Purim
In Defense of Haman
Rabbi Chaim Dovid Green
In the jovial but profound spirit of Purim, here is a poem by Rabbi Lam.
Please don't be deceived
Haman was a true friend
If the point that's perceived
Is viewed from the very end
It's not what it seems
All those fated acts
The stuff of dreams
And belated facts
But if I didn't know better
I'd say it myself
In the form of a letter
In this month the twelfth
A great time was had
By young and old
'Cause of that man so bad
With a heart so cold
So he deserves a song
After all these years
And what would be wrong
If we shed a few tears
For old wicked Haman
And his triangular hat
With guitar strings a strummin'
And a baseball bat
'Cause he's "reishis" too
"Reishis goyim Amalek"
Despite his racist view
Let there be no mistake
A great service was provided
And he deserves a hand
A nation once divided
Was delivered to their land
By his wicked decree
That he aimed at us
We achieved a high degree
And a noble status
As a nation of Hashem
To Whom we all returned
But from whom did all this stem
And from where was all this learned
From a wicked guy
With a serpent's tongue
Who told the biggest lie,
And was hung from the top wrung
So he deserves a song
After all these years
And what would be wrong
If we shed a few tears
For old wicked Haman
And his triangular hat
With guitar strings a strummin'
And a baseball bat
For every exception
There is a rule
The slightest deception
Can be an act so cruel,
And who was the worst
The worst of them all
The one who was cursed,
And took the fall
So what's the big deal
And what's the crime
It was a Purim shpiel
With a message sublime
And no one got harmed
Except that man Haman
And a few got alarmed
And some heart beats were a drummin'
But a great time was had
And it churned out great fun
'Cause of that man so bad
All our hearts became one
So he deserves a song
After all these years
And what would be wrong
If we shed some heart-felt tears
For old wicked Haman
And his triangular hat
With guitar strings a strummin'
And a baseball bat!
Text Copyright © 2000 Rabbi Dovid Green and Project Genesis, Inc.
