Purim in Cairo

Aside from making Hamentashen (they're cookies, dear non-Jewish readers), I don't usually do much to celebrate Purim. But finding myself in Egypt this year, I was curious to see what had become of the once-sizeable Jewish community.

Birthplace of Moses and hundreds of thousands of Jews, the Jewish community today numbers only around 200. Their exodus from Egypt (the second one, that is) followed the creation of the modern state of Israel and the 1967 war. The community that remains is small, but clearly dedicated to preserving its history.

The Purim service was held Monday night at a beautiful synagogue in the center of town. Security took the form of about 10 Egyptian police and large barriers blocking the entrance. Our "credentials" were checked at the gate--an Israeli greeted my friend and me with "Ma neshma?" After a momentary brain-freeze, in which all my Hebrew and Arabic blurred together, I was able to eek out a "b'seder." We were welcomed into the synagogue, and joined about 30 others--a mix of Israelis, Americans, Egyptians, and a few Europeans--for a reading of the Megillah.

I was struck by the feeling that I could have been anywhere in the world--kids running around in costume, families excitedly greeting one another, and, just to give me that warm, fuzzy feeling, a loud argument broke out between the guy leading the service and a group of Israelis who decided to perform a competing reading. Ah, so typical.