I just returned from the happiest place on earth. From Walt Disney World. And it seems important to try to gain some perspective on that while marking Adar 11, the month that Purim falls in, the month when we say, “Be happy; it’s Adar.” We all love good fairy tales—and both the Book of Esther and the usual Disney fare are precisely that.

What is it about Disney that makes the magic work for me? Does it always? Disney frequently gets slammed for being anti-semetic (see recent article in the Chicago Jewish News, http://chicagojewishnews.com/2014/01/22/was-walt-disney-anti-semitic/) But after reading the article I am not sure whether he was or wasn’t. Disney also gets slammed for painting a picture of “prince to the rescue, live happily ever after.”  It doesn’t fit for some feminist agendas.

And maybe that is why the Princess Half Marathon drew me in so excitedly. Here was a chance to live out my fantasy of being a princess (I don’t fit the Disney or Barbie specs), wear a tutu and be strong and smart.

Maybe because at Disney it seems that wishes, that dreams can always come true. The fireworks at the Magic Kingdom stress that message, whatever your dreams are. It is inspirational, aspirational. I stood there wishing on a star to finish rabbinical school. I did that. I finished rabbinical school. Surely if I could accomplish that I could return to running. “Any wish is possible. All it takes is a little courage to set it free.”

This youtube clip is 11 minutes long, but it is so beautiful and so powerful. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRIzFNeEMqs    I love how they string all the lyrics about wishes and dreams from all of the Disney movies together. It makes you believe. It is what I would call Disney spirituality.

When you look closely at the Disney princesses, they each possess their own characteristics:

• Belle likes to read (she is probably still my favorite even if I don’t think I look good in yellow!). She teaches about the importance of reading to the Beast and she doesn’t just want to be wife to Gaston and mother to his children.
• Jasmine isn’t willing to settle for whomever her father presents in marriage. And Aladdin, perhaps the most Jewish of all the characters shows compassion in the market place to someone who has even less bread than he.
• Pocahontas is strong and understands the role that nature plays.
• Ariel, the Little Mermaid, wants to be “part of this world,” and is willing to defy her father to follow love. She learns how to communicate without a voice.
• Elsa and Anna, in Disney’s newest, Frozen, work together eventually and become best of friends as sisters.

Did I finish the race? No. But there are other races that can be run.  Am I at a perfect weight? No. But healthier than I have been and stronger too.  Am I as nice as I would like to be all of the time—cue “Human Again” from Beauty and the Beast. No. But I begin to understand the internal voice that drives that.

I have had lots of wishes and lots of dreams and lots of goals. I did not leave Orlando setting the next goal. I am excited about my upcoming fellowships, with American Jewish World Service and with Renewed Jewish Leaders. I still want to climb Mount Katahdin.

I struggled a bit with my costume for this race. I wanted to wear a tutu, seemed like fun. I wanted it to be hot pink, fits with the Energizer Rabbi motif. But I felt I was too old to be a princess and I really wanted to be the Fairy Godmother (or Fairy Grandmonster, a long story, but because I make magic happen).

What I discovered somewhere along the way is that I am my own person. Somewhere along the way I became a queen. That is part of what the holiday of Purim is about. The action in the Purim story changes in Chapter Four. Mordechai begs, “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape.  For if you remain silent and keep you peace at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”

Esther agrees. Esther becomes the empowered queen, not the princess waiting for someone else to rescue her. A queen is beautiful, compassionate, strong, able to make her own decisions. With just a little glitter thrown in. But the sparkle doesn’t have to be glitter that washes off. It needs to be deeper. Sparkle in your eyes, in your conversation, in your spirit. That’s what I take away from this trip, the desire to live with sparkle, with enthusiasm, with grace, with love. The desire to pretend and then to go back to being me.

Be happy, it is Adar. A month full of changing weather, maybe spring will come! A month of renewed love and renewed commitment. Of new dreams and new wishes. A month of fun, and make believe and pretend. But more importantly, a month of finding our voices and standing up for what we believe in, like some of the Disney princesses and like Esther.

PS: This post would not be complete without thank yous–To Sarah, my daughter, my princess and my running partner who pushed me to get there, in a good way. To Simon who came along for the ride and wanted to be the perfect cheer squad. Not sure how he found me at Mile 8 and to all those who contributed to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. You took your obligation to speak out and to give from the heart seriously. http://pages.teamintraining.org/vtnt/dipihalf14/mfrischklein#home Together, we raised $5400 and saved lives. That is more important than finishing the race. We saved lives, just like Esther.