Also, a lot of people did "no doc" loans, which bothered me when my broker suggested it. Of course, he also wanted to go with Countrywide, which doesn't surprise me in light of their current issues.

I've never been to a Purim "party" that wasn't held at the synagogue as part of the Purim service.

Atlanta has a parade [link]

I've never been to a Purim "party" that wasn't held at the synagogue as part of the Purim service.

Ah -- I'm pretty sure my coworker went to a big party at a non-religious venue last night, but I could be wrong. And she was saying her doorman asked her the same question, because what he saw was dressed-up people going out (he wouldn't know were they were going, even if it was the synagogue). I'm not saying it's not ignorant, but I can see someone getting the impression.

Purim at the Jewish high school I taught at was a massive Halloween-esque party all day. There were readings from the Book Of Esther itself, but:

The primary commandment related to Purim is to hear the reading of the book of Esther. The book of Esther is commonly known as the Megillah, which means scroll. Although there are five books of Jewish scripture that are properly referred to as megillahs (Esther, Ruth, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, and Lamentations), this is the one people usually mean when they speak of The Megillah. It is customary to boo, hiss, stamp feet and rattle gragers (noisemakers; see illustration) whenever the name of Haman is mentioned in the service. The purpose of this custom is to "blot out the name of Haman."

We are also commanded to eat, drink and be merry. According to the Talmud, a person is required to drink until he cannot tell the difference between "cursed be Haman" and "blessed be Mordecai," though opinions differ as to exactly how drunk that is. A person certainly should not become so drunk that he might violate other commandments or get seriously ill. In addition, recovering alcoholics or others who might suffer serious harm from alcohol are exempt from this obligation.

In addition, we are commanded to send out gifts of food or drink, and to make gifts to charity. The sending of gifts of food and drink is referred to as shalach manos (lit. sending out portions). Among Ashkenazic Jews, a common treat at this time of year is hamentaschen (lit. Haman's pockets). These triangular fruit-filled cookies are supposed to represent Haman's three-cornered hat. My recipe is included below.

It is customary to hold carnival-like celebrations on Purim, to perform plays and parodies, and to hold beauty contests. I have heard that the usual prohibitions against cross-dressing are lifted during this holiday, but I am not certain about that. Americans sometimes refer to Purim as the Jewish Mardi Gras.

There was no alcohol, but lots of eat, drink, be merry and dress in silly costumes.

Oh, man. Now I'm dying for an Eastern Orthodox Easter feast, and it's going to be weeks.

I'm also dying for sleep. Last night Matilda went down beautifully at 8:30ish, then popped up like a jack-in-the-box at 10:30 and proceeded to stay in that horrible tired but unable to shut down state, kicking and flailing and aimlessly drumming her heels and punching things and babbling and flopping from side to side to back to up to down again, and finally flinging herself violently all over the bed and then bursting into shrieking sobs, until 3:30 a.m. Unemployment is a mercy, as it saves me the trouble of calling in dead.

Suspicion, fear of large numbers, and terror of looking stupid in front of experts are all exactly what have saved me from ever having even considered buying a house or even a car. (And, yeah, there was a growing-bubble time when it was slightly feasible, even for me, even here in the Bay Area, which is a sign of how severely out of whack and removed from reality it all was).

I wear the cheese; it does not wear me.

I'm not saying it's not ignorant, but I can see someone getting the impression.

I'd be less scornful, possibly, if somebody could demonstrate to me something, anything, that McCain does display a reasonable understanding of. And if he hadn't been on a trip to Israel during the holiday at the time. It's not like the subject came up out of nowhere.

then popped up like a jack-in-the-box at 10:30 and proceeded to stay in that horrible tired but unable to shut down state, kicking and flailing and aimlessly drumming her heels and punching things and babbling and flopping from side to side to back to up to down again, and finally flinging herself violently all over the bed and then bursting into shrieking sobs, until 3:30 a.m.

I think I've had nights like that.

The elders at the school called it "Jewish Halloween with charity and noisemakers" when summing it up to us ignorant gentiles.

(Ftr, I despise McCain, but I can see where he got the impression, what with everyone running around in costumes and drinking a lot.)

I'd be less scornful, possibly, if somebody could demonstrate to me something, anything, that McCain does display a reasonable understanding of. And if he hadn't been on a trip to Israel during the holiday at the time. It's not like the subject came up out of nowhere.

Oh, absolutely. Coworker and I were agreeing it was a legit question from her doorman; nsm someone visiting Israel while running for president of the United States.

So I'm trying to figure out what to do for Easter. I have several church-y options, but none is ideal, which I why I don't go regularly! Hmph.