Purim (pronounced POOO-rim, not PURE-im) is Thursday, March 20, 2008, and is often called ';the Halloween of Judaism';, but it%26#39;s actually got nothing to do with honoring the dead.
It%26#39;s the annual public reading of the Story of Esther, (aka The Megilla of Esther) and how she, a Jewish-Iranian girl, infiltrated the palace and thwarted the King of Persia%26#39;s plan to anhialate all the Jews. There%26#39;s more to the story, but that%26#39;s the basic plot.
People, expecially kids, are encouraged to dress up in costumes of the story%26#39;s characters (cross-dressing is not uncommon) or anyone else, get drunk, eat candy and give sweet gifts to strangers and neighbors. The traditional sweet is a triangluar fruit-filled cookie called a ';hamentaschen.';
Some synagogues have costume parades for the kids, and then act out the story in a wacky ';purim-shpiel'; (rhymes with ';peel';). A few dance clubs are having all-out costume (fancy dress) parties. If you go to a purim-shpiel at a synagogue, don%26#39;t forget to make a donation.
Here are some lists. Many events for kids are this Sunday, March 16:
鈥bout.com/od/holidays/a/purim-queens-ny.htm
www.thejewishmuseum.org/site/pages/event.php鈥?/a>
www.jcm.museum/page.asp?dept=2020%26Article=286
www.jccmanhattan.org/category.aspx鈥?/a>
For grown ups:
theatermania.com/content/show.cfm/show/141746
www.playbill.com/news/article/115574.html
(This Monday, March 17, on Broadway, starring Jackie Hoffman.)
http://www.circle.org/calendar.shtml#ny (for lefties and revolutionaries)
http://www.hias.org/newsletter/Qesther.html
http://tinyurl.com/28wxkh (Maritime Hotel)
www.bangitout.com/events/viewev.php?a=612
dorchadash.ujcweb.org/page.html鈥?/a>
www.jccmanhattan.org/category.aspx鈥?/a>
http://www.mjepurimparty.com/
Purim celebrations in NYC
I%26#39;ve always pronounced it PURR-im!
Purim celebrations in NYC
Well, I%26#39;ll never forget the time I went to a St. Pat%26#39;s fundraiser, and one of the emcees said something like, ';let%26#39;s not forget our Jewish brothers and sisters and their holiday of purity, Pyoorim.';
Oy gevalt!
These amazing lyrics below were written by a Rabbi for the Purim Shpeil...as a member of the goyim, I take no offense ;-)
Sung to the tune of West Side Story a la ';the Book of Esther';
The Jew%26#39;s Song
When you%26#39;re a Jew, you%26#39;re a Jew all the way
From your first Bar%26#39;chu to your final oy vey
When you%26#39;re a Jew, you got bagels and lox
There are cheeseburgers, too, if you%26#39;re NON-Orthodox.
We never shut up; to kevetch is our vocation
We%26#39;re happiest when we%26#39;re voicing our frustration , in conversation!
If you%26#39;re a putz with a capital P
You are STILL one of us, that is our guarantee
When you%26#39;re a Jew, you stay a Jew!
When you%26#39;re a Jew you are chosen for life
You%26#39;re a nebbishy guy with a dominant wife
When you%26#39;re a Jew there%26#39;s tradition and lore
From the thing that gets cut to that box on the door!
The Jews are a tribe, a righteous congregation
So goyim take care, don%26#39;t offer us salvation !
LTT - I%26#39;m dying here, my workmates are asking what is so funny?
So, I sang the song to them - now they%26#39;re looking at me like I need a ride to the ';bin'; wondering why I found it so funny.
It just got me to laughing, thanks for sharing.
Poppa
QB--have to correct you. Purim starts Thursday March 20 AFTER Sundown. Its%26#39; main celebration is Friday. This year, because Friday night is also the Sabbath some of the usual things you see will be curtailed as people get ready for the Sabbath. (Usually if you go to an Orthodox neighborhood you can see adults, as well as children in costume)
QB :nice synopsis, but I believe she was married to the
king so ';infiltrating'; the palace seems somewhat
sinister. She had some conflicts with another wife of the king.
This wife in a somewhat Shakespearean manner formed
an alliance with Hamin who as secretary of state planned
the pogrom of all pogroms rather than the king. And,
that is why Sondheim could do this for Broadway. When
Esther informs the king of the perfidity in his court
he calls off the pogrom. Then we have the oppurtunity for a very poignant duet followed by a production number that
would put 76 Trombones to shame, not to mention
the hanging of Hamin to the tune of a Magreggor(which
is a part of all Purim celebrations).
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