By Tien-Shun Lee
Members of the Jewish outreach group Atlas celebrated the Jewish holiday Purim at the Gan Eden restaurant in Fresh Meadows Monday night with music, a traditional reading of the Megillah story, food and a stand-up comedy show by a comedian rabbi.
“It's one of the most festive Jewish holidays,” said Diane Merklinger of Briarwood. “Usually you're supposed to get really drunk so you forget the difference between the good guy, Mordechai, and the bad guy, Haman.”
According to the ancient story of Purim, Haman, a power-hungry anti-Semite, had a plot to annihilate the Jewish people in 357 B.C.; however, when the king's wife, Esther, who was secretly a Jew, found out about Haman's plot through her uncle Mordechai, she pleaded with the king to spare her nation.
Haman's plot backfired, and the king ordered Haman and his 10 sons to be executed. Haman's only daughter committed suicide after she learned that Haman was the master of the annihilation plot.
Today, Jews celebrate the Purim holiday on the 14th of the Jewish calendar Adar, the day for which Haman's genocide was planned.
According to Rabbi Mark Nenner, the founding director of Atlas, there are four things Jews are traditionally supposed to do during Purim: hear the Megillah, or story of Purim twice; give gifts to each other; give gifts to the poor; and have a special meal.
“This is a celebration of survival,” said Mark Levine of Rego Park. “There are only 15 million Jews in the whole world.”
Just as there was a parallel between the story of Purim and the Nazi holocaust, there is a parallel between the story of Purim and what is going on in Iraq, Levine said.
“We're dealing with the same kind of man – Saddam Hussein,” Levine said. “They're very anti-Semitic over there. There are very few Jews left in Iraq.”
Copies of the Megillah and noise-makers were passed out before the Purim dinner. As part of the Purim tradition, party-goers used noise-makers called groggers every time Haman's name was mentioned during the reading of the Megillah in Hebrew.
Rabbi Neil Fleishmann, who was named the Funniest Rabbi of the Year by Stand Up NY Comedy Club about two years ago, entertained party-goers as they dined on bread, soup, salad and meat skewers.
“Jewish holidays all have the same theme – they tried to kill us, God saved us, let's eat,” he joked.
The Purim celebration is one of many cultural events hosted by ATLAS throughout the year, Nenner said.
According to Nenner, many members of Atlas are “baa teshuvas,” or Jews who were raised in an environment that did not observe many of the Jewish laws and traditions. Atlas tries to reach out to Jews from all backgrounds to bring them into a friendly, non-judgmental environment where they can learn about and practice Judaism.
“We believe a Jew is a Jew regardless of practice or background,” Nenner said. “We want everyone to come out and experience Judaism at their own level.”
Started in 1994, Atlas has served about 2,000 people mostly in Queens and Nassau County since its inception, Nenner said.
In addition to planning cultural events including trips and Friday night dinners, Atlas offers counseling, pastoral services, Saturday morning beginner services, and classes in Hebrew, crafts, basic Judaism and Jewish culture that are free or cost a minimal amount.
Fred Quint, of Jamaica, began practicing Judaism seriously about six years ago and said joining Atlas has helped him to learn and keep in touch with the Jewish culture.
“In America, it's difficult to keep the religion,” he said. “If you're not raised with it, you'll never catch up to the people who were raised with it.”
Reach reporter Tien-Shun Lee by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com, or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 155.
