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A: Since I know Rabbi Goldstein feels so strongly on this point,
I’ve asked her to write this week’s Reb on the Web:
I think there are plenty of good reasons to discourage our kids
from participating at all in Halloween- and some have nothing
to do with Judaism! I speak not only as a Rabbi now, but also
as a parent whose kids have never gone trick or treating.
Let’s start by looking at the roots of Halloween- a pagan holiday
taken over by the Christians and then appropriated by the candy
industry! From a Jewish point of view, we should be aware that
Halloween is a sacred day in the Catholic calendar. The word itself,
"Halloween," comes from a contracted corruption of All Hallows
Eve. November 1, "All Hollows Day" (or "All Saints Day"), is a
Catholic day of observance in honor of saints. Candles for the
dead are lit in Catholic churches on the evening of October 31.
In the pagan world, on that day, it was believed the disembodied
spirits of all those who had died throughout the preceding year
would come back in search of living bodies to possess for the
next year. Naturally, those still living did not want to be possessed.
So on the night of October 31, villagers would extinguish the
fires in their homes to make them cold and undesirable. They would
then dress up in all manner of ghoulish costumes and noisily parade
around the neighborhood, being as destructive as possible in order
to frighten away spirits looking for bodies to possess. Since
I think history is really what we pass on to the next generation,
do we want our children to celebrate this day but disconnected
from its source?
But even if we didn’t care about the holiday’s origins, I’d still
ask: what is the point of the holiday? What values, customs, and
messages does Halloween have that we want our kids to get?
One: Gimme candy. Do I want my kids learning its cute and desirable to go door to
door begging for sweets? The Jewish way is to give: on Purim,
we go house to house delivering sweets, not asking for them! I’m
happy to fill my kids lunchboxes to the brim with those little
candy bars all week after October 31. I can buy them from the
store, and I do; my kids don’t have to go and ask strangers for
them. If the neighbors I know and trust want to treat my kids
to candy, they can do so any time of the year, as a gesture of
friendship. Do I want my kids practicing the art of “gimme gimme”
any more than they are prone to already, in the form of a community
sanctioned custom?
Two: Dead people are scary. Judaism teaches that the souls of the dead live on and are kind
spirits that guide us spiritually. Although there is the occasional
folkloristic tale of evil spirits, like The Dybbuk, in the main
Judaism doesn’t teach fear of death, graveyards, or the dead.
I don’t want my kids afraid that their zayde or grandpa will come
back to harm them, or frightened to visit their graves.
Three: Old women are witches, hags, and harmful. As a feminist, I find the images of old women with hooked noses
riding broomsticks to hurt little kids as totally offensive. And
have you ever noticed how much those caricatures resemble the
caricatures of Jews from the Middle Ages: hooked noses, tails,
wicked grins, baby eaters? It’s not an accident.
Four: Witches are devil worshippers. I happen to know that witchcraft is part of an ancient religion
called Wicca. There are practicing Wiccans today; they do not
worship the devil or demons and they do not wish any harm on anyone.
The exact opposite: they preach a dignified spirituality and respect
for the earth and all its creatures. I know I wouldn’t want Jews
portrayed the way witches are portrayed on Halloween. For centuries
witches had been persecuted and killed, like Jews, in the name
of religion. Most of those witches were women practicing ancient
herbal cures and the skill of midwifery which were threatening
to the male establishment. Do I want my kids growing up unaware
of the stereotypes they are perpetuating?
Five: If people don’t give you what you want, you can hurt them. Throw eggs on their doors or their cars. Go out only with older
siblings. There will be police cruisers on call all night. The
“harmless pranks” of twenty years ago are not harmless anymore.
Can’t trust a treat not store-bought, hermetically sealed. What
kind of “holy day” is it when I have to fear for my kids’ safety?
So what does our family do? We get together with a couple of other
families who feel the way we do and we go to the movies. It’s
great fun- we’re usually the only ones there, and then we all
go out for dinner and ice cream sundaes. The kids actually look
forward to it. And then when Purim comes, we make elaborate costumes
(some of which we buy the week after Hallween when face paint
and wigs are half price!!) and bake sweets and treats and go all
out celebrating a holiday we feel is truly a holy day. I encourage
you to do the same!
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