Purim

We had a Megillah reading for Purim on Sunday, which was really nice. As in previous years, we did this at the university, using an old Megillah from the University's special collections. About 40 people came, including a dozen preschool and primary age children, who got well into the spirit of things as Rabbbi Rose read the Megillah. My 9-year old daughter was marching around with the others, shouting "two ... four ... six ... eight, who do we really hate - Haman!". Afterwards the adults chatted and ate, while the children continued running around. Special thanks to Sarah, who happened to be in London on Saturday night and did an emergency shop for us then when our Internet food order failed to appear on time.

Nice to find out that my son likes shul

After a quiet January, things are getting more active, with a visit by Rabbi Rose a few weeks ago, and a shabbat dinner a few days ago. We will celebrate Purim on 28 Feb, this is always a big event.

On a personal note, I was surprised and very happy last week, when I went for a walk with my son Moshe (who is 12 but has major learning impairment; he cannot speak and generally functions more like a 2 or 3 year old). I told him to go where-ever he wanted and he led the way to the Aberdeen shul, and was very disappointed that it was closed. Its nice to see that he wants to go to shul! We're starting to think about what sort of ceremony would be appropriate when he turns 13, as he does like shul, but could not manage anything like a norma Bar Mitzvah