Harvard Purim 2012 Event Guide

Purim is Wednesday night March 7th through Thursday March 8th

The Fast of Esther starts Wednesday, March 7th at 4:45am and ends at 6:10pm

Purim with Hillel

52 Mt. Auburn Street, Cambridge

Megillah Readings*

6pm Wednesday night, Thursday morning at 6am and 8am

Women's Megillah reading* at 7:30am

*Please bring a box of pasta to use as a grogger and to be donated afterwards to Harvard homeless shelter

Purim Seudah -

JLIC/Student Conservative Minyan/Orthodox Student Minyan Meal - Thursday 12:30-2:30 (all are welcome)

Purim-Run: A Purim Celebration with SCM

Join the SCM community for a river-run themed megillah reading and raucous Purim celebration on Wednesday March 7th, at 7pm, Ticknor Lounge.  Come dressed as your favorite house mascot.

Worship & Study Minyan Purim Celebration

Join W&S for Megillah Reading, a Hamentoshen Bake Off, and original minyan-produced entertainment.  From 7:00pm - 9:00pm in Smith Hall.

Tremont Street Shul

8 Tremont Street, Cambridge

Egalitarian evening service with Megillah reading - Wednesday 6:30pm

Traditional Evening service with Megillah Reading - Wednesday 8:30pm

Minyan Tehila
(all events at Casa Do Benfica, 178 Elm Street, Cambridge)

Purim davening and Megillah - Wednesday 6:25pm

Party and Megillah with Cambridge Minyan - 8:15-9:15

Late Megillah Reading - 9-10pm

Harvard Chabad's ABSOLUT PURIM 2012 

The Crimson Bash - THE BEST PARTY OF THE YEAR!

Wednesday 3/7 at the Harvard Crimson

8:30 Megillah Reading / 9PM AWESOME PARTY!

Hot food buffet, unlimited Hora, and incredible spirit.

Bagels, Lox and Megillah Brunch

Thursday, 3/8 

12PM - Harvard Law School - WWC B015

12:15PM - Harvard Business School - Aldrich 208

Brought to you by Harvard Chabad, JLSA and the JSA

A Royal Feast

Thursday, 3/8 at Chabad

Last Chance to hear the Megillah at 4:30PM

Full spread festive dinner with lots of Chabad spirit 5PM

RSVP info@chabadharvard.org



Chai Center

Purim Party

Club Rumor, 100 Warrenton St. Boston

Purim party for 20s/30s young adults

Megilla Reading

$15 pre-register, $20 at the door

Register here

Purim!

Purim is Judaism's most festive holiday. It commemorates the Jewish people's deliverance from a genocidal plot to destroy them hatched by the evil Haman in the ancient Persian Empire. Like some other Jewish holidays, Purim can be summarized as: "They tried to kill us, they failed, lets eat!"

Purim is celebrated in many ways. We read of the Megilla, a scroll that recounts the story of Purim. It is also traditional to the give gifts of food and drink to our friends and money to the poor. Purim is also celebrated by wearing masks and costumes, and copious amounts of drinking, eating, and partying. A traditional Purim snack is a Hamantashen, a triangular shaped pastry filled with jam.

Purim is Wednesday night March 7th through Thursday March 8th .

The Fast of Esther starts Wednesday, March 7th at 4:45am and ends at 6:10pm

Check out some of the Purim festivities happening in and around campus here.

To learn more about Purim visit the following resources:

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/holiday9.html

http://www.chabad.org/holidays/purim/default_cdo/jewish/Purim.htm

Also check out this video of tomb of Mordechai and Esther, the heroes of the Purim story, here. The site is located in present day Iran.

Tu B'Shvat and Ecological Activism

The Jewish holiday of Tu B'Shevat falls out this year on Wednesday, February 8th. On the Jewish calendar, it always falls on the 15th day of the month of Shevat (from which the holiday derives its name).

Tu B'Shevat is a minor festival that is considered something of a Jewish version of Arbor Day. Having its roots in ancient Temple practices, Tu B'Shevat allows Jews to celebrate nature and explore the environmental aspects of their tradition. One of the often quoted texts that demonstrates Judaism's advocacy of responsible stewardship of the environment is an ancient rabbinic teaching that states:

"When God led Adam around the Garden of Eden, God said, 'Look at My works. See how beautiful they are, how excellent! For your sake I created them all. See to it that you do not spoil or destroy My world--for if you do, there will be no one to repair it after you'" (Ecclesiastes Rabbah 7.13).

The traditions of Tu B'Shevat include planting trees. Tu B'Shevat is considered the "New Year for Trees" by the Jewish tradition because it is the season in which the trees in Israel start to emerge from their winter sleep and begin a new fruit bearing cycle.

Another Tu B'Shevat tradition is having a Feast of Fruits, a formal meal similar to a Passover seder. This Tu B'Shevat seder was created by 16th century kabbalists of the city of Safed. Passages from the Hebrew Bible and Rabbinic literature would be read while five fruits and two grains associated with the land of Israel would be eaten. Four cups of wine would also be drunk, a mixture of red and white wines to represent the four different seasons.

With the increased concern for the environment and the planet's ecology within each of our design disciplines, Tu B'Shevat can take on additional meaning. We can remember that environmental protection has always been an element in Jewish tradition. Tu B'Shevat can serve as a reminder to us to make sure that our building, urban, and landscape designs do the utmost to protect the natural world that we live in.