The moment that the Purim ads start appearing in the religious magazines, I begin to hyperventilate: How to design the perfect cellophane-wrapped gift packages of treats, the traditional mishloach manot we deliver to one another on the morning of the holiday? How many — who makes the cut for that all-important list? And what about…
When I opened the carefully packaged bottle of Tubi 60 with my colleagues, we were all a bit skeptical, to say the least. It was cloudy, yellow — and it smelled like trees. Upon first sip, an (of-age) intern compared the taste to “being dragged through a wind turbine…in a good way.” “It’s a powerful…
Purim is here, and nobody’s getting left behind. The residents of Ichilov Hospital’s children’s ward (in Tel Aviv) were surprised when volunteers dressed as Superman, Batman and Spiderman began scaling the walls of the building using cables attached to the roof, in an effort to reach its inhabitants, on a mission to deliver them mishloach…
Getting Drunk Is Not Kosher Today, we are well aware of the dangers of excessive drinking, alcohol addiction, and binging. There are strict laws regarding distribution of alcohol to minors and driving under the influence of alcohol. Yet at least once a year, On Purim, observant Jews behave as if there is no tomorrow and…
In Europe, my bubbe’s family owned a cow named Vashti. They were too poor to drink her milk or eat her cheese — this they sold to Jews more well-to-do than themselves — but they managed to subsist, from day to day, on the meager earnings derived from Vashti’s dairy products. It was my bubbe’s…
Every time a scandal erupts around the sexual behavior of a powerful man, someone seems to ask, “Well, why didn’t she say no?” It so happens that the Book of Esther begins with the story of a woman who “says no,” and it demonstrates that the consequences of “saying no” can be severe: Queen Vashti…
This article originally appeared in the Yiddish Forverts. Cracow was an unlikely tourist stop for William Mehrvarz. Most Iranian millennials want to “See Iran First,” and their vacation itineraries often include the Lotfollah Mosque in Isfahan or the Valley of Stars on the island of Qeshm. Mehrvarz opted for Cracow in August 2016 to investigate…
Masks perfectly encapsulate everything about Purim: a random series of events that mask God’s Divine Hand. To wear a mask is to hide one’s true self. But imagine a mask that not only conceals one’s true self, but also perfects the skin. After all, Purim can be an exhausting endeavor, filled with screaming, face-plant tantruming…
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