Melbourne Students Spread Purim Joy Through Dance

This Purim, the eighth grade class of Yeshiva College of Melbourne decided that they wanted to do something legendary – something that will bring the joy of Purim to the entire city of Melbourne.

The class’ Shliach, Levi Druin, had an idea: the entire class would dress up together and have something fun and productive organized for the day. After many days of thinking, the ‘class committee’ struck gold: They would all dress up as living statues, and the money they would collect would go to Tzedaka.

After another ‘class committee’ meeting, it was decided to include a dance, which would attract more attention from passers-by. Not only that, but they would travel around Melbourne in style: they would drive around in a massive party bus.

The class was divided up into four groups (costume, dance, route, and fundraising), and everyone got to work arranging their part. The dance committee chose the Purim song by the Maccabeats, because not only does it tell the entire story of Purim, it is also a great song to dance to. After weeks of practice, in their own free time, the class had learned their dance and was ready to go. Naturally, numerous pairs of Tefilin were brought to wrap up everyone who stopped to watch their performance.

After doing a couple of performances in school, the students left Yeshiva and boarded the party bus which was waiting for them.

Arriving at Chadstone Mall, they performed for an appreciative crowd of shoppers.

Walking through the mall holding signs saying “Happy Purim,” they attracted a lot of positive attention –which led two men to put on Teffilin with them.

The students then hopped back on the party bus and headed to the Emmy Monash Nursing Home, where they delighted over a 100 residents with their amazing show.

The students then headed out to Melbourne’s Fed Square, where they performed for a crowd of over 400 people!

While spreading Purim joy and doing Mivtzoim, the boys had a great time themselves.

A special thank you to goes to Shliach to the Yeshiva Mendel Blesofsky, who came along with the students and helped make the entire day a success. A special thank you also goes to Chabad Youth, which helped sponsor the event.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

40

41

42

43

44

17 Comments

  • Very Nice - BUT!

    A very nice idea and performance, but a very poor choice of a song since the original is such a complete abomination (IMHO the YU Maccabeats also erred in this). Also why did they choose such drab costumes? Almost anything else would have been more appropriate and fun!

    • Very Nice - period!

      great job! the costume was brilliant! 30 silver statues dancing down the street, REALLY appropriate and fun!
      and regarding the music? ill bet that if you danced to MBDs ‘Yidden’ or ‘Moshiach’ no one would object, while the originals are are quite ‘abominable’.
      complete Ishapcha, and great way to tell the Purim story, in a fun, and hip manner.
      remember ‘haters will be haters’, but don’t let ’em bog you down, (would love to hear how they spent their productive Purims btw)
      AWESOME STUFF!!

  • Kop Mentch

    It is such a “kiddush Hashem” when yeshiva boys prove that they can take yiddishkeit and make it so goyish that it even appeals to the goyim.

    It is “wonderful” to see yidden being more goyish than any goy.

    This is true “ad dlo yoda bein Haman l’Mordechai” – you can’t know for sure if they are students of Mordechai or Haman!

    It “really” spreads the message of what Purim is all about – rapping and break dancing!

    I am “sure” many observers became inspired to re-connect to their Jewish roots!

    (Now, why in the world would you even suspect that I am being sarcastic??!!)

  • to #4

    why is it when someone says something true they are called a hater????
    Perhaps you should be called a hater for hating what they said?
    Obviously, no one should be called be called a hater, but that’s seriously something to think about.
    #3 is very right in saying that the music & style of dance isn’t appropriate-
    ESPECIALLY WHEN WE ARE CELEBRATING A YOM TOV WHERE THE YIDDEN ANGERED HASHEM BECAUSE OF THEIR GOYISHE BEHAVIOUR.
    May Hashem be melamed zhus on all of us and just bring Moshiach NOW already.

    • with all due respect sir (ma'am?)

