For much of the western world, October is the time for dressing up in Halloween outfits, enjoying spooky stories about witches, demons and evil dangers. All Hallow's Eve is for many, a night for dwelling on the dark stories of the underworld, not upon the meaning of here and now, of what it means to be a good Jew.
Halloween and Jewish Law
But while some Jewish families do participate in Halloween festivities of trick or treating and Halloween parties, it is not a Jewish holiday. In fact, some rabbis have argued that it is an example of a holiday that contravenes the Jewish law of Chukot Hagoyim: Not to copy customs or participate in holidays that are deemed religious in nature (Leviticus 18:3).
Halloween is originally thought to have been a religious Pagan holiday in which believers dressed up to scare away evil spirits. Yet some argue that while this may indeed have been the origin of Halloween, like Thanksgiving and Valentine’s Day, it has lost its religious sentiment.
So why is it that many Jews still feel uncomfortable celebrating “All Hallows Eve”?
Scary Stories, Witches and Demons: A Religious Holiday?
“Rabinically speaking,” explains Alfred J. Kolatch, author of The Jewish Second Book of Why, “a holiday's origins cannot simply disappear over time … Halloween would halakhically be considered a religious holiday - gentile in nature and ultimately against Jewish law.”
Rabbinic arguments that support this point of view also note that Jews are forbidden from adding to the Jewish calendar a “mitzvah” (in this case, a fixed date of celebration) that was originally associated with another religion. However, not all scholars agree with this point of view.
“Were we to abstain from marking all seasonal holidays once observed by Pagans, we would lose most American and even some Jewish festivals as well,” explains Rabbi Judy Chessin, in her article in the Dayton Jewish Times (reprinted in the Jewish Weekly).
Jewish Values and Trick or Treating
But some believe the issue is deeper than that. Rabbi Chessin notes that some feel it is the values the holiday indirectly teaches to children that are considered problematic.
“…Sending our children out to scavenge for piles of candy sends an inappropriate message of greed, gluttony and acquisitiveness,” she said.
In fact, the 21st-century premise of Halloween is decidedly un-Jewish: the glorifying of otherworldly dangers that are often associated with the holiday, such as death, violence and witchcraft. It furthers that mixed message, says Sara Esther Crispe, author of TheJewishWoman.org; by idealizing the violent symbols associated with death and dwelling on values that are alien to Judaism, such as the idea of turning up at someone’s house with the implicit purpose of “taking” rather than “giving.”
Purim: Costumes, Community and Tzedakah
But those who feel any loss in not being able to claim Halloween as a traditional Jewish festivity can take heart: Rabbi Tzvi Freeman suggests that Jews have an even better holiday that while frivolous in nature, embodies many of the sentiments that are true to Judaic thought.
“You guessed it – it's called Purim, when it's customary to send mishloach manot — gifts of food — to one's friends and even more gifts to those in hard times,” says Rabbi Freeman.
Tzedakah, manifested in the tradition of giving food and money rather than taking sweets at a stranger’s door has become the symbol of a holiday that as Rabbi Freeman points out is almost exactly at the opposite end of the year from Halloween.
Like All Hallow’s Eve, Purim is celebrated in costume, food and frivolity. But unlike Halloween and its spooky symbols of demons, witches, evil sorcery and Halloween outfits, Purim carries the age-old message that Jewish history and survival is rooted in the community, the welfare of one’s neighbor and the incandescent memory of what it means to be a Jew.
Sources:
- Chabad.org
- 5as.org
- Jewishvirtuallibrary.org
- Jweekly.com
Jan Lee - Jan Lee has been writing for online and print publications for more than 20 years and have been published in five countries.
Join the Conversation