Students all over the middle school celebrated the Jewish holiday of Purim with a carnival during WIN period on March 4.
The Jewish Family Alliance (JFA) and the Jewish Club collaborated for an incredible start of the afternoon on the Horn Commons. There were long lines of students eager to try some of the cotton candy, and there were smiles on the faces of friends eating it with one another. Students decorated masks, bowled on the lawn, played physical tetris, cornhole, and a jelly bean guessing game.
During the Jewish holiday of Purim, people listen and read about the story of the Jewish queen Esther, and how she saved the Jews from Haman. To celebrate this holiday full of joy and cheer, people host carnivals, dress in creative costumes, and eat yummy hamantaschen, pastries full of jelly which resembles the triangular hat of Haman.
Jewish club leader Jake Mandell ’29 led a jelly bean guessing game, where students lined up and wrote down their guesses for the amount of jelly beans. The reward? The big container of jelly beans themselves. Bodhi Patel ‘30 guessed the exact number of jelly beans, 1056 to be exact, and won the competition, taking the jelly beans home.
Many people were playing fun games on the lawn, with people that they are close to and people that they have just met.
“This is a great way to bring the community together,” Wesley Hong ’29 said “It’s lighthearted and fun, and it’s a great way to meet new people and hang out with the ones you know.”
The point of the Purim Carnival was to show Jewish culture to the whole school and educate the campus about the holiday of Purim, while having lots of fun at the same time.
Director of Student Affairs Sarah Tooke ’04 discussed the significance of incorporating culture into everyday endeavors at Harvard Westlake:
“It’s critical. Our mission statement strives to include diversity, equity, and inclusion, and this celebration is an example of that,” Tooke said. “People around the commons are having a wonderful time. Purim is a fun holiday, and this is a fun way for the entire community to celebrate this wonderful holiday.”
Overall, it was a very lighthearted and fun celebration. The JFA and the Jewish club held this carnival with Purim fun in mind, and as a result, students learned about this exciting Jewish holiday while participating in a tradition that has happened in this holiday for many years.
Dylan Baker ’31 gave his highlights: “This is an incredible celebration. Baker said. It’s full of amazing games, great friends, good times, and delicious food. And we are celebrating Purim, a holiday full of excitement. What more could you ask for?”
