Hungarian Jews mark Purim with Ukrainian refugees, stressing peace
(March 17, 2022 / JNS) Hundreds, most of them refugees from Ukraine, attended the Purim ceremony at the Zsilip Jewish Cultural Centre and Synagogue in Budapest, where they heard the reading of the Megillah.
Prior to the program, the EMIH-Hungarian Jewish Alliance held an event titled “Rattle Peace!” in Jászai Mari Square. Chief Rabbi Shlomo Köves drew attention to the fact that the current war on Ukraine can be spiritually as well as physically.
“Just as a miracle happened 2,500 years ago and the persecuted survived instead of being destroyed, they were saved. Let us hear our voice and ask for peace! With the noise of the grogger, we suppress the voice of war; we try to draw the attention of the people, the decision-makers to the fact that nothing good can be achieved with war, we try to draw the attention of God to hear our voice,” he said.
A special Russian-language ceremony for Jewish refugees from Ukraine was also organized at the Zsilip center, where they could hear Torah explanations from Rabbi Boruch Oberlander, the Hungarian leader of the Chabad-Lubavich movement.
Afterwards, the refugees enjoyed a festive meal.
A guest of honor at the event was Pinhas Tsinman, a rabbi of Belarusian descent who recently fled Kiev with his family. He is also a performer who sings about Jewish life in reggae-style.
After reporting on his travails, he sang “Think Good and Will Be Good,” which was also chosen as the motto of the occasion.
Purim is a Jewish holiday which commemorates the saving of the Jewish people from Haman, an Achaemenid Persian Empire official who was planning to kill all the Jews in the empire, as recounted in the Book of Esther (usually dated to the 5th century BCE). Haman was the royal vizier to King
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