Showing posts with label Purim. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Purim. Show all posts

Thursday, March 1, 2018

A 21st C Purim Spiel?!

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Today is the happy holiday Purim!
It's also our monthly CDP Theme Day and City Daily Photo bloggers are busy interpreting the idea "play."
I'm going to try to link the two by using PLAY as a noun.


Purim Spiel is the Yiddish term for the boisterous plays, sometimes even mini-musicals, that are thought up and put on every Purim.
So Spiel, pronounced shpeel, means a play and in Europe Jews have been keeping this Purim custom for centuries.


In Meitar this afternoon the Scouts put on a whole carnival. (More about that later.)
On stage was Tooti the Superhero.
Instead of  Esther saving her people from wicked Haman, we had Tooti, a woman with super powers, saving humanity from some kind of alien invasion (or something ...).


Here's a tiny video so you can hear as well as see our modern little Purim Spiel:

Happy Purim!
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UPDATE: Here are nine life lessons we can learn from the Purim story of the Bible.
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Friday, March 10, 2017

Scouts do Purim

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It's time for the happy holiday of Purim this weekend and Meitar will have lots of activities, some put on by the town's youth movements and others by Chabad. 


The first one was today, a Middle Ages-themed carnival dreamed up by our Scouts.


Their poster promised all kinds of fun and sure enough, many kids and parents showed up.


This impressive ride was called the witch hunt.


One Scout swings the "wagon" back and forth.  
You can enlarge the photo to get the idea.


Amazing how these Scouts create things like this out of only wood, rope, and rubber. 
I would never know how to lash those elements together securely enough to hold several people. 


I didn't understand what this one was meant to be.  Oh well. 


"The knights' carousel."


And inside the courtyard of the Scouts' den there were entertainers on stage singing, bouncy castles, snacks, and drinks.  
Many kids and even some grown-ups were dressed up in Purim costumes and everyone was having a good time.
Happy Purim! 
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Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Purim on the bus to Beer Sheva

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Tomorrow the Purim holiday starts, but today school kids wore their costumes to class.


Suddenly my bus filled up with a high school boy sporting white wings, a devil with red horns, and lots of girls in very short dresses and outlandish costumes.
The Bedouin men and women sitting at the bus stop looked on in amazement and amusement.
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For information about Purim you are welcome to click on my "Purim" label.
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Sunday, March 16, 2014

Meitar Scouts do Purim

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Meitar's Scout troop put on a Purim carnival today.
This activity pictured above, Aladdin--the flying carpet, was popular.
The boy in white shorts was just being dumped onto the mat after his back and forth ride.
All the wooden framework was built by the Scouts.


There was music and dancing and activity booths all around the basketball court.


I think the Little Mermaid was for face painting.


The kids were well guarded.  Even the bearded guy had an impressive rifle.
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The other event in Meitar today was Chabad's Seudat Purim, the traditional happy meal in the afternoon.
I missed that, but hopefully I'll attend next year.
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Tomorrow is Shushan Purim, when cities that were circled by a wall in ancient days celebrate the holiday.
See the explanation at http://jerusalemhillsdailyphoto.blogspot.co.il/2009/03/gantze-megilla.html
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Happy Purim!

Saturday, March 15, 2014

What would you be for Purim?

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These days kids want to be superheroes for Purim instead of the traditional biblical heroes.
At least here in Meitar in the Negev. 
Dean (10) designed and executed his costume so he would look like Steve, a protagonist in the computer game Minecraft. 
Dean even had the sword.

Here is the computer Minecraft  Steve.
A good resemblance, no?
(Dean wore cardboard leg boxes too, but they sort of disintegrated in Friday's rain.)

See the short video or read about the interesting idea behind Minecraft at their website.
Wiki describes it as a sandbox (i.e. open world) indie game.  Huh?
Oi, I see it's going to take me a lot of research to understand what is behind my grandchildren's games and costumes.
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 (Scroll through previous posts to see how they do Purim in Jerusalem.)
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Friday, March 14, 2014

Let the fun begin

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A few days ago all the kids in Libby's kindergarten came out with a shiny red Purim hat.
Libby came straight over to my house and wanted to see how it looked in the mirror, so she climbed up on a shrafraf and was happy with the results.
I was happy to finally get a photo for James' Weekend Reflections meme.

Today (Friday) school kids went to school in their costumes, despite a brief rain.
Libby's group had a Come to Kindergarten in Your Pyjamas day.
Children have Sunday and Monday off so they can continue with Purim fun.
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Take a look also at my previous Purim posts, from Jerusalem. 

Purim sameach and Shabbat shalom!
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Monday, February 25, 2013

Shushan Purim in the city

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I went into Jerusalem today in search of Shushan Purim pictures.
Entertainers were juggling and clowning at the tram station near the Central Bus Station. 


