Billy sings:
You got no idea where to go – what to do
No idea what will pull you through
No idea – well it’s up to you
To keep your EYES WIDE OPEN

Cuz there’s a miracle – waitin’ in the wings
There’s a miracle, gonna make you sing
There’s a miracle – just one thing:
Keep your EYES WIDE OPEN

Check out the song!!

*”In Hebrew, Egypt is called Mitzrayim. According to the text on Jewish mysticism, the Zohar, the name is derived from m’tzarim, meaning “narrow straits” (mi, “from,” tzar, “narrow” or “tight”).”
-From “Self Liberation” by Lesli Koppelman Ross, originally published in Celebrate! The Complete Jewish Holiday Handbook

By Rabbi Molly G. Kane
More from Rabbi Molly 

“Travis the Tree,” as he was known around Prospect Park, knew the holiday of Tu B’Shevat was coming up, but he didn’t quite know what to expect. He heard some rumors that it was a holiday all about his people…the Trees. He knew there would be a lot of talk about who the trees were and how humans can treat trees better. But what he didn’t know was how the holiday was actually celebrated. Since Travis lived in the park he often saw celebrations. He saw streamers and balloons, picnic baskets filled to the brim, and he saw cake. If only he could eat cake…that yummy looking pastel colored frosting. It seemed to make everyone who ate it so happy. Not that Travis wasn’t happy. He was. And he loved filling himself up with sunshine and rain.  Although, the winter was a tough time for him. It was cold and there wasn’t a lot of sun. Freezing rain and snow didn’t taste as good as the sweet rain of spring and summer. And in the winter he felt so naked! Without any leaves to cover himself up made him feel so vulnerable! And as he was having this thought he realized something HUGE. He was going to be naked for Tu B’shevat! His own holiday and he would be naked! Who celebrates anything naked?! Travis couldn’t understand. Why on earth would there be holiday for trees during the coldest time of the year? During the worst time of the year for trees, when branches are stricken with frostbite and sometimes even brake! Travis was beside himself.

In his despair, he turned to his neighbors and friends…the trees next to him. He told them how unfair he thought it was that Tu B’Shevat was in January. And shouldn’t they protest? Shouldn’t they tell the humans who celebrated them that they should wait and do it in the spring or summer when everything was in bloom?

While Travis chatted up his friends, a wise old brown mouse name Elie was listening to their entire conversation. Elie knew every tree in the park. She knew Travis very well even though Travis didn’t know her. She knew this was the first year that Travis was old enough to understand the meaning of Tu B’Shevat. As Elie was thinking about Travis, all of a sudden she heard Travis say, “Well, then forget Tu B’Shevat!” Elie knew she had to intervene. She crawled onto one of Travis’s roots that was above ground and started gnawing at him with her teeth. No response. So she called out to some of her friends. A few more mice showed up and a squirrel.  They all started chomping on Travis. Still no response. Finally a dog ran by and saw all the critters and started howling. Travis looked down and he started to shake his branches and said, “Hey, hey! Whatcha doin down there?!” Elie quickly crawled up the trunk of Travis’s tree and said,

“I overheard you say, ‘forget Tu B’shevat’ and then that made me think that I could just start to eat up your roots.”

“What?” Travis said in a confused voice.

And then Elie explained that Tu B’Shevat is not about having beautiful green leaves to show off to the whole world. It’s about having strong roots. It’s about being planted into the earth. At first Travis, didn’t fully understand, but as Elie kept talking and telling him stories of the trees in the Land of Israel and how at this time of the year they start to show new buds and also about how when you plant things in the ground now in the winter, they bloom in the spring. And then of course she reminded him: in winter time, tree’s roots grow the most. That’s when Travis finally got it. Tu B’Shevat was now, because it’s a time of sprouting and expanding. And birthdays are all about celebrating growth! It’s also a time of planting for the future and celebrating the ability to grow things. Travis thought about how he used to be a sapling and now he has grown and the cycle of the seasons allow him to get bigger and stronger every year. This felt miraculous to Travis and totally worth celebrating. Travis, looked at Elie and said, “I just have one more question.”

Elie said, “Sure, what is it?”

And Travis said, “Now that I understand Tu B’Shevat, can I have a piece of cake?”

The End

©ShirLaLa 2007

Two farmers lived side by side for many generations. They had been neighbors for a long time but they weren’t very friendly with each other. Why is that you ask? Because once upon a time they had an argument about a certain olive tree on the top of a hill.

“This olive tree is mine!” said one of the farmers, “because this land belongs to me!”

“No! No! NO!” shouted the other farmer. “This hill has always belonged to my family, so the olive tree is mine!”

“Mine!” growled one farmer as he grabbed the trunk of the tree.

“Mine!” stomped the other farmer as he grabbed the leaves of the tree.

After many, many years of arguing and being in a bad mood around each other, they decided to settle their difference. And where did they go to do that? To the Rabbi of course! And they agreed to abide by her decision.

The Rabbi listened carefully to one. And then to the other. “So you want to know,” said the Rabbi, “to whom does the land belong?”

“That’s what we want to know!” answered the two farmers.

“Well,” said the Rabbi, “Why don’t we ask the land?” The two farmers looked at each and then at the Rabbi with a puzzled look on their faces. They watched as the Rabbi bent down and put her ear to the ground. A moment later, she jumped up and announced, “My friends, the land says that it belongs to neither of you!”

