|
The Green Street neighbors must've shaken their heads in bewilderment when
they saw several Arabs, some Chasidim, two clowns, three cowboys, Princess
Leah, and a fish blowing bubbles enter the shul on Sunday evening. "Ah,"
they must have said, "afternoon prayers. Rabbi Gewirtz's outreach program
is working."
In reality, the clowns, cowboys, and chasidim were all attending the YI
Singles Purim Seudah, held in the shul. After checking in and receiving
nametags, guests entered a social hall decorated in purple and green tinsel,
which set off wonderfully against the rich mauve hues of the background
decor. Scattered throughout the room were round tables whose centerpieces
featured mannequin heads topped with more tinsel and party hats, and which
were set impeccably according to the t'shuvah of the Ravah HaGaonah Miss
Manners. Purim and shabbas songs provided a soft background music fed over
a the microphone system set up for the event.
The evening began with welcoming remarks by Sharon Stone, one of the main
organizers of the event. Telling of how each participant in a flock of
migrating geese provides a certain amount of lift and updraft for all the
other geese, Sharon proceeded to thank the long list of volunteers who had
helped make the evening happen by organizing, by hammering out details with
the shul administration, by cooking, by participating, and by attending.
Approximately sixty people had pre-registered; more registered at the door.
Many attendees were members of the infra-YI community. She announced the
first door prize of the evening: "Check under your plate. Those of you who
have a card win a chance to help wait tables."
Jeremy Nussbaum, another main organizer of the seudah, gave a short history
of YI Singles, noting that this was a non-profit event (as are all events,
now that the age of navuah has passed). He gave a brief d'var Torah on the
relevant halachot of Purim, based on the Mishneh B'rurah and the Shulchan
Aruch. After that, Jordan ***, dressed in an orange 70's shirt (need I say
more?), black jacket and pants, and orange gartel, complete with pith
helmet, spoke as the Chelmer Rebbe. "Hayuhdim'vamod al nafsham v'noach
me-oyveyhem'how did Noach get into the Megillah? Haman travelled back in
time" to get the fifty-amot beam from Noach's ark. Noach didn't want to
let him have it, so he and his sons pulled, and Haman and his sons
pulled and Haman pulled Noach right into the Megillah. He also answered
halachic questions from the floor.
Dinner, cooked by singles volunteers, was soup, salad, chicken and rice,
spiced by spiels put on by various groups. The Lonesome-Hearted Jewboy
Hillbilly Boys (Dan Himmel, Gary Buchwald, Meir Green, singing, Ariel
Spiegelman on guitar) sung a song in honor of Achashverosh, left bereft of
love by Vashti. After an advertisement by a company hawking alternative
hamentaschen, Miriam Gross and Michael Ross led a slide-show walking tour of
Ancient Shushan, which was interrupted by a terrorist attack. The tour
guide was kidnapped by the terrorist, but, undaunted, the singles continued
eating and making merry.
Next up was a skit entitled "The Story of Esther and Achasverosh Clinton,"
written by Seth Gordon, and played by Gary Buchwald, Saadia Wisenberg
(Achashverosh, "Vashti, honey, I feel your pain"), Chana Figueroa (Esther,
"I can only see him when he extends his golden scepter to me." "Golden
scepter?" "Don't ask. Just don't ask."), Jeremy Nussbaum (Mordechai, "I
made a big pledge to the YI Building Fund, and if I quit now there's no way
I'd pay it off!"), Dan Himmel (Haman Morris, Jew-hater extraordinaire, "heh
heh heh"). Seth Gordon, Elka Tovah Menkes, Jennifer Pell, Jody Weixelbaum,
and a number of folks pulled from the crowd, filled out the cast as royal
flunkies and extras.
Prizes were given out for the best costumes to "Princess Leah" Schecter, to
Dan "Haman Morris and Jewboy Hillbilly Boy" Himmel, and to *** "Pregnant
Frum Woman" Spitzer. Judy and Barry Menkes and Liz and Gil Yehuda acted as
judges for the contest.
After dessert ("Oh, not more hamentashen." "No, there's cake too.")
volunteers helped clean up. With due recognition to the danger of leaving
someone off the list, YI Singles would like to acknowledge and thank those
who were particularly helpful with cooking, setup, and cleanup: Sharon
Stone and Jeremy Nussbaum, chief organizers, Rick Gopen, David Waitzman,
Julie Steiner, Ina Gurevich, Elka Menkes and Judy and Barry Menkes, Jody
Weixelbaum, Rachel Weinstein, Abe Mayers, Batya Schultz, Gabe Galombos, Jen
Pell, Peggy Sunshine, Meir Green, and particularly Ari Levine, mashgiach.
Of course, many, many people helped out with the seudah, and there was
absolute bedlam in the kitchen when I (Jen Pell) asked Sharon to give me
this list off the top of her head, so please excuse any omissions!
| 