Three Amazing Websites To Help You Celebrate Purim

Happy March! For those of us who are Jewish and/or interfaith, Purim begins this year on Wednesday evening, March 4, 2015, and continues through Thursday night, March 5^th. 

So what's Purim about?

Masks are part of Purim fun!

According to the website www.chabad.org, the Persian empire of the 4th century BCE extended over 127 lands, and all the Jews were its subjects. When King Ahasuerus had his wife executed for failing to follow his orders, he conducted a beauty pageant to find a new queen and a Jewish girl, Esther, found favor in his eyes. She became the new queen, while not letting Ahasuerus know she was Jewish. In the meantime, the anti-Semitic Haman was appointed prime minister of the empire. Mordechai, the leader of the Jews (and Esther’s cousin), defied the king’s orders and refused to bow to Haman. Haman was infuriated and convinced the king to issue a decree ordering the eradication of the Jews. Mordechai convinced the Jews to repent, fast and pray while Esther implored the kid and Haman to join her in a feast. Esther told the kid she was Jewish, Haman was hanged, Mordechai was appointed prime minister and a new decree was issued granting the Jews the right to defend themselves against their enemies.

The service for Purim is pretty unusual and a lot of fun, especially for kids. You're encouraged to dress in silly costumes and every time you hear Haman's name, you're supposed to interrupt the service with noise-making devices (as opposed to being quiet).

After extensive research, I found these three websites to help you and your little one get in the spirit of Purim:

1. Torahtots.com – A bright, fun website, kids can learn the story of Purim, how it's celebrated, about the foods associated with Purim and the site even has Purim trivia.
2. Chabad.org – This site offers games, crafts, printables, videos, songs, stories, music, and more! A MUST-LOOK if you celebrate Purim!
3. Aish.com  – Offers videos, recipes, coloring pages, tips on Purim costumes, a trivia page and even boasts a guideline for having a Purim Scavenger hunt. Fun!
   
   

Everyone loves Purim festivities, but there's deeper meaning. It's about courage, survival, and one woman who made a real difference to her people. Happy Purim! 

Please note that a version of this post appeared on www.thegeekparent.com. 

Yom Kippur Resources For Kids

Yom Kippur has values we can teach ALL children!

I remember the first, and ONLY, Yom Kippur service I ever attended. I had just begun dating my future husband and was still posturing for his mother, so I sat on one side of the temple with her while he sat with the other men. I remember the rabbi, in all of his vestments, repeatedly bowing (is that called berakhot?), literally reciting the phrase “we are nothing, we are guilty, we are bad” over and over. Now, I don't mind self-reflection and repentance (I'm Catholic, after all, and that's no walk in the park, either) but I felt somewhat suicidal after that service and vowed NEVER to go back again.

Now I'm 20+ years into marriage, we're raising our children Unitarian, and acknowledge their father's Jewish traditions. So how does one explain the concept of Yom Kippur to kids? Here are some resources for kids that won't scare or make them feel as awful as I did after that fateful service:

• If your kids need a quickie explanation of the holiday, click here. I love the fact that this page states that the Yom Kippur is “all about each individual Jewish person’s behavior” and our choices in taking a “good” or “bad” path.
  
  
• I actually learned something from this) site which lists a few prayers and, again, explains what Yom Kippur is about. Did you know that “on Yom Kippur we do not wear leather shoes, so put on your canvas or plastic sneakers or sandals.” I didn't! There's also a cool link which shows how a shofar is made. 
  
  
• Parents can visit this site for guidance on how to explain the holidays to their children. One phrase that caught my eye: “everybody makes mistakes, from the very young to the very old.” Yes! 

  

  Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur can have meaning for us all.

  
  

And you'll find some wonderful Yom Kippur crafts and more on these sites:

• How-To's for funky paper slippers and more are what you'll find here. I may have my husband make those with Lily tomorrow.
  
  
• Videos, crafts, coloring pages galore are one click away at this site.  It's supposed to rain tomorrow, so I have a hunch that Lily will be watching some of these videos.
  
  
• You want fun? Here it is!  Online games, crafts, greeting cards guarantee learning and enjoyment.

Yom Kippur seems to be about self-reflection and doing better next year, positive things that we can all benefit from. Teaching children to think about their actions and the repercussions is something that we, as parents, need to do to help our children become considerate and responsible adults. Even though my experience at my first Yom Kippur service was horrible, Jewish or not, I think Yom Kippur has meaning for us all.                                                                           

And if you celebrate Yom Kippur, I wish you an easy fast! 

Thank you for reading! 

Featured Photo credit: http://photopin.com/search/yom-kippur