“What?” shouted one farmer. “What?” shouted the other farmer. “Not to either of us?” they shouted together.

“The land says that you belong to it!!” exclaimed the Rabbi with a big smile on her face.

Once upon a time at the very, very beginning, when the seasons changed for the very, very first time,  everything in creation paid very close attention.

It was just round this time of year when Bear noticed that the Sun’s strong beam went down earlier than usual.  ”It’s a little colder today,” said Bear to Elephant.

“Yes it is,” agreed Elephant, “We should sit a little closer to each other today so that we stay warm!”

And that night Elephant sat a little closer to Bear.  They shared a hot cocoa and there was something special about its chocolatey goodness.

The next eve Elephant remarked, “Look how Sun is going down earlier and earlier!” Then, Tree pointed out that “the nights are get darker and darker” and Waterfall jumped in to say, “and longer and longer.”

“I know! Let’s light a candle tonight!” said Tiger excitedly.   Monkey agreed and she ran to get their favorite colorful candle which they lit together.

That night they sat together in warmth and a little candle light. They shared another hot cocoa and mmmm, if it wasn’t just a little more delicious when they shared it together.

The next night, Sun went down even earlier and it soon became even darker. “Let’s light two candles tonight!” suggested Chicken, and that night they huddled close with the light of two candles. And of course, hot cocoa. With extra marshmallows which were extra delicious.

The next night arrived even earlier and so they lit a third candle.  And every night following, they added one more candle to brighten up the very long and dark wintery nights.  On the eighth night, the darkest yet, they gathered for hugs and hot cocoa, marshmallows and maybe even a touch of whipped cream.  By the nightlight of their candles, they told their favorite stories. They sang their favorite songs. They played night time hide and seek until it was finally time for bed.  And they slept easily and dreamt golden dreams all through the longest night of the year.

The very next evening, Mountain couldn’t help but notice that the sun lingered just a bit before the nighttime Stars began their twinkle dance. “Perhaps tonight, we need only seven candles,” suggested Mountain. “Yes, that sounds like a good idea” agreed Cricket.  And that night they lit only seven.  The next evening, the sun dazzled in the sky for even longer and they lit only 6 candles.  As the season changed and the days grew longer once again Elephant, Tiger, Monkey, Rabbit, Chicken, Cricket and all of their friends lit fewer and fewer candles.

And to this day, every winter when the days grow short and the nights long, we shine our Night Light to illuminate the darkness.

-based on a winter solstice folk story
Adaptation by Shira Kline (c) ShirLaLa 2013

image from “NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day”

Chapter 1
Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there was a Persian king who ruled from India all the way to Ethiopia. His royal pad was in the fortress of Shushan. There was one thing for which this king was famous, and it was his partying. This guy could go for months with nothing but a disco ball and vat of good royal wine. His name was Achashverosh. Most of the people with whom he partied were so drunk they couldn’t even pronounce his name.
King Achashverosh had been partying straight for 180 days. He had all the big names there, and he had all the big games. The Persian version of Wii, Xbox, iMax, iMacs…You name it, he had it all. There was one official rule everyone had to follow at this party: There are NO RULES! Do anything you want and as much of it as you want. It’s good to be the king, huh.
Excited to show off every last bit of his wealth, Achashverosh decided to enjoy a final Seven-Day Party Blowout for everyone in Shushan. The royal decorators went to town draping everything with gold. The royal winemakers prepared enough drink that no one would go thirsty for a second. On the last day, when the king and his friends barely could touch their fingers to their noses, Achashverosh felt it would be a good time to bring in his hot-stuff queen, Vashti. He ordered Mehuman, Bizzetha, Harbona, Bigthan, Abagtha, Zethar and Carcas (the seven royal eunuchs) to bring in the gorgeous Queen Vashti wearing nothing but the royal diadem. (Know what a diadem is? Google Image it!) But Vashti was having her own party, and she wasn’t thrilled at the idea of appearing before a house full of the king’s rowdy friends. So, possibly for the first time in history, this queen said, “NO.” The king was like, “WHAT? You can’t say no to me!” So he fired her on the spot. She was booted from the kingdom that very day. And then, worried that the queen’s behavior would be a bad influence on wives everywhere, he sent out a royal edict and created a new law to ensure that all wives, high and low alike, would treat their husbands with respect.

Chapter 2
Soon after, the king’s advisors suggested that it was time to get a new queen. “Bring in young virgins from near and far. Let’s have a beauty contest right here in Shushan,” they said. “Give them tons of makeup and plenty of time to prepare themselves. Then you can choose whichever one you like the best.”
Sounded good to the king! And he sent out the order immediately.
In the town of Shushan there lived a Jew by the name of Mordechai. He had adopted his uncle’s daughter (I guess that makes her his second cousin) after her mother and father died. Esther grew up to be quite an enchanting beauty, and she too was brought to the palace to enter the beauty contest. When she got there, the head eunuch, Hegai took a liking to her and gave her all of the best makeup and hair products. Esther was truly beautiful, but she didn’t speak about herself much because Mordechai instructed her not to tell anyone that she was Jewish. In fact, Mordechai started hanging out by the palace gates just to keep an eye on her. Inside the palace, the beauty contestants spent an entire year preparing to go before the king: six months with oil of myrrh and six months with cosmetics and perfumes.
Finally it was Esther’s turn to go before the king. It took all night but the contest was over; he loved her right from the start. Achashverosh placed the royal diadem on her head, and it was time for another party. Now, it just so happened that this same night, Mordechai was hanging out by the palace gates and overheard two of the guards talking. Bigthan and Teresh were angry about something, and they were plotting to kill the king! Mordechai told Queen Esther. Queen Esther turned them into the king in Mordechai’s name. The two guards were impaled on stakes, and it all was recorded in the diaries of the court.

