Dear friends,

We had a wonderful Family Purim program this past Sunday.  The parents and children left the shul with smiles on their faces along with a deeper appreciation of the holiday of Purim.  Our wonderful teachers have summarized what each did in his/her particular workshop.

The Mishloach Manot Worshop led by Dena
The families made mishloach manot baskets in order to fulfill the mitzvah of sending food gifts to one another.  We learned that there must be two different kinds of food in the gift basket and one must send at least one mishloach manot gift to a friend or loved one.  We also discussed why even the poorest of poor are not exempt from this wonderful mitzvah. 

The Music Work shop led by Ms. Diane Amar
I was impressed by the participation of parents and children in our Music workshop.  Even the oldest children in the Hey class loved singing 'If you are happy and you know it clap your hands' with Purim adaptation.  The Hey girls loved singing Purim songs to the tunes of other tunes, i.e. Puff the Magic Dragon, "Yesterday"  etc.  And if the Hey students did not want to sing, they jammed to the songs or tapped to the beat!! We learned derby is also a hat, nosh is snack or eat in Yiddish, Hag is holiday.  It was a lot of fun!! Thanks to all the parents who joined with us!!   

The Drama workshop led by Ben Nisman
All classes participated in an improvisational exercise, to look at the Purim story anew.  After the students and parents got the hang of what they needed to do, the fun began.  In the third scene, the characters were Haman, Achashverosh, and Esther; the setting was the festival where Esther would reveal her secret.  Any student was encouraged to call "Freeze" to replace any of the characters and reanimate the scene.   I explained to  all students and  parents, that being focused while acting, and being true to yourself in the scene and what you know is the same dedication that we can associate when we focus our concentration on meditation towards prayer.

The Hamentachen workshop led by Rachel Gershman
The hamentashen baking workshop was a huge and delicious success! The students made tasty hamentashen with chocolate chips, peanut butter chips and jelly to share with family and friends. The Hey class students helped make the dough for the whole school and attempted to make the world's biggest hamentashen! A special thanks to Amy Thau who
saved the day with her baking skills!!!

Below is the Hamantashen recipe we used in school.  We hope that you will bake more of these hamantashen at home for your own celebration this weekend.

•    1 medium seedless orange
•    2 eggs
•    3/4 cup sugar
•    1/2 cup oil
•    2 tsp. baking powder
•    3 cups flour
•    Jam or other fillings
Cut the orange into quarters and pulverize it in your food processor until finely chopped. Add the eggs, sugar and oil, and process for about 10 seconds. Add the baking powder and flour and process with several on/off turns, just until the flour is blended into dough. It will be slightly sticky, but that's OK. Cut the dough into 3 or 4 pieces, and work with just one lump at a time.
Roll the dough out on a well-floured board to about 1/8 inch thickness. Using a cookie cutter cut 3-inch circles of dough. In the middle of each circle, put about 1/2 teaspoon of filling: jam, chocolate chips, or even canned pie filling. Pinch the sides of the circle up, making a triangular enclosure, and leaving the top slightly open so that you can see the filling. (Just make sure that the corners are firmly pinched so that the jam doesn't leak out the sides.)
Place cookies on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350º F (180º C) for 15 to 20 minutes, or until lightly browned. Makes about 4 dozen hamantaschen.
alternate spelling: Hamantashen

◊ Permission Granted by Norene Gilletz


Happy Purim!
Rabbi Gary Greene