*Scroll down for music!
Never heard of Purim? It's one of the most fun Jewish holidays, but it isn't one that gets a lot of publicity. The story behind it is that Haman (the bad guy) was an advisor to the King. He wanted to kill all of the Jews. The King (quite a bit of a player honestly) was looking for a new wife. Ester went for the "tryouts" and made it, but she had to hide her Jewish identity. She braved being killed to plead with the king not to kill all the Jews. The story says that he killed Haman instead. So, on Purim when we read the story aloud, whenever Haman's name is read, everyone makes tons of noise and drowns out his name. People also dress up in costumes, since Ester had to mask her identity. It's a bunch of fun. Some people follow the tradition of drinking so much that you can't hide your true identity. That's even more fun, but not in the cards this year for us with a little one. There are often carnivals or humorous skits too. Sunday morning we attended services and events at Ohef Sholom Temple in Ghent.
"The Hebrew Hammerer"
We eat hamantashen, or triangle shaped cookies. Haman wore a three sided hat, so these pastries represent that. Jewish families often give mishloach manot, or little gift baskets to each other and gifts are given to the poor or homeless also. Lots of people will participate in a social justice event in honor of Purim also.
Today consisted of a small service with lots of audience participation and lots of NOISE. It was followed by a carnival. There were little booths with games, a bounce house, arts and crafts, and food of course... what's a holiday with no food?!
Let's play "how many tries does it take to get two kids looking and smiling in a photo?Answer... still unknown.
And of course... prizes!
As you can see, it wore us out!
