In Adar, Purim unmasks the serious adult who has it all figured out and returns us in childlike wonder to our vulnerable and honest dance with mystery. Just like early spring with its tight buds, Adar prepares us to discover delight as we loosen our grip.
Two full moons from now, Jewish families across the world will celebrate Passover with an ancient ritual known as Seder – which means ‘order.’ Yet during this next month, the Hebrew month of Adar, we let spontaneity, play, and “a sacred kind of chaos” reign. On Purim, the hidden is revealed, and in that spirit, I share this vignette from behind the scenes at Wilderness Torah’s Youth Program.
I was a brand-new youth mentor on my first fall camping trip paired with a tight-knit group of middle schoolers. They’d been together for years, journeying from B’hootz (elementary) into B’Naiture (middleschool). They trusted each other and the culture deeply but they weren’t sure about me.
I knew this first impression was important. I had a plan carefully scripted and printed, but as the saying goes, “Man plans and God Laughs.” To my horror and the kids’ delight, a goat, known by as many names as there are B’naiture cohorts, took on the form of the mythic trickster, and devoured my notes whole.
I felt the reins wrested from my hands and it hadn’t been 5 minutes. By lunchtime, the youth hadn’t stopped talking or listened to a single word I’d offered. As I dug through my bag of nature connection games only to find each played out by the experienced B’naiture 2nd years, I had to reach for something else.
I got vulnerable, blamed the goat and shared with them that like us all, there are many parts that live hidden inside me. I told them about a mischievous part—one I don’t often call on—but sensed might be needed now. I asked them for just one minute of silence, to listen to the forest and go within.
For the first time all day, they were quiet.
Out of that silence, a mythic Lokiesque energy took over. I leapt up with a wild cackle and frolicked down the trail with the youth in chase. I turned a corner into a forest clearing and dropped to my knees, still genuinely unsure of what I would say or do. And there, as if placed by the land itself, was the answer: a perfectly formed leprechaun mask made from a piece of tree bark.
I lifted it to my face just as the youth turned the corner. They froze in their tracks, caught between shock and delight. A limerick spilled out of me. Laughter followed. An entire afternoon of unplanned play unfolded into fairy houses and an obstacle course. From that moment on, something shifted. The youth trusted me—not because I was a masterful mentor, but because I surrendered to what was emerging.
Adar invites us to practice doing just that. In Adar, Purim unmasks the serious adult who has it all figured out and returns us in childlike wonder to our vulnerable and honest dance with mystery. Just like early spring with its tight buds, Adar prepares us to discover delight as we loosen our grip. Up from under the incredible weight of needing to know, may we spring to the surprising simcha of L’chaim’prechauns, wildflowers and the joy of our true nature.
Josh ‘Ooah’ Reitzentein shares weekly insights into the torah portion as “The Maggid of Mystery” every Saturday on instagram and can be followed @reitzofpassage. He has previously held roles at Wilderness Torah as lead youth mentor for B’naiture, a guide for multiple Neshama Quest trips, and leadership for High Holidays and Passover In The Desert festivals. His website, reitzofpassage.com is a great place to visit if you’re interested to work with Ooah as he supports youth and adults through meaningful rites of passage. He currently lives in LA with his wife Jacqueline and his 18 month old son Teva.
