From the Cantor - March 2000

This year we have two months of Adar because it's a leap year in the Jewish calendar! Why? So we don't end up celebrating Pesach in mid-winter! Sounds flip, but it's true. Our lunar calendar gives each Jewish month between 29 and 30 days. To make up for the imbalance, we add an extra month of Adar (giving us Adar I and Adar II) nine times per seventeen-year span. So, as the saying goes, "Mi she nichnas Adar marbim l'simcha" - when the month of Adar enters, joy increases! This year, I wish you two solid months of laughter. It's good for you.

Another advantage to leap year is that we've got more time to get ready for Purim, which normally falls on the 14th of Adar. This year, Purim falls on the 14th of Adar II. Prepare to enjoy a two-day celebration at Congregation Albert.

On Sunday, March 19, religious school will end at 11:00 a.m. so that EVERYONE in our congregation may enjoy an assembly and Purimspiel in our sanctuary. HaShirah, our junior choir, will be on hand for a musical salute to Purim as well. For those who don't know, a Purimspiel (pronounced "PUR-im SHPEEL) is, literally, a Purim play. It could contain the story of Esther, it could be about our congregation and the people in it, or both! Or it could just be full of surprises. But it is guaranteed to be funny. So come in costume and join us afterwards in the social hall for the Purim Carnival, which will have even more surprises.

But it's not over yet! On Monday, March 20, the celebration continues at 5:30 p.m. with a brown-bag supper, Purim service and Megillah reading. This year I have been preparing some Megillah readers who will relay parts of the story of Esther and Mordechai in special trope from the scroll of Esther. This evening is for all ages, and again, costumes are heartily encouraged!

This month I look forward to hosting, for the first time, "Cantor's Brown Bag Book Review." On Wednesdays at noon, March 15 through April 5, we will meet to discuss Marge Piercy's novel He, She & It. Please contact the Religious School Office if you are interested in signing up. Since I love to read and to share my love of books, I hope to make "Cantor's Brown Bag Book Review" an annual spring event.

It is always a pleasure to introduce one's teachers, old friends and colleagues to our temple family. I look forward to our visit from scholar-in-residence Rabbi Rachel Sabath, my former teacher at HUC-JIR, at the end of March. Next month Cantor Howard Tabaknek, my very good friend and colleague, will journey from Phoenix to join me for the third annual Cantor's Concert, on Saturday, April 8 at 7:00 p.m. HaShirah and other surprises will make for an entertaining evening as well. I look forward all year to sharing this evening with you, and hope you will be there to enjoy it with me.

B'shalom u-v'shir,
Cantor Jacqueline Shuchat-Marx

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