Last year, Jewcy received an invitation to the 3rd Annual Broadway Purim Shpiel. At the time, Jewcy couldn't afford any real reporters, and both our editors, Weiss and Izzy, were indisposed.

Jewcy's editor-in-chief Raz called me into his office. "Leinoff!" he bellowed, ashes from his fat cigar dropping into his lap, "I need you to cover the 3rd Annual Broadway Purim Shpiel at the Hudson Theater on 44th Street!"

So I went, and I had a right good time. I met Doctor Ruth, Seth Rudetsky, an Israeli guy, and even some other people! Naturally, I had to go back for this year's performance.

Sadly, the 4thAnnual Broadway Purim Shpiel was notably less fun than the 3rd Annual Broadway Purim Shpiel. I did enjoy the opening performance -- wherein a woman pretended to be wealthy entrepreneur and friend of Jewcy Michael Steinhardt (later in the evening, Steinhardt had someone put a bullet in her head from 1800 yards away) -- but host Jackie Hoffman was a little trying for my tastes. She came out strong, but soon her act degenerated into a series of rimshot-inducing puns on Judaism and JAPs and what-have-you. When is one time too many when it comes to "Jewish mothers cook a lot of food" jokes? Never, if you're the Broadway Purim Shpiel.

The musical numbers were the highlight of the show, but a three-piece band couldn't totally do them justice. The spoken bits were more of a chore in general. Although Iris Bahr's excerpts from her spoken off-broadway show, DAI (enough) were impressive, improv group "Don't Quit Your Night Job" failed to deliver the goods with two painful experiments in Broadway-themed comedy.

In the end, I'm glad I went. They served free dessert! (But where were the hamantaschen?) Still, the highlight of my evening shouldn't have been chasing around the same photographer who snubbed me last year, trying to snap a photo of his elusive face. But maybe that says more about me than the show.

Here's a photo gallery commemorating all the fun times we had.

c/o Goddess Perlman.

Welcome to a semi-regular column by JDub Records founder Aaron Bisman. Since he spends his days immersed in new Jewish music, we asked him what he listens to on his time off.

She's so unusual: Kaki King"Pull Me Out Alive" – Kaki King
Kaki King was good friends with one of my roommates senior year of college, so she hung around our place sometimes. With the exception of a baal tshuva and a former frummie from Monsey, my other Alphabet City roommates were all musicians, and being surrounded by artists was by turns inspiring, maddening, and fun as hell. Kaki had a very unique air about her—quiet but obviously passionate. Mellow in conversation but aggressive on her guitar. We went to a few of her early shows, where she stood alone onstage using her guitar as a drum when she wasn’t fingerpicking the hell out it. It wasn't what I expected to see (or like) in a New York club, but she was totally captivating.

In the past year, Kaki's career has taken off. Sean Penn asked her to do music for Into the Wild and she worked with the Foo Fighters on their last album. She’s no longer a mute instrumentalist—last week, she put out Dreaming Of Revenge. You MUST watch this video. Yes, the light effect is similar to those annoying Sprint commercials. But this video was made from 5,000 still photographs. And the song has that perfect poppy edge while staying rooted in Kaki’s alternative/indie base. Love it.

"Cocaine" – Sly & the Revolutionaries & Jah Thomas Dreux
Dub is essentially reggae with the delay effects turned up and the vocals turned down—chill instrumental music. Adam Mansbach, the author of The End of the Jews, turned me onto this track. Adam’s book is about a multigenerational family of Jewish artists, including stoned bar mitzvah DJs and graffiti-bombing grandfathers When he made a “playlist” for the book, he included this and described it as solid music to write to. So I took his advice, bought it on iTunes, and put it on as I started to write this. I think it's a new essential in my collection.

"Big Mistake" – Tim Fite
Mark my words, Tim Fite is the new Beck. He's steeped in blues, country, and the hip hop art of sampling, but has a personality (and stage show) all his own. I bummed a ride with Tim to Bonnaroo last year in a van where we were only allowed to listen to books on tape and ‘80s hip also on tape—and we had to stop in the mountains of Tennessee to check out a gourd stand (where we convinced his brother, Greg Fite, to buy a hand-made raccoon-skin hat). Tim plays acoustic guitar onstage, and Greg runs sampler and projections, which often show Tim backing himself up on other instruments, and other times feature Tim’s illustrations and animations. Have I made the “personality all his own” point well enough yet?