This cute  jester was the first to make eye contact and make me smile.

 Followed by the happy bear.

The winged lady on tall stilts greeted a lovely lady from India wearing her native dress (NOT a Purim costume).


At the Youth Wing, the Israel Museum had promised a "wild street party."
My favorite was the father dressed as a Buddhist monk.


The Museum also had a little circus performance.
This little toddler was standing on one hand of  (what must have been) her father.
They did all kinds of dangerous-looking stunts.
I had to leave because the grandmother in me was too worried.


The cleaning staff put their brooms aside to look down at the acrobats.


Over in Machane Yehuda market things were lively too.
A group of  young people came snake-dancing down the shuk street, attracting others to join in as they formed a circle and and danced, singing  a spirited Jewish song.
I'm quite sure they were not religious, and it made me happy to see this holiday where secular and religious can all make merry and celebrate Purim with joy.
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(Linking to Our World Tuesday.)

Saturday, February 23, 2013

The megillah of Esther, in German!

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Be sure to enlarge this one! (you know, one click, then another)

Every year at this time, Megillat Esther is unrolled and read out in the synagogue to tell the story of Purim
Tonight and tomorrow morning in my village (just outside of Jerusalem), and Sunday evening and Monday morning in Jerusalem. 
The scroll is read in Hebrew, of course, to recount the deeds of brave Queen Esther, of her uncle Mordechai the Jew, the Persian King Ahasuerus, and the evil Haman back in the 5th century BCE.

So you can imagine how I did a double-take when I walked near the scroll pictured above at the Jerusalem International Book Fair!  -- It was in old German and lavishly illuminated! 

German art book publisher Taschen  has just published their facsimile of the Esther scroll.
It is produced from a very fine and rare example of the scroll held by the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Library in Hanover, dated 1746 and measuring 6.5 meters long (over 21 feet).
 The artist of the Hanover scroll was Wolf Leib Katz Poppers, a Jewish scribe and illustrator from Hildesheim.

From the limited edition of only 1,746 copies you can buy one from Amazon for only $744 or through Taschen for about 500 Euros.  

It comes with a commentary volume by Falk Wiesemann containing an introductory essay, the biblical text of the Book of Esther in German, Hebrew, English, and French and a fold-out sheet with an overview of all the illustrations. 

Please see a pdf of the facsimile with more description and some of the beautiful colored illuminations.

The Book of Esther is only ten short chapters and is an exciting story. 
You can read it in English next to Hebrew here.
Interestingly, it is the only book of the Bible that does not mention God. 
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Friday, February 22, 2013

Making merry in the shuk

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Purim is on Sunday, and Shushan Purim will be celebrated in Jerusalem on Monday. 


But the entire Hebrew month of Adar is meant to have extra joy in our lives.
So these religious boys came singing and dancing in the middle of the the market, Shuk Machane Yehuda, a few days ago, to everyone's delight.

For more about the holiday please see my previous Purim posts.

Shabbat shalom and chag sameach! 
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Friday, March 9, 2012

Happy Shushan Purim

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It's not every day that you see and hear religious boys being so exuberant on the city streets.

But today was Shushan Purim in Jerusalem, and these boys, some in costume, were fulfilling the mitsvah of being extra happy (and showing it) on the holiday of Purim.

They were walking along the Old City wall, in the direction of Jaffa Gate.
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Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Xerxes on an old scroll from Italy

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Fortunately there is a name with a Jewish connection for today's ABC Wednesday X-day.

Xerxes, King of Persia, is Achashverosh in Hebrew and became Ahasuerus in English Bibles.
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Enlarge the photo and see if you think that is Xerxes on the throne on the top of this beautiful old Scroll of Esther.
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The story of Purim is told in the Book of Esther.
Esther is a Jewish girl who becomes Queen to King Xerxes and through her bravery is able to thwart an attempt to slaughter all the Jews living in Persia at that time, about 2,500 years ago.

This parchment scroll was made in 1616 in Ferrara, Italy.
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"The Bible in Manuscripts and Printed Books" is a wonderful permanent exhibit that I found at Israel's National Library while I was there, at the Hebrew University, for the big book giveaway.
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Monday, March 1, 2010

Water over the dam

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When you take the bus from Jerusalem westward to my village, this is what you see from the window.
Click to enlarge this March 2008 photo and some blue will appear at the center.
That is water in the reservoir near Beit Zayit


The large reservoir is dry in the summer and dry in some winters too.

But the phenomenon which happened over the last few days is something the old-time residents here have not witnessed for many many years.
It rained so hard in the Jerusalem Hills from Thursday to Sunday that the water started flowing over the dam!
It flowed through the dry watercourse of Nahal Soreq like a mighty stream.

