Chabad Knows How to Party on Purim

GURNEE, IL — It’s fine to put on a funky costume to celebrate Purim. In fact, it’s expected.

Pride in being Jewish is one of the messages of the two-day holiday. It’s also the joy of deliverance from annihilation in ancient Persia. Costumes and fun are traditional, said Beth Levine-Chaitman of Grayslake.

Dozens of children and adults took that advice to the bank as they streamed into the Chadbad Jewish Center to celebrate the salvation of the Jewish people from Haman’s plot to eliminate them more than 2,300 years ago.

The festival is celebrated every year on the 14th of the Hebrew month of Adar. This year the celebration started at sunset Monday.

Rabbi Sholom Ber Tenenbaum said tradition also calls for reading from or hear the Megillah Esther — the Book of Esther. An account of the events of Purim, written by Esther and Mordechai.

“The story is read from an ancient scroll,” Tenenbaum said. “It usually takes 30 minutes to read the whole thing.”

During the reading, children costumed as kings, queens, princesses and even Batman gathered around Tenenbaum.

“I want to do this in 23 minutes,” he joked. “If you miss any of the words, I will have to read it again.”

And each time the evil Haman’s name was read aloud, the children sounded their noise-makers to express displeasure.

Following the reading, children made crafts, saw a parrot show and participated in a limbo event.

“This is how we would do it when I grew up in Virginia,” Levine-Chaitman said, who was dressed as a clown along with her two children, Eli, 4 and Avi, 17 months. “Now my kids can enjoy this experience.”

Morris Koob, 84, of Gurnee wasn’t around for the first celebration, but he knew how to have a good time.

“I am a pirate this year,” Koob said. “I was a pirate last year, too. I love it.

”I love this holiday because it teaches Jewish people to be proud of who they are. People have been trying to get rid of us for years, but we are still here,“ he said. ”I thank God for that.”