Chag Purim Sameach!

In other words.... Happy Purim holiday! We celebrated Purim today, which commemorates the deliverance of the Jews from the plot of Haman in the book of Esther.  Because Jerusalem is a "walled" city, we celebrate a day later than other cities in Jerusalem that don't have walls (based on an interpretation from Esther).  In many ways, Purim is the Jewish "Halloween" (minus the candy and scary stuff) because everyone dresses up in crazy costumes to signify how God was "hidden" throughout the events of the book.  We, unfortunately, did not end up dressing up, mostly because our very limited wardrobe doesn't include anything remotely like a crazy costume (the price we pay for bringing two suitcases for two years).  We did, however, put Charis in a green dress and claimed she was a leprechaun. :)

At sundown, everyone gathers in the synagogue, and the Megilla (text of Esther) is read/sung aloud.  It is incredibly laid back and family-friendly as everyone is dressed up in wild garb and kids are running around.  Everyone brings noisemakers, as well, cheering when Mordecai's name is read and booing when Haman's name is read (see video below). Although the Hebrew flew by us too quickly for us to follow the story, we could recognize the names and participated in the noisemaking. After synagogue, a huge party ensues; the goal of most is to get "so drunk that you cannot tell the difference between the name Haman and the name Mordecai." Needless to say, we headed home to put Charis down, but I'm sure it will be quite the festive evening.

And now a few pictures...

On our way to synagogue... I tried to capture Zach's kippa, but it is difficult to see.  I think he looks quite Jewish when he wears it.

Opening up with a few traditional Purim tunes

Someone is enjoying the Megilla reading

Amazed at the noise and smiling at everyone around us

The Hebrew text of the Megilla

Note the noise-making when the reader says "Haman"... it was quite a bit louder in person, but you get the idea.