24 | FEBRUARY 11 • 2021 T his Purim, the Conservative Jewish community in Metro Detroit is reassuring its com- munity that on Zoom, as the Purim song goes, “we’ll merry merry be. ” Marking the one-year anniversary and noting that Purim was the last Jewish holiday that most Jews cel- ebrated together in the synagogue, Conservative congregations will com- bine their efforts to celebrate Purim virtually through a variety of program- ming over Zoom. Also, there will be opportunities for Jews to enjoy tradi- tions such as mishloach manot (goody baskets given to friends) and collecting and delivering food for the needy through socially distanced means. Kicking off the night of Feb. 25, there will be a family musical Megillah party at 6:30 p.m. and, in a separate Zoom at 6:45 p.m., a full Megillah reading chanted by various members of participating synagogues. To con- tinue the merriment, Israeli comedian Joel Chasnoff will entertain following the Megillah. At 7:30 a.m. Feb. 26 there will be a traditional morning reading. All virtu- al events are free and open to the com- munity and registration can be found at www.conservativeshuls.org. In past years, congregations in West Bloomfield and Farmington Hills would gather on Purim for evening and morning Megillah readings and celebrations, while congregations like Shaarey Zedek in Southfield, Beth Shalom in Oak Park and the Isaac Agree Downtown Detroit Synagogue would have their own readings and festivities. Because of the way religious services have evolved virtually in this year of the pandemic, leaders across the Conservative Jewish community decided to join forces for one coordi- nated celebration, according to Linda Jacobson of B’nai Israel Synagogue in West Bloomfield. “The silver lining of the pandemic is that congregations are working more closely together to combine efforts, ” said Jacobson, who for years has been on the Purim planning committee for the Conservative community. “Efforts from this time will extend beyond the Conservative shuls unite to provide virtual Purim festivities. STACY GITTLEMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER Conservative shuls unite to provide virtual Purim festivities. theJoy! Stopping No COURTESY BETH AHM COURTESY SHIR SHALOM COURTESY OF TEMPLE ISRAEL The cast of Temple Israel’s 2020 shpiel, “A Very Frozen Purim” Ruth Bergman and Adat Shalom Rabbi Aaron Bergman at a previous Conservative Purim celebration at Beth Ahm “The silver lining of the pandemic is Shir Shalom congregants get into Purim in a prior year. OUR COMMUNITY