room were dancing about, and when I finally connected to the strongest one, it felt like Loki, the Norse god of mischief, or Dionysus, the Greek god of wine. It struck me that Purim is a holiday that pre-dates Judaism, and we adapted it to fit one of our stories, though poorly. I need to learn from where in the story the costume and drinking is derived, as it doesn't seem a natural extension of the story. As I stayed longer, I could see that this dark energy was just another manifestation of God, but I do not understand why we devote a holiday to it. It has never been my way, but I guess it's important to acknowledge all the aspects of God, even the ones that don't speak to us personally.

As I walked home, I wondered why there was not more violence or mischief on Purim, but I'll have to think on that.