This song is from his upcoming album, “Fair Ain’t Fair.” It’s a great leap forward in Tim's songwriting and style, but also a perfect introduction to his music: Catchy, melodic, easy to sing along with, but still with the bleeps and blips and weird moments I love him for. You can hear it here.

Rays of sunshine: DeVotchKa"Transliterator" – DeVotchKa
Heard this on Woxy.com, a great online radio station I recently got into. DeVotchKa waves the flag of “Gypsy rock” (the camp inhabited by Gogol Bordello, Balkan Beat Box, Slavic Soul Party, Golem, etc), which I've never fully understood. Using an accordion is great, but it doesn’t make the music Gypsy (or Roma). I hear more David Byrne that Eugene Hutz.

This track is from DeVotchKa’s album, which came out this week. It's also the second song in today's list from Anti Records, which I guess makes me an Anti fan. I love the keyboard riff, the delicate sound of the music, the strings – I can almost imagine this being used in an extended cut of a van-chasing scene in Little Miss Sunshine (which they scored).

"Purim crunk"(from the Emory Hillel)
Thursday night is Purim, so we can’t miss the only opportunity I’ll have to showcase my favorite and only Purim Crunk song, called, appropriately, “Purim Crunk.” It was commissioned by Emory University's Hillel last year. I’m pretty sure the artists weren’t Jews, which makes their accurate retelling of the Purim story all the more impressive. Please download this song and play it loud and proud at your Masquerade balls this weekend.

Don’t have a Purim plan? JDub has five, in NY, Boston, Cleveland, SF, & LA and we’d love to see you at one of them.

Previously: Yeasayer and more

Are Your Hamantaschen: ready to go?It's Purim, party people, and that means you have six mitzvoth to observe in the next couple of days. What, you thought it was just a costume party? The Purim mitzvoth are:

1. Hearing the Megillah. We’re supposed to hear the Megillah twice: Once tonight, and once tomorrow morning.
2. Giving mishloach manot to your friends and family.
   
3. Giving money to the poor.
   
4. Having a festive Purim meal.
   
5. Adding the appropriate prayer, Al Hanisim, during the Amidah
   
6. Being extra happy on Shushan Purim, which this year falls on Shabbat.

Word to the wise: Purim is a great time to try out a new synagogue—you get to see how much liquor they’ve got around and how generous they are with it, and sample their hamantaschen. A lot of synagogues offer Purim Carnivals, such as Ikar in Los Angeles. They're hosting a "Justice" Purim Carnival—with games like Guitar Hero and Wii Sports—from which all proceeds will go to charity. To find a cool shul near you, try shulshopper.

We’ve already covered giving mishloach manot here, but remember that the mitzvah is to distribute them on the day of Purim, which is Friday. Ideally, one should send them by messenger, but if your chauffeur has the day off, it’s cool to deliver them yourself. You should put together and send at least two gift baskets.
You Gotta Give: to everyone who asks on Purim
Giving money and gifts to the poor is an integral part of celebrating Purim. On Friday one should try to give money, food or clothing to at least two needy people. The minimum amount you should give is only about 20 cents per person, but if you can afford to give more, then do so. Technically one is obligated to give money to every needy person who asks on Purim, and it’s preferable to give more money to the poor than to spend tons on your mishloach manot or on making a lavish Purim meal.

Having a festive meal on the day of Purim is one of the less commonly observed mitzvoth, but it need not be. Since Purim falls on Good Friday this year, you might have the day off, which means plenty of time to put together a nice Purim brunch. Check out Not Derby Pie for some great ideas, or our own Jewcy suggestions. And we’re supposed to drink on Purim, so how about mimosas? Another suggestion: Brew up a pitcher of Sukkot Sangria, and tell your friends it's Purim Punch.

