Toward Shabbat

March 25th, 2016
15 Adar 2 5776
Dear Friends,

Happy day after Purim!
What a wonderful celebration we had here on Wednesday night and Thursday morning. My compliments to all who were involved in the PurimSpiel. It was lovely to see our young members retelling the Purim story in a new way. They were fabulous and i'm so glad Penina suggested we try this, and my thanks to Sharon Prager for helping, and our star directors Jillian Spiegel and Luba O'Dell, and all the cast and crew who made the night so wonderful (including all of the supportive parents and family members). Well done!

Purim is a day to celebrate the absurdities of life, and to take off our masks and live as we would if we could fully express ourselves. We all have parts of ourselves we keep hidden, for fear of being judged, shamed, ridiculed, or looked down upon, by others, and sometimes even by ourselves. Will they still love me if they know that I..... what will they think of me if they find out I....?

Purim is a day to live without our masks on, to examine how we're living and whether or not we still need to wear our masks every day. Some of us wear a mask of adulthood, refusing to let our inner children come out and play. We judge ourselves - how can I spend time watching TV when there are dishes to clean, laundry to be done, and work to do? I have to be serious if I want to get that promotion/achieve my goals, etc. I don't have time for fun.

And yet, a life without fun becomes a life of drudgery.
As much as we need our goals and schedules, we also need to let our hair down and let our inner children have fun. Purim is a great day to do so.

I decided yesterday to take my own advice.

I went to Minglewood Hall for a night of Wild Fire Wrestling.

Some of you may now think I'm crazy, and you're probably correct.
I've mentioned in the past that my dad is a wrestling fan, and my older brother and I used to watch wrestling on TV. I still have my Hulk Hogan and Randy "Macho Man" Savage figurines at home, and my younger brother Rafi bought me an Undertaker toy last year just for fun. 

I've been to a few wrestling events, the first I can remember I was probably 7 or 8 and my Dad took me and my older brother to Madison Square Garden for a show. The only thing I remember was the Big Boss Man beating up Leaping Lanny Poffo, who had to be carried out on a stretcher before intermission. Not five minutes later, he was outside signing autographs. I was shocked! How could that be? (Somewhere I still have a signed frizbee with his signature).

Last night's show featured Memphis' own Jerry "The King" Lawler, and his son Grandmaster Sexay Brian Christopher, along with an appearance from Jerry Jarrett, who was one of the prime architects behind Memphis wrestling. 

I enjoyed the show - my inner child was delighted to come out and play for a bit (I know some of you think every minute I'm not at shul I'm home studying Torah non-stop - sorry to disabuse you of that notion). Some of the matches were good, some were not. I was amused to see so many little kids (and grownups) yelling and screaming at the top of their lungs for their favorite superstars. (I may have joined in from time to time... :)

I'm not in any way saying that everyone should be wrestling fans. I'm aware of the ethical challenges of being a fan (I like watching football too and ethically that's much more challenging). Ultimately I see wrestling as a theater where we can identify with the characters. In most wrestling matches, there are good guys and bad guys. We cheer the good guys and boo the bad guys, and even when the good guys get beaten up, we still know they'll be back next time to keep fighting for truth, justice, and the American way.

Wrestling is storytelling, just like any TV show or sporting event. And as little kids, we all want to know that someone is there to protect us, to fight for us, to entertain us, and to make us feel safe in the world. 

On Purim, we recognize that the masks we wear are also there to help us feel safe. And yet, wearing masks also keeps us hidden. On Purim, we wear masks so as to avoid having to put on the mask we usually wear. 

We wear masks to help us in our own wrestling with the challenges of our lives. Whatever masks we wear, I want to bless us with wisdom to know when to wear them, when to take them off, and when we've outgrown them and need to create new ones.

May the masks we wear always help us to grow, and may we always have the courage to shake things up, try on new masks, and let our inner children play. 

Happy Purim and Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Ilan