March 15, 2006
The music, dancing and brightly colored decorations of this year's Purim festival made Irving Jacobson smile.
Watching as people chatted or lined up for food Tuesday night, the Wappingers Falls man said the holiday was a celebration.
When asked what Purim meant to him, Jacobson smiled and said "freedom."
Purim, which took place Monday and Tuesday, celebrates the Jews' ability to survive a plot calling for their extermination in ancient Persia. The plot was orchestrated by Haman, who was the king's adviser. The Jews were saved when Esther, herself a Jew and the wife of the king, told the king of the adviser's plot against her people.
On the holiday, Jews listen to a reading of the Megillah, or the Book of Esther.
"You never get tired of it," Jacobson said. "It just reminds you of freedom, and it helps being in a free country like this."
Hosted by Chabad of the Mid-Hudson Valley, this year's theme was Mexican. Hundreds of people gathered at the Best Western on Route 9 in the Town of Poughkeepsie to dance, eat and celebrate.
For Alice Wittels of LaGrange the holiday is a happy one.
"It's part of my tradition," she said, smiling. "Growing up, this was always the fun holiday. It's also a time for everyone to be together."
The event drew people from throughout the region including older folks and families with young children. Seth Levin and his family came from Newburgh.
"It's a joyous day, it's a day of freedom," he said.
Purim celebrations generally draw crowds, said Beth Tango of Walden, who made her first trip to the Chabad event.
"I think it brings people out, especially new people who are not in touch with their Judaism," she said.
Kathianne Boniello can be reached at kboniello@poughkeepsiejournal.com
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