Pillar of Fire Purim Party 2008!

Join us for a night of holy revelry at the perfect venue for a Near Eastern festival like Purim - Your Inner Vagabond, presented by the Pillar of Fire by Night, Pittsburgh's coolest (and only, as far as we know) heretical Jewish mysticism & magic group. Purim celebrates the triumph of the Jewish Princess Esther and her father Mordecai in ancient Persia over the evil Haman's plot to exterminate the Jews, and is the only holiday on which even the rabbis say a Jew should get so drunk, he doesn't know "blessed as Mordecai" from "cursed as Haman". Clever pagans or religion scholars might notice the similarity between the name 'Esther' and that of ancient fertility goddess Ishtar / Astarte. We tend to think this explains the focus of the holiday as a Jewish spin on an older festival, and also the reason why the traditional cookies of the holiday - hamentashen - are triangular in shape. We promise, all will be had by a good time. This is our biggest event of the year, so if you're curious about us, this would be the perfect time to come and see what we're all about. If you're Jewish, whether or not you still practice, we'd especially love to have you.

For more information about the Pillar, visit http://smoke.academy23.org .

( More details on the party below, for those interested... )