Special Purim Posters

Purim is just a week and a half away, and our Edot students are definitely getting into the mood of the holiday. Last week they prepared hamantashen, and yesterday we reviewed the basics of the Purim story as told in Megillat Esther - the Book of Esther. Then, in line with our Edot curriculum (studying about Jewish Diaspora communities), I  introduced the students to the existence of over 60 other similar close escapes of Jewish communities referred to as "Special Purims."

Most historians do not believe that the events retold in Megillat Esther actually occurred. The literary form of the story is a familiar one - similar to fairy tales in some ways. It's a revenge story whose main characters reflect Babylonian influence: Mordechai's name reflects that of Marduk, the chief Babylonian god, while Esther's name reflects that of Marduk's consort, Astarte. The tale told in the Book of Esther is the only one in the Hebrew Bible which does not take place even partially in the Land of Israel, and in which God's name is not mentioned even once. It is also the only book of the Hebrew Bible for which a copy has never been found among the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Special Purims, on the other hand, have actually occurred (documented by both the Jewish communities involved as well as outside sources) and, in most cases, are still celebrated by the descendants of the communities involved. They took place in Jewish communities in almost every part of the world. For example, the Miracle of the Bomb took place in 1796 in the northern Italian city of Fossano, when a young Napoleon Bonaparte led French forces against the city. The city was losing its battle against the French. The Christians in the city were beginning to suspect that the Jewish community was conspiring with the enemy, since most of the cannonballs flew over the city's wall (against which the Jewish ghetto was built), and into the center of the city where the cathedral and Christians were located. On top of that, it was late March, a time when Christians began to accuse Jews of murdering young Christian children to use their blood for the Passover wine and matza. A frenzied mob gathered to attack the Jews who were hiding in the second-story synagogue in the ghetto. Just as they were about to break through the sanctuary's doors, a bomb burst through the synagogue wall and fell between them and the sanctuary door. The bomb never exploded, but it frightened them so, that they ran away in fear. Soon after, Napoleon and his troops entered the city and dismantled the ghetto, allowing the Jews to live in the city safely and securely under a new French government. To celebrate this "Miracle of the Bomb," Jews of Fossano never repaired the hole in the synagogue wall. Instead, they created a window from it, and wrote "The Miracle of the Bomb" in gilded letters over the top of the window, where it can still be seen today. The events were recorded on a scroll, which is read each year by community members on the second day of Hol Ha'moed (the second of the 4 days between the first two days of Passover and the final two days), the day the "miracle" occurred. 

The students in each session were divided into 5 groups, each of which was assigned to create a poster depicting a "Special Purim" - what happened and how the "miraculous" rescue has been celebrated by the community ever since.

Information about each of the assignments was given inside a folder given to each group

Reading about the events of the assigned Special Purim

Discussing the design of the "Purim of the Poisoned Sword" poster

Checking out materials available to use for the posters

"Curtain Purim" begins to take shape...

...as does the "Day of the Miracle" poster

Follow the arrows to learn about the "Purim of Shiraz" (Persia)

"Purim of the Poisoned Sword" (Germany)

"Purim of Fettmilch" (Germany)

"Purim of Sharif" (Tripoli, North Africa)

"Curtain Purim" (Prague)

"Purim of Saragossa" (Spain)

"Day of the Miracle" (Tiberias, Israel)

"Miracle of the Bomb" (Italy)

"Purim of the Bandits" (Turkey)

All these posters can be seen on the bulletin board in the hallway outside of Room 202

 

Between the two sessions, sixth graders from the Y'tzira track led us in a Creative T'fila service which they had designed the previous Wednesday under the guidance of Rabbi Miller. The theme they decided upon was "Disneyland!" A very special part of the service they led was the "Mi She'beirach" prayer, which they all came up to introduce and lead. This is the prayer we sing to ask for a speedy recovery, "a renewal of body and spirit," for those who are ill. We are always thinking about members of our own community who are not able to join us because of illness - yesterday we dedicated the prayer to Naomi, a Y'tzira student fighting leukemia, who just recently underwent a bone marrow transplant, as well as to Josh, my co-teacher and 7th grade teacher, who has also been diagnosed with leukemia and will be undergoing a bone marrow transplant in the near future. We wish them both a full recovery and want them to know we are thinking of them and miss them very much. Below are two brief videos that I shot during the introduction to the song, and of the song itself (sorry for the poor camera and audio quality!). Our voices may not be professional, but that should not take away from our heartfelt wishes reflected in the song!