The theme was “Purim in Italy” last year in Hong Kong, and it attracted a large crowd for a Megillah reading and festive meal. This year, a “Glow in the Dark” party is planned for young professionals, with a fair for families and children.

In Asia: Purim Music, Parties, Even Exotic Birds for Tourists and Residents Alike

From Taipei to Phnom Penh, Bangkok to Hong Kong, Chabad Houses across Asia are gearing up to celebrate Purim with parties big and small.

In Hong Kong, Rabbi JJ Hecht is busy preparing for Chabad of Hong Kong’s annual Young Professionals Purim Party, which will take place on Wednesday night. Hecht, who along with Rabbi Eli Levertov is program director for youth and young professionals at Chabad of Hong Kong, says they expect about 100 people to turn out for the bash, which will include cocktails, food and dancing. The party’s theme is “Glow in the Dark”; revelers are asked to come dressed in white, and black lighting will cast the party-goers in a fluorescent glow.

Also taking place in Hong Kong on Wednesday will be a Purim fair for families and children, with a magic show, Megillah reading and buffet meal.

Just off the coast of China in Taiwan, Rabbi Shlomi and Racheli Tabib, co-directors of Chabad Taipei, are planning a Purim celebration that will feature, among other highlights, an exotic bird show with talking parrots.

“Of course, the parrots here speak Chinese,” quips Tabib. He expects of a crowd of 100, comprised mostly of local residents, many employed by the foreign embassies there. Tabib says the Purim party will have something for everyone—from children to older people, and families to young professionals.

“With food, drinks and a nice atmosphere, everyone will be able to find a place,” he says.

Further east, in Tokyo, Rabbi Mendi and Chana Sudakevich, co-directors of Chabad-Lubavitch Tokyo-Japan, will host a family Purim party on Thursday. Following the Megillah reading, a balloon artist will make creations for the kids, and everyone will enjoy freshly made falafel from Chabad of Tokyo’s new glatt-kosher restaurant, Chana’s Place.

At the Chabad Jewish Center in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Rabbi Bentzion and Mashie Butman are planning a Purim celebration with a special theme: “Purim in the Shtetl.” Guests are asked to come dressed in shtetl-reminiscent costumes, and the event space will be decorated to evoke small-town Jewish life in Eastern Europe from days gone by. The shtetl might seem a bit out of place in Southeast Asia, but it won’t be the first time the Butmans have taken their guests on a holiday journey—last year, they enjoyed “Purim in Italy.”

Butman says that of the approximately 250 Jews living in Cambodia, 100 live outside of the capital of Phnom Penh. Ensuring that no Jew misses out on Purim, the Butmans will also send about 100 mishloach manot gift baskets to Jewish residents around the country.

‘Language of the Backpackers’

One of the biggest Purim events in Asia will take place in Bangkok, Thailand, where hundreds of young backpackers will join with locals for a roving celebration across the city.

“It’s a 30-hour party,” sums up Rabbi Nechemya Wilhelm, co-director of Chabad of Bangkok-Ohr Menachem since 1995 with his wife, Nechama Dina. Ohr Menachem, on Bangkok’s bustling Khao San Road—an epicenter for young travelers—welcomes as many as 150,000 Jewish tourists each year, the majority of them from Israel.

Wilhelm expects that 300 or 400 of them will show up on Wednesday night, where a highlight of the festivities will be a performance by an Israeli band, Alot Hashachar (“Dawn”). The band was started a few years by two Israeli backpackers who visited the Chabad House during their travels; they’ve since returned to Bangkok each Purim to perform, joined onstage by other musically talented travelers.

“Music-wise, they speak the language of the backpackers,” Wilhelm says of the performance.

On Thursday, visitors will be able to fulfill the mitzvahs of Purim by listening to hourly Megillah readings and exchanging mishloach manot packages containing food, beverages and other treats. Before sunset, the party will migrate to a hotel in Sukumvit, Bangkok’s commercial district, where tourists and local Jewish residents will take part in a massive Purim banquet.

Finally, anyone with stamina for more celebration will be invited to a farbrengen—an informal Jewish gatheringat the home of Chabad Rabbi Yosef Chaim and Nechama Dina Kantor, co-directors of Chabad of Thailand.

“Even many years later, people will tell me that Purim [in Bangkok] changed their lives,” says Wilhelm. He notes that the holiday has a special ability to reach Jews, even those who are far from home.

“What we do on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur with seriousness, we achieve on Purim with happiness. We’re trying to show people real happiness, and in the world today, that’s something that’s really lacking.”

Setting Up for the Holiday

Everyone’s preparing for the holiday this week, and Chabad.org’s comprehensive Purim guide links users to a directory of holiday events in more than 400 cities around the globe, a synopsis and more-lengthy retelling of the Purim story, a study section with frequently-asked-questions, and acommentary on the Scroll of Esther. The Purim audio and video section includes an hour-long excerpt of a 1973 Purim gathering with the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory, Purim songs and a video on how a bakery makes the holiday’s signature hamantash pastry.

It all starts with the reading of the Megillah, one of the four mitzvahs of the holiday.
It all starts with the reading of the Megillah, one of the four mitzvahs of the holiday.
Bangkok draws hordes of backpackers and young travelers every year, many of them from Israel, who make it a point to visit Chabad. At left, Rabbi Nechemya Wilhelm, co-director of Chabad of Bangkok-Ohr Menachem.
Bangkok draws hordes of backpackers and young travelers every year, many of them from Israel, who make it a point to visit Chabad. At left, Rabbi Nechemya Wilhelm, co-director of Chabad of Bangkok-Ohr Menachem.
Headgear galore marked Purim 2014 at Ohr Menachem Chabad of Bangkok.
Headgear galore marked Purim 2014 at Ohr Menachem Chabad of Bangkok.
A guest puts on tefillin in Cambodia last year at “Purim in Italy” and joins in a festive meal, the final mitzvah associated with the holiday.
A guest puts on tefillin in Cambodia last year at “Purim in Italy” and joins in a festive meal, the final mitzvah associated with the holiday.
A party about France isn't a party without mimes.
A party about France isn’t a party without mimes.
Portraits were sketched of attendees, like this young queen.
Portraits were sketched of attendees, like this young queen.
At Chabad Taipei in Taiwan last year, “Purim in Paris” drew people of all ages, and everything centered on the “City of Light.” The theme is prevalent this year as a show of support for French Jewry. Here, a tzedakah box (charity for the poor) and mishloach manot (gifts of food), two more Purim mitzvahs.
At Chabad Taipei in Taiwan last year, “Purim in Paris” drew people of all ages, and everything centered on the “City of Light.” The theme is prevalent this year as a show of support for French Jewry. Here, a tzedakah box (charity for the poor) and mishloach manot (gifts of food), two more Purim mitzvahs.

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