      Yes, he/she is indeed a hater, (although to be clear, I never did call them a hater explicitly, reread the comment – always a healthy thing to do before jumping to conclusion – but I digress.)
      A ‘hater’ in this context is that someone, waiting -perhaps in anticipation- to ‘rain down on the parade’.
      Cant we just applaud a good thing when we see one, must we pounce opon and disect every detail of an event, in order to smugly call out each supposed ‘transgression’??
      And besides, this point is quit arguable, and not at all as black and white as you paint it out to be, and in fact many MANY would agree, that what was done was 1000 percent kosher and more so MEHADRIN. So if you do have a problem/suggestion/some constructive criticism, how about you contact the parties involved and convay your sentiments – if they are indeed well intended – and im sure your point will be acknowledged far more then by you just spouting your self righteous emotions all over the web.
      All you are doing is taking a cheerful, freindly post and injecting it with negativity.
      So, to continue the trend, perhaps wel label you the hater, for hating on my post, (which according to you hated on his post, which hated on their post, and turtles all the way down, vehamayvin yovin)
      Or perhaps we just shut our mouths/keyboards, and applaud a well intended, well executed, KOSHER, Purim event.
      Good day.

  • Very Nice - BUT!

    I wrote that the original song was a “complete abomination” for a reason – it is way, way, way worse than anything MBD ever adapted. In fact it is so bad that I don’t want to even describe it here. Just Google it if you don’t believe me. V’hamaivin Yovin. The Mashpi’im should have investigated before agreeing to using this song.

  • to #4

    You’ve got to be kidding, they’re a bunch of young boys having a good time. Stop being so critical, their costumes are adorable and their shliach worked hard to make it the success it was. It’s over now anyways, therefore its unnecessary to provide us with your disheartening comments. Stop finding fault in the simcha they brought to Melbourne, Australia GOOD JOB GUYS AND SHKOYACH TO LEVI DRUIN!

  • Hopefully a Chossid

    To #10
    Everything you wrote is true: they are a bunch of young kids, they obviously had a ball. The costumes are also probably ok, the Shliach worked hard for sure. So far we agree.
    Here’s the catch: it’s not over at all. This song will be sung hundreds of times, by them, their siblings etc. for a long time. It may ring in their during learning and davening. Same for the dance. Is this their hachono to yeshiva ketana?
    Would they dance this while passing the Rebbe on Lag B’Omer.
    Yes, I am a party pooper. Before planning a party or production, it must be scrutinized by a vaad. I can site and commend Bais Rivka HS in Kfar Chabad where each move in each dance and each line in every song is analyzed and scrutinized to make sure it is synch with the standards the Rebbe set for us in tznius, toichen and delivery. It can be done and must be done.
    We seem to forget, in our reflex to reach out to every Jew, that we elevate them to our level, and not copy havlei olom hazeh and worse, in our rush to be mesameach and mekarev.
    Try it. Be ourselves. We have so much to offer that the world needs. Don’t offer less than the true best.

  • Different Perspective To #13

    When the boy’s sing the song in their head they will be singing the story of Purim. When they hear the song on the radio they will remember the story of Purim. They will remember the achdus they felt preparing for the performance. They will remember that they took the message of Purim to the streets of Melbourne, they put Tefilin on people, collected tedoka, gave out shalachmonos and brought joy and inspiration to many people. This is the message they will take from the experience.

    We as Jews have always taken inspiration from the outside world, internalized and elevated it. Fifty years from now when this clip is played the words of the original song will be forgotten but the story of Purim will live on. Looking back many nigunim started as old Russian folk songs that were sang in taverns, dances were borrowed from the Cossacks such as the Kazatzka. This is true for other parts of the world as well the mizrachi/hora is similar to Arabic music.

    The other thing that needs to be considered is that this school in Melbourne is a community school. It caters for people from all backgrounds, not just Lubavitchers and as a result it has a broader view of the world then Bais Rivka HS in Kfar Chabad. If it means that one of the more secular boys stays connected and wants to get involved then it was a success.

  • Get a life people

    For the record the original song is by a nice jewish maidel named Varod, and it’s about farbrenging. As usual, commenters on here making a big deal out of nothing. If you don’t like it, feel free to skip to the next article.

    Sincerely,
    Everyone one that doesn’t care about your comments

  • lifelight

    What’s so great about Jews imitating goyim, and doing a poor job of it at that? Shvach ‘dancing’, to say the least, poor “choreography”, ugly costumes, nothing”jewish” except the boys, whose Yiddishkeit, like the story of Purim, is seriously “hester”. I guess all those who think it is so great, think that Jews imitating goyim is the greatest thing since sliced bread. It is merely a reflection on them, that they themselves are so far removed from Yiddishkeit that they think black is white, and white is black. So sad. This is bad!