The Whole Megillah/Scroll of Esther begins with “It happened in the days of Ahasuerus (Xerxes)…who reigned over 127 provinces from India to Ethiopia” before moving onto a description of an epic seven-day rager the King threw that people still talk about today. Hence why the best parties are described as being ‘of biblical proportions.’
In line with the 70s theme reflecting our community’s upcoming 70th anniversary, the JCC’s Purim Bash seeks to turn the clock back Casey Kasem style to those heady days of the 470s BCE when Xerxes the Great was battling the Greeks at Thermopylae. We do not yet know if we can match the Achaemenid Empire’s weeklong endurance but given the presence of 154 embassies in Tokyo, our hope is to have representation from at least 127 countries like in Shushan of old.
As arguably the most diverse Jewish community in the world, we ask that you tap your networks so that people from all over can experience the magic of Purim and Japanese klezmer. Know a Fijian? We’d love to meet ‘em. Someone from Gabon? Let’s make them feel at home. Our down-the-block neighbors from Turkmenistan? We’re their biggest fans. Bunch of folks from Brunei? They’ll learn the 90s Bar Mitzvah favorite Electric Slide.
As much as Purim is a celebration of the Jewish people’s survival, the holiday also centers around the bicultural, interfaith relationship between Esther and Ahasuerus and the perils of being a religious minority. Let’s reach out to our fellow gaikokujin for a Purim party that would make Ahasuerus, Esther and even Mordechai proud. Will Ahasuerus’s bureaucratic heirs in the Iranian embassy attend? Hmm still might be too soon.
Services
Kabbalat Shabbat
Friday, February 10th
Services: 6:00pm
Dinner with reservation: 7:00pm
Kabbalat Shabbat
Friday, February 17th
Services: 6:00pm
Dinner with reservation: 7:00pm
Shabbat Shekalim/Parshat Mishpatim
Kiddush sponsored by the Pike-Forster Family for the warm welcome during our visit and the joy that comes with knowing that our Jewish community in Japan is thriving
Saturday, February 18th
Services: 10:00am
Kiddush: 12:00pm
Kabbalat Shabbat
Friday, February 24th
Services: 6:00pm
Dinner with reservation: 7:00pm
Kabbalat Shabbat
Friday, March 3rd
Services: 6:00pm
Dinner with reservation: 7:00pm
Shabbat Zachor/Parshat Tetzaveh
Kiddush Sponsored by the McCormack Family in honor of Yokota’s Jewish Community
Saturday, March 4th
Services: 10:00am
Kiddush: 12:00pm
Kabbalat Shabbat
Friday, March 10th
Services: 6:00pm
Dinner with reservation: 7:00pm
Kabbalat Shabbat
Friday, March 17th
Services: 6:00pm
Dinner with reservation: 7:00pm
Shabbat Parshat Vayakhel-Pekudei
Kiddush Open for Sponsorship
Saturday, March 18th
Services: 10:00am
Kiddush: 12:00pm
Kabbalat Shabbat
Friday, March 24th
Services: 6:00pm
Dinner with reservation: 7:00pm
Shabbat Parshat Vayikra
Kiddush Sponsored by the Greenfield-Ichikawa Family in honor of Rina’s Tokyo Bat Mitzvah
Saturday, March 25th
Services: 10:00am
Kiddush: 12:00pm
Events
An Evening with Ambassador Gilad Cohen of the Israeli Embassy
Thursday, February 16th
JCC Sanctuary
Time: 7:30pm
Registration Details
Purim with Japanese Klezmer Band CICALA-MVTA
Sponsored by the Bleiweis-Fischer, Nadler, Sitbon, Tseinyev and Anonymous families for their sponsorship of our Purim festivities. Izaki-san’s famous hamantashen sponsored by Kenden Alfond of Jewish Food Hero.
Monday, March 6th
Megillah Reading in the JCC Sanctuary
Time: 7:00pm
Donation: 1,000 yen
Registration Details
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Announcements
Our community is heartbroken by the devastating effects of the earthquake in Türkiye and Syria. Amidst the shattering loss of life and property, we were especially saddened to learn of the destruction of Antakya’s historic synagogue and infinitely worse, the deaths of the president of the Antakya Jewish community Şaul Cenudioğlu and his wife Fortuna Cenudioğlu. We spoke with both the Turkish and Syrian embassies to express our deepest condolences. JCC Member Selim Benba, originally of Türkiye, is keeping us apprised of the situation on the ground. We are planning our Purim Tzedaka project to benefit those affected by the earthquake.
Longtime JCCer Lea Epstein is looking to interview mixed Japanese and Western families about their exposure to each respective culture and their mixed cultural identities for an ethnographic research study. If you can participate, please reply to this e-mail to be put in touch with Lea.
Condolences to the Born Family and the Lehigh Valley Jewish Community on the passing of Bob Born. JCC Newsletter aficionados, all five of ‘em, may remember Morris Propp and the Jewish origin of Christmas lights. Well wouldn’t you know it, but Jews also seemed to have cornered the market on Easter in the form of the iconic PEEPS® chick which Bob helped perfect. Just Born Candies, still family owned, got its start because Bob’s father Sam never completed his rabbinical education and instead went into the confectionary business. As with most yeshiva dropouts, time has proven that he made the right call.
Wishing our Tunisian members a freilichen Seudat Yitro, one of the most obscure festivals in the Jewish calendar. At Seudat Yitro, foods are served in miniature size on miniature plates and the dinner table looks rather like a Teddy bear picnic complete with a stuffed pigeon. Next year’s celebration will hopefully take place at Small Worlds Tokyo, the world’s largest indoor miniature theme park.
Yiddish Club with Jack Halpern: Monthly meetings have been taking place for quite some time in-person at the JCJ. Please contact Jack at jack@cjki.org if you are interested. All levels are welcome, from beginner to advanced. Much more than just language, the club enjoys exploring Yiddish culture as well.
Shabbat Parshat Yitro
Candle Lighting: 4:59pm
Havdala: 5:57pm