From up on the western side of our hilltop moshav I could actually hear the rush of the water and even see part of the river down in the valley. This was a first for me. An exciting first!
It even made the TV evening news.

For four straight days we had torrential rains, thunder and lightning, and even hailstorms.
The Jerusalem Hills got several times more than any other part of Israel, well over 200 mm (more than 8 inches).
This is equal to one third of the normal rainfall for an entire winter!

The reservoir collected rain as well as water from Motza Spring, Halilim Spring, Nahal Halilim, and other streams that fill up with winter rains.
The water captured in the reservoir will help to recharge the thirsty aquifer.
But the rains of last week came down too fast and furious with no time to percolate and mostly they became run-off.

The water over the dam made its way through Nahal Soreq clear across the country, discharging into the Mediterranean Sea at Palmahim.

On a personal note, for a few hours it rained so hard that for a short time part of my yard became a pool. My poor little house must have been sitting in it because water started to trickle in from between the ceramic tiles at the base of the kitchen wall.
The owner said that in all the house's 60 years standing, that had never happened.

I fought bravely to stem the tide on the kitchen floor, but I never want to do that again.
It is very unsettling.
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Thanks for listening. Here is a gift for you. The traditional mishloach manot, the food goodies that you give to friends on Purim.
Today Jerusalem celebrated the holiday of Shushan Purim.
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Happy Purim to all who come for this edition of That's My World Tuesday!
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Saturday, March 14, 2009

Omar Khayyam's Rubaiyat--in Jerusalem!

Exactly during the week of Purim (whose story takes place in the Persian Empire) we in Israel were treated to some [this time] good news items about our current Iranian connection.
First, the opening of a 24/7 radio station in the Persian language. Amir Shai, the station's manager, said, "The Persian radio is composed of Israelis like us that speak the language and would like to preserve our heritage, and give PR to the outside world, beyond Israel."
Their Ynet article about it is here, and the Radis IN website is here.

AND the Israel Antiquities Authority announced the discovery in Jerusalem of a rare inscription on 12th or 13th century pottery: part of Omar Khayyam's Rubaiyat!
The whole story from the IAA website is copied below.

Finally, thanks to all of you who wrote good comments on my posts of March 3rd and 4th about gas masks and the first Gulf War. You may have missed the comments which came in later. I urge you to read the contribution by Meead, an Iranian blogger, who tells of his memories as a young boy in the 1980-88 Iraq-Iran war. Please click here for his story.
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UPDATE! -- Meead has just posted his own translation of the love poem written on the old jug. It is much better than the one below. He also shows us pages of art and calligraphy in his own sumptuous copy of the Rubaiyat. Don't miss it at his Portland Daily Photo blog!
Photo by Clara Amit
A press release from the Press Office of the Israel Antiquities Authority:
A Persian Love Poem (9/3/2009)

A jug inscribed with a Persian love poem was discovered in excavations of the Israel Antiquities Authority in the Old City of Jerusalem

A fragment of a pottery vessel of Persian provenance that dates to the Middle Ages (12th-13th centuries CE) was discovered in an archaeological excavation directed by Dr. Rina Avner, on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, in the Old City of Jerusalem, prior to construction by a private contractor.
The fragment is treated with a turquoise glaze and is adorned with floral patterns and a black inscription. While studying the artifact prior to publication, Rivka Cohen-Amin of the Israel Antiquities Authority discerned that the inscription on the neck of the vessel is written in Persian. The inscription consists of a line that was taken from a quatrain. The inscription, which was translated by Dr. Julia Rabanovich of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, reads: “Was once the embrace of a lover that entreat”.
The inscription will be published by Dr. Nitsan Amitai-Preiss of the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, within the framework of the final excavation report.
According to Rivka Cohen-Amin the words are from the Rubaiyat, by the poet Omar Khayyam. Omar Khayyam was an astronomer, mathematician and one of the most famous Persian poets of the Middle Ages (11th-12th centuries CE).
The following is the complete translation of the poem:
Rubaiyat, by Omar Khayyam
این کوزه چو من عاشق زاری بوده است
This clay pot like a lover once in heat
در بند سر زلف نگاری بوده‌ست
A lock of hair his senses did defeat
ایندسته که بر گردن او می‌بینی
The handle that has made the bottleneck its own seat

دستی‌ست که برگردن یاری بوده‌ست
Was once the embrace of a lover that entreat

The phenomenon of a Persian pottery vessel inscribed with a poem is known elsewhere in the world; however, this is the first occurrence of such a vessel in Israel.
The question of how the vessel came to be in Jerusalem is a mystery – was it brought here by merchants or could it possibly have been a gift someone presented to his Jerusalemite lover?

