Purim pop-up

art by Laya Crust

Here we are approaching the most raucous holiday of the year. Revelry, costume and indulging with wine or something stronger is encouraged on Purim. Not only is it it encouraged, we are told we have to increase our joy.

The story of Purim is a tale of treason, love, lust, hatred, bad guys, and good triumphing over evil. There is a great explanation of it at http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday9.htm. There’s also an interesting analysis of the comparison of the Esther story and the Joseph story at http://learn.conservativeyeshiva.org/purim-esther-and-joseph/

Some of us are busy making costumes for the Purim parties and some of us are making hamantaschen. Hamantaschen is from the Yiddish words “Mohn” and “tasch”. “Mohn” means poppy seed and “tasch” means pocket. What a revelation! (for more info about hamantaschen go to The History and Meaning of Hamantaschen – Peeling back …  )

This year,5782 or 2022, Purim starts Wednesday, March 16, and continues the next day, Thursday March 17.  We celebrate the holiday with reading the Book of Esther (the Megillah), dressing up in costume, giving charity and sharing food with our friends Wednesday night and and Thursday, unless we live in a walled city like Jerusalem and then we celebrate Purim the next day, but that’s another story.

Rather than discuss the megillah I am presenting you with an arts and crafts project. Here is a pop-up Purim card you can make with your family, your class-  if you are a teacher-, or your buddies.

Start by printing the picture below on an 8 1/2″ x 11″ paper: We’ll call it ” Model 1″

Fold the sheet in half lengthwise, with “Mordecai”  towards you.

Take your page and cut along the solid black line at the base of the carpet Mordecai and Esther are sitting on. Stop when you get to the corner of the carpet. Then take your scissors out and cut along the thicker black line at the top of the carpet, up Mordecai’s arm, around his head, and back down his side until you get back to the edge of the carpet. Cut through both halves of the paper. Do NOT cut down the side of the carpet – only cut where the black outline is thick.Now you have cut the figures of Mordechai and Esther.

Fold the page in half widthwise. The message Purim Sameach (in Hebrew) and English will be on one side and all the painting will be on the other.

Fold the page as shown above. Then turn it back to the picture side.
Pull the figures gently towards you.  The figures should extend out and the rest of the card folds in the opposite way. I hope that makes sense to you. Make this card and send it out to your friends and family, or enjoy it yourselves. You are welcome to share the instructions with anyone you want. And- if you are a teacher, this can be a great Purim project with your class.

On another note: This year we are witness to the violent invasion of Ukraine by Putin’s Russian forces. The situation is not the same as the situation in the Persian Empire 2,500 years ago. At that time Haman, a court official, made plans to assassinate all the Empire’s Jews. Queen Esther, a secret Jew, exposed Haman’s horrifying plan and stopped it. There is a surprising parallel between Ukraine today and Shushan from 2,500 years ago. President Volodymyr Zelensky is Jewish. Previously his religion was not a focal point in his life or career. Now he is using his connection to Jewish history and Israel to inspire the Ukrainian people. His strength and integrity have unified Ukraine. He has inspired international support for Ukraine and condemnation of Putin’s aggression.

We all hope that justice and strength will prevail, and the evil aggressor will be vanquished.

Have a great Purim, and remember to “Share” this post with your friends.

Purim Sameach, Laya

Shemini

art by Laya Crust

Haftarah: Samuel II :  6:1- 7:17

The Torah reading of Shemini and the accompanying Haftarah both describe two tragic events. In the parsha two of Aaron’s sons- Nadav and Avihu- die because they have offered sacred sacrifices at the wrong time. In the haftarah one of King David’s attendants, Uzzah, is afraid the Ark of the Covenant will fall. He reaches out to steady it and dies as a result of this action.  In both cases the men who died were trying to serve God but were punished because they were serving God but not within the proscribed boundaries. These incidents are examples of crossing boundaries with extreme results.

Within the haftarah we read how King David leads the ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem with great exuberant dancing and leaping. His wife Michal looks out of her window disparaging him for his less than regal behaviour. I based the painting at the top of this page on illustrations from a 19th Century book written and illustrated in Meshed, Persia. The book is a love story of Yusuf and Zulaikha  (Joseph and Potiphar’s wife) as recounted in the Koran. The Sufi poet Jami (1414- 1492) wrote a passionate love poem about them which became very popular with the public. The painting below is from a Yusuf and Zulaikha book created in  Meshed, Persia in 1853.

illustration from Jamil’s Yusuf and Zalaikha, collection of The Jewish Theological Seminary, New York

 The text is written in Persian transliterated into Hebrew letters. The text was presumably written by a Jew but it is unknown whether or not the illustrations were painted by Jews. The patterning is lovely with the interlocking swirls inspired by leaves and vines. The clothing is interesting, very different from the styles we see in Western manuscripts art of the same period.

Meshed and Isfahan were two communities in Persia that had strong artistic Jewish communities.  They produced illustrated Judeo-Persian books such as  Yusuf and Zalaikha featured above;  Ardashir-nameh -a book about Esther and Ahashverosh; and  Musa-nameh which is the story of Moses.

Ardashir -Nameh, collection of the Jewish Theological Seminary,  New York

The Jews had a long history in Persia, dating back to 700 BCE.  The Jews continued to live there although their conditions varied depending on the forces in power. For instance from 1656 – 1663 there were forced conversions. The Jews, called “anusim” (forced converts), practised their Judaism in secret.

