Growing Traditions at B’nai Shalom

For generations, B’nai Shalom has hosted a “Purim Parade” for students to show off their festive Purim costumes. This celebration is highly anticipated and fun for the whole B’nai Shalom community. But in the 2023-2024 school year, staff wanted to try something a little different – something that would enrich this tradition, while also inviting more family involvement. 

On Friday morning before Purim, preschool students, parents, and staff congregated for a special Shabbat celebration in the foyer of Beth David Synagogue. Together, the students sang Purim songs they had learned in class and danced together in celebration. For Lower and Upper School students, the morning festivities included a Megillah reading led by Jason Cathcart, Director of Education at Beth David Synagogue and Judaic Studies Teacher at B'nai Shalom. All the while, parents were setting up their trunks with festive Purim decorations and baskets of food items to help students assemble their Mishloah Manot.

After a celebratory parade around the parking lot of Beth David, students paired up with classmates and visited each “Mishloah Manot Station,”  gathering items including hamantaschen, groggers, and other goodies for their baskets. Once the baskets were assembled, students gave their Mishloah Manot to a friend to fulfill this important mitzvah of Purim.

This new celebration was fun and festive, and  truly embodied the core lessons learned at Purim: pride in identity and strength of heart. From princesses to robots, students embraced the celebratory nature of this holiday, while learning the importance of their own actions and the difference that just one person can make in altering the course of history. 

As we enjoy the High Holy days, we can’t wait to see what celebrations 2024 and 2025 will bring to our school! Chag sameach!