Being especially happy and joyous on Shabbat, and adding Al Hanisim during the Amidah are pretty easy to figure out without much explanation.

Now, start cleaning for Pesach…

Related: Must Have: Readymade Purim Baskets, How To: Make Your Own Purim Baskets

Pre-Made Mishloach Manot: no need to lift a fingerYesterday we gave you some ideas and tips for creating your own mishloach manot. Today, we're giving a shout out to the especially busy and/or all-too-lazy readers among us, by offering leads on pre-made Purim Baskets. If you’re too darn lethargic to put something together yourself, fear not:

• You can purchase premade mishloach manot, which can be conveniently mailed to your friends, at Oh Nuts!

• If you're feeling especially generous, you can have mishloach manot delivered to Israeli soldiers.

• Less than enamored by the basket options? Why not send cards that say “A donation has been made in your honor to X charity this Purim” to the important people in your life. Yad Sarah has some beautiful options, and the money helps bring the gift of Mishloach Manot to a homebound and/or disabled person in Israel.

• Table to Table has some cute ones that can even be emailed, with the money going to hunger charities in Israel. Your local synagogue probably has their own version, as well.

Previously: Letters of Creation Necklace (and Natalie Portman's Shoes)

DIY: Mishloach ManotWith Purim quickly approaching, it's time to start putting together the mishloach manot, or Purim baskets, that are customarily given to friends and family for the holiday. There aren’t any hard and fast rules for what has to go into mishloach manot, but Jewish law and custom does dictate that two different types of ready-to-eat food—each of which require a different blessing—should be included. So hamentaschen along with some fruit or a beverage have you covered, but feel free to get creative.

It can be fun to put your personal stamp on Purim baskets, so why not come up with a theme? One timely idea is doing “green” baskets, with reusable containers and organic ingredients. If you’re a big baseball fan, how about filling your basket with snacks you'd get at a ballgame, like beer, peanuts, and popcorn? If you're especially crafty, you might even want to include your own homemade hamentaschen and personal dried fruit mix.

Here are some tips and guidelines to get you started:

1. Make two lists: One of recipients for your baskets, the other of the items you'll include. Then shop accordingly.
2. You can use any kind of container, from a nice wicker basket to a brown bag or shoe box. Recycle something you already have, and feel free to decorate.
   
3. Include a Purim card with each basket.
4. Mishloach manot shouldn't be delivered to anyone currently in mourning.
5. Deliver your baskets on Purim!
6. Have some extra baskets ready to go, just in case someone surprises you with an unexpected offering.

Previously: How To Explain Shabbat to a Non-Jew

Today is the first day of Rosh Chodesh Adar, the beginning of the month of Adar. Adar is the happiest (and luckiest) month in the Jewish calendar, and inspired the famous Talmudic dictum, Mishenichnas Adar marbim b’simcha. Whoever enters Adar increases their level of joy.
Adar: good for the Jews
The basic reason that Adar is considered so awesome has to do with Purim occurring in the month of Adar, because Purim is generally thought of as a lucky and joyous time for Jews. It’s the Jewish equivalent of the secular “holiday season” (except we get hamantaschen instead of fruitcake) in that it’s supposed to be a time of joy and charity and good tidings.

Traditionally, Av is a crappy month for the Jews what with all of the temple destruction and the expulsion from Spain and so on. And Adar is supposed to be Av’s opposite. The Talmud says, 'Just as joy is reduced from the start of Av, likewise, is joy increased at the start of Adar.' Rav Papa said: 'Therefore, a Jew engaged in litigation with a non-Jew, should avoid him during Av, which is a time of ill omen for him; and should make himself available during Adar, which is a fortunate time for him' (Ta'anit 29).’

So Adar is not just a good time of year for three cornered cookies and little kids dressed up as kings and queens, it’s also a good time for Jews in the judicial system. Pretty bizarre.

