A Word from Rabbi Schulman - 2/27/15
Is it a crime that there will not be a Purim Carnival this year at Temple Beth Torah? Are we depriving youngsters of the opportunity to throw bean bags through cut-outs of clown faces? Are we snatching out of their eager hands the tchotchke prizes that are exchanged for their winning tickets?
There is not going to be a Purim Carnival at Temple for one excellent reason: because this Sunday we are instead having a Purim Festival. In a brilliant move of re-branding engineered by Rabbi Eve, Purim will be coming to Temple Beth Torah bigger and better than ever. In place of a carnival that appealed only to young children, our Purim Festival is going to be great fun for people of all ages.
Certainly there will be games, face painting, and a bouncy castle for the little ones. But it’s very cool that there will be a Bike Rodeo for younger as well as older kids sponsored by Bike East Bay. Speaking of bicycles, everyone is welcome to bring a bike on Sunday and learn how to do simple repairs like changing a flat tire with instruction provided by Bike Mobile.
At our Purim Festival, there will be special activities for adults including wine tasting and a putting contest (In the spirit of Purim, I think it should be mandatory that contestants first imbibe before putting). There also will be a 50/50 raffle – based on the simple premise that the winner of the raffle gets half the pot and Temple the other half.
Add in costumes, music, and food and our Purim Festival promises to be a great time for all. But as the commercials say, “but that’s not all!” For the celebration of Purim continues with our Megillah reading on Wednesday night, March 4 beginning at 7:30pm. Mark Levy will be on hand to electrify our proceedings.
Members of TBT will be offering parodies of portions of the Megillah. On tap for this year we have Michelle Eisenbruck, Michael Strauss, Ted Bresler, Dora Sheade, Noah Farasat, and Edith Caplan. The final portion will be offered by a Temple couple who prefer to be known for the moment as Tommy and Sally. Given the double life they live, it’s probably better to protect their real identities. Come Wednesday night and the mystery shall be revealed.
Chag Purim Sameach! Have a happy Purim!