This past Sunday, our JFREJ community celebrated a little early with a mini-spiel, a parade, and a dance party. We called it EMERGENCY (or EMERGE-and-SEE) PURIM because of the urgent need many of us felt for the joy and laughter that Purim encourages us to embrace.

Our Purim celebration was just over two years to the day since the World Health Organization declared the beginning of a global pandemic. It was JFREJ’s first membership-wide in-person gathering since the pandemic began. Judging by the giddy and playful energy that hundreds of JFREJers brought along with them, it was clear that we more than needed it!

Not every member of our community could join us in-person — from members of the ‘JFREJ Diaspora’ (how we lovingly refer to our members based outside of New York) to folks who were not able to attend an in-person gathering — so we held a parallel Zoom-room party for people to watch the livestream together, virtually (check it out here!)

A brilliant team of cultural workers and organizers poured their hearts and creative souls into EMERGENCY PURIM, pulling together an exquisite and participatory display of visual, theatrical, musical, and comedic arts. Hundreds of JFREJ members joined in, in all our goofy splendor. First we gathered on the steps of the Brooklyn Public Library, where Amanda Miller led us in quite a show with Purim storytelling for passersby!

Then a parade through Brooklyn, followed by a good, old-fashioned dance party — with some lounge time, of course:

More highlights include….breathtaking banners (created by JFREJ member artists, including Jordanna Gisser, Sarah Katz, Mx. Cleo Mizrahi and Rachel Schragis):

…incredible costumes (many of them credit to Jenny Romaine/Great Small Works, Mary Feaster, and Amanda Miller for design inspiration & fabrics):

…Spectacular music (Band led by Ira Temple (melodica) and Aani Kisslinger (trombone), ft. Matt Moran on tappan, April Centrone on snare, Reut Regev on trombone, Jessica Lurie on alto sax, Nora Nalepka on tuba, Pam Fleming on trumpet)

…marshals who kept us safe in style (thanks to designs by Mx. Cleo Mizrahi):

…puppets!

…a decree-issuing station!

With templates designed by Amanda Miller, one side of every decree said EMERGENCY JOY in one of many Jewish languages offered and translated by members (English, Turkish, Ladino, Yiddish, and Arabic). The phrase referenced the urgent need for joy, and our Purim celebration as a cure! The other side of every decree was stamped with the word DECREE (in Hebrew: גזירה).

The participatory creation didn’t just happen at Purim. In the weeks leading up to our celebration, artists of the JFREJ community created 100 free DIY costume kits for JFREJ members to pick up via neighborhood groups. These Mischloach Manot (Purim baskets) were one way for our JFREJ community to connect with each other in advance of our gathering, and to engage in collective, distributed, joyful action accessible to all. We were supported by a brilliant team of costume creators who conceptualized and then distributed dozens of costume kits across the five boroughs in the week leading up to Emergency Purim, so that all of us had an opportunity to show up with flair. Thanks to Dena Miller for making it happen!

We received fun and funny and super informative instructional videos and tons of resources to inspire our designs, and even a Purim mix to listen to while we made our costumes! Thank you to Nikolai Mishler, Paul Adam, Arielle Avenia, Elisheva Miller, Abbie Goldberg, Jenny Romaine, Megan Paradis Hanley & Gabriel Lebn Paradis, and Edie and Jen Abrams for creating videos! And a special thank-you to Jen Abrams for serving as Purim Coordinator Extraordinaire.

There’s nothing quite like the pure, delirious exhaustion that comes from spending hours upon hours with this gloriously uproarious community in all our goofy and glittery splendor. Happy Purim, JFREJ fam! Emerge-and-See indeed!

Click here for more photos from EMERGENCY PURIM!