Chapter 3
All was good at the palace of Achashverosh, life as usual until new advisor…HAMAN!!…rose to the top of the king’s list and became the top gun. The king ordered everyone to bow down before HAMAN. But guess who refused to bow? You know it, Mordechai! “I’m Jewish!” He explained. “Everyone knows that we don’t bow down before people, only before God.” Now HAMAN had no patience for it. He was practically manic, and he just about lost his mind over this. And off course, HAMAN was the kind of guy who takes revenge on the whole family. So, rather than planning a punishment for dear Mordechai the Jew, HAMAN plotted to do away with the entire Jewish people.
One night, HAMAN went before the king and in a dastardly, bad-guy kind of a sneaky way proclaimed, “There are a certain people, scattered throughout your land who don’t obey your laws. I don’t think it’s in your best interest to tolerate these… these… people.” And then HAMAN grinned a nasty, sort of eyebrow-raising, twisted bad-guy grin, and he suggested that Achashverosh destroy this nuisance of a people. He even offered a certain large sum of hard cash to help pay for it. It didn’t take much to convince the king, who probably wasn’t paying much attention to begin with, and the order was sent out across the land. Written instructions were dispatched by couriers to all of the king’s provinces: “On the 13th of Adar, destroy, massacre and exterminate all the Jews-young and old, children and women! Plunder their possessions!” This letter was to be displayed publicly to all the people so they would be ready when the day came.
And wouldn’t you believe it, HAMAN and the king sat down to a feast that very night. The city of Shushan was dumbfounded.

Chapter 4
It wasn’t long before Mordechai heard all about it. He made his way to the palace, all the way wailing and crying out bitterly. He tore his clothes, as was (and still is for some people) the fashion to express mourning. All throughout the land, Jewish people joined him in fasting, weeping and wailing.
Mordechai sent word to Esther that she must intervene on behalf of all the Jews. He told her about HAMAN’s evil plan and the bribe offered to the king. He even showed her a copy of the notice. He insisted that she go before the king and plead with him for her people. But Esther was absolutely petrified. She reminded Mordechai about that awful law stating that if anyone tried to talk to or even approach the king without being summoned, without the king extending his royal scepter, he or she would be put to death. And Esther hadn’t seen that royal scepter for 30 days.
This response did not please Mordechai. “Don’t, for a second, think that just because you’re the queen you’ll escape with your life.” And then he took it a step further. “On the contrary! If you stay silent, then someone else will step in to help, and you and your father’s name will perish. Who knows?” Mordechai continued, “Maybe it was meant to be. Maybe you won the queenly beauty contest for just this purpose!”
This seemed to convince her. She sent word back to Mordechai, “Gather all of the Jews who live in Shushan and fast on my behalf. Don’t eat or drink for three days and three nights! My maidens and I will do the same. Then I’ll go to the king even though it’s against the law. And if I die, then well, I die!”

Chapter 5
Esther dressed up in the hottest outfit she could put together and presented herself before the king. Luckily, as soon as he laid eyes upon her, he called her into the throne room. He extended the golden scepter, which he held in his hand, and she touched the tip of it. “What’s up Esther? What can I do for you?” asked the king lightheartedly. To the king’s delight, Esther invited him and HAMAN to a wine-tasting party! And that night they attended the party. After a few hours of royal wine tasting, Achashverosh asked again if there was anything her heart desired. She asked only that he and HAMAN come again the next night to a second party. “Of course we’ll be there!” The king was pretty psyched about his new queen. She seemed to really understand him.
As you can imagine, HAMAN was feeling pretty good about himself. “The queen loves me!” He thought. “She can’t get enough of me!” He was feeling so good that when he passed by the palace gates and saw Mordechai the Jew, who of course didn’t even lift his left pinky to acknowledge the great HAMAN and certainly didn’t do any bowing, HAMAN decided to let it go. Instead he grinned his awful smirky, bad-guy grin, rubbed his hands together and laughed that terrible, evil bad-guy laugh. HAMAN went home to his wife and 10 sons. He bragged about how popular he was with the queen. He was still a little annoyed about Mordechai until his dear wife, Zeresh, suggested that he put up a tall stake and have the king impale Mordechai on it first thing in the morning. That way, he would have nothing to worry about and could enjoy the queen’s prestigious invitation. This sounded just perfect to HAMAN, and he had the stake put up that night.

