On Thursday, March 2nd, Bentley Hillel hosted a Purim Party on-campus in La Cava’s Executive Dining Room from 7-9 PM. All were welcome to attend and the party was marketed across various social media platforms for weeks prior. Purim is a holiday celebrated to commemorate the Jewish people’s freedom from an evil king named Haman. Haman had a goal to get rid of all Jewish people in Persia and had King Achashverosh help him. However, Haman did not know that King Achashverosh’s wife, Esther, was Jewish. Queen Esther, along with her uncle Mordecai, worked to successfully defeat Haman’s plan.
To celebrate the Jewish people’s freedom, today, people will dress in costumes, gather with their friends and family for a meal, donate to charity, and more. Additionally, it is common for Hamantaschens to be eaten. Hamantaschens are a triangle shaped cookie that can be filled with chocolate, raspberry, and apricot. These cookies are triangles to represent Haman’s hat. Another tradition is to boo or scream when Haman’s name is mentioned. People will make noise using groggers; a hand-hold, wooden toy that a user spins and it makes noise (the word grogger is the Yiddish word for rattle).
With many traditions in place to celebrate, Bentley Hillel wanted to bring this celebration to campus. For this celebration they had food, drinks, music, a raffle, and performances to entertain guests who attended. Many guests were in costumes, and if they did not there were masks and beaded necklaces offered if they wanted. On each table, there were necklace beads, candy, masks, and a program of the performers. The first performance was Bentley CRAZE showcasing a dance routine and it was their first act of the semester. Additionally, Shira Vilvosky (Class of ‘23), sang Toxic by Britney Spears. Lastly, Ishaan Doshi (Class of ‘24) gave the audience a great laugh with an amazing stand-up comedy routine. These student performances were amazing and were highlights of the night. Student feedback form attendees has all been positive. For example, attendee, Robert Camuso (Class of ‘24) states, “I haven’t been to many Bentley events while I have been a student here, but after attending Purim, I see what I have been missing out on these past few years.”
This event was casual, and in between acts attendees were able to get up and talk, grab food and drinks, and even use the microphones to sing karaoke. This event fostered interactions between the Hillel members and the general Bentley community. As attendee Kyra Harrington (Class of ‘24) says, “I attended Purim to support friends in Hillel. I had a great time talking to new people and watching the performances they had lined up.”
At the end of the night there was also a raffle with prizes such as a JBL speaker and a Squishmallow. Additionally, there were also many picture walls where people could take photos and showcase their costumes with their friends! Hillel member, Ella Brown, says that “Purim was a blast! It was so nice seeing so many new faces and celebrating the holiday with lots of dancing and music!”
Overall, this night was fun for all attendees and this was the first major event that Hillel has organized. Hillel looks forward to continuing programming events like this one and are already looking forward to next year’s Purim Party!
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