Also, Adar is how the Jewish calendar grounds itself, so that the months of the year don’t rotate around the seasons the way they do in the Muslim calendar. Some years (like this one) there’s Adar I and Adar II. The most succinct explanation for all this I’ve ever seen is over at jewfaq.com:

The problem with strictly lunar calendars is that there are approximately 12.4 lunar months in every solar year, so a 12-month lunar calendar loses about 11 days every year and a 13-month lunar gains about 19 days every year. The months on such a calendar "drift" relative to the solar year. On a 12 lunar month calendar, the month of Nissan, which is supposed to occur in the Spring, would occur 11 days earlier each year, eventually occurring in the Winter, the Fall, the Summer, and then the Spring again. To compensate for this drift, an extra month was occasionally added. The month of Nissan would occur 11 days earlier for two or three years, and then would jump forward 29 or 30 days, balancing out the drift. In ancient times, this month was also added by observation: the Sanhedrin observed the conditions of the weather, the crops and the livestock, and if these were not sufficiently advanced to be considered "spring," then the Sanhedrin inserted an additional month into the calendar to make sure that Pesach (Passover) would occur in the spring (it is, after all, referred to in the Torah as Chag he-Aviv, the Festival of Spring!).

A year with 13 months is referred to in Hebrew as Shanah Me'uberet (pronounced shah-NAH meh-oo-BEH-reht), literally: a pregnant year. In English, we commonly call it a leap year. The additional month is known as Adar I, Adar Rishon or Adar Alef. It is inserted before the regular month of Adar (known in such years as Adar II, Adar Sheini or Adar Beit). Note that Adar II is the "real" Adar, the one in which Purim is celebrated, the one in which yahrzeits for Adar are observed, the one in which a 13-year-old born in Adar becomes a Bar Mitzvah. Adar I is the "extra" Adar.

In the fourth century, Hillel II established a fixed calendar based on mathematical and astronomical calculations. This calendar, still in use, standardized the length of months and the addition of months over the course of a 19 year cycle, so that the lunar calendar realigns with the solar years. Adar I is added in the 3rd, 6th, 8th, 11th, 14th, 17th and 19th years of the cycle. The current cycle began in Jewish year 5758 (the year that began October 2, 1997).

Since Adar I begins today, we’ve got a ways to go before Purim, which falls on March 21, but if you’ve got a parking ticket you want to argue, now’s the time…

Previously: How To Host Havdalah

Today is the first day of the last month of the Jewish year, Elul.  Since this is the month before we beg forgiveness from God for totally screwing each other and God over for the past year, we’re supposed to spend Elul focusing on being better people and making marked improvements in our religious practices. It’s kind of a scary time.  Every morning we get a nice little blast of the shofar to remind us of what’s coming up in a few weeks, and if you’re spehardic you start saying selichot (supplicatory prayers), tomorrow morning (if you’re ashkenzai you’ve got a couple of weeks left before that begins).  And we’re not talking a couple of measly paragraphs of half-assed apologetic lip service-- we’re talking upwards of an hour of heavy scary stuff.  The threat of not being inscribed in the Book of Life is a pretty terrifying possibility to those who take this kind of thing seriously, and it’s not generally treated with much levity.
Here's The Word Elul: so you can follow along with all my fancy acronyms
In this spirit Elul is often said to be an acronym for the famous words from the Songs of Songs, “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.”  (In Hebrew, “Ani l’dodi v’dodi li.”)  The point is that we are in a serious relationship with God, and as such we have obligations to God.  If we’ve been somewhat careless with our connection to the Big Guy, this is meant to be a wakeup call and a reminder to get back with the program.

But I’ve heard other interpretations of Elul, as well.  Besides being an acronym for that verse in Song of Songs, it’s also an acronym for part of a verse in the book of Esther.  At the end of Esther we’re told, “-the same days on which the Jews enjoyed relief from their foes and the same month which had been transformed for them from one of grief and mourning to one of festive joy.  They were to observe them as days of feasting and merrymaking and as an occasion of sending gifts to one another and presents to the poor.” (Esther 9:22)  The end of this verse, “sending gifts to one another and presents to the poor” also works as an acronym for Elul (in Hebrew it’s “Ish l’re’eihu v’matanot l’evyonim.”)   
What's Your Weight on the Mitzvah Scale?: Honestly, this totally freaks me out
If we take this verse to heart we’re reminded that the month of Elul is a time when we really have to get things together in our interpersonal affairs.  Whether it’s a fight with a coworker of family member, or a failed commitment to give more money to tzedakah, Elul is about living up to our relationships with each other.  And I’m not saying that’s any easier than trying to path things up with God, but I do think that once you’ve made the effort to smooth over whatever happened at Thanksgiving with your Uncle Harry you’re more likely to feel more successful when you ask God for forgiveness on Rosh Hashana.  It’s obviously not a foolproof plan, but I’ve found that if I really commit myself to my friends and neighbors during Elul I feel a lot more prepared for Rosh Hashana than I do if I focus only on all those times I said shma way after the correct time. 

