Marking Purim in the Shtetl

BY KAUSTUV BASU • FLORIDA TODAY

Brevard County’s Jewish community on Tuesday celebrated the festival of Purim, which is a day of joy and prayer to remember a difficult time for Jews living in ancient Persia.

The festival celebrates the survival of Jews from a plot to destroy them, as narrated in the biblical book of Esther.

Tuesday’s celebration at the Chabad of the Space and Treasure Coasts in Satellite Beach included traditional Jewish food, a petting zoo, a reading from the Megillah, a traditional scroll and a bottle-dance performance.

“This celebration is to show solidarity for the tradition of Purim,” Amy Steininger of Melbourne said.

Steininger said the festival is a time to contemplate, but also celebrate with food and music.

The theme for this year’s celebration in Satellite Beach was “life in the Shtetl,” a Yiddish word signifying village or town.

On Tuesday evening, Steininger was wearing what she described as “turn-of-the-century” middle-class clothes.

The evening ceremony included a reading of the traditional scroll by Rabbi Zvi Konikov. This also was accompanied on occasion by the noise of stamping feet, which is done to drown out noise from Haman, an official in ancient Persia who had plotted to destroy the Jews.

“This celebration makes us remember how the forces of evil were defeated and how God saved the Jews,” said Stuart Harrow, who was visiting Brevard from New York City on business.

It was the 19th year that Purim was being celebrated by Chabad in Brevard.

The county’s Jewish population is about 8,000 strong, Chabad volunteer Bob Barnes said.

Melanie Shalom, who is visiting Brevard from Israel, said that Purim also is a time to give to charity.