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Purim, the fun Jewish holiday, is here to bring us smiles. We need smiles. Divya Kumar, Tampa Bay Times
Purim may not be the biggest of Jewish holidays, but it’s often considered the most fun.
A year into the pandemic, that’s something Rabbi Phillip Weintraub of Congregation B’nai Israel, encourages everyone to try to find.
Jewish people celebrated Purim even during the Holocaust, he said. Israeli soldiers celebrated while deployed in Kathmandu.
“Even in the darkest times, we can find joy,” Weintraub said. “You can find a community that wants to be a sliver of light.”
The St. Petersburg congregation began marking the holiday last weekend as families picked up gifts from a drive-through and dropped off food pantry donations for Gulf Coast Jewish Services gift giving and donating to charity are traditional Purim customs. The Banyan Bunch, a band, played as cars drove up.
In a year of darkness, Hanukkah 2020 brings talk of hope and light
Synagogues in Tampa Bay are planning ways to help people feel connected during the pandemic. âHanukkah was made for a year like this.â
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Rabbi Philip Weintraub, left, Sandy Brasch and Billie Bornstein greet members of Congregation B nai Israel in St. Petersburg as they drive up to receive Hanukkah kits Wednesday. The kits will allow members to celebrate the holiday at home. [ DIRK SHADD | Times ]
Updated Dec. 10, 2020
Each Hanukkah, Rabbi Levi Hodakov of the Chabad of Clearwater tries to outdo the previous one.
Over the last 15 years, the synagogue has constructed giant menorahs out of pizza, cereal boxes, falafels, jelly beans, Laffy Taffy and other components, mostly to engage youth in celebration.