For Peter Rotter, frustration was the starting point of a Jewish journey. Bothered that synagogues have turned so many holidays into children’s events, he is now actively reclaiming Jewish celebration for adults.
“Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur are quite adult in observance throughout Reform [practice],” Rotter said, “but it begins to slide with Sukkot and especially Simchat Torah, which is often celebrated as consecration for the Sunday school kids.”
Continuing to follow the Jewish year, Rotter added, “Then there’s Chanukah, and we all know what happened to that; Tu B’Shevat, where the kids plants trees; Purim where the kids dress in costume; and Pesach where we tell the story to the children.”
One problem for Rotter is that his youngest child is 21.
“It is difficult to make Judaism a part of your life after your children are grown if the holidays are all geared to the kids,” said Rotter, the father of six adult children.
But for Rotter, who was raised in a Reform home, with parents who were active in Jewish and other social causes and attended the now-named Steve and Shari Sadek Family Camp Interlaken, Judaism has naturally been “a lifelong part of [his] being,” he said.
And there are other factors that have influenced his views on this issue, Rotter said in a recent telephone interview from his Wausau law office.
Remarried at 34, Rotter, now 46, said that wife Karen’s conversion to Judaism caused him to see these events through new eyes.
And another part of the problem for him is that he believes in teaching by example he said. “How do we teach our children the importance of Judaism if they see us treating it as unimportant in our own lives?” he said.
But Rotter, a Milwaukee native who moved to Wausau following law school graduation, is not one to just sit and complain.
Instead, the Mt. Sinai Congregation activist (he served on the board of the Reform congregation for six years and spent another six years as vice president, president and past president) has created an adult Purim celebration.
And this year, its third, it will not only provide an opportunity for congregants to celebrate, and entertain, educate and build bridges with the larger Wausau community; it will also raise funds for Mt. Sinai Congregation.
‘Cut loose’
The themes of Purim, in particular, are adult themes, Rotter noted. “Purim is a grown-up holiday with a grown-up story … and grown-up celebration traditions,” he said.
The timing of the holiday, too, is perfect for releasing tensions built up during a long, cold winter, just “when we need to cut loose.”
When he first proposed the Purim Happening in 2004, Rotter’s plans included live music, alcohol and belly dancers. “The synagogue was not initially ready to jump in with both feet,” he said.
He initiated it independently, with the intention of giving any proceeds above his own costs to the synagogue. But Rotter didn’t see any profit that first year. As a matter of fact, expenses were too high to allow him to host it the following year. But he was back last year.
Congregation members attended and saw that he “did it respectfully,” Rotter said, and this year “the entire congregation is getting behind it.”
Scheduled for Saturday evening, March 10, the weekend after the congregation’s ritual celebration, the Purim Happening is a party for all of Wausau’s adult community.
The Purim Happening was initially intended “as a means to have a party for the community the way some places do a Christmas party,” Rotter said. From that idea, it has developed into “quite the interfaith event,” he said, with congregants and clergy from the Christian community attending his first two Purim Happenings.
Bridge to community
In Wausau, which has about 40,000 residents in the city and another 40,000 in the surrounding area, “we all know one another fairly well”, Rotter explained. In addition, the community really does want to know about us and be sensitive to us, he said.
Rotter clearly enjoys the opportunity to reach out and teach the community about this Jewish celebration. Last year a friend told him, he said, that before she and her husband came to the party, she made him read the Book of Esther. “It’s kind of fun that people are interested in that way,” Rotter said.
He has used the breaks in the music to explain the story behind the holiday and has typically given several drashes (biblical interpretations) throughout the evening on a variety of Purim related topics, including drinking responsibly, Rotter said.
Rotter has no idea how many people will come to the Purim Happening this year, but with the congregation behind it, he is confident that it will be well over 200.
Rotter is handing out invitations everywhere, including the Marathon County Bar Association where he is president-elect. He has also sent invitations to all of the Reform and Conservative congregations in the state and would have included the Orthodox, if he could have offered them kosher food, he said.
The event, which will take place at Wausau’s Labor Temple, will include live music by Yid Vicious, a klezmer band from Madison, belly dancers, food, discounted drinks for those in costume, raffles, an auction and door prizes.
With the raffles and auction and an entry fee of $10 per person, the Purim Happening proceeds are expected to exceed costs this year.
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