A Rikers Island Purim story: Finding God behind the gates
A Jewish corrections officer finds a way to observe the holiday — and share the mitzvah
Purim
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Food An L.A. doctor revives the tradition of Persian Jewish winemaking
Wine flows freely in the ancient story of Purim, which takes place in ancient Persian. Buzzed on wine, King Ahasuerus asks the beautiful Vashti to come party. At two other wine-soaked feasts, the heroine Esther sways the king against the evil Haman. Wine all but disappeared from modern-day Iran following the country’s takeover by Muslim…
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Culture In Zelenskyy’s Mordechai-like Purim plea, Biden is as uneasy as Esther
Centuries ago, in a story we tell each year on this night, a plea was made to someone with access to power, but who faced no small risk. “Do not imagine that you, of all the Jews, will escape with your life by being in the king’s palace,” Mordechai, a Jew living in Persia told…
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Opinion Getting drunk on Purim is dangerous, not a mitzvah
The most dangerous physical threat to our children and grandchildren on university campuses may not be COVID or antisemitism, but something well-intentioned leaders don’t even consider. In the United States, alcohol is a significant factor in deaths and injuries of college students and young professionals, making drinking one of the most dangerous parts of college….
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Culture Five costumes for this year’s combination Purim and St. Patrick’s Day
At various points in history, Jewish and Irish immigrants filled the tenements of New York City. Both were poor, foreign groups looked down upon by the rest of America. We’ve come a long way from those days, but Jewish and Irish people still share something important — the tradition of getting wasted once a year…
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Culture In a delightful new Purim film, Esther is a secret agent in Argentina
In its long history, the Purim story has had its fair share of reboots. Because, in every generation, a new Haman arrives to oppress us, that genocidal adviser has worn the face of Hitler and, when Stalin suffered a stroke on Purim, averting his own dire plans for Jews, he wore a different mustache entirely….
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News ‘Purim Katan’ was a month ago. Why it’s OK if you didn’t notice.
Jews around the world will celebrate Purim, which begins on Wednesday evening. But another Purim — “Purim Katan,” or Little Purim — began on the evening of Feb. 14. Purim Katan is the only Jewish holiday that doesn’t show up every year and often passes unnoticed. This curiosity of the Jewish calendar demands some explanation….
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Food Shamrock-taschen? This year make corned beef and cabbage hamantschen.
This Purim, which happens to coincide with St. Patrick’s Day, there are two kinds of hamantaschen you should consider buying or making. The first are any of the traditional three-cornered Purim cookies that are being sold to raise money for Ukraine. Check this list for bakeries participating in Hamantaschen for Ukraine and buy some. The…
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