Northwest Suburban Chabad held its “Purim Carnival” in-person Monday, marking a return to the more pre-pandemic way families were able to celebrate the Jewish observance.
Approximately 200 people attended the Northwest Suburban Chabad event in the downstairs multi-purpose room at Aptakisic Junior High School in Buffalo Grove.It returned as an in-person event after two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, said Rabbi Shmuel Katz.
The “festive” Jewish holiday celebrates “the salvation of the Jewish people in ancient Persia,” leaders at Northwest Suburban Chabad had stated in a post announcing Purim.
“There is a need … for children to get connected to something special in their life,” Katz said of being back in-person. “It doesn’t work unless they can do the hands on. … If you want to be able to instill the values, the happiness, the joy of the holiday in the next generation, you need them to be proud of it.”
Purim is a Jewish observance marking the saving of the Jews from a royal death decree in ancient Persia.
Purim is celebrated with costumes, carnivals and holiday desserts, among festivities. Philanthropy and helping others are traditional to Purim, according to the post. There were also inflatables for children to jump in, face painting, twisted balloon art, supper, sweets and the half-hourlong reading of a megillah scroll in Hebrew which tells the story of Purim.
This year Purim began on the evening March 6 and ended the next day evening.
Purim instills a lesson of hope, the rabbi said.
“The message of Purim is to always be positive,” Katz said. “The story of Purim is how things look very bleak, truthfully, … and in one moment, everything turned around. So we have to focus on the right thing, do the right thing, be positive and God will do his share and bring us great miracles.”
Rina Pole, formerly of Buffalo Grove and now lives in Chicago, attended with her children.
“It’s a living holiday, so they are participating in a celebration of a historical event,” Pole said. “They love it so much.”
Jeff and Mallori Stafman, of Deerfield, brought their 1-year-old daughter Addison.
“It’s to make memories and have a good time as a family and spend time together,” Mallori Stafman said about attending Purim this year.
Stacey Kywi, of Hawthorn Woods, holding son Yoni, 9 months, said Purim is “a time of joy, happiness.”
As a universal message, Kywi said, “We all were created by the same person, we should love each other the same way.”
Karie Angell Luc is a freelancer.