Chapter 6
Maybe it was the wine, maybe it was too many french fries, but that night the king could not fall asleep. So he did what anyone would do, he had someone read him the most boring, sleepy nighttime story he could think of, the town of Shushan’s record book. There it was found that Mordechai the Jew had helped capture Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s guards who had plotted to do away with the king. Remember?
“Well, well, well!” said the king. “Did we do anything to thank this guy? Did we send him a gift basket or something?” As it turned out, nothing had been done yet to thank and honor Mordechai. “Who’s around the court?” asked the king. He didn’t like to make any decisions on his own. And it just so happened that who should be entering the court at that moment but HAMAN! (The evil advisor was on his way to ask the king about having Mordechai impaled on the stake the next morning.)
“Oh fantastic, so glad to see you!” said the king. “You can help me out here. What would you do for a man that the king wishes to honor?” Now, HAMAN obviously assumed that the king was talking about him! “Who would the king want to honor more than me?” he thought to himself.
“Ah yes, good question,” answered HAMAN. “Have your top royal courtier prepare some royal clothing that you yourself have worn and a royal horse wearing a royal crown, a horse upon which you yourself have ridden. Dress up this man who is to be honored in the royal clothing and parade him around town on the royal horse while everyone shouts out, ‘Hooray! Hooray!’”
“Sounds good to me,” said the king. “Get the clothes and the horse and do everything you suggested for that guy Mordechai the Jew. You know him? He hangs out by the palace gates. Don’t leave anything out!”
Oh boy! HAMAN’s face never had been redder. He ran home to tell his wife what happened. She told her husband, “You know if this guy Mordechai is really from Jewish stock, you don’t stand a chance.” But there was nothing he could do about it now; he already was late for the queen’s second party.

Chapter 7
So the king and HAMAN attend Queen Esther’s second party. Once again the king asked her if there was anything at all he could do for her. This time, she had a plan. “If it pleases you, Your Majesty, I ask only for my life and the life of my people, for we have been sold, my people and I, to be destroyed, massacred and exterminated!”
“WHAT? Who would … *&%$#… do such a thing?” The king was shocked!
“The evil, evil man behind the plan is…HAMAN!” shouted Queen Esther. And then everything happened very fast. HAMAN jumped in surprise and terror. The king was so angry that he left the party momentarily for a breather in the palace garden. HAMAN threw himself on Queen Esther’s lap to plead with her for his life, and just then, King Achashverosh returned to the banquet hall.
“WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!” shouted the king. “Not only are you plotting to destroy my queen, but first you’re going to ravish her here in front of my nose?!” HAMAN turned a pale shade of green.
Then Queen Esther’s favorite eunuch spoke up saying, “What’s more, there’s a tall stake standing by his house, which HAMAN made for Mordechai the Jew, the man who saved the king!”
The decision took no time. “Impale him on it,” the king ordered. And so they impaled HAMAN on the very stake that HAMAN had put up for Mordechai. And the king felt much better.

Chapter 8
That very night, Esther finally presented her cousin Mordechai to the king, explaining why she had hidden her true identity from the start. King Achashverosh, much calmer now that his problem had been resolved, decided to make Mordechai his new top adviser. Mordechai took over all that belonged to Haman. There was just one problem for the Jews that still remained. Remember that Haman had convinced the king to send out a royal decree stating that on the 13th of Adar all Jews were to be destroyed. Well, once a law like that is made, no one can change it! So, Esther once again went bravely before the king and asked that a new royal decree be sent. This one would counter the first and give the Jews permission to get together on that day and fight for their lives.
And so it was done. Mordechai drafted a new decree that was sent out to all of the king’s provinces from India to Ethiopia, to every province in its own script and to every people in their own language. It was signed by the king and dispatched on the royal horses bred of the royal stud.
The new public notice read: The king has permitted the Jews of every city to assemble and fight for their lives. If any people or province attacks them, all Jews, including women and children, may destroy, massacre and exterminate the attacking forces and plunder their possessions. This would be allowed on a single day in all the provinces of King Achashverosh, namely on the 13th of Adar.
It was a perfect reversal of the original decree.
Throughout the land, Jews rejoiced and threw their own big party. For the first time, they felt safety and happiness. Some of their neighbors even professed to be Jewish because they saw how powerful and honored the Jewish people were.

Chapter 9
As time went on, Mordechai became more powerful in the palace. People everywhere revered and feared him. And so, on the 13th of Adar when the enemies of the Jews had expected to finish them off once and for all, the exact opposite happened. Throughout the provinces, Jews assembled in their cities to attack anyone who tried to hurt them. No one could withstand them. The Jews wreaked havoc on their enemies, slaying and destroying. And here it just gets gorier. On that day, the 13th of Adar, the Jews killed 500 men in Shushan alone. They also slew Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, Parmashata, Arisai, Aridai and Vaizatha-the 10 sons of Haman.
“What more could you wish for, my beloved queen?” asked King Achashverosh.
“That my people can gather again tomorrow, on the 14th of Adar, as they did today, and that 10 stakes will be built for the 10 sons of Haman,” she answered.
And so it was done. The sons of Haman were impaled the next day while the Jews of Shushan killed another 300 men. Outside of Shushan, the Jews also gathered to fight their enemies. All together around 75,000 men were slain. Afterwards, the Jews rested, partied, and gave gifts to their friends.
Mordechai and Esther declared the 13th and 14th of Adar a national holiday, and every year afterwards, on the same day and the same month, they would mark the time when life was transformed from grief and mourning to festive joy. Jews everywhere would celebrate with a joyous feast, as well as by giving gifts to their neighbors and presents to the poor.

Chapter 10
King Achashverosh, Queen Esther and Mordechai lived happily ever after! All is recorded in a long scroll.

Listen, listen, listen to this ancient story.
It’s a little bit funny and a little bit gory.
It’s a little bit scary and little bit tense.
It’s a crazy, mixed-up series of events.

