A fun Purim play with modern messages

“Today we’re going to turn the world upside down. You can be anyone you want.” Those were words Rabbi Irwin Huberman shared with more than 100 children and adults, who were dressed as everything from Scooby Doo to pink haired princesses at Congregation Tifereth. It was March 8, the day to celebrate Purim. This year, there would be a contemporary twist.

The rabbi, dressed as a baseball player, said that when today’s adults were growing up, Purim was predominantly about good and bad, with the Jewish people working to overcome evil. With the rise of anti-Semitism that still holds, he said.

However, this year, a second message emerged. Two women in the story of Purim who were strong feminist heroes were highlighted. One refused to be a bystander, the other wouldn’t take orders from her husband — this was thousands of years ago. Children between 10 and 12 years old from the Hebrew school took on the roles of these women and other characters too, in a comical, original Purim play.

The setting of the play was a high school, which the women and men in the story of Purim are attending. The story goes like this: Four main characters from the story of Purim are running for class president in the year 357 BCE. One female candidate, Esther, promised if elected, she’d be sure food other than goats and lambs would be served in the school cafeteria. Her menu would include vegan, vegetarian and kosher options. Another female candidate, Vashti, promised girls would no longer be required to dangle grapes in boys’ mouths or be ordered around, and girls would be allowed to go to the prom with other girls.

At the end of the play, Congregation Tifereth audience members voted Vashti as the winner. Ten-year-old Miram Zelkind of Sea Cliff, who played Vashti, said she believed in her message. “You should be who you want to be,” she said. “You shouldn’t let people boss you around or be someone you’re not.”

Alternatively, in the spirit of looking at the world differently, Josef Hunter, 10, of Sea Cliff chose to play the villain, Haman. “I decided to play the part of Haman,” he said, “because I’ve always wanted to understand how a bad guy gets to be a bad guy.”

The Purim carnival followed. The temple’s ballroom was filled with game booths, a face painting corner, Gaga pit, bouncy house and rows of raffle baskets.

Twins Ava and Emily Barison, 16, of Bayville, have been Hebrew school students for the past eight years and attend the carnival annually. This time, instead of playing at different booths, they ran two of them. Ava’s booth required the children to lick through mounds of whipped cream to find chocolate chips.

“I miss being able to try out all the different booths,” she said, “but it’s also nice getting to work behind the scenes, see how it all comes together and how the carnival makes children happy.” Nearby, Emily was busy doing face painting. “I loved seeing kids’ reactions when they looked in the mirror after I’d finished painting their faces,” she said. “It was a super rewarding experience.”

Grant Katz, 12, of Mill Neck also helped run a booth. “Today isn’t just about Purim,” said his mother Daryl. “It’s about helping my son learn to work with younger children, so he can help them to have fun and not get hurt.”

Parents and children throughout the community joined in during the carnival appearing to find ways to step outside themselves. At the make-your-own-Purim-cookie booth, Andrew Salinas, 10, of Glen Head, experimented with black icing. “I literally just splattered it all over my cookie because it was so good,” he said.

Parents ran the raffle booths and a teacher volunteered to be the target in the villain booth. Glen Head parent Lauren Altman were pleased with how the day was unfolding.

“I think the nicest thing about today and the temple in general is, everyone is welcome,” Altman said. “So, our friends that are Jewish and those who are not are all happy to participate. No one feels they don’t know what’s going on. No one feels left out.”

She said she appreciated that Huberman and the Cantor Gustavo Gitlin are forthcoming with explanations. “My husband and I are Jewish, but we don’t always understand everything we do and why we do it,” Altman said. “It’s very accessible to everybody who comes here.”

At the end of the day, as the bouncy house was deflate, Lisa Aamodt, CTI’s education director assessed the day’s success. “I love the Purim event,” she said. “It’s a great way to celebrate and spend time with friends and family.”