Anyway, wishing everyone a hopeful and fulfilling Elul.

Your Birthday: Did you make a motzi?Tomorrow I’m going to a birthday party. My friend Bea is turning ONE!

And while I posted awhile back about “Jewish birthdays”, and linked to a cool “Jewish birthday calculator” I realize now that I neglected to mention why birthdays matter in Judaism.

This is probably because I didn’t know if they did at all. I mean, it’s not like there was time for Moses, while wandering around in the desert, to stop off at Chuck E Cheese for a few games of skee-ball. And I don’t think ice-cream cake had even been invented yet.

But according to Chabad, birthdays ARE Jewish. And meaningful too.

This site puts it like this:

A Jewish birthday is a very auspicious day. Our sages tell us that on a person’s birthday his “mazel” is dominant. Indeed, according to the Talmud, the miracle of Purim is largely credited to the fact that Moses’ birthday occurs during the month of Adar! Two of our major holidays celebrate birthdays: Rosh Hashanah is the birthday of Adam, and Passover is the collective birthday of the Jewish Nation (see Ezekiel, chapter 16). Your birthday is a day to express gratitude to G-d for bringing you into this world, entrusting you with the mission of illuminating it with the radiance of Torah and Mitzvot. This day, which is akin to a personal Rosh Hashanah, is the appropriate time to recommit to the mission at hand, resolving that the added maturity and experience gained during the past year will cause the following year to be even more productive and fruitful.

Which is certainly not a distinctly Jewish idea, but it’s a good reminder that your birthday is a time to reflect on what you’ve learned. Not just a time for wishing—blowing out your candles and hoping for good fortune—but for thanks and wisdom too.

And maybe…if you don’t plan on taking Chabad’s suggestion to “Study a Chassidic idea and repeat it at a gathering in honor of your birthday,” you will think about making a motzi when you blow out your candles. Or taking a walk before your party, so you can think about the things you’ve learned in the previous year. Because it’s always a good idea to slow down and think…

Man! I bet Bea isn’t even thinking about how lucky she is. The little princess. I bet she hasn’t given all she’s learned this year a second thought. Selfish little thing!

Courtesy The Jerusalem Post:

What was originally meant as a Purim spiel in a Hungarian Jewish newspaper has set off a commotion in diplomatic circles and the Israeli and Hungarian media, focusing attention on anti-Semitic threats to the local Jewish population ahead of that country's March 15 national holiday.

The original piece in the Ujelet's newspaper's Purim edition quoted Hungarian Jewish community president Peter Feldmejer as saying that Hungarian Jews should flee the country before March 15, for fear of anti-Semitic violence.

That article led to Ma'ariv running a story on the matter, stressing the threat and warning to Hungarian Jews, which stirred concern here for their safety. The Jewish Telegraphic Agency, reacting to the Ma'ariv piece, then ran its own story, under the headline: "Hungarian Jews urged to leave for Passover."

However, Feldmejer told The Jerusalem Post in a phone interview from Budapest Thursday that his warning was "a joke, but we have had violence on this day before."

The joke gets better:

The prime minister noted that Fidesz (Far-Right Hungarian party) recently staged a demonstration in the parliament square in which the names of "alleged Jewish politicians" were read out, in what was seen as an effort to detract support from Gyurcsany's Socialist government.

Talk about reality imitating a joke, or is it a joke that mirrors reality? Eh, either way...