It starts with a king who was not too sharp.
You might say he was a few strings short of a harp.
You might say he was a tricked by an evil man
With a nasty, filthy, dirty plan.

Now the bad guy would have killed the Jews,
If the heroes hadn’t stood up and said, “You lose!”
If the heroes hadn’t stopped him,
tell the Jews good-bye,
Sayonara, adios, everyone’s gonna die,
Kick the bucket, buy a ticket to a place in the sky
The heroes were Esther and Mordechai

REFRAIN
This megillah…
It’s a thrilla.
Shriek and shout
Don’t sit stilla…

Groggers grind.
Cymbals crash.
It’s a bash. Eat a stash of Homentash…
Dress up strange
Glad you came
And each time you hear his name,
You get to scream and yell
Haman!

Mort was Esther’s uncle. She became the king’s wife,
>From orphan to queen where she risked her own life.
She set the record straight, told the king what was true,
Told the king what was shaking, told him what to do.

And the villain who had puffed himself up so tall
Learned the higher you fly, the farther you fall.
Like a rock down a well, he was dead and gone.
But I haven’t even started and I’m rambling on.

So let me take you back to the ancient days,
To the kingdom of Persia with its ancient ways,
To the palace of the king, Achasveros by name
Who was eating and drinking and feeling no pain,
Cause he ruled from India to Ethiope,
Not bad for a guy who was such a dope.

REFRAIN
This megillah…
It’s a thrilla.
Shriek and shout
Don’t sit stilla…

Groggers grind.
Cymbals crash.
It’s a bash. Eat a stash of Homentash…
Dress up strange
Glad you came
And each time you hear his name,
You get to scream and yell
Haman!

Drunk and stupid and looking for a grin
He yelled, “Hey Vashti, let’s see some skin!”
But the queen refused. “I’m not dancing nude
For you or your buddies. You are way too crude!
No bump, no grind, no jitterbug jig
Especially for a royal male chauvinist pig.”

Now the king would’ve let the whole matter drop
But his buddies said, “This has got to stop.”
“If you let that woman disobey what you say
Then all of our wives’ll wanna act the same way.

So he dissed her,
Dismissed her,
Brought her down
And staged a Miss Persia pageant all over town,
A beauty contest to pick a new queen
And that’s how Esther came on the scene.

But here’s where the plot gets a little bit screwish…
On Uncle Mort’s advice she doesn’t say that she’s Jewish

REFRAIN
This megillah…
It’s a thrilla.
Shriek and shout
Don’t sit stilla…

Groggers grind.
Cymbals crash.
It’s a bash. Eat a stash of Homentash…
Dress up strange
Glad you came
And each time you hear his name,
You get to scream and yell
Haman!

With Esther as Queen, the king settles down.
But something is rotten in Shushan town.
A couple of hoods with a grudge or two
Decide to assassinate the King. Boo-hoo.

Now I don’t know how, the record’s not too clear
But Mordechai, remember him?, he overhears
And tells the cops, who arrest these perps
Bigthan and Theresh, a couple of twerps.

It’s over so quick, and you know what’s rotten,
No reward for Morty. And it’s all forgotten.

Meanwhile, the villain gets appointed Prime Minister.
Just the wrong job for a Shmo so sinister
His first decree? Everyone in town
Must now bow down and scrape the ground.

REFRAIN
This megillah…
It’s a thrilla.
Shriek and shout
Don’t sit stilla…

Groggers grind.
Cymbals crash.
It’s a bash. Eat a stash of Homentash…
Dress up strange
Glad you came
And each time you hear his name,
You get to scream and yell
Haman!

But Mordechai, will only bow to GOD,
Not to some puffbag, ragtag clod
The bad guy steams and screams and shrieks
But Morty shrugs, and the villain freaks.

It’s sad–
That cad–
feels had–
He’s mad–
He opens up a can of super-bad
He sings the blues. He blows a fuse.
And makes the king say, “Kill all Jews!”

Lots are cast, a day’s selected
And everyone’s walking around all dejected
Till a light bulb flashes in Morty’s bean
And he runs to his niece, “Hey! You’re the queen.
Tell the king he’s got to intervene.”
But Esther, she’s knows if she makes the scene
Without a signed — sealed invitation
The king’ll go nuts and yell “Decapitation!”

But this girl’s got guts. She plans a big party
Invites the King and Mister Smarty!

REFRAIN
This megillah…
It’s a thrilla.
Shriek and shout
Don’t sit stilla…

Groggers grind.
Cymbals crash.
It’s a bash. Eat a stash of Homentash…
Dress up strange
Glad you came
And each time you hear his name,
You get to scream and yell
Haman!

Delighted he’s invited, You-Know-Who leaves court
Swaggering home has words with Mort.
Angered to a tizzy, rigs a hangman’s noose.
“Tomorrow with the sunrise, I’m kicking his caboose.”

Nightfall. Starlight. The king can’t sleep.
“Read to me. Calm my mind. Nothing very deep.”
Then he learns that Mordechai never was rewarded
“He saved my life? I never knew. Why wasn’t this reported?”

Then Mr. Evil, hanging out, hears his king say, “Nu?
“I want to honor such a man, I wonder what to do.”

