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בס"ד In Laughter We Bind March 3, 2007 “A long long long time ago, over 2,000 years, in the land of Persia, in the capital city of Shushan, there ruled a powerful, though not always wise, King Achashverosh…” That’s how the Purim story goes. However that’s not how the Purim play went this past Purim for the Russian-speaking community of New York. Over 700 people of all ages and from a range of countries of the former Soviet Union gathered at the Manhattan Beach Jewish Center in Brooklyn to witness a one-of-a-kind, outrageously funny, modern-day Purim shpiel. A story driven by stereotypes presented the different ethnic groups within the general umbrella of Russian-speakers and their typical life-problems and situations. The play started out with a not-so-wise president of the United States, President Achashverosh Jr., desperately looking to raise his falling ratings. To increase his popularity and deal with the problem, the president hires Aman Ladenovich, who in turn recommends Achashverosh to deal with “terrorism” from within, more precisely, to get rid of the Jews whom he sees as responsible for the country’s problems. The story zooms into the different kinds of Russian families in New York; the Ashkenazi on Brighton Beach, the Bukharian on Queens Boulevard and the Gorsky on Ocean Parkway. Yet, no matter where they’re from, ironically, each family has similar concerns for welfare, food stamps and getting the “Section 8,” a federally assisted housing program. The Ashkenazi family from Odessa appears on stage to the tune of “Tumbalalaika.” Tsilya, the mother, of stereotypical large proportions and a Yiddish accent nags at her loyal husband, Semya, for bringing her to live in this hullabaloo with a boardwalk “America.” Tsilya’s son, “an Einstein” figure pursuing his Master’s degree, comes home and announces that he is getting married. Tsilya, distraught by the news, blames her son’s Gorsky and Bukharian friends for influencing him to consider marrying at this early age – age of 40… “They’re so different from us in all aspects,” Tsilya says about Gorskies and Bukharians. At this point, the message of the play begins to unfold, the problem of one group of Jews thinking that they are better than the next, and that their way of life is the correct one. Similar scenarios occur in Gorsky and Bukharian families with each group of Jews thinking that they’re superior. Seeing this disunity, Aman Ladenovich gets Achashverosh to sign an agreement to take away the Jews’ “Section 8” programs and deport them to Uganda. Aman Ladenovich is certain that he will succeed knowing there is so much strife among the Jews, they won’t unite in action against the government. At the same time, Esther, the best agent in the Israel Secret Service Agency, Mossad, is recruited to save the Jews in America. She is sent on “Mission Purim” by her uncle, Mordechai, the chief general in Mossad, to seduce and marry Achashverosh. The climax of the play takes place in an office, where the Gorsky father, the Bukharian grandmother, and the Ashkenazi mother meet in a line to receive applications for the ‘Section 8 program.’ A brawl boils up and Esther appears on the scene, trying to reconcile the crowd. She reminds them that they are all Jews, no matter whether they are Sephardim, Ashkenazi, Gorsky, or Bukharian. They are of one history, heritage and culture; one nation that eats the same matzah, and honor the same Shabbat. Further on, as in any drama-romantic stories, Achashverosh falls deeply in love with Esther, and Aman Ladenovich tries to put a stop to this crazy love and kill them both. His evil plot against Achashverosh and the Jews falls through. And as the original Purim story goes, Aman Ladenovich is hanged, and the Jews are saved once again by the G-d of Israel. This year the play was essentially different than in previous years. This performance was organized by the Gorsky Kavkazian Center, “Juhuro,” in conjunction with Shaarei Emuna, one of the active participants, Brooklyn College Hillel, Darkei Avoseinu, Chabad Lubavitch of Kensington, COJECO, UJA Federation, and the leaders of the Bukharian community. All shuls and organizations came together to co-sponsor a single event that turned up an impressive diversity and number of people; one of a few such organized events that opened the line of communication between the Russian-speaking groups. The irony and strongest message of the night was the audience sitting in one cozy place, watching and laughing in unison at the same jokes and stereotypes of each other. “The fact that we are gathered here today, representatives of our different communities with our differing mentalities and languages, yet bound by our shared culture and tradition is in itself a miracle,” says Esther in her lasting remarks. “Next year in Madison Square Garden!!”
By Lana Ifraimova |
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