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This Purim, Make Noise to Protest Modern-Day Hamans

Rabbi David Wirtschafter

We know that religious freedom is not a lesson from ancient stories, but an ongoing quest even today. While many of us are fighting antisemitism in our home countries, we are also in solidarity with the Rohingya people, who have been persecuted for decades.

Social Justice Gift Guide 5777

Sarah Greenberg

In search of a unique gift for the social justice junkie in your life? Look no further than our Social Justice Hanukkah Gift Guide, with eight suggestions full of tzedek – one for each night!

Purim: A Time to Reflect on Religious Freedom Worldwide

Rachel Landman

On Purim, we celebrate the story of Queen Esther and her cousin Mordechai, who saved the Jews of Persia from Haman’s plot to kill them.

No Disguises: Purim and Women’s Equality

Tracy Wolf

Purim is a joyous holiday celebrating the story of the book of Esther and how she and her cousin Mordechai saved the Jewish community in Persia from persecution. I have fond memories of attending megillah readings at my synagogue and eating hamantaschen with my family.

Purim 5776: Incorporating Social Justice into Your Celebrations

Sarah Greenberg

Without a doubt, Purim is one of my favorite Jewish holidays.

Celebrate Purim with the Green Adar Challenge: Eco-Mishloach Manot!

Welcome to the Jewish Month of Adar! This month in the Jewish year we celebrate Purim by reading Megillat Esther, dressing up in costumes and sending our friends and families mishloach manot gift baskets. There are many ways to incorporate environmental themes into every holiday, from reading prayers for our earth in services to using recycled materials to make our costumes.

Unmasking the Use of the Death Penalty

Though Purim is a time for costumes, carnivals and hamentaschen, the story also prompts big questions, like the use of the death penalty in our society. At the end of the Purim story, we see the death penalty carried out when Haman is hanged on the gallows he had built for Mordecai.

Purim as a Call to Action to End Economic Inequality

I have always loved Purim. I remember eating hamentaschen in my religious school classes (deciding amongst the apricot, poppyseed, chocolate or strawberry flavors), playing bean bag toss at the Purim carnival, and waiving the groger enthusiastically as my rabbis, dressed up in costumes to accompany the theme of that year’s Purim spiel, recited the name of Haman, the wicked villain who tried to kill the Jews. I remember feeling so honored when I got to wear my own costume as part of the Purim spiel and read the megillah the year after I became a Bat Mitzvah. We are taught that Purim is a time for “feasting and merrymaking” (Megillat Esther 9:22). However, there are also a number of traditional obligations we have as Jews in addition to feasting and merrymaking, which remind us of the struggles for justice that continue year round.

For Trans and Gender Non-Conforming Individuals, Gender Expression isn’t a Purim Costume

Jews across the world are getting ready to celebrate Purim. Already, there are many Jews, from young children to grown adults, planning their Purim outfits. Some will be characters from the Purim story. Some will be famous actors. Some will be fictional heroes and villains. And no doubt, many people will cross-dress and dress up as someone of a different gender. Most people will not think twice about whether their costume will be accepted on Purim, as it is almost expected that people will dress up for the holiday.

On Purim, Exploring the Intersections of Reproductive Justice and Criminal Justice

On Purim, we celebrate a time of transition for the Jews, from “grief to joy and from mourning to a festive day—to make them days of feasting and joy, and sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor” (Megillat Esther 9).