Purim

[cellio]

Purim sameach (happy Purim)!

I went to my congregation's megillah reading tonight. I haven't been there in several years; the last time it was a real zoo (not in the good way), but that was also one change of rabbis ago, so I went. It was fun, though the kids were a little too wild (no surprise there).

There were a lot more people than I expected -- probably 300, maybe more. They had made a special booklet (siddur and songs; I don't think megillah text), but they ran out before I got there. I'm fluent with a siddur, so I didn't have problems with the service part (just using the regular weekday book), and anyway they made that as brief as they could.

There were a lot more people -- including a lot more adults -- in costume, or at least silly hats, than I expected. Last time most of the costumes were on kids, to the point where I would have felt self-conscious. Tonight that would have been fine, though. Before next year I would like to acquire a large silly hat, though I don't know what (or where one shops for large silly hats).

The associate rabbi was a hoot. He showed up in black suit, long white beard, full talit, black hat... and you have to understand that he can't be much more than about 35, so this was funny.

There were four readers for the megillah, trading off. They read mostly in English but started by chanting the opening paragraphs in the special megillah trope (well, I assume that's what it was, since I'd never heard that before), and they read some key passages in Hebrew along with the English. Most of the readers were doing over-the-top dramatic readings, which worked well. There were some bits of adult humor that I appreciated and that would have sailed right over the kids, so this was not geared just toward them.

During the megillah reading one is supposed to make noise when Haman's name is mentioned (to blot it out). Kids are really great at noise; they're not so great at stopping, and don't seem to grok that they'll get better impact if it's not one continuous din. The last time I went that was really horrid (and was the reason I didn't go back for a while); this time the rabbis were making large "cut" gestures to try to cut it off, a trick I saw work well at another congregation and had shared. Our leaders were not as successful with it, but it was way better than it had been. They'll have to work on the parents (some of whom were doing nothing to guide their kids in this).

Nobody local who I know (or, at least, who would invite me) does a big day-of-Purim feast like osewalrus and his friends do, but I'll try to have a nice lunch tomorrow. :-) In two years Purim will again be on a Sunday, and I'd like to see if I can find critical mass in my congregation for a party. (Last year it was on a Sunday and I cooked an SCA event for it. That was fun too.)

Comments

[ichur72.livejournal.com]

Another trick I've seen for cutting off the noise: using a big colored light that can switch on and off. When the light's on, everyone can make noise. When it's off, time for quiet.

[cellio]

I like that! Thanks.

[dagonell.livejournal.com]

Define "large silly hat" and I'll see what I can do.
-- Dagonell

[dvarin.livejournal.com]

Carmen Miranda.

[cellio]

Or Cat in the Hat, or big wizard-style hats with brims, or jester hats, or...

The Department of Silly Hats

[brokengoose.livejournal.com]

In the past, I've had good luck with Village Hat Shop (http://www.villagehatshop.com/novelty_historical_hats.html) for all my silly hat needs.

Re: The Department of Silly Hats

[cellio]

Oh, wow -- thanks! Yeah, that's the kind of stuff I meant. :-)

[530nm330hz.livejournal.com]

We have someone standing on the bimah with a giant sign that's green on one side and red on the other. Low-tech, but it works!

It also helps that our Rabbi reminds everyone before we start that the mitzvah is to hear every word of the megillah, and that the ba'al k'riyah waits for quiet before continuing.

Someone at our shul had a tuba last night. :-)

[cellio]

Thanks for the sign suggestion. I think the problem in my congregation is not so much visibility of the signal but willingness to abide by it; the reminder about the mitzvah would be a useful aid toward that.

[jerusha.livejournal.com]

Completely without experience (so take this for what it's worth):

Maybe rehearse the kids beforehand (I mean just someone explaining to them the "When you hear this name make noise; when I give $signal, stop" process), including practicing/praising the cutoff. Make it a game: "Let's make it all-of-a-sudden! Loud! Ssh! Loud! Ssh! Can you do it faster than that? I bet you can! Loud! And.... Ssh!"

[cellio]

That's a great idea; thanks! I perceived the big problem to be cooperation (rather than visibility of the signal), and this would help with that. Making it a game sounds like just what the kids need (says this non-parent).

[byronhaverford.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm so jealous! We had to miss both my synagogue's Purim party and my sister's Purim party this year, because we're away in Wyoming. It's a low-key Purim for us -- telling the kids the story of Esther and promising them that they can wear garb to shul next year.

The kids still talk about last year's Purim event! Whenever they run into cayeux, they call out, "It's the Esther Bunny!"

[multislackerkim.livejournal.com]

So is Purim the reason I saw "10 plagues finger puppets" in Bed, Bath, and Beyond yesterday? Does that mean they'll be on sale soon? I could barely resist them at $15, but it would help if they were on clearance (especially since I don't, um, technically know the story behind them).

[cellio]

The finger puppets go with Pesach, which is a month later than Purim. Since, most years, Pesach and Easter are within a few days of each other, I'm guessing that the folks in charge of stock think of Pesach stuff as going with the Easter stuff. Whether this means they'll be discounted next week I can't say. :-)

(especially since I don't, um, technically know the story behind them).

The puppets are presumably to liven up a Pesach seder, especially if there are kids. I'm told they're pretty popular. (Pesach = story of exodus from Egypt.) Purim is the holiday around the book of Esther.

[(Anonymous)]

Hopefully this only posts once -- it didn't seem to be responding through my email.

I'll have to google Ester. I'm pretty far out of the religion loop at this point (opting for the far more disorganized religion of Kimism). But I can imagine the puppets are popular. I mean, who *wouldn't* want blood, boils, lice, and locust finger puppets? (And they're certainly effective as a learning tool -- I've seen the things once and could probably come darn close to naming all ten. Okay, I just tried it, and I came up with ten, but I'm a little unsure of the crazy cow plague. I got the rest, though.)

[cellio]

The Esther story is a lot of fun. I started to write an outline of the story here, but a lot of what makes it fun is the stuff that really doesn't summarize well. It probably won't take you more than half an hour to read, and I recommend it.

I mean, who *wouldn't* want blood, boils, lice, and locust finger puppets?

And frogs! I'll bet the frogs are fun!

How do they represent the death of the first-born -- a little death guy with scythe or something?

[multislackerkim.livejournal.com]

The first born is just a guy who appears to be sleeping. Definitely one of the more boring of the 10 as far as finger puppets are concerned.

http://www.judaism.com/gif-bk/56902a.gif

Purim noise

[(Anonymous)]

I'm glad you had a good Purim. I had a great Purim--will post it soon. Only thing was that everyone used their groggers for "Esther" and "Mordechai" as well, because they didn't seem to catch the difference between groggering and hooraying.