Phishing for Queen Esther

Deep-Sea "Gefilte Phishing". First, some background. Esther was a Jewish commoner from ancient Persia who became queen and, once in power, was able to sway her king from a planned genocide of the Jewish people. Now, start with the name itself. In Hebrew, Esther (אֶסְתֵּר) comes from the root s-t-r, "hidden," and the Talmud traces it to G-d's own words in Deuteronomy, "I will surely hide My face" (haster astir panai), reading her very name as a clue to the story's central theme: a Jewish deliverance orchestrated entirely behind the scenes, with G-d's name never once appearing anywhere in the Megillah. The Megillah, incidentally, is the actual book where the story of Esther and Purim is told, or in another sense, Purim's own "Helping Friendly Book." And back to that idea of concealment, it's also why we wear masks and costumes on Purim, and why Purim carnivals, yes, actual carnivals, are a beloved tradition in Jewish communities worldwide.

A Carnival of Comparison. Which makes it almost too perfect that Phish's "Esther" is set at a carnival of its own: a girl wanders a fairground at night, past a carousel, and meets a mysterious old man with a puppet in a bucket. It's an eerie, dreamlike detour from the band's usual goofball jam rock. Two Esthers, two carnivals, two stories built on concealment, one saved by it and one undone by it. Likely, just another one of those cosmic coincidences.

While it may seem totally random to the casual observer, the ties between the band and the Jewish community actually run long and deep, so much so that there was recently a full-fledged academic conference on this very connection, and Penn State even published a book on it! Colleges these days, am I right?!

So many Heebs, Who New?! Still unconvinced? One preliminary academic survey found that roughly 26 percent of Phish concert goers reported growing up in a Jewish household, and other estimates have put it as high as 30 percent, an absolutely wild number when Jews make up less than 2 percent of the general American population. One theory researchers point to is Jewish summer camp. A huge share of American Jews had formative experiences there in the eighties and nineties, building tight, insular friend groups around communal music and a joyful, countercultural essence. That same spirit apparently resonated and carried right over into the Phish scene once everyone got older.

Maybe that same restless "can I live while I'm young" energy from "Chalk Dust Torture" is just what those camp friendships grew into: a lifelong choice to celebrate life fully, together. And really, is there anything more Jewish than that? L'chaim.

Go Deeper:

Jerusalem Post: on the academic conference and book exploring Phish's Jewish ties.
Jewish Telegraphic Agency : a closer look at the summer camp theory.

Here are the fellas playing the Jewish classic, "Avenu Malkenu!"