LEGAL SERVICES
O PINION
Weiss-Greenberg Continued from Page 18
SENIORS TO SENIORS
and in costume, albeit virtu-
ally and/or socially distant. We
should still enjoy a festive meal
with our families. We can still be
joyous and exhibit the tradition of
“v’nahafochu,” literally “turning
things upside down” by being so
joyous that we cannot keep the
Purim story straight, in perhaps
new ways. Traditionally, this is
accomplished through alcohol
consumption. Th is year, we can
appreciate how wearing masks
is no longer an occasional thing
but a staple of our wardrobes.

On Purim, let’s make them not
only protective, but also joyful
and silly.

My biggest hope, however, is
that we more equally distribute
the focus of these four mitzvot
to highlight giving to the
poor. Th e rates of poverty have
skyrocketed in the past year.

Families who had jobs and
enough to care for their families
and give tzedakah to support
others are now standing in lines
at food pantries.

Th is year, we can take time
this week of Purim to consider
the fi nancial inequities and
misfortune that have befallen
our communities, including
our dear friends and family.

We may not be able to sing and
dance together, but we can give
and care for the poor, many of
whom are not strangers and
whose contingencies have risen.

Let’s allow our experience
of a pandemic Purim to have
a lasting impact on the values
and meaning of the holiday.

Yes, we should still thoughtfully
cultivate much-needed joy, but
we can also pay equal attention
— perhaps this year even more
attention — to those who are
not as fortunate.

Th is year my family will
still dress up. We will prepare
mishloach manot — Purim gift
baskets — with cards indicating
that we have made donations
in lieu of lavish gift s. We will
read the Megillah as a family
zooming with our community.

And as a family, we will
choose where to make donations,
and make it clear that we are
blessed and grateful to be able
to have a home and food and to
help others have the same.

We will take the moment to
laugh, eat, enjoy and be grateful
for what we have and not what
could have been. ●
Sharon Weiss-Greenberg is director
of education partnerships for My
Jewish Learning. She studied at The
Drisha Institute for Jewish Education
and Yeshiva University and got a
doctorate from New York University.

She was the fi rst Orthodox woman
chaplain at Harvard University. This
piece was fi rst published by JTA.

Be heard.

Email your letters
to the editor.

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C ommunity
FRIDAY, FEB 26
Resume Renovation
Join JEVS Career Strategies to
learn how to use a resume to
get noticed by employers. The
free career webinar will be held
on Zoom at noon. Register at
jevshumanservices.org/event/ career-webinar-resume-renovation/
to receive a link.

SATURDAY, FEB 27
‘Til Kingdom Come
Official selection of Docaviv, the
Atlanta Jewish Film Festival and more,
“‘Til Kingdom Come” is an exhilarating
work of cinema and a mesmerizing
look into the unique bond between
evangelical Christianity and the
Jewish state. Gershman Philadelphia
Jewish Film Festival will screen a
sneak preview at 7 p.m. for 24 hours
only. Cost $12, available to residents
of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and
Delaware. Visit pjff.org/ for more
information. SUNDAY, FEB 28
Virtual Purim
Jewish Children’s Folkshul &
Adult Community will host a Purim
Open House at 10:30 a.m. on Zoom
with shpiels, stories, music and
the four mitzvot of Purim. Juggler
Andrew Scharff of “Andrew ‘s Big
Show” and musician Dot of “Dot’s
Serenades” will entertain. Register
for the free event at eventbrite.

com/e/purim-with-folkshul-tickets- 140635601871?aff=
ebdssbonlinesearch. Mekor Presents MOSHAV
Mekor Habracha will host a
Zoom concert featuring the
renowned band MOSHAV at 8 p.m.

General admission starts at $36
per household. Higher levels of
support, including sponsorships,
offer chances to compete for raffle
prizes, such as designer necklaces
donated by Gael R. Opportunities
for dedications in someone’s honor
or memory are also available.

All proceeds will benefit Mekor
Habracha Center City Synagogue.

Visit mekorhabracha.org for more
information. TUESDAY, MARCH 2
Family Genetic History
Beth Israel of Chester
County Sisterhood will host a
presentation from Facing Our Risk
of Cancer Empowered regarding
understanding family genetic
ancestry and how to safeguard
against cancer at 7 p.m. This virtual
event, presented by a FORCE
scientist and a genetic counselor
from Fox Chase Cancer Center, will
be full of life-saving information
and include an interactive quiz and
a Q&A session. RSVP with your
name and affiliation, if any,
to BICCSisterhood@gmail.com.

THURSDAY, MARCH 4
The Race for America
“Jews, Race and Religion,” a free
online lecture series offered by
the Katz Center for Advanced
Judaic Studies at the University
of Pennsylvania, will focus on
intersections of race and religion,
drawing lessons from the history of
anti-Semitism, examining the role of
Jews in the racialized culture of the
United States and exploring the role
of race in Jewish identity. 1:30–2:30
p.m. Register at katz.sas.upenn.

edu/resources/blog/jews-race-and- religion. l
What’s going on in Jewish Philadelphia?
Submit an event or browse our online calendar to find out what’s
happening at local synagogues, community organizations and venues!
Submit: listings@jewishexponent.com
Online: jewishexponent.com/events/
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM N E W S MAKE R S
On Feb. 7, more than 100 religious school
students and adult congregants of Tiferet
Bet Israel participated in the World Wide
Wrap, a tefillin education program created
by the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs.

Additionally, the TBI Men’s Club sponsored
“build a pair” tefillin kits to help students
learn the process of wrapping tefillin.

Miranda Koellhoffer, a second-grade student,
with her homemade tefillin
Photo by Samantha Koellhoffer
Members of the Center City
Kehillah were joined on Feb.

21 by award-winning baker
Tova du Plessis for a hamen-
taschen-baking demonstration
via Zoom. Du Plessis, owner
of Essen Bakery, used her own
recipe and took questions from
viewers as she assembled the
hamentaschen. Photos by Miriam Steinberg-Egeth
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