Lesson of Purim: Things Are Not Always What They Seem To Be

May 2024

Although Purim fell on a Sunday this year, when we were not in school, Charlotte Jewish Day School (CJDS) students were able to celebrate multiple ways.

Bridging the themes of Purim with the enlightening world of science, the Charlotte Jewish Day School (CJDS) offered its students a unique celebration that illuminated the festival's underlying mysteries. Just as the story of Purim is woven with hidden identities and transformative revelations — from Esther's concealed Jewish identity to Mordechai's unexpected honor and Haman's downfall — CJDS students delved into scientific experiments under the guidance of Essy Sefchovich, also known as Dr. Mashugana, to uncover hidden aspects of the world around us. Through hands-on activities, such as manipulating light to change perceptions of color or observing the direction of an arrow through different mediums, the students experienced firsthand how things are not always as they appear.

Using M&M’s, students were first instructed to separate them by color. Next, with the light off, and given flashlights, they were instructed to sort them again, using different colored filters. Suddenly the pieces previously yellow in color, now appeared red or blue depending on the filter used. In fact, most of the pieces took on a different color and the sorting was surprisingly different from the initial sort.

Science shows us that a material absorbs all wavelengths of light except for the specific wavelength corresponding to the color we perceive.The filter only allowed certain color wavelengths to reach the eye, thereby creating the illusion that the pieces were different colors than they actually were!

Another experiment showed how light slows down as it passes through different mediums. The light will bend as it travels from water to air or air to water. Students used an arrow to follow how different mediums can change what is “readily apparent” to their line of sight. The arrow that was pointing in one direction, suddenly appeared to point in the opposite way when going through air. The class also experimented with different clear liquids and how they react differently to the introduction of color, based on their acidity. Not all clear liquids are the same.

The students also visited the Museum of Illusions for a complete immersion into a mind-bending experience, creating interactive participation in creating incredible illusions appearing to others be much different than they actually were.

The students hide their identity during Purim, with costumes, creating the illusion they are someone else.

On Sunday, CJDS participated in the Purim Carnival by running a Mishloach Manot booth. This booth provided every attendee, both adults and children, with the opportunity to observe two of the four Purim mitzvot on the actual day of Purim. Participants received bags, stickers, crayons, and Purim cards for decoration. They had a wide variety of candies and delicious snacks to fill their bags with. Once filled, these bags were handed over to the CJDS delivery team, who then found recipients for these food gifts. On Purim, it is a tradition to give at least one gift containing two different foods to another person. No one left hungry — a Purim riddle explaining the four mitzvot of Purim was provided in order to earn a candy or snack.

A second mitzvah of Purim, Matanot La’evayonim (gifts for the poor) was also made possible for all carnival participants. Two mosaic tzedakah boxes were available for all to give charity as we are told to give to two different people or institutions on Purim.

This year, CJDS successfully merged the celebration of Purim with scientific exploration, giving students a unique learning experience. Through engaging experiments in the classroom and fulfilling Purim's mitzvot at the Purim carnival, they discovered the holiday's deeper meanings and its relevance today. It was a Purim that combined tradition with inquiry, making the spirit of the festival both tangible and instructive.