Now this is where the story turns, the butter churns, the biscuit burns
This is where the plot gets thick, the pulse gets quick, and here’s the kick
Mr. Repulsive thinks the king means him.
“Of course,
you’ll want to dress a horse,
in jewels and in your robes of gold
Parade this man through town. Behold,
You’ll want all men to show respect
For him, your most revered subject

REFRAIN
This megillah…
It’s a thrilla.
Shriek and shout
Don’t sit stilla…

Groggers grind.
Cymbals crash.
It’s a bash. Eat a stash of Homentash…
Dress up strange
Glad you came
And each time you hear his name,
You get to scream and yell
Haman!

“Si Si senor” says the royal dunce
“That’s a great idea. We must do it at once.
Tomorrow at dawn you will take my steed
My robes of gold, and you shall lead
A cavalcade with Mordechai sitting pretty
Up and down the streets of my capital city.”

The scoundrel was angry. He cussed and spat.
He jumped up and down on his three-cornered hat.
Not Mordechai! I meant me. I’m the one.
But the king had spoken. And here’s the fun:

The next day as they paraded- through the hood,
The bad guy’s daughter thought I’ll do some good.
And thinking she was spilling stuff on Mordechai’s head
Dropped stinky smelly sewage on her father instead.

But the King still said that death for all the Jews would be just fine
So Esther guessed her time had come and said, “I’ll change his mind”
She told him Hebrew homies were her very own crowd
“I have chosen to expose and I’ll shout it out loud.
I am a Jew and the murderous plan
Is a twisted, evil scheme from a twisted, evil man.”

So the Jews were saved,
and the bad guy hung
On the gallows he built to see Mordechai swung

REFRAIN
This megillah…
It’s a thrilla.
Shriek and shout
Don’t sit stilla…

Groggers grind.
Cymbals crash.
It’s a bash. Eat a stash of Homentash…
Dress up strange
Glad you came
And each time you hear his name,
You get to scream and yell
Haman!

That’s the story of Purim, an old story, and yet,
We party today so we don’t forget,
That in every life, God’s in the scene
>From brave Mordechai to Esther the Queen.
And when times get tough and rough and grim…..
You should never, never, ever, give up or give in.

REFRAIN
This megillah…
It’s a thrilla.
Shriek and shout
Don’t sit stilla…

Groggers grind.
Cymbals crash.
It’s a bash. Eat a stash of Homentash…
Dress up strange
Glad you came
And each time you hear his name,
You get to scream and yell
Haman!

Sh’ma yeladim and hear us well
For now is the story of Purim to tell.
It took place in Shushan so long, long ago.
Now off to Persia we all will go.

In this beautiful kingdom ruled a king
A king with no brain, who’d think such a thing?
He spent all his days and his nights having fun
Parading his wealth in the warm Persian sun.

A queen named Vashti was his loyal wife
She promised to love him all of her life.
She promised, that is, until he did ask
For her to perform an unthinkable task.

At his grandest of parties the king did command
Queen Vashti dance for royal men of the land.
“I am Not your servant, and dance I will Not!”
Vashti refused the king’s sexist plot.

For Vashti, you see, was not known as a fibber
She was, in fact, history’s first women’s libber.
Vashti was banished – away she did go.
Where did she go? That we do not know.

In this fair kingdom lived also the Jews
Who could not practice the religion they choosed
No Torah, no Challah, no Matzah Ball soup
For a villain named Haman had started a coup.

“Bow down to me now”, cruel Haman did say
“For I am an important man of the day.”
“I’m the King’s right-hand man – I rule all that I see
If you don’t bow down now, you will cease to be!!!”

Meanwhile back at the palace grand
An announcement went out throughout the land
A new queen to be chosen in an unusual way
In a beauty contest held the very next day.

All the maidens of the land were forced to appear
From near and from far, from far and from near
One such maiden had brains and had grace
Esther was her name…Such a pretty face!

Encouraged by her Uncle (or was it cousin?) Mordechai
“I beg you dear Esther, this you MUST try”
“With your brains and your beauty YOU he would choose
“Go, go, go, go! “Comb your hair. Wear nice shoes!”

“Besides that my dear, with your grace and your charm
You will blow them away. You’ll be on King Achashverosh’s arm!”
Unsure of herself but willing to go
Because she loved her Uncle so
She entered the contest
But said, “Uncle dear
Promise me that you’ll always stay near.”

The contest was held – They came one and all
And Esther of course was the Queen of the ball.
Though Achashverosh chose her and she was now queen
There was one rotten rule she had not foreseen.

Under penalty of death she had to obey
The following rule in an unbending way:
Her new husband commanded she could only see him
When HE chose to see her and on HIS whim

So now back to Haman, that cruel crusty fellow
At the top of his lungs he continued to bellow:
“Bow down, bow down NOW I command!
Or great harm will come to you in this land.”

Mordechai, of course, refused to obey
“I bow only to G-D to my last dying day!”
Haman’s face turned red with anger and hate
“I’ll get you my pretty If it’s the last breath I take!!” (Cackle cackle cackle)

Mordechai turned his back, and others did follow
As for Haman, well, his pride he had to swallow
“That Jew, Mordechai has ruined my heinous plot
Because of this affront I will have to draw lots

The straw that I pick, the one that comes nigh
Is the day that the Jews of Persia shall die!”

Into his three-cornered hat – he did cast
All of the dates – the future, the past
The lot that he picked was the 13th of Adar
“Make ready the gallows! Adar is not far.”

