UC San Diego

This dissertation explores the heterotopia of the holy-days of Purim, Tisha B’Av, Pesach, and Shavuot and their associated Megillot through analysis by way of interdisciplinary methodology of performance and Jewish studies; adaptation/translation into this format; and, especially, connecting these texts with their traditions, holidays, and rituals; all coalescing to provide strong evidence of this performative potential. Can these Megillot and their associated embodied practices be reframed through the lens of performance, and in doing so can the capability of these combined texts and contexts offer support for Jewish communities in crisis? Building on the likes of Shimon Levy (The Bible as Theatre) and Terry Giles and William J. Doan (The Naomi Story – the Book of Ruth: From Gender to Politics), I aim to reexamine these four Megillot through a theatrical lens, investigating their performative potential. Expanding on the work of my predecessors, I pair close and comparative analysis of the texts with the embodiment that is embedded in Jewish religious and cultural practices connected to their associated ancient, ongoing holy-days. For this project, “The Megillah Cycle: Performative Potential and Affective Power of Hebrew Biblical Texts and Their Associated Embodied Practices,” I tease out threads of Jewish history and persisting practice and weave them together in a tapestry that can be actively, affectively engaged and applied to aid us in the current chapter of Jewish history. By doing so, I hope to also provide a bridge to bring the liberating, encouraging, and unifying power of these texts and practices into the rest of the year, combatting the pitfall of the reversals and releases of the carnivalesque lasting only as long as the festivals. I seek to find new answers to the question of what it means to observe the commandment of retelling our history “as if you were there” – and to use them to write a brighter next chapter.