The story of Valerie Peckler
Esther, eponymous heroine of the Purim story, is as human as they come. She faces a struggle many Jews today face. How out do we want to be vis a vis our Judaism? Do we speak up when a co-worker tells a Jew joke or do we stay quiet so as not to make waves? Do we take opportunities to educate people about Judaism or let the opportunities pass?
When the kids were young we would make up a huge shlach manot basket to put in the teachers' lounge. After a few years, the teachers would start asking me in February when the basket of those really good apricot, prune, and poppy seed cookies were coming. We weren't teaching religion, we were simply sharing something we loved about our Jewish life. This was a great way to do something nice for my kids' teachers and teach them something about their students' heritage.
One year I got a call from one of my kids' teachers who is Jewish. She had shared part of the Purim basket with her class and a student's mother became incensed when she heard about it. The mother was enraged that Mrs. L. was teaching religion in the school...
