Purim Plans

Hi friends

I hope you all had a good three day weekend and are staying warm in this weather!  I personally enjoy the brisk air, and amazingly my kids never seem to need a coat in any of it :)

Ok, so I'm emailing for a few reasons!  One is, I am so pleased to let you all know that due to a generous donor we are now able to offer free attendance for the Festival for Jewish Learning!  Of course, it's wonderful if you're still able to pay, but go ahead and use the "student" (free) rate, and sign up to come.  We'd love to see you Thursday night at 5pm for my favorite podcaster, Mark Oppenheimer.  He's also the author of the book on Squirrel Hill and wrote the NYT Religion column for 6 years.  And/or come to Phillips Hall on Friday for a session to remember the Shoah followed by Kabbalat Shabbat led by Rabbi Micah.  Another option is to come out to TNS on Saturday night starting at 5pm for a Petra dinner (with libations) followed by Havdalah and songs.  Kids welcome too!

Now, on to Purim.  First of all, make sure Wednesday, March 16 is on your calendar for Erev Purim at TNS.  Secondly, we are hosting "auditions" this Sunday for a kids Purim shpiel!  Here's the scoop:

• Is your kid a star? If so, please help them prepare a 1-minute presentation of any kind for Hebrew school this week. Our goal is to see them comfortable and reliable in front of a crowd. There are three reading/speaking roles available for strong readers. The rest are nonverbal.
• Roles include:
  

• Narrators
  
• Nonspeaking lead actors who follow cues read by the narrators
  
• Nonspeaking support (no audition necessary)
  

Auditions will be held in front of the group at the end of Hebrew school. Roles will be assigned by the Hebrew school teachers.
Performance will be on 3/16 at 6ish pm


Also this Sunday the kids will have a special guest, Rabbi Lon Moskowitz, lead in Torah Talk.  Please be in touch with any questions and I look forward to seeing all of you in this coming week.

All my best
Lauren