In 1839, almost 200 years later,  Muslim riots burst into the Jewish quarter of Meshed and forcibly converted the entire  community to Islam. Again the anusim lived outwardly as Muslims but continued to practice Judaism in secret. It wasn’t until after WWII Jews began to practise their faith openly.  

Jewish manuscripts and ketuboth from Isfahan, Meshed, and other Persian communities are interesting and unique.  It was fascinating to come across these beautiful illustrations and I had the wonderful experience of looking at the original books in the JTS library. They are colourful and evocative. It’s beautiful to see Jewish art done in Eastern style.

 I hope you enjoyed this little taste of Persian Jewish culture. 

Laya

Purim pop-up

art by Laya Crust

Here we are approaching the most raucous holiday of the year. Revelry, costume and indulging with wine or something stronger is encouraged on Purim. Not only is it it encouraged, we are told we have to increase our joy.

The story of Purim is another one of those amazing tales of treason, love, lust, hatred, bad guys, and good triumphing over evil. There is a great explanation of it at http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday9.htm. There’s also an interesting analysis of the comparison of the Esther story and the Joseph story at http://learn.conservativeyeshiva.org/purim-esther-and-joseph/

 

Some of us are busy making costumes for the Purim parties and some of us are making hamantaschen. My friend Dave Gordon pointed out that hamantaschen is from the Yiddish “Mohn” and “tasch”. “Mohn” means poppy seed and “tasch” means pocket. What a revelation! (for more info about hamantaschen go to The History and Meaning of Hamantaschen – Peeling back …  )

This year -5776 0r 2016- Purim starts Wednesday, March 23, and continues the next day, Thursday March 24.  We celebrate the holiday with reading the Book of Esther (the Megillah), dressing up in costume, giving charity and sharing food with our friends Wednesday night and and Thursday, unless we live in a walled city like Jerusalem and then we celebrate Purim the next day, but that’s another story.

Rather than discuss the megillah I am presenting you with an arts and crafts project. Here is a pop-up Purim card you can make with your family, your class-  if you are a teacher-, or your office buddies.

Start by printing the picture below on an 8 1/2″ x 11″ paper: We’ll call it ” Model 1″

Fold the sheet in half lengthwise, with “Mordecai”  towards you.

Take your page and cut along the solid black line at the base of the carpet Mordecai and Esther are sitting on. Stop when you get to the corner of the carpet. Then take your scissors out and cut along the thicker black line at the top of the carpet, up Mordecai’s arm, around his head, and back down his side until you get back to the edge of the carpet. Cut through both halves of the paper. Do NOT cut down the side of the carpet – only cut where the black outline is thick.Now you have cut the figures of Mordechai and Esther.

Fold the page in half widthwise. The message Purim Sameach (in Hebrew) and English will be on one side and all the painting will be on the other.

Fold the page as shown above. Then turn it back to the picture side.
Pull the figures gently towards you.  The figures should extend out and the rest of the card folds in the opposite way. I hope that makes sense to you. Make this card and send it out to your friends and family, or enjoy it yourselves. You are welcome to share the instructions with anyone you want. And- if you are a teacher, this can be a great Purim project with your class.

Have a great Purim, and remember to “Share” with your friends.

Laya

Purim

This year Purim occurs in two parts. We have the fast of Esther on Thursday, March13, 2014, and we celebrate the holiday with reading the Book of Esther (the Megillah), dressing up in costume, giving charity and sharing food with our friends on Saturday night and Sunday, March 15 and 16, 2014- unless we live in a walled city like Jerusalem and then we celebrate on Monday the 17th, but that’s another story.

The story of Purim is another one of those amazing tales of treason, love, lust, hatred, bad guys, and good triumphing over evil. There is a great explanation of it at http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday9.htm. There’s also an interesting analysis of the comparison of the Esther story and the Joseph story at http://www.conservativeyeshiva.org/purim-esther-and-joseph.

Rather than discuss the story (which I love) I have decided to present you with an arts and crafts project. Here is a pop-up Purim card you can do with your family, your class-  if you are a teacher-, or your office buddies.

Start by printing the picture below on an 8 1/2″ x 11″ paper: We’ll call it ” Model 1″

Fold the sheet in half lengthwise, with “Mordecai”  towards you.

Take your page and cut along the solid black line at the base of the carpet Mordecai and Esther are sitting on. Stop when you get to the corner of the carpet. Then take your scissors out and cut along the thicker black line at the top of the carpet, up Mordecai’s arm, around his head, and back down his side until you get back to the edge of the carpet. Cut through both halves of the paper. Do NOT cut down the side of the carpet – only cut where the black outline is thick. Now you have cut the figures of Mordechai and Esther.

Fold the page in half widthwise. The message Purim Sameach (in Hebrew) and English will be on one side and all the painting will be on the other.

Fold the page as shown above. Then turn it back to the picture side.
Pull the figures gently towards you.  The figures should extend out and the rest of the card folds in the opposite way. I hope that makes sense to you. Make this card and send it out to your friends and family, or enjoy it yourselves. You are welcome to share the instructions with anyone you want. And- if you are a teacher, this can be a great Purim project with your class.

Have a great Purim, and remember to “Share” with your friends.

Laya