Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By richards on February 28, 2015

Published: Saturday, 2/28/2015 - Updated: 6 hours ago

BY TK BARGER BLADE RELIGION EDITOR

Purim is party time.

It's a Jewish holiday, from sunset Wednesday to sunset Thursday this year, but it's a minor holiday because it isn't mentioned in the Torah.

Minor doesn't mean it isn't celebrated in a major way, though.

There's actually some saying from the Talmud, that one should drink until you can't tell the difference between Mordecai and Haman, said Amanda Winter, the cantor at Temple Shomer Emunim, referencing the telling of the story of Esther, one of the scrolls in the Hebrew Bible.

Mordecai, Esther's cousin and adoptive father, is the good guy and Haman, the king's chief advisor, is the villain in the Esther scripture.

There isn't much drinking at the Temple, Cantor Winter said, but if you were to go to Israel, it's like Halloween for adults. It's a huge party, lots of drinking, especially among the religious ones.

Instead of too much alcohol, there will be another kind of play at both the Temple and Congregation B'nai Israel the Purimspiel, a way to tell the story of Esther in a different and silly manner each year, rather than reading the whole megillah, the complete book of Esther.

You're telling the same story every year, said Meira Zucker, who with her daughter Deena wrote the Purimspiel to be staged at B'nai Israel, The Sound of Shushan with Rodgers and Hammerspiel, set as a Broadway show and using tunes from The Sound of Music. It will play Wendesday at 6:30 p.m. at B'nai Israel, 6525 Sylvania Ave., Sylvania.

See the rest here:

Purim: 'Minor' Jewish holiday is fun

Category: Talmud
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