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Community Corner

King Elvis Presley of Persia Celebrates Purim Festival

Topsy-turvy celebrations find rabbis in costume and synagogues full of rides and games.

Drenched by the torrential rain that fell last Sunday morning, Patch took a video expedition to explore Purim festivals at some of our local synagogues. The wet weather required some last minute adjustments but carnivals everywhere went on as planned.

Purim is a festive Jewish holiday centered on the biblical Book of Esther, which tells the story of how Queen Esther saved the Jews in ancient Persia. It all starts in the court of King Ahasuerus. The king asks his wife Vashti to perform a sexy dance in front of his pals. When she refuses, he exiles her and calls for a pageant from which he will choose a new queen. The lovely, Jewish Esther is chosen for the post, but her uncle Mordecai warns her not to reveal that she is a Jew.

Subsequently, Mordecai wins favor in the king’s eyes when he reveals to the sovereign a plot he overheard to assassinate him. But it riles the king’s vizier, Haman, who demands that Mordecai bow down to him. When Mordecai refuses, Haman declares that all the Jews should be killed.

Queen Esther tells the king she is a Jew and beseeches him to annul the decree, which he declines to do. But he issues another declaration allowing the Jews to arm and defend themselves, which they do with a vengeance. Haman and his sons are hanged and the king declares that Jews should celebrate and party on this day forever.

The festivals include costumes and masks because so much of the story is about what is hidden and later revealed. And the revelry celebrates what the scripture describes as things “turning upside down.” Instead of being destroyed, the Jews are saved. Haman is hanged on the gallows he built for Mordecai. The apparent absence of God, whose name is never mentioned in the story, is taken by some to show that even when the deity appears to be hidden, strings are being pulled behind the scenes, resulting in the miraculous reversals in the story.

I started my adventure at Temple Beth Hillel, where the rock ‘n’ roll themed Purim shpiel (play) was designed to entertain, educate and fundraise for all the temple’s schools. Rabbi Sarah Hronsky in go-go boots and miniskirt portrayed Queen Esther. Rabbi Josh Samuels as Elvis Presley portrayed the king. (I just got that.) Check out their performances along with the other featured players and the Adult Choir and the Cantor’s Chanters in the video.

The company performed under the musical direction of Alan Weiner, the congregation’s cantor emeritus, who opened the program by calling for cheers for the brave people of Japan, Egypt and Wisconsin before a shout out for the people of Temple Beth Hillel.

My second stop was Adat Ari El, where outdoors came indoors. A giant inflatable surfing ride, some kind of combat ring and a Velcro wall were ensconced in Russell Hall along with games of chance and a really loud band.

Alas, I arrived at Temple B’nai Hayim in Sherman Oaks too late to see the crowds who’d been there earlier or the petting zoo whose animals endured the wet patio. However, the Purim committee chair, Cindy, loaded me up with a bag of hamantaschen I’d watched the sisterhood bake earlier in the week. Stored in the freezer, they should last me a good long time.

Passover is coming up next month and so is Easter. I hope you will all be in contact about holiday-related events we should be covering in Patch (include them in our Events listings).

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