Purim goes to the puppies this year at local synagogue

Purim is going to the dogs this year at Congregation Ner Tamid, and that’s a good thing.

As part of this year’s observance of one of the most festive holidays on the Jewish calendar, Congregation Ner Tamid next week will premiere a video in which the story of Purim is acted out by some seriously cute canines.

The celebratory vibe of Purim — which this year begins on the evening of Thursday Feb. 25 and ends the evening of Friday Feb. 26 — may be even more welcome than usual this year. Rabbi Shea Harlig of Chabad of Southern Nevada recalls that COVID lockdowns began just a few days after the celebration of Purim last year.

And while area synagogues this year are planning celebrations with an eye toward COVID, the holiday’s festive nature is sure to remain.

Purim recalls the story more than 2,300 years ago in Persia of the plotting of Haman, the king’s wicked advisor, to kill all of the Jews in Persia. Plot twist and long story short: Queen Esther changes King Ahasuerus’ mind by revealing that she, too, is Jewish and saves her people.

“It’s a minor holiday with a major message,” said Cantor Jessica Hutchings of Congregation Ner Tamid. “It’s the story of our freedom.”

Purim is celebrated by reading the Purim story from the Scroll of Esther, with audiences encouraged to yell and boo Haman when his name is mentioned and cheer when Esther and her cousin, Mordechai, the story’s heroes, appear.

It’s also celebrated by dressing up in costumes, giving gifts of food and helping the needy. Often, carnivals or other events are held.

“It’s supposed to be festive,” said Harlig, and is “one of the happiest days on the Jewish calendar.”

Rabbi Malcolm Cohen of Temple Sinai said one of his own Purim traditions is to give a silly sermon the Friday night before Purim. People who aren’t familiar with Cohen’s tradition often notice that “people around them are laughing and they’re like, it sounds funny, but they’re not sure if they should laugh,” he said.

In addition, “a lot of people do themed celebrations,” Harlig said, such as Chabad’s “Purim under the sea” when “we had people dress up like fish.”

But it’s the creative ways that the story of Purim can be retold that sets it apart from more somber religious holidays

“We do Purim spiels, which are plays, basically, to whatever theme,” said Hutchings, co-creator of Congregation Ner Tamid’s “Puppy Purim.”

“I’ve done ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ ‘Frozen,’ ‘Grease,’ and ‘Star Wars’ just in the years I’ve been here,” she said. “Kids look forward to it. They start asking in September when school starts, ‘What’s’ the theme?’ “

This year’s theme was devised by Hutchings and Cantor Lizzie Weiss of Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills, who collaborated in making the puppy-centric video that will be shown this year.

The friends met over Hanukkah and were discussing Purim possibilities when “we looked at each other and said, ‘What if dogs could tell the story of Purim?’ ” Hutchings said.

The video’s stars — including Hutchings’ Lab, Buttercup, who plays Queen Esther — were costumed and filmed sitting, walking and performing other actions. The pieces then were edited together into a 15-minute story with human dialogue added.

“We did special funny voices and cute backgrounds,” Hutchings said. “It’s pretty hysterical.”

The video will premiere on Congregation Ner Tamid’s Facebook Live feed at 7 p.m. Feb. 26. The congregations’ kids even play parts in the video.

“It was a little sad to have to tell them no play this year,” Hutchings said. “So we decided we were going to have commercial interruptions. We have kids from both synagogues telling cute little animal jokes.”

Purim weekend festivities — which also will include a pet blessings at 9 a.m. and dog adoptions from 10 a.m. to noon on Feb. 28 — will serve as a welcome break from the pandemic. Akselrad recalled that only days after last year’s celebration “the temple was closed and we had to figure out how to use technology to communicate with our congregation.”

“There have been a lot of challenges” with COVID, Akselrad said. “One of the challenges is to think outside of the box and be more creative.”

Contact John Przybys at jprzybys@reviewjournal.com. Follow @JJPrzybys on Twitter.