Part of the celebration includes dressing up as another character.
By
Jessica Salmond
| 9:20 p.m. March 24, 2016
East County
Neighbors
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Superheroes, princesses and even an Venetian gondolier filled Lakewood Ranch Town Hall Thursday, March 24.
The characters were dressed up for the celebration of Purim with Chabad of Bradenton and Lakewood Ranch. Every year, the Purim celebration is organized with a different theme; this year it was Purim Italiano, complete with Italian foods, games and trivia.
Families dressed in costume as a part of the remembrance of the holiday. Purim celebrates the salvation of the Jews in ancient Persia from Haman (also known as Xerxes I), a vizier of the Persian empire in the Book of Ester who vowed to destroy the Jewish people. The costumes represent the change in the fate of the Jewish people.
“Because everything was changed around then, we change around ourselves,” Chamie Bukiet said.
Rabbi Mendy Bukiet reads from the Megillah, or Scroll of Ester, which recounts the salvation of the Jewish people from a Persian vizier.
Steve Shapiro dressed up as a Venetian gondolier.
Shai and Gal Augoshe
Oded and Eitan Neeman color before dinner.
The theme of this year's celebration was Purim Italiano.
Adir and Rotem Tibi make noise during the reading of Megillah.
Ester Cohen reads along in the Megillah while Rabbi Mendy Bukiet reads aloud.
Isaac Abitbol holds up a pastry for the traditional giving of food to his neighbor at the table.
Katherine and Peter Pike
Eden Tibi shakes a rattle, a tradition during the reading of the Megillah to drown out the name of Haman, an evil Persian vizier.
Daniel Radmi and Roy Dil
Bukiet brothers Shua, Mordechai, Chaim-Meir, Shay, Leible, Sholom-Ber and Zalman with their babysitter of 10 years, Allison Heitner
Celebration attendees load up on homemade Italian fare.
Chamie Bukiet and her husband, Rabbi Mendy Bukiet
Emily Cohen stomps around on some grapes during the children's program.
Molly and Madeline Gursh make pasta collages with help from grandma Patti Gursch.
