The holiday of Purim is about more than just the fun of what it seems: reading the Megillah, the scroll of Esther and screaming at Haman’s name, dressing up in costumes to celebrate, and giving gifts to each other and gifts to those in need. The deeper meaning is what we look for. Both in the Student to Student (STS) program at the Newmark Institute and in life.

When our student leaders were at Principia School last week to share a presentation (and Purim) and to help 30 juniors and seniors prepare for their voyage to Israel three days later, our students could not have been more thrilled and confident to answer their questions and help them think deeper.

“You’ll walk down the streets on Purim and see clowns and jugglers, but please know it is fun, but it’s not a circus. It’s the celebrating and sharing of the story that the Jews were in trouble and were saved by the Queen” – said STS leader Yoav

“In Israel you will see the street signs are not just in Hebrew- they are in Arabic and English too, don’t worry! The store owners and employees will (probably) speak English too,” was the response by STS leader Zevi when asked if not knowing Hebrew would change their experience. “Israel is our home and your home. We may be different religions but we can be together.”

As of today our Student to Student program has completed over 65 presentations in person during the 2021-2022 school year, and over the next two months will have at least 30 more. Every presentation covers the same basic facts, but they each take their own direction to share various deeper personal experiences and break down the barriers of who Jewish teens actually are. It is clear that the teachers actually see this as an key element of our time together. At the end of his Bible Class, Principia teacher Evan McDonald passionately shared that the Jewish students have been here to get us out of our bubble and make us think about their lives.

Just as our second gentleman of the United States, Douglas Emhoff said of Purim “We remember the bravery of Queen Esther, celebrate the resilience of the Jewish community, and honor the timeless lesson that we must stand up to hate whenever it exists.”

Purim is a holiday of so much more- and we have much more work to do! We hope your holiday was filled with the fun and the depth, and we will continue to bring that to our day to day work in area schools. 

Shabbat Shalom,

Lauren Abraham

*Student to Student is a program of the Newmark Institute.

Inspired by the Newmark Institute Advisory Committee's December conversation with Senator Jack Danforth, this discussion will explore how a shared commitment to literacy in the region has allowed the women of the Missouri Senate to build relationships that transcend the partisan politics that threaten to overtake our government.  

You are all cordially invited to join us for an inspiring and impactful program about the work of the women in the Missouri State Senate to overcome the partisan divide and work together for the greater good of the region.

This week the Joint Religious Legislative Coalition, an interfaith group of advocates working for social justice in Minnesota, hosted its annual Day on the Hill and featured Maharat Rori Picker Neiss as the keynote speaker. Click the button above to watch the program. Rori’s address-- which utilizes Purim and the Book of Esther as a touchstone-- begins at the 15:25 minute mark.

The Missouri General Assembly was on Spring Break this week, giving both legislators and advocates some time to catch their breath. During the last day of the session on March 10, the House passed several bills of concern, including a gun rights bill that would allow guns in houses of worship. Advocacy Alerts will resume next week. The focus of our Advocacy will be largely on the Missouri Senate, which will have hearings on many of the damaging bills passed by the house including attacks on voting rights, the citizen initiative petition, and Medicaid expansion.

Friday, March 25

9:30 am | Virtual

Tuesday, March 29

7:30 - 8 pm | MaTovu 4200 Blaine Ave *

The event will also be live-streamed (link pending)

Join us for a talk by Lewis R. Gordon about Jewish Ideas of Liberation: An Afro-Jewish Perspective. Dr. Gordon is a philosopher, musician, and public intellectual dedicated to struggles for dignity, freedom, social justice, across the globe. His writings address human beings’ relationships to reality and the many ways they abuse power in their attempt to avoid it.

After the talk, there will be a signing for his groundbreaking new book, Fear of Black Consciousness. In this original and penetrating work, Dr. Gordon takes the reader on a journey through the historical development of racialized Blackness, the problems this kind of consciousness produces, and the many creative responses from Black and non-Black communities in contemporary struggles for dignity and freedom.

An Open Discussion About the Potential to Achieve World Peace

Tuesday, March 22

6:30-8:30 p.m.

Spencer Library, 427 Spencer Road, St. Peters Missouri

Join the Rotary Club of St. Charles for an interfaith gathering, featuring perspectives on peace around the world, including remarks by Maharat Rori Picker Neiss.

Monday, April 11 | Virtual

6:15 pm Movie

8:00 pm Program

With antisemitism at the highest level we’ve seen in decades, we must do everything we can to remind the public about its dangers — including the threats we continue to face from enduring antisemitic tropes. ADL is releasing one new video a week in this seven-part series about the pernicious myths that have spread for centuries and still fuel anti-Jewish hate today. To read more, check out ADL's Antisemitism Uncovered: A Guide to Old Myths in a New Era.

Video One - Antisemitism Uncovered Video: Myth of Power

Video Two - Antisemitism Uncovered Video: Myth of Disloyalty