Purim celebrations in NYC

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).

concealer