Purim! – Shabbat/Sunday – Day 207/208
February 27, 2013
Shabbat itself was nothing special, however, after sundown the festival of Purim began. First up was reading of the megillah scroll detailing the story of the Jews’ victory over the evil Haman during the reign of King Ahasuerus.
I had to listen on with the CJC (Conservative Jewish Community) as I was time pressured by a Glee Club Gig immediately after (that I ended up missing anyway).
Purim is the usual Jewish festival story. Someone tried to kill us, the didn’t, let’s eat. However on Purim the feasting is taken a step further by applying significant amounts of alcohol, dancing and fancy dress to the mix. My costume was a minion from despicable me (see comparison below), but thanks to the gig, I had not sufficient time to change into a pair of overalls and so, as per usual for me, stood out a little.
Purim Minions
Despicable Me Minions
College students, as could be expected, take this idea rather to heart and, as a result Penn Hillel organized a whole series of parties and events. One of which I attended (the Hillel Golf Night). We traipsed around local off campus residences, collecting shots of various liqueurs, ingredients for the baking of Hamentaschen and socializing with the many people taking part. Robbie Glynn, a good friend from computer science, and a Jew at heart, joined in the celebrations too.
Following that, back to my room for yup, you guessed it, a coding marathon till the late hours of the morning.
Sunday was not particularly notable, I crammed in my Physics work and a lot of stuff for my students and my recitation. However, one fun thing in the afternoon was a Purim seuda/mishte (feast) arranged by the lovely Arianna Schanzer and Ben Bolnick. There was a little too much Chinese food, but it was supplemented by plenty of cheer and good company. I also prepared and delivered a few mishloach manot (Purim food present-baskets) to a few of my closest friends at Penn before settling in to finish up everything I needed to.