Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on April 11, 2012 by Lauren Schuchart
This was originally posted on my blog:
What is there to say about the Jewish holiday of Purim?
Purim is a joyful, happy, and silly holiday which recounts the saving of the Jews from an impending massacre in the Persian period. In the story of Purim, we see a turnaround of fate, a reversal in fortune. And so, today when we commemorate this day, everything is meant to be reversed, upside-down, topsy-turvy…
How does this manifest itself? Lots of food, heavy drinking, and debauchery (hey, sounds like a Saturday night at Penn State!). Things that might be considered taboo on other days are the norm on Purim, including dressing up in costumes.
The first part of Purim was spent at my school, where we had a megillah-reading (reading the Book of Esther). After a few drinks, it was time for the silent auction and the Purim Shpiel, a comedy/variety show where people perform skits, roast others, and generally act like fools.In the course of the night, I downed a substantial amount of cheap beer and vodka-soaked gummy bears, bid 450 shekels in the Pardes auction to watch The Princess Bride with the dean of my school, and told multiple teachers that they were “like, the best teacher in the world, ever.”
So yea, I’d say it was a good night.
Here are some pictures from Purim festivities…
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| Roomie and me!! A dirty Jerusalem cat and a nerd that slightly resembles Harry Potter. |
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| Reading the Megillah (the scroll that we read during Purim). |
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| Nikki and Amir host the Purim Shpiel. |
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| A bunch of Pardes boys dressed up like girls. If this looks weird to you, it’s because it was. Really weird. |
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| Kyle and I performing during the Purim Shpiel. We had a great time, and got at least 3 laughs. Success! |
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| Cooking up some delicious mishloach manot (gifts). It’s customary to make treats to give to friends for Purim. |
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| Ran into Cousin/Prophet Dan at a Purim Party in the Old City! Mom-mom and Aunt Adele… this one’s for you. |
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| The day after Purim, my friends hosted a brunch at their house. Mimosas? Don’t mind if I do! |
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| Laura, Ben, and Deb at brunch |
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| Laura, our hostess, posing with some of the food she made! |
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| Hamentaschen, a Purim treat! |
