Purim has past. After a busy, busy week we have a breather.
Purim is one of my favorite holidays. (Really, it's hard for me to pick, but Passover comes in number one, followed by Sukkot and Purim.) I love dressing up. I love creating mishloach manot. While as a child I learned the main characters of the Megillah as Achashveros, Haman, and Mordechai, with Esther, almost an afterthought, a tool of Mordechai, I came to realize that it is Megillat Esther, and she is the true heroine of the story.
For Sean Purim is the holiday when we gather all our hametz to give away. Unfortunately, friends give us all their hametz, so we end up with more than we started. I love the planning and time it takes to create the mishloach manot. Every year we save boxes, bags, and baskets to use. Small toys left over from filling goody bags top off the gifts. Once in a while I find an item that is perfect for a friend, a bunny for Rabbi Frydman-Kohl, a pig for Aliza, an empty scotch box for Patrick or Mikael. All these go to make the mishloah manot personal. I love finding gluten-free or nut-free items for friends who need them.
This year I spent almost an entire day picking the perfect items, packing the baskets, and labelling each for the right people. Then, it's time to deliver them, saving at least two for delivery on Purim day. This year's "found" baskets (left behind in my parents' new home) made the baskets look especially wonderful.
For the past six years Purim has brought extra celebrations. For five of those six we shared the experience with the Beth Tzedec Purim Family Musical. Keren has been on stage for each of those; Sean & Me for four. The sixth year (actually the fifth) we celebrated Jesse's bar mitzvah, making the holiday especially wonderful! It was an event planned since Jesse's birth, and was every bit as wonderful as we planned.
In addition, Purim eve we share a Purim party with Simon & Aliza. Sean reads Megillah. He adds voices and music. As amazing as Jesse is as a Megillah reader, I love hearing Sean. At Simon's & Aliza's we hear the Megillah with musical accompaniment corresponding to the songs from the musical that year. It's adult (although kids are allowed) and serious (as serious as Purim can be), and just the perfect way to hear the Megillah.
Purim day was spent first at morning minyan, then at BT for the play. Keren and I arrived home late to piles of mishloach manot and a sound sleep.
Now, until next year.