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

The gantze megilla

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Yesterday was Purim for most of the Jews in Israel and the world.
Today is Jerusalem's turn to celebrate Purim.
Today is also when the Jewish community in Shushan, Iran marks the holiday.
Why? Well, it's a long story. If you really want to know, please see below.

I looked around for Purim costumes but then didn't have the nerve to photograph anyone from the front.
 All the ultra-Orthodox men were out in their finest clothes today, including the round fur streimel hat. The little boy made a good fireman.


The girl with halo and wings . . . a black angel?

This old character in the shuk reminded me of a Viking warrior.

OK, the answer (from Wikipedia, based on Chabad):
Shushan Purim (the 15th day of Adar) is the day on which Jews in Jerusalem and Shushan (in Iran) celebrate Purim. 
The Book of Esther explains that while the Jews in unwalled cities fought their enemies on the 13th of Adar and rested on the 14th, the Jews in the walled capital city of Shushan spent the 13th and 14th defeating their enemies, and rested on the 15th (Esther 9:20-22).

Although Mordecai and Esther decreed that only walled cities should celebrate Purim on the 15th, in commemoration of the battle in the walled city of Shushan, the Jewish sages noted that Jerusalem, the focus of Jewish life, lay in ruins during the events of the Book of Esther. 

To make sure that a Persian city was not honored more than Jerusalem, they made the determination of which cities were walled by referring to ancient cities walled during the time of Joshua. 
This allowed Jerusalem to be included on the basis of that criteria; paradoxically, they included Shushan as the exceptional case since the miracle occurred there, even though it did not have a wall in Joshua's time.

The Megillah is also read on the 15th in a number of other cities in Israel—such as Jaffa, Acre, Safed, Tiberias and Hebron—but only as a custom based on a doubt over whether these cities were walled or sufficiently walled during the time of Joshua. 

These cities therefore celebrate Purim on the 14th, and the additional Megillah reading on the 15th is a stringency. Jews in these cities do not recite the blessings over the reading of the Megillah on the 15th. 
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Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Haman harasha

H is today's letter over at ABC Wednesday and today and tomorrow is Purim in Israel, so . . .
H is for Haman. Boo, hiss!

(To enjoy the detail, please click on the image. )
"An adversary and an enemy, even this wicked Haman"

On Purim we celebrate the deliverance of the Jews of the Persian Empire from a total massacre more than 2,000 years ago. It's named for the lots (pur-im) cast by Haman, the King's vizier, to determine the date on which the Jews were to be killed in the capital city of Shushan.
Esther and Mordechai are the heroes of the story. You can open your Bible or your browser and read the fascinating Book of Esther in your own language. (It's only 7 pages!)
Yesterday was the Fast of Esther, but today we feast and drink wine, send gift baskets of food to friends, have costume parties and parades, and give lots of charity to the needy. The scroll of Esther is chanted in the synagogue; every time Haman's name is heard, all the kids and adults stamp their feet, whistle, pound the table, or spin noisemakers.
Happy Purim!

Sunday, March 23, 2008

My sunshine and light

Today is still Purim! Because Jerusalem and certain other walled cities celebrate the holiday two days (instead of one), and because this year the 14th of Adar Bet fell on a Friday, and because Friday is followed by Shabbat, Jerusalem celebrated Shushan Purim today, Sunday. A rare 3-day Purim.
In this received photo my Number One Grandson dresses up in costume. (In truth, he sports it not only on Purim.) As my daughter wrote in her blog, from Australia, "What boy doesn't dream of having Spiderman as a big brother?"

Friday, March 21, 2008

Purim

Missed my midnight blogging deadline last night because . . . I was at a Purim party! Almost all of the some 60 or 70 invited adults came dressed in highly original costumes, even me. 
Lots of dancing, mostly to reggae music. The young man confined to a wheelchair rolled into the circle and danced with his upper body, spinning the wheelchair around and around. 
Food and drink was available, but it seemed secondary to the general merriment. 
Then we sat down for a rather unorthodox reading of the Megillah, the scroll of Esther, complete with funny skits. Just like in Esther 8:16, "The Jews had light and gladness and joy and honor."
The custom of masquerading on the feast of Purim is an allusion to the fact that the miraculous salvation of the Jews of Persia some 2366 years ago is disguised in the garments of natural causes, luck, and coincidence. God's hand is hidden; his name is not mentioned even once in the Scroll of Esther.
The verses that speak to me most are Esther 4:14 and 4:16. Mordechai tries to convince Esther to risk her life to save her people and says, "And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for just such a time as this?" Esther decides "Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law; and if I perish, I perish." 

Chag Purim sameach -- happy Purim! 
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