Jewish Unity The Jewish Experience in Exile God's "Hiddeness" in the World and Divine Providence Antisemitism Prayer and Repentence Women's Roles in the Ancient World Charity (Tzedaka) Rededication to Torah Through Love Parody and Satire Topsy-Turvyness Jewish Self-defense The Nature of Miracles Eradicating Amalek

• The Festive Meal and Drinking;
• The Megilla Reading;
• Sending Portions of Food to Friends (Mishloach Manot);
• Gifts to the Poor;
• Masquerading, Carnivals and the Purim Shpiel; and
• Eradicating the name of Haman.

Look through our site for insights and information on these themes and customs.

Teaching Approaches to Purim
There are several basic approaches to teaching about the holiday, which work well in either the school or youth group:

• Teaching by Themes
  
• Teaching with Activities
  
• Using Virtual Jerusalem's Site

Teaching by Theme

Teaching by theme (see Purim themes, above) allows the students to participate in more creative and proactive ways, since they can actively interpret the relevance and applicability of the themes. The teacher can lead discussions that focus on one theme, allowing the students the opportunity to add their input and opinions. Students can also decide what activities would be appropriate to develop the themes, or even ways to communicate thematic ideas through song, dance or other performance technique. Theme-based projects such as preparing mishloach manot to deliver to nursing homes or hospitals, tzedaka projects to raise money for the poor, or staging a Purim play to communicate the themes allow students to feel a personal connection to the themes and ideas of Purim. See Purim Project ideas for more.

Teaching with Activities

Teaching through arts and crafts, puzzles, quizzes, songs, stories, and the usual gamut of similar activities gets younger children (in particular) excited about the holiday. Purim is also an especially good time for performing arts.

Using Virtual Jerusalem's Site

Using the Virtual Jerusalem Purim site as a springboard for further activities on the holiday allows students to combine learning about the holiday with improving their computer skills. IN particular, they gain familiarity with the basic concepts in online navigation. The teacher can set questions in advance, the answers to which are to be found on the site, either as advanced preparation or as a competition. (Who can find the answer first?) Don't forget: all the site material can be printed up in any number of ways.