Annie & Eric

Heidi - Purim is tomorrow (the 3rd), so you may not have missed it!! Our synagogue is having its celebrations on Sunday... you could even just celebrate at home with some cookies and a drink or two Happy Purim!

Elizabeth - what an amazing coincidence!!! (of course, there are no coincidences, right??!) I had heard that the Purim megillah (as the Torah scroll holding the entire Book of the Bible is called -- hence the phrase "the whole megillah"!) did not contain the name of God. I love the idea that it's because God works in mysterious ways. And of course He does! The story is more obviously about how important it is to maintain your identity, even when you are faced with annihilation. It has also been interpreted as a lesson for modern Jews to keep their Jewish identity when faced with assimilation. Esther had already been accepted into Ahasueres' court and could easily have "passed" as a non-Jew. But Mordechai convinced her that she should remember and protect her heritage and family, even if it meant that she could have been put to death for letting the King know that she was Jewish. The importance of honoring our heritage and family is an important lesson to learn for all families -- and particularly for multi-cultural families, as well! Sorry about not posting the links correctly! I still can't exactly figure out how to post them. Here are the websites (you can paste them into your web browser): www.jewfaq.org/holiday9.htm http://www.holidays.net/purim/

Happy Purim everyone!! Here's a description of the history and traditions of Purim ; Here is another Purim link Purim is the funnest Jewish celebration! Traditionally the entire Book of Esther is read and acted out by enthusiastic (and cross-dressing) congregants and kids (and in our case - our Rabbi, who looks wonderful in a dress!). People make noises (using old-fashioned groggers or just booing) whenever the name "Haman" (the bad guy in the story) is read. Afterwards our synagogue has carnival games. The traditional food is hamentaschen ("Haman's hats" - triangular cookies with apricot or fig or chocolate filling). Adults are supposed to drink so much you can't tell the difference between the bad guy (Haman) and the good guy (Mordechai)! Is anyone else going to celebrate Purim this year?

Wonderful movie, Elizabeth! Especially during the holidays...