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Subject: 
Re: Purimish fun
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.people, lugnet.off-topic.fun
Date: 
Fri, 24 Mar 2000 14:18:57 GMT
Viewed: 
21 times
  
Shiri Dori <shirid@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:FrwrCw.7H2@lugnet.com...
Hi Sheree,

Sounds like you had a great Purim! I feel like sharing a bit of Israeli • Purim
tradition with you... so I'll tell a bit of my side of Purim.

In lugnet.people, Sheree Rosenkrantz writes:
It does have that  aspect to it with the costumes and all.  The book of
Esther is the story of Purim. It centers on the plot of Haman, prime
minister of King Ahasueros of Persia to massacre the Jews of the country.
Haman's plan failed because of Mordecai and his cousin (niece?)

Yep, niece.

[...]
People bake and eat Hamantaschen,  equilateral
triangle shaped pastries filled with fruit, cheese or poppy seed.

Don't forgot chocolate and peanut butter! (icky, sticky! ;-)

I have been know to make some filled with chocolate chips, others with pecan
pie filling and still others with marzipan/almond paste and slivered
almonds.  yum...

The
triangular shape is said to be because of the type of hat worn by Haman • or
to be "ears" of Haman because it was once the practice to to cut off the
ears of criminals before hanging them.

In hebrew we call them "Oznei Haman" which literally means "Haman's ears".

We are joyful and thankful because
a day of doom was turned into a day of gladness.

Also, the name "Purim" originates from the fact that Haman had thrown
a "raffle" and randomly chose a date to kill the Jews, it fell on the 15th • of
Adar (hebrew month) on which the holiday is now celebrated.
"Pur" in older hebrew means a lottery type of thing - a raffle of some • sort.
Purim is just the plural form of pur.

It is tradition to send gifts of food to friends and to give to the poor.

In Israel this tradition has mutated into "swap mishlohei manot full of • candy
and Hamantaschen with other kids in class". The teacher (usually) throws a
raffle of some sort and the kids each get someone else's candy.

This is done at my younger daughter's school too.


[...]
Purim is a minor Jewish holiday.

Well... minor in religious aspects, but not social ;-)
In Israel it is one of the favored holidays, especially by children. Even • many
secular believers celebrate the holiday, because it's so much fun... :-)

Agreed, children and adults really enjoy this holiday to the max here too.

Compared to many american Jews, I'm pretty secular myself. I don't go to
synagoge (not anymore), even on holidays. I do celebrate the holidays and • I
fast on Yom Kippur. I believe in god, in my own way - not exactly like the
rabbis interpret the bible, that's for sure.

Belonging to a synagogue, at least in NC is one of the main ways to be able
to maintain and develop a Jewish idenity.  This becomes very clear once
children arrive.  It is easy to be overwhelmed by outside influences if one
is isolated from a community of like minded individuals.  The synagogue
really is as much a house of study and socializing as well as a "house of
worship".  As far as observance goes, that is an idividual matter and we all
find different aspects meaningful at different points in our lives.  There
is an ebb and flow in life and we all evolve differently.  Rabbis all have
different interpretations of text, and etc.  Reinterpretation keeps us
thinking and alive.   Only the actual Scrolls the actual letters themselves
are beyond change.  (??????)


My community also holds a carnival the Sunday after Purim where the • children
(& adults) can wear their costumes yet one more time and celebrate • together.
The children go to different booths and play games to win little prizes • and
have  fun.  More hamentashen...

Yeah! This is one of the best parts of the holiday, our scouts group in • Israel
(*very* different type of scouts than american :-) always holds these,
called "Purimon"s. Each scouts group runs one booth...
Thanks for reminding me this! Suddenly sweet fourt-grade memories are • coming
back to me... back when my sister was my scouts counselor, now that was • fun ;-)

This is a very simplified explanation and
I've left bunches out but I hope this makes it a little clearer...

I think it did, I probably just made it more complicated ;-)

-Shiri

No, you are as helpful as always...
sheree



Message is in Reply To:
  Re: Purimish fun
 
Hi Sheree, Sounds like you had a great Purim! I feel like sharing a bit of Israeli Purim tradition with you... so I'll tell a bit of my side of Purim. (...) Yep, niece. [...] (...) Don't forgot chocolate and peanut butter! (icky, sticky! ;-) (...) (...) (25 years ago, 24-Mar-00, to lugnet.people, lugnet.off-topic.fun)

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