Purim 2023 in Saxum

On Monday, March 6th (the Eve of Purim) the Museum Saxum in Abu Gosh organized an evening dedicated to the Purim Feast as well as to the International Day of Women. The celebration started with three lectures:

"Queen Esther in Judaism and Christianity" by Isca Harani,

"Her Royal Apparel, Behind the Scenes in Ancient Persia" by Shelly Eshkoli,

"The Spirituality of the Beauty of Women in the Scroll of Esther" by Fr. Piotr Zelazko.

After the lectures a group of Benedictine Sisters and Fathers joined, as well as a group of volunteers from South America that help in the Museum, together with the Opus Dei fathers.

Rabbi Lana Ziberman read the entire scroll in the traditional way, lowering her voice in the 9th chapter to pray for Peace and to remember the victims of the recent acts of terror both Israelis and Palestinians.

Here is a few words from Yisca Harani's Facebook:

We were about 50 Jews and Christians, men and women, most of them local and also some pilgrims. Two powerful women led the reading of the scroll: Rabbi Lana, who has a wonderful voice - and who stands by her side - Shelly Eshkoli. We didn't miss a word, but we bowed our heads when we got to the quest for revenge in chapter 9.

When the final chapter 10 came, the feeling came that I had conquered the silence and overcome that dissonance. It was a celebration of "joy and mirth, feasting and a good day" (...) There is much more to tell about such an evening, but I will limit myself to one comment written by my friend Yoram, which perhaps reflects other people who have not yet had the chance to meet like this:

"I think this is the first time in my life, that I meet this thing... I mean Christians, who are hosted on a Jewish holiday. I know the phenomenon in which we Jews visit Christian holidays and churches. This time it was the other way around. I liked it very much. Beyond that, it was a kind of window to the other soul. Thank you for a unique experience... and now, to dream that maybe one day we will come true: Joint Seder night, Jewish / Christian. In it they deal with ancient texts, discuss and talk about the differences, and about the Seder night, famous in history, the night of the Last Supper... Ready, to host in my yard."