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.