Purim
Purim in the Puppet Theatre
There are many holidays in the Jewish calendar, but the most joyous of them is of course Purim. From the early childhood we all know the story of beautiful and clever Ester, her just and honest uncle Mordechai and evil Aman.
We celebrated this holiday on March, 4 at the Puppet Theatre. Rabbi Menachem Rabinovich read out the scroll of Ester, and then splendid actors led by Mikhail Zhulev showed the same story as a pantomime. The guests also watched the circus performers with prestidigitator, and of course, performance of the Jewish school pupils.
But the most interesting was waiting ahead. After the performance at the hall of the Puppet Theatre there were attractions for children and adults. Everybody could have his costume picture taken by professional photographer, could play the American game or buy some souvenirs for house and office. The little children had their own attraction facility, where they could draw or do some handwork. At the “Lottery” attraction they got their well-deserved prizes. 
Our professional showman Roman pleased everybody with figures made of balloons. Girls had an extra bonus - visagiste Tatiana made excellent make-ups. But most popular attraction facility was “Body Art” - fascinating decorative pictures on face and body.
Snack-bar offered (Homentashen) (“Aman’s ears”) with poppy-seed and various baked goods, made by our wonderful bakers from the synagogue. Everybody has received a tasty present.
At the end the guests were leaving happy and pleased with new impressions. Celebration was a success! Good-bye for the moment!
Alla Eisena
Purim Celebration Was a Success!
I knew long beforehand, that celebration will take place at the coffee-shop. For the first time everything was carefully planned - from Megilath Ester reading to various entertainment programmes, food and drinks. The expectations were realized!
At 19:00 members of the Jewish youth club gathered together at the cosy hall of De Vile club.
Short preparations didn’t make the waiting long. We were separated in two teams and for the rest of the evening were competing with each other. It would take too long to enumerate all the contests: we sang songs, blew soap bubbles, draw pictures and - most important - socialized in a friendly atmosphere. Celebration culminated by a lottery with valuable prizes, giving pleasant surprises to everyone. This time Purim was a real holiday for us! Time flied, but we didn’t want to break up, so many went on celebrating in smaller groups. But that would be quite another story! Hag Sameah!
Lyubov Kunina
