Reckless Rites: Purim and the Legacy of Jewish Violence By
Elliott Horowitz Princeton University Press, 356 pages, $35. * *
* For most Jews, Purim is simply the most riotous of the Jewish
holidays: It’s the innocent, if irreverent, celebration of
Jewish survival in the face of an ancient threat of genocide.
The rituals of Purim — masquerades, theatrical revelry, song and
dance, festive afternoon meals, acts of charity and exchanging
gifts — combine the best of Mardi Gras, Thanksgiving and
Halloween. But like those other celebrations, Purim has a dark
side — one that has long been ignored, repressed or ritually
allegorized by the rabbis. The most popular Hebrew Purim
children’s song is all about “masechot, ra’ashanim, shirim ve-
rikudim” (“masks, noisemakers, song and dance”). But the favored
Purim tune in many Orthodox circles speaks to the festival’s
more macabre elements. The lyrics for the yeshiva Purim
standard, “Ve-Nahafokh Hu” (“And It Was Upside-Down”), are
lifted straight out of that portion of the Meg