Oh Today We’ll Merry, Merry Be! Purim

Many words, phrases and ideas are used in relation to Purim but none capture the essence of the holiday like the two Hebrew words ve'nahphoch'hu which means "and it was turned around" and simcha which means joy.

Purim is the happiest day on the Jewish calendar. In fact, joy is so central to the Purim celebration that we begin the merrymaking on the first of the

Hebrew month of Adar even through Purim is not until the 14th of the month!

Purim • Is the first Diaspora story

• Concretely manifests the Jewish way of celebration: hearing the story (remembering) in community; sharing with others (mishloach manot and seudat Purim); caring for those less fortunate (matanot la evyonim).

• Invites an exploration into human needs • Invites moments of inquiry, joy and FUN for children and adults!

Before teachers do or say anything, this holiday with it’s kings and queens, costumes and noisemakers “speaks” to children in a unique way All the mitzvot of the holiday are in the Megillah The connection to Israel is made through Mordechai who is introduced as “Mordechai the Jew who was exiled from Jerusalem”(Esther 2:5-6) The entire month is an invitation to “make merry”!

Some of the big ideas that are part of Purim the idea that things can start out one way and turn out another, offering hope in the face of adversity the idea that individual action can influence events and turn us into heroes and heroines the idea that everyone sometimes needs to be someone else the idea that bending the boundaries on occasion can help us appreciate them the idea that joy is something we can create and enjoy in a variety of ways, small and large, individually and communally the idea that the Jewish festival cycle is connected to Israel even when the holiday story didn’t take place in Israel

Ben Zoma says:Who is strong (a hero)? The one who controls herself.

The story of Esther’s heroism allows us to re define heroism with the children and look for heroes with a . “small h”

*גברלהת – הרוגב –ה רוגב Gvura – Gibor –Lehitgaber Heroism – Hero – to overcome *In Hebrew, all three words share the same root

Rabbi Meir says: Do not look at the jug, but at what is in it!

It’s two weeks since Tu Bishvat and all the shekadiyot (almond trees) that were just beginning to bloom are bursting with flowers!

The Sees bird - Common Swift comes to visit the Kotel for 100 days

You can make your own mishlochey manot or go to the supermarket and buy them all ready made.

The special Purim food is Ozney Haman (Haman’s ears!) and you can buy them EVERYWHERE – in the market, in the mall and on the street corner. The filling comes in lots and lots of flavors – jam, chocolate, poppy seed and even peanut butter and jelly.

If you want to find a costume you just have to go to the mall. There are lots of stores that sell costumes too.

All the book stores sell megillot – the scroll that tells the story of Purim and books with stories about Purim

Other children love to dress up as policemen

In some cities there are big parades with giant floats and huge puppets

Purim is a school vacation so everyone can go watch the parade!

WHO WILL BE QUEEN ESTHER ON PURIM DAY?

(Purim in a gan in Israel)

Special thanks to Dina Barnett a teacher in Ramot, Jerusalem for preparing this story

The month of Adar is starting today, and that means that Purim is on its way. There is much to do and so much to prepare. We have to decide which Purim costume to wear.

In the gan , you can hear us say, "Who will be Queen Esther on Purim day?"

The first thing to do is to start having fun, The best thing is - we include everyone. We come dressed in pajamas, not in clothes

In the gan , you can hear us say, "Who will be Queen Esther on Purim day?"

Have fun with a clown with a funny red nose.

And now while laughing you can hear us say, "Who will be Queen Esther on Purim day?"

We play being messengers,

Next we all build a palace together, Where we hear and learn the Megillah of Esther.

queen and king,

Parade in costumes and merrily sing.

We are all kings and queens but please do say, “Who will be Queen Esther on Purim day?”

All day in our store we have lots of fun, Making Purim items for every one. Would you like a mask?

A balloon with feet?

A funny clown hat?

Or a Purim treat?

Anything you want – except we can't say, who will be Queen Esther on Purim day.

