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Our role as custodians and stewards of God’s earth is to protect and preserve the ecology and environment as best we can.

Purim is often celebrated by dressing up as the brave and honest characters from the Megillah, who stood up for their peoplehood. Purim is also a wonderful opportunity to affirm our commitment to community. In keeping with the URJ’s core value of Audacious Hospitality, Camp Harlam is proud to call itself an inclusive camp, welcoming campers of all needs and abilities who want to be here. Here are 5 lessons from camp that can help make your synagogue’s Purim Carnival accessible to all this year:

No matter how you go about producing your Purim celebration, don’t forget that it’s a religious imperative to make people laugh on Purim (or to die trying).

By Joshua Weinberg

“And when you come into the Land, and have planted all manner of food bearing trees… (Lev. 19:23) The Holy one Blessed be he said to the people Israel: Even though you have found [the land] full of plenty, you shall not say: We shall sit and not plant, rather proceed with caution in your planting… For as you have entered and found the fruits of others’ labor, you so shall plant for your children. (Midrash Tanhuma)

If you’re like me, then you may remember that pivotal moment of Jewish education when you received your very own Jewish National Fund (JNF) certificate for a tree planted in Israel. Whether it was for a birth, birthday, bar/bat mitzvah, or in memory of a loved one, a tree was planted in Israel to mark the occasion. The message was clear: with every passing milestone we want to connect Jews to the Land of Israel and to the Zionist enterprise. All of us who were the fortunate recipients of such trees knew in the recesses of our mind that somewhere in that strip of land, in some forest, was our tree, our little piece of Israel. As the certificates read, the JNF wished us the following: “We wish you the fortune of seeing it grow with much pleasure and ease.”