Right after Haman he did pester
Went Mordechai to see Queen Esther.
At the palace gate, two guards he did broach
Plotting to kill King Achashverosh.

Brave Mordy protected his king and his land
By revealing the plot in the palace grand
His loyalty and his brains gave him the upper hand.

The king in his chamber that evening did read
Of Mordechai’s loyalty in the Book of Good Deeds
With the smallest of brains, the king thinked and he thinked
“Who is this Mordechai who saved me from the brink?
Who, who, who is this man who foiled the guards’ plan?
I must reward him – send for Haman!”

A question to Haman Achashverosh did pose:
“How should I honor a man who has been on his toes
Who has saved my kingdom through heroic deeds
Without a single thought to his own needs?”

Haman, thinking this hero was he
For saving the kingdom from the Jews for the king
Pompously swelled with excitement and greed
He knew the king would his words heed:

“I think my dear king no reward is too great
Give him diamonds and jewels—a house by the lake”
“Fabulous clothing and all of the best
Let him ride the king’s horse on your next birthday fest!”

“Make it so, dear Haman, loyal right hand man
Bring forth Mordechai the Jew…this is my command!”
“Instruct all my tailors, my jewelers my builders
To spare no sheckles, no rubles, or guilders
Call all the king’s horses and all the king’s men
To honor this Jew again and again!

Haman astounded, speechless at best
Felt his anger spread from his feet to his chest
Could it be that this man who refused to bow down
Must now be honored all through the town?

Seizing the moment, the opportunity here,
Modechai to Esther did appear
Using his wits and Oh, so clever brain
Mordy made history, now Esther has fame.

“You must risk your life and go to the king
And tell him about this heinous thing
That Haman is planning the Jews will all die
You must go brave Esther…this you MUST try.

“But cousin (or Uncle),” she said – trembling with fear
“Without his permission, I cannot go near
It could be my life – I am so afraid.”
But Morty replied: “You can do this, BABE.”

“Use your brains and your charm and your prettiest skirt
And your shaina punim…What could that hurt!”

So, Esther swallowed her fear,
And she calmed her nerves
She went after this task
With Vim and with Verve

At a party given that very same night
She walked into the banquet, trembling with fright.
Although shocked to see her, the King did beckon
“I’ll see her, I’ll see her…It’s fine, I reckon.”

“Dear husband.” she said, “I’ve gotten some news
So horribly horrible that I did choose
To come un-summoned to be by your side
You must listen to me – After all, I’m your bride!!”

Risking her life Esther told him the story
Of Haman’s dastardly plan—Evil and Hoary
Esther, still trembling explained to her mate:
“My lord, at the risk of sealing my fate
I must tell you something that to you may be news…
Someone is planning to kill all the Jews!”

“This includes Mordechai, And all of his kin
And in this category, you must put ME in.
For you see, I am Jewish, but so loyal to you
Please don’t hurt my people…Please don’t hurt the Jews.

I fear my dear husband, unless you act with your heart
I, too, will die on the 13th of Adar.”

Thinking the thoughts a king would sure think
(That his loyal wife deserveth a mink)
He called for his henchman…His Number Two
To question again—what should he do
In order to save his wife and her kin
Haman of course, slunk right in.

“Esther, dear Esther, tell Haman your fear
Don’t be afraid—Tell him my dear.”

“Okay, here goes nothing,” said Esther inside.
She looked straight at Haman, and summoned her pride
“You wicked wicked man…How dare you pretend
That you are loyal to my king to the end?

You who did plot to destroy all the Jews
Also will kill ME Whom the king did choose!
For I too am Jewish, you hateful old coot!”
“Turn around,” said the king…”I give you the boot!

I sentence you now to the gallows you built
Not a single drop of Jewish blood shall be spilt!
Pack up your belongings but don’t go far
On the gallows you’ll be swinging on the 13th of Adar!!!”

The moral of the story, Yeladim, you now know
Is to honor G-D and all people wherever you go.
To stand up and speak out for all that is right
And to you Chag Sameach…Laila Tov, and good night.

Teacher Review
Exodus 24: 9-11 (translation by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan)
9Moses then went up, along with Aaron, Nadav and Avihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders.
10They saw a vision of the God of Israel, and under His feet was something like a sapphire brick, like the essence of a clear [blue] sky.
11[God] did not unleash His power against the leaders of the Israelites. They had a vision of the Divine, and they ate and drank.

Lesson – part I

9Moses then went up, along with Aaron, Nadav and Avihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders.

Shavuot celebrates the revelation of Torah at Mt. Sinai. The Torah stories seem to reflect many different goings ups and downs the mountain. Sometimes just Moses, sometimes this particular group, the “70 elders of Israel.” They are considered to be representative of the entire community, the 70 different faces or voices of our people.

Ask: Which one of these voices are you?
With younger children, try using this sentence “I use my voice to..” and then echo back to them, “You are the voice of…”

10They saw a vision of the God of Israel, and under His feet was something like a sapphire brick, like the essence of a clear [blue] sky.

The beauty of 70 different faces is (at least) 70 different visions!
Ask: What was your vision? And what could that sapphire brick possibly have looked like? Some call it, “the footstool of God.”

11They had a vision of the Divine, and they ate and drank.

Why not have a delicious snack in honor of the moment?!

