Purim 2007 at Jewish Family Service

By Rena Herman, Jewish Family Service Ottawa 

The highlight of my Purim this year was the Jewish Family Services’ Purim party for new immigrants, which took place March 4^th at 2255 Carling Ave. From the moment I exited the elevator on the third floor, it was obvious that there was a celebration happening, as people and decorations flowed out into the hallway. 

What followed was an afternoon of performance, music, delicious food, and lots of fun for everyone from children to seniors. The room was packed mostly with Russian speaking Jews, and the event took place mainly in Russian.  

A major feature of the event was the warmth and friendliness that the new immigrants demonstrated to those around them, often despite an inability to communicate with us non-Russian speakers.  

In the true tradition of the holiday, Rita Bourianova wrote a brilliant original Purim Shpiel (Purim play), which was performed by a group of immigrant children and teenagers. The teenagers gave a professional performance, and the young queen Esther’s singing won the audience’s hearts. For many of the parents and grandparents it was emotionally overwhelming to see their children in a Jewish performance speaking and singing in Russian with a bit of Yiddish – something that would have been unheard of in their former homeland. It was a very touching moment. Even for those who did not understand the Russian, the play’s music, verse, and rhyme made the presentation captivating. 

Little John, appropriately dressed as a large clown for the occasion, directed the children in a costume parade. The crowd encouraged the youngsters as they marched around the room before receiving prizes.

The beautiful buffet which included fish, salads, and, of course, hammentashen was then opened, and the musical performances began soon after the crowd sat down to eat.  

All who attended the event were entered in a raffle draw for a porcelain plate and matching Shabbat candleholders from Israel. Two generously donated hand-made afghans were raffled off, in addition to some baskets of shalach manot (Purim treats). 

The room was treated to a selection of mostly Russian music featuring front-man Issac Musikansky on vocals and guitar. Together with Ludmila Kotov on the violin and Steve Shapransky on drums, they delivered a little taste of home - an important tie to their culture for the Russian immigrants and their children. The crowd certainly enjoyed these favourites.  

Purim songs, Yiddish songs, and Klezmer tunes followed, performed by myself, Rena Herman, on fiddle and vocals, Fred Brown on the bass, Ahron Zohar on clarinet and accordion, and Steve Shaprinsky on drums. The children shyly participated in the well-known ‘Lakova Sheli”, miming the actions to the song. It was a pleasure to play and sing for this receptive appreciative audience.

As the event ended, I was left with the feeling that I had been granted a rare glimpse into the world of the Ottawa Jewish Russian immigrant –the language, the culture, and the music demonstrate the rich heritage that they have left behind to start anew in Canada.