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All About Purim 5784 / 2024

Purim banner with megilat Esther, kiddush cup, hamentashen and groger.

Purim is an exciting time at FTJC. We celebrate with feasts, fun, retelling and listening to the story of Mordechai, Esther, Vashti, Achashverosh, and the wicked Haman. This year as always we have a jam-packed schedule of programs.

Click or tap on the links below to jump to each section:

Purim Night and Morning - All Ages

Mishloach Manot and other Purim Mitzvot

Community Carnivals at Hebrew Tabernacle and the Y

All events (unless otherwise noted) take place at the Fort Tryon Jewish Center at our new home, the Fort Washington Collegiate Campus, 729 West 181st Street. Please enter via the corner gate at Fort Washington Ave. and 181st Street.
 

Purim Night!
Saturday March 23

Evening Megillah Readings

8:30 PM:  MAIN READING, starting with Ma'ariv prayers
Fellowship Hall
Zoom Livestream: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86702269378

8:30 PM: QUIET READING, starting with Ma'ariv prayers
North Room
No groggers and only quiet booing in consideration of those with sensory sensitivities.

Hamantaschen and other nosh sponsored by the Griff-Gaebler and Griff-Sleven families in memory of their beloved father Harris Morton Griff z"l.
 

Purim Morning!
Sunday March 24

Morning Megillah Readings

8:00-9:15 AM

Fellowship Hall
Another glorious reading of the Megillah by light of day. Families and children are welcome as always. We begin at 8:00 AM sharp for a quick Shacharit (morning prayers), followed by the Megillah.

11:00-11:45 AM
North Room
One more time! A full traditional Megillah reading for late risers, second parents, and anyone else who'd like another chance.

Rimonim: Purim Morning Fun and Family Megillah Experience

9:30 AM: CRAFT PROJECTS (toddlers to 5th Gr)

Fellowship Hall
Come decorate Purim masks and mishloach manot bags, then bring the bags home to fill them up and deliver to your friends!

9:30 AM: ANAFIM TEEN SE'UDAH (6th-12th Gr)
North Room
Our rabbinic intern Sass Brown hosts a Purim Se'udah (festive meal) for all middle and high school students, with yummy snacks, delightful decor, ridiculous humor, and good company.

10:00 AM: COSTUME SPECTACLE (toddlers to 5th grade)
Atrium
Rabbi Guy hosts a show-off extravaganza for children of all ages, in categories of all kinds!

10:15 AM: FAMILY MEGILLAH EXPERIENCE (all ages)
Atrium
Sass Brown and Ayelet Pinnolis will take us through a dramatic and fun reading of megillah highlights in both Hebrew and English, with much merriment. All are welcome to enjoy, laugh, and boo with all their might!

11:00-11:45 AM - FULL MEGILLAH READING
North Room
One more time! A full traditional Megillah reading for late risers, second parents, and anyone else who'd like another chance.


Mishloach Manot and other Purim Mitzvot

Mishloach Manot (Sending Gifts of Food)
Register here to sponsor Mishloach Manot by Sunday, March 17 at 11:59 PM.
FTJC has set up an easy way for you to send Mishloach Manot — gifts of food and drink that are sent to family and friends — while supporting your synagogue at the same time. Each FTJC member household who wishes to receive a package can pick up, whether you cosponsored or not! The package will include a card listing the names of the sponsors. Each package will contain a variety of foods including hamentaschen (all packages will be peanut and nut free!). Mishloach Manot packages will be available for pickup at Purim celebrations at FTJC on Saturday March 23 and Sunday March 24.

Matanot l’Evyonim (Gifts for the Poor)
Bring a cash contribution when you arrive for evening or morning megillah readings! FTJC is collecting donations for matanot l’evyonim (gifts to the poor), which is also a mitzvah for Purim. Or just make a donation online and mark it "Purim Gifts for the Poor". We will be distributing the funds to the Jewish Community Council of Washington Heights-Inwood, American Jewish World Service, and Mazon. It’s also a wonderful practice to carry change or small bills on Purim, so that you can give freely to anyone who asks for money on the street.

Ta’anit Esther (Fast of Esther)
Thursday March 21

Begins at dawn, 5:34 AM, and ends at nightfall, 7:51 PM. Deferred from Shabbat (Erev Purim) because we don't fast on Shabbat. But on Thursday, fast like the Jewish people depend on it —remember Ta’anit Esther, honoring Esther’s dangerous flirtation with doom (Esther 4:16). Those who are pregnant, nursing, unwell, or have a medical condition or eating disorder that precludes fasting are exempt and should not fast. Likewise anyone who begins the fast but becomes unable to continue should break the fast. Minors are also exempt, but older children can learn to participate in some partial way if they’re able. Because the fast is deferred from the day it would normally fall upon, there is extra reason this year to be very lenient.

Learning with the Hadar Institute during Ta'anit Esther:
"Reading the Megillah after October 7"
Thursday March 21,  - .
Visit the Hadar website for full information and registration.
FTJC is a cosponsor of this day of learning, with sessions taught by Rabbi Aviva Richman and Rabbi Avi Strausberg. From Hadar: "Purim parades itself as the most joyful day of the year, however, Megillat Esther is a story of intense crisis and violence. At the beginning, Jews face an existential threat, and at the end, Jews kill their enemies on a massive scale. In the wake of October 7th, these crises of Purim feel very real, as we mourn unimaginably cruel acts of violence against Israelis, encounter increased antisemitism and fear in Jewish communities worldwide, and confront the sobering fact of so many Palestinians killed in recent months. As a day of fasting and prayer before Purim, Ta'anit Esther is an opportunity to reflect and  confront these crises. What can the Megillah teach us about understanding and holding together both realities of violence against Jews and violence by Jews? What theological and practical answers can we glean from the story this year, especially about how to respond in moments of deep fear?"

Giving the Machatzit Hashekel (Tzedakah)
Thursday March 21

A pre-Purim custom is to give a small amount (about $1.50) to tzedakah or to a Jewish institution, for every adult member of the household. Based on Exodus 30:11-16, this radically egalitarian custom (“the rich shall not pay more and the poor shall not pay less”) recalls the half-shekel given in ancient times “to make atonement for their souls” — and has been adapted for Purim, perhaps acknowledging the massacre of our enemies in Esther 9:15-16?  The custom is to give during the daytime of the Fast of Esther, this year deferred to the Thursday before Purim.


Community Carnivals at the Y and Hebrew Tabernacle

Pre-Purim Carnival at the Y
Sunday March 17, 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM

The Y of Washington Heights & Inwood, 54 Nagle Ave.
A community-wide carnival with bouncy houses, face painting, music, and more! FTJC and other local congregations will run activity tables such as puppets, crowns, and groggers. Dress up and see you there! Registration and tickets here, with early bird pricing before March 13.

Purim Day Carnival at the Hebrew Tabernacle
Sunday March 24, 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM

551 Fort Washington Ave.
Featuring a Bouncy House, VR Games, Tot-Town, Carnival Games and Prizes! Music and food and everyone is invited! For more info see HT's website.

Thu, March 28 2024 18 Adar II 5784