purim

Cute graphic of a three people riding in a red car holding balloons and a sign that says "Happy Purim!"Whether you are looking for videos, crafts, explanations, or more, jkidphilly is your one-stop-shop for all things Purim.

Come for the Hamantaschen recipes;

stay for the endless array of ways to celebrate with your jkids!

About Purim

Purim is a holiday that is made for families. It celebrates the Jews’ last minute escape from an ancient Persian decree to destroy them. Traditions include dressing in costume, sharing gift baskets or mishloach manot with friends, listening to the Megillah, or Book of Esther, making noise by shaking groggers, sharing joyous festivities with your friends and community, and giving tzedakah.

Purim Story

One of the themes of the Purim story is courage. Queen Vashti, Esther’s predecessor, stands up for herself and refuses to dance and entertain the king’s friends. Later, Queen Esther must bravely go to the king and ask for his help. What do your children do that shows bravery or courage?

Activities

Purim activities are supposed to be fun and silly with a carnival-like atmosphere. We clown around and make people laugh. We play chance games to poke fun at Haman using a lottery (purim, pronounced poo-reem in Hebrew!) to choose the date for when to carry out his doomed plan. Costumes and masks are part of the celebration because God is not mentioned in the Megillah and is “hidden” in the Purim story. What are your children’s hidden talents?

learn

Everything you wanted to know about Purim — and more!

  • Let’s celebrate… Purim is the most festive holiday of the Jewish calendar. It is an occasion for “serious partying,” a day of authorized abandon. Purim marks the celebration of an ancient victory - when Queen Esther, an assimilated Jewish woman, found the courage to risk her life to save the Jewish people from an evil advisor who plotted to destroy the Jews of Shushan. Purim is undoubtedly the most high-spirited of Jewish holidays and probably the easiest to celebrate. Four mitzvoth (plural mitzvah) have become the essence of Purim. (A mitzvah is good deed that Jews do, or “a Jewish thing to do.”) The Purim Story: A long time ago, many Jewish people lived in the city of Shushan in the country of Persia. The king of this great country was named King Ahashverosh. The Queen of the great country was named Queen Vashti. King Ahashverosh loved to give big parties in his palace. One night, he gave.a big party and wanted Queen Vashti to dance for his guests. Vashti did not want to dance, sos he sent a message that she would not attend the King’s part. “Nobody says ‘no’ to the King,” said an angry Ahashverosh. And Ahashverosh sent Vashti away from the palace. King Ahashverosh sent messages throughout his country calling all young women to the palace so that he could choose a new queen from among them. One young lady was a Jewish girl named Esther. She did not want to go, but her cousin, Mordechai, said she must. “Perhaps some day you may be able to help the Jewish people,” suggested Mordechai. The king chose the beautiful and kind Esther to be his queen. The king had a chief assistant to help him with all his important work. His name was Haman. The story ends here for now, but this page discusses Purim and how Jewish Learning Venture celebrates it. There are cute graphics of the king and queen, as well.
  • A young boy dressed up in funny clothing with his hair dyed red and white. He is carring a box of goodies and smiling,

play

Crafts and games for a super fun Purim!

  • A purim lotto. There are eigut different boxes filled with items including: hamantashen, grogger, purim mask, haman, king ahasuerus, queen esther, happy purim, and purim feast.
  • A Purim pinterest board with celebratory items such as party hats as well as desserts such as chocolate.
  • A coloring page for coloring in the Purim Puppets! Color the Purim Puppets. Cut them out (or ask a grown up to help you cut them out.) Tape them onto a Popsicle stick. Make up a puppet show that tells the Purim story. Parents - visit www.jkidphilly.org/purim for great videos that tell the Purim story! We’d love you to send us pictures and/or videos of your kids and their Purim puppets.

cook

Nothing says Purim like sweet and delicious hamantaschen! Learn how to make them — and more!

  • A recipe for how to make gluten free hamentaschen. This recipe is incomplete, as it is cut off before all of the ingredients are listed.
  • A pinterest board for Hamantaschen, featuring delicious looking pictures of different flavored hamantaschen.
  • Click here for a really fun, child-friendly hamantashen recipe
  • Check out our all-hamantaschen-all-the-time Pinterest board

watch

Videos for all ages

  • A sesame street book called: Shalom Sesame! Be happy, it's Purim, with an image of a sesame street character peering through a huge hamentaschen that fits around his face!
  • A screenshot of a youtube video called: Princess of Persia, a purim story. The cover image features a large castle surrounded by beautiful colors of orange, yellow, pink, blue and purple.

listen

Get into the spirit of Purim with this playlist

  • A jkidphilly spotify playlist for Purim!

read

PJ Library is full of wonderful Purim stories to share. These are some of our favorites:

  • A book cover titled: cakes and miracles: a purim tale, written by Barbara Diamond Goldin and illustrated by Jaime Zollabs. The cover of this book is a young child with their eyes closed holding a basket of purim cookies. They are wearing a hat and scarf and look content.
  • A book cover titled: The Better-Than-Best Purim by Naomi Howland. The cover image feature a grandmother rolling out dough to make hamantaschen while her dog, cat and parrot watch closely, trying to sneak a piece of the treat.
  • A book cover titled: Barnyard Purim by Kelly Terwilliger. The cover image features cartoon animals in front of a red barn, all dressed up in costumes for Purim.