Lesson – part II  

“Rabbi Yose said: ‘How are we to understand the words, ‘and they saw the God of Israel”? Who can see the Holy One? Is it not written: “No man can see Me and live”? It means that a rainbow appeared above them in radiant colors resplendent with the beauty of God’s presence.”

Make a portrait of the Divine. Explore color, using everything and anything you got. These students used glitter and tissue paper. Try cray pas, watercolors, flower petals, anything with color.

* This holiday is sponsored by the numbers 7 and 10*

Teacher Review
Exodus 19:14 -17 Moses climbs up the mountain, the people prepare, the mountain shakes with excitement
Exodus 20: 2-18  Ten Commandments

For the art project
Supplies:  sturdy paper, glue, glue bowls and brushes, fine sand, tissue paper cut into squares

Lesson
Begin with a quick reminder of our path out of Egypt, across the Sea of Reeds. And here we are now in the desert wilderness surrounded by…  sand! Where are we going? How will we get there? What does it feel like to have the sand under our feet and the sun over our head?

Paint the bottom of the paper with a light brush of glue, start sprinkling sand onto it to be the desert ground.

Open a Jewish calendar and count together (in Hebrew!) from the days of Passover to the holiday of Shavuot, 1(echad)  2(shtayim)  3(shalosh) 4(arba)  5(chamesh)  6(shesh)  7(sheva)  and again 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 etc. 7 times over until you reach Shavuot. 

That’s how long our great great great great…great grandparents walked on the sand in the desert.
Sprinkle some more sand. Until… we reached Mt. Sinai.  

Paint more glue into the shape of a mountain and sprinkled the sand in the shape of the mountain.

Moses climbs up the mountain.
Re-enact Moses’s climb up Mt. Sinai.   Re-enact the shaking and thunder and lightning excitement of the dramatic moment when we received the gift of Torah.

Discuss how it feels to receive presents and how this is the biggest gift of all.

Tell a story: Midrash tells us that at the very moment of receiving Torah, all of Mt. Sinai spontaneously bloomed into a rainbow of colorful blossoms! 

Using the dip and stick technique, scrunch up colorful pieces of tissue paper to make  “flowers”, dip them in a bowl of glue and paste onto the mountain to make bursts of color all over the page.

The Ten Commandments
What’s in the Torah?  What did Moses and the people receive that day? All kinds of stories that teach us how to be the best we can be and lay out the rules for a good life.  Discuss the rules your students have that make them feel safe and secure in the home, at school and with their friends.  Also, the rules that make us Jewish (i.e. Shabbat) I don’t think it’s critical to go through the actual ten commandments with this age group.  There are some that are fun to discuss and you should feel free to play around with this.  The story here is about creating rules for good living.  

Music Suggestions (depending on what direction you go, there are many other fun choices)
Torah Tziva Lanu Moshe
Hakafah (Peter and Ellen Allard)
Tree of Life
Rainbow Round Me

Follow UP
Make tissue paper flowers to decorate the classroom and home.

When God Made Moms
by Erma Bombeck
 

By the time the Lord made mothers, he was into his sixth day of working overtime. An Angel appeared and said “Why are you spending so much time on this one”? And the Lord answered and said, “Have you seen the spec sheet on her? She has to be completely washable, but not plastic; have 200 movable parts, all replaceable; run on black coffee and leftovers; have a lap that can hold three children at one time and that disappears when she stands up; have a kiss that can cure anything from a scraped knee to a broken heart, and have six pairs of hands.”

 

The Angel was astounded at the requirements for this one. “Six pairs of hands! No Way!” said the Angel.

The Lord replied, “Oh, it’s not the hands that are the problem. It’s the three pairs of eyes that mothers must have!”

“And that’s just on the standard model?” The Angel asked.

The Lord nodded in agreement, “Yes, one pair of eyes are to see through the closed door as she asks her children what they are doing even though she already knows. Another pair in the back of her head, are to see what she needs to know even though no one thinks she can. And the third pair are here in the front of her head. They are for looking at an errant child and saying that she understands and loves him or her without even saying a single word.”

The Angel tried to stop the Lord. “This is too much work for one day. Wait until tomorrow to finish.”

“But I can’t!” the Lord protested, “I am so close to finishing this creation that is so close to my own heart. She already heals herself when she is sick AND can feed a family of six on a pound of hamburger and can get a nine year old to stand in the shower.”

The Angel moved closer and touched the woman, “But you have made her so soft, Lord.”

“Yes, she is soft”, the Lord agreed, “But I have also made her tough. You have no idea what she can endure or accomplish.”

“Will she be able to think?”, asked the inquisitive Angel.

The Lord smiled and replied, “Not only will she be able to think, she will be able to reason, and negotiate.”

The Angel then noticed something and reached out and touched the woman’s cheek. “Oops, it looks like you have a leak with this model. I told you that you were trying to put too much into this one.”

“That’s not a leak.” The Lord objected. “That is a tear!”

“What’s the tear for? the Angel asked.

The Lord said, “The tear is her way of expressing her joy, her sorrow, her disappointment, her pain, her loneliness, her grief, and her pride.”

The Angel was impressed. “You are a genius, Lord. You thought of everything! Truly, You do all things well… Moms are truly amazing!”

Happy Mother’s Day!

..Erma Bombeck

from the site, www.angiesrealm.com