Sp:k ' -'- uality

HOLIDAY 101

Purim At A Glance from page 29

Please Join us for our 5th Annual

• Ceremonies and rituals: The
main event of Purim is the public
reading of Megillat Ester, the Book
of Esther (or Scroll of Esther),
commonly known as the Megillah
(which in Hebrew means "scroll").
In the synagogue, during evening
and morning services, the Megillah
is chanted according to a tradi-
tional intonation.
The day before Purim is Ta'anit
Ester, the Fast of Esther. This year,
Purim begins immediately after
Shabbat, and we do not fast on
Shabbat itself. Instead, the fast day
is shifted to the Thursday before
the holiday, Feb. 25. (We also do
not fast on Friday because it is too
much of a hardship to prepare for
Shabbat.) The fast begins in the
morning (6:03 a.m. Detroit time)
and ends at sundown (6:46 p.m.).
Usually, synagogues hold the
evening service (Maariv) as
Shabbat ends, but this year, many
congregations will postpone
the service to give worshippers
more time to come and hear the
Megillah of Esther. Some syna-
gogues hold additional readings
after the service. The Megillah
also is read in the synagogue the
next morning (Sunday), during
the Shacharit service. Various
synagogues have further read-
ings later in the morning and even
throughout the day. Some capable
of chanting the Megillah hold
readings in their homes; there are
Megillah readers who visit people
shut in their houses or in hospitals
or non-Jewish nursing homes.

Ante Up for Hunger

DATE CHANGED TO:
Saturday, March 13, 2010
8:00 p.m.

Yad Ezra

2850 W 11 Mile Road
(between Coolidge and Greenfield)
Berkley, MI 48072
$50.00 to attend, $50.00 buy-in required for poker
Minimum age to attend is 21

RSVP

Call Yad Ezra (248) 548-3663
or register online: www.yadezra.org

Four of a Kind/ Bingo Sponsor

David Aronow
Lisa and Scott Stern

Full House/Silent Auction Sponsor

Pegasus Entertainment

Three of a Kind Sponsor

AnglerWeb.com - MachineTools.com
Penny and Harold Blumenstein
Center for Yoga
Cohen, Lerner & Rabinowitz PC
EPK Design
FranchiseSforSale.com - AllerDine.com
Nancy and Jim Grosfeld
The Kleinfeldt Family

Merrill Lynch Bloomfield Hills
Miller Canfield
Niche Retail
Allison and Harry Parr
PaySimple
Rottman, Kingston & Neuvirth PC
Schechter Wealth Strategies
Scrapbuck.com
Specialties Showroom

• How to celebrate: Attend both
evening and morning Megillah read-
ings. Drown out every mention of
Haman's name by booing and hiss-
ing or use any type of noisemaker.
The traditional noisemaker that
spins and makes a clicking noise is
known in Yiddish as a gregger.
One of the main themes of
Purim is that things are not what
they seem: the beautiful Queen
of Persia is actually the Jewish
girl, Hadassah; loyal palace guards
are scheming insurrectionists; the
great conqueror, King Ahaseurus,
is a drunk; the capable administra-
tor, Haman, is a genocidal maniac;
events seem to happen by them-
selves, but all is determined by
God. In accordance with the theme,
children and adults hide their iden-
tity by dressing in costume.
Because the Jews survived the

Co-Chairs

Nancy Kleinfeldt • Amy Schlussel

Amy Appleman
Howard Baron
Nancy Baron
Jeb Belchinsky
Bob Blum
Lisa Bronstein
Stuart Carlin
Bobby Dubin
Julie Dubin
Trevor Fast
Kevin Feber
Julie Feldman

Rebecca Feldman
Darren Findling
Ben Forta
Julie Hoskow
Suzanne Jacoby
Jeff Katz
Lauren Katz
Rachel Katz
Sidney Katz
Cheryl Kovinsky
Milt Kovinsky
Ellen Krugel
Bella Morgan

Aaron Pergament
Lainie Phillips
Lynne Schreiber
Richard Simtob
Lauren Slutsky
R. Tyler Smith
Spencer Steel
Karee Strome
Lee Trepeck
Bubba Urdan
Allen Wolff
Rachel Zimmerman

Texas Hold'em Tournament • Beginner's Poker Table
Bingo • Desserts • Drinks • Silent Auction • Door Prizes
Complimentary Valet Parking • Dietary Laws Observed

Millionaire's License #M54544 - Bingo License # V05995 - Organization ID #115823

YAD EZRA IS A 501 (c)(3) ORGANIZATION AND MICHIGAN'S ONLY KOSHER FOOD PANTRY.
YAD EZRA PROVIDES SUPPLEMENTAL KOSHER FOOD PACKAGES AND OTHER
NECESSITIES TO THOSE IN NEED IN THE JEWISH COMMUNITY

1574700

30

February 25 • 2010

planned massacre, Purim is also a
festival of joy. Carnivals, humorous
skits, practical jokes and general
silliness are all part of the day.
In addition to Megillah, we
observe three practices based
on passages in the Megillah that
describe what our ancestors did
during the original Purim:
1)Send gifts of food to fellow
Jews. The gifts — known as mish-
loach manot in Hebrew ("sending
portions") or shlachmoness in
Yiddish — consist of at least two
different types of food ready to eat
or that can be enjoyed with mini-
mal preparation.
2) Give money to the poor
— generously, to the best of your
ability. The minimum amount is the
lowest denomination of currency
(one cent), and it must be given
to at least two poor persons. The
rabbis teach that donations to the
poor should form the bulk of our
Purim expense.
3) Eat a festive meal, or seudah.
On Purim, include more wine or
liquor with the meal than usual,
enough to make things lively (but
not to become drunk). Begin the
meal during the daylight hours of
Purim, but if it extends into the
evening when Purim is already
over, that's fine.

• Other rules and regulations:
In the Shemoneh Esrey, or Amidah
(silent, standing) prayer, and
in Birkat HaMazon (grace after
meals), include the prayer of Al
HaNisim. Do not recite the daily
Tachanun (penitential) prayer at
morning and afternoon services.
On Purim, unlike the major holi-
days, all work is permitted: fires
may be kindled, electricity may
be turned on and off, cars may be
driven, money may be handled,
etc.
The day after Purim is Shushan
Purim. The Jews of Shushan,
Persia's capital city, did not gain
their deliverance until the 15th
of Adar (Esther 9:18). Because
Shushan was a walled city, it
became the law that Jews who live
in walled cities or cities walled at
the time of Joshua (who succeed-
ed Moses, about 1400 BCE) cel-
ebrate Purim on the 15th of Adar.
The Old City of Jerusalem is one
such place, but the only walled city
in North America (north of Mexico)
is the Old Town district of Quebec
City, Quebec, Canada.

❑