Tomorrow will be our Purim day, we're very busy, there's no time to play. There's Megillat Esther for every one, and rattles to shake when hearing "Haman

Soon we will all know and then we can say, Who will be Queen Esther on Purim day.

Finally it's here, it's now Purim day, We're all in costume, so happy and gay. Here come animals,

A butterfly too,

And a policeman whose dressed all in blue.

So many pretty girls, now who can say, “Who will be Queen Esther on Purim day?”

In the palace there's Megillah to hear,

That’s Dina the Gannenet)

Packages of food for our soldiers so dear.

What fun to give gifts to friends – and to get,

But tzedakah for the poor we must not forget

The king will now choose a queen and will say, who will be Queen Esther on Purim day.

Girls gather round, the excitement is great. We all hold our breath. We hardly can wait. The king is careful, he must not choose wrong. Soon we will all know. We burst into song!

He raises his scepter and we all hear him say: "LIRAN is Queen Esther on Purim day!”

To a Purim feast, the king invites all. Each one in the class, from biggest to small

We all eat and drink, and merrily sing,

In honor of our pretty queen and king.

The children look at each other and say:

Who will be Queen Esther NEXT Purim day?

Retelling the Purim Story

Learn about Persian palaces and attire and create a palace in which to tell the story and practice hearing the story. Practice what goes on in the actual megillah reading in synagogue and think about having your own family reading! Make different kinds of noisemakers and practice using them when hearing Haman's name Record ,photograph or film children dressed up as the characters in the megillah and use the images to create individual or a group megillah.

Read the original and see which passages can be shared “as is”

Think about the children before making changes to the original story

Think about the environment in which the story will be told

Think about the different ways in which children can retell the story after hearing it.

“Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus--this is Ahasuerus who reigned, from India even unto Ethiopia, over a hundred and seven and twenty provinces” (Esther 1:1)

Joy is the common thread joining the mitzvot of Purim together

Each mitzvah, in it's own way, joins us together in a circle of joy: Hearing the Megillah read with the community provides an opportunity to rejoice together at the happy turn of events in the story. Feasting at a Seudat Purim – the special Purim meal, is a chance to celebrate with family and friends and experience the joy and the gift of good company and good food. Preparing and exchanging mishlochay manot (the plural of mishloach manot offers the reciprocal joy that comes with a simple exchange of gifts Giving charity to the poor enables the broadening of the circle of joy so that everyone in the community will be able to experience gladness on Purim.

During the month of Adar intentionally do something everyday to make everyone smile (tell a joke, sing a silly song etc). Talk about the things children can do to make others in class, at home or outside of school happy. Invest time and thought in the creation of mishlochay manot from A-Z Have a festive Purim meal with the families or encourage them to do so and make a class cookbook with special recipes.

What I’d like to be is part of who I am

Purim offers a unique opportunity to learn more about the whole child (and ourselves) Disguise often serves a purpose

At the end of the day, we want to help children love themselves as they are and know what makes them unique and special.

Tips: Learn about camouflage in nature Talk to children individually or in small groups about who they are dressing up as and why – what are the qualities of the character that they admire or which they had, what can the character do that they can’t or that they fear? Enter into this activity with the children and share your feelings and thoughts Create costume opportunities as a trigger for discussions about how it feels to be someone else Let the kids talk about Purim, just like the kids in the video!

Dressing up in costume is just plain fun, but also reminds us of hidden aspect of the miracle of Purim which was "disguised" by natural events and of Esther, who disguised her Jewishness and her inner strength.

Make a Girzebra! Ask kids to draw big pictures of different kinds of animals and then cut the drawings in half to separate the front end of the animal from the back end. Together, create funny, never seen before animals from the different halves, and give them names. For example, if you joined the front half of a giraffe to the back half of a zebra, you would have a Girzebra! This activity can also be done with drawings of people or objects.

http://www.pivenworld.com/

It can be fun to think about what different characters might include in their mishloach manot. Together, see if you can think of an appropriate food item for the character your child has chosen to be on Purim and include in their mishloach manot. You can also add notes or drawings that convey a holiday greeting that the character might wish others

Happy Purim!