This year, many Purim festivities were held throughout the University of Judaism. On Sunday, March 4, Dean of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies Rabbi Bradley Artson held a Megillah reading, seudah and shpiel at his house in honor of the holiday. The event began at 9:00am. Many Ziegler School students and faculty members were present, with a small number of undergraduates.
There was enough food to go around and the morning prayers went along smoothly. Emily Hausman was one of the undergraduate students in attendance and told CampusJ “It was great to see my friends and my peers read a megillah and fulfill the mitzvot.”
The shpiel involved a lot of comedic skits and musical performances. “The Purim shpiel was amazing — the second years [rabbinical students] tend to be not so humorous usually, but after a few drinks on Purim they were pretty good,” Hausman said.
Also in honor of Purim, Hillel and the Peer Mentoring Program joined together to put on the well-attended “Mix-Up Masquerade” event, which began at 8:00pm in the Auerbach Student Union. Many participants came in costume, with a good amount dressing as the opposite sex. A lot of students brought tzedaka to the event, which was all donated to The Lost Boys and Girls of Sudan.
Upon entering the Student Union, guests were told to write their name on a piece of paper and pick up a name from the pile. The guests were then told to decorate a plastic cup and fill it with candy in order to make mishloach manot for the name they picked. Carole Buchanan, one of the main planners of the event, was very happy with the outcome of the evening. “I thought it was awesome how people got into decorating their cups, and making them really nice to give to their peers,” she said. Junior Blythe Briggs also enjoyed the cup decorating activity. “It’s nice to get something and feel like you’re a part of a community,” she said.
A fashion show was also held to see who had the best mixed-up costume. Participants lined up outside and entered the room one by one. They walked down the line as if they were models in a real fashion show. The winners received gift certificates. “The fashion show was hilarious, it was interesting to see what people came up with,” Briggs said.
After the fashion show, guests were asked to bob for apples. This became an all-out war, with many participants getting soaked in the process. Food was served throughout the evening, including pretzels, chips, sparkling cider and of course, hamentashen. The event ended at 9:45pm and was followed by a celebration for those over 21. These students were allowed to enter the Lizard Lounge and drink alcohol. Overall, many students were present and the entire event was a huge achievement. “I thought [the event] was a lot of fun. We had some interesting costumes and there was fun music,” said Briggs.