Persephone
02-25-2013, 05:33 PM
Purim is a quirky Jewish holiday based upon the Book of Esther. One of the traditions is to wear costumes ("fancy dress" for you Brits, I believe) and often adults dress up as well as children.
Saturday night, the night after "Eryn, Persephone and friends see silent cinema at the Nethercutt" (click here) (http://www.crossdressers.com/forums/showthread.php?190719-Eryn-Persephone-and-friends-see-silent-cinema-at-the-Nethercutt!&highlight=Eryn), was Purim.
My spouse and I went to the services and the reading of the Megila, The Book of Esther, at our local congregation, one of the ones I attend en femme.
This year I decided to attend as Queen Esther, the heroine of the story.
http://i.imgur.com/WBzPf8T.jpg
We met up with friends and had a great time. I participated in the costume contest but didn't win anything. I constantly wonder if the popular vote, by applause, would be different if they thought I was a guy. It didn't matter though, as some good friends of mine won and I was delighted for them.
I did some homework by the way and found out that Rabbi Judah (Yehuda) Mintz Ha-Levi, a Sixteenth Century Rabbi from Spain, had written a "Responsa," an opinion document, in which he said that men should be allowed to wear women's clothing on Purim in spite of Deuteronomy 22:5. While his opinion was not widely accepted among other Rabbis, it is very interesting that he took this position some 500 years ago.
After the services my spouse and I went to dinner with my guyself's best friend and his wife. It was kind of funny because we went to one of the restaurants that I have normally set aside for my guyself and so I've never gone there en femme. The staff appeared to be unfazed by me en femme. I felt kinda sorry for my friend because now he was the only guy at table, but he handled it well.
The next day, Sunday, my spouse and I went into the heart of the barrio of Los Angeles, Boyle Heights, to attend an author's presntation on her newest book. An odd place for such an event you might think, but 100 years ago Boyle Heights was the center of the Jewish community in Los Angeles and the event was held at the old Synagogue that dated from 1913. Named Congregation Talmud Torah, it was always simply called the Breed Street Shul (Synagogue) and is about two blocks into Breed Street from Cesar E. Chavez Blvd. (formerly Brooklyn Blvd).
Unfortunately, the old main sanctuary building was "red tagged" by the city after the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake. After 1996 the whole facility, including the back building that had continued to be used somewhat sporatically, were vacated and the entire site was vandalized and deteriorated. It became a hangout for homeless people and for pigeons who flew in through the broken stained glass windows and took up residence in the building. The interior of the building was graffitied and many things, such as the chandeliers and the bronze memorial plaques, were stolen.
Recently there have been efforts to restore the facility, turning it into a community center, by the Boyle Heights Historical Society and the Breed Street Shul (Synagogue) Project, but progress is very, very slow.
This event, however, Janice Steinberg's discussion of her book "The Tin Horse," a novel set in the 1920's Jewish community of Boyle Heights, was very well attended. After the program I met her and some of the current residents of the area.
We were also briefly able to enter the main sanctuary and I took lots of pictures.
http://i.imgur.com/2JCm0sX.jpg
After the event we went a few blocks away to a very well-known local eatery, El Tepeyac.
http://i.imgur.com/iQ7qdJK.jpg
It is a very crowded, tiny place and we were seated at the counter. My spouse had an enchilada and a taco and I had far too much of their special Hollenbeck Con Pollo Burrito.
http://i.imgur.com/7KGli9V.jpg
The Nethercutt, Purim, and the visit to the Breed Street Shul made for a very busy, and very lovely, weekend.
Hugs,
Persephone.
Saturday night, the night after "Eryn, Persephone and friends see silent cinema at the Nethercutt" (click here) (http://www.crossdressers.com/forums/showthread.php?190719-Eryn-Persephone-and-friends-see-silent-cinema-at-the-Nethercutt!&highlight=Eryn), was Purim.
My spouse and I went to the services and the reading of the Megila, The Book of Esther, at our local congregation, one of the ones I attend en femme.
This year I decided to attend as Queen Esther, the heroine of the story.
http://i.imgur.com/WBzPf8T.jpg
We met up with friends and had a great time. I participated in the costume contest but didn't win anything. I constantly wonder if the popular vote, by applause, would be different if they thought I was a guy. It didn't matter though, as some good friends of mine won and I was delighted for them.
I did some homework by the way and found out that Rabbi Judah (Yehuda) Mintz Ha-Levi, a Sixteenth Century Rabbi from Spain, had written a "Responsa," an opinion document, in which he said that men should be allowed to wear women's clothing on Purim in spite of Deuteronomy 22:5. While his opinion was not widely accepted among other Rabbis, it is very interesting that he took this position some 500 years ago.
After the services my spouse and I went to dinner with my guyself's best friend and his wife. It was kind of funny because we went to one of the restaurants that I have normally set aside for my guyself and so I've never gone there en femme. The staff appeared to be unfazed by me en femme. I felt kinda sorry for my friend because now he was the only guy at table, but he handled it well.
The next day, Sunday, my spouse and I went into the heart of the barrio of Los Angeles, Boyle Heights, to attend an author's presntation on her newest book. An odd place for such an event you might think, but 100 years ago Boyle Heights was the center of the Jewish community in Los Angeles and the event was held at the old Synagogue that dated from 1913. Named Congregation Talmud Torah, it was always simply called the Breed Street Shul (Synagogue) and is about two blocks into Breed Street from Cesar E. Chavez Blvd. (formerly Brooklyn Blvd).
Unfortunately, the old main sanctuary building was "red tagged" by the city after the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake. After 1996 the whole facility, including the back building that had continued to be used somewhat sporatically, were vacated and the entire site was vandalized and deteriorated. It became a hangout for homeless people and for pigeons who flew in through the broken stained glass windows and took up residence in the building. The interior of the building was graffitied and many things, such as the chandeliers and the bronze memorial plaques, were stolen.
Recently there have been efforts to restore the facility, turning it into a community center, by the Boyle Heights Historical Society and the Breed Street Shul (Synagogue) Project, but progress is very, very slow.
This event, however, Janice Steinberg's discussion of her book "The Tin Horse," a novel set in the 1920's Jewish community of Boyle Heights, was very well attended. After the program I met her and some of the current residents of the area.
We were also briefly able to enter the main sanctuary and I took lots of pictures.
http://i.imgur.com/2JCm0sX.jpg
After the event we went a few blocks away to a very well-known local eatery, El Tepeyac.
http://i.imgur.com/iQ7qdJK.jpg
It is a very crowded, tiny place and we were seated at the counter. My spouse had an enchilada and a taco and I had far too much of their special Hollenbeck Con Pollo Burrito.
http://i.imgur.com/7KGli9V.jpg
The Nethercutt, Purim, and the visit to the Breed Street Shul made for a very busy, and very lovely, weekend.
Hugs,
Persephone.