Esther's Secret

Salaam from one of the nations first featured in the Purim Megillah-

Here in Hodu I am still smiling about a few improvised jokes from the ad-libbed play we had put on yesterday.

At the Annual EPJCC Purim Carnival, Shirin and I cajoled the crowd into drawing lots and preforming in an interactive play telling the story of Purim. Hannan Uncle, an elderly gent who always contributes to Kol India (the community newsletter) and other magazines, became "Haman" Uncle, and Abraham Pingle, a real-life father of adorable 7 year old Esther, became Mordecai, uncle of Queen Esther, heorine of Purim.

One of the best lines of the show came from Shirin, the Ralph Goldman fellow who has been working here in India these past four months. Shirin, who who was wearing a loud, long wig for her role as the Jewish Queen, was called upon my her Uncle mrodechai to stand up for her people. Approaching the King, she began demurely. "Oh, King Achashverosh" she said sweetly, " I have a secret I must tell you!!"

"And, what is that, Queen Esther?" the King asked

"I'm not originally blond"

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The Carnival went off quite well. The kids took part in talent competitions and and fancy dress competition downstairs after the interactive play, and all the (youth and volunteer and JCC) staff got into the spirit with crazy caps. Following a short break for snack we took the kids up for carnival games like Knock down Haman, Crown the Queen, while the adults played a kareoke singing game. We nearly had to wrestle microphones out of grandmothers' hands as the buses back were leaving and the younger, weary, and costumed lot of children were ready to go home.

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Tonight I am going to go hear the Megillah being read in the midst of a community which for the most part has not had to deal with hiding their Jewish identity. They do, however, have secrets involving faith in ways that I have not commonly known. Some memebrs of the communtiy here have confided these with me-
Inter-caste marriage ( interfaith ) and Conversions are some of these. When once, after class, a student told me that she had a secret, the last thing I expected was her to tell me that (in her words) she was not an "Original Jew."

Conversion here is an issue that resonnates both within and beyond the scope of local Jewish life. In the past when Jews here had emigratred to Israel, even if they have been bron Jewish and not covnerted, they still had to prove their Jewishness. For a community that had been working hard at maintiang this unique identity for thousands of years amongst others, it had been an insluting request.

When coming to India I didnot anticipate being asked so many quesitons about converstion, religious statuis of converst, conevrts and kashrut, etc. Its beenan eye and heart opening experience getting to know people who have chosen to become Jews, and have felt comfortable enough to share these secrets with me.