Purim celebrated in costume in Santa Rosa, Petaluma

In keeping with the age-old custom of dressing in costumes on the Jewish holiday of Purim, two celebrations Sunday had everyone from San Francisco Giants to Golden State Warriors to the Statue of Liberty.

In Petaluma and Santa Rosa, children and adults listened to the Purim story read from hand-lettered parchment megillah scrolls and munched on three-cornered jelly-filled pastries known as hamantashen, deli sandwiches and other foods.

Purim, which means “lots” in ancient Persian, was named because the prime minister to the king of the 4th century B.C. Persian Empire sought to kill all Jews in a single day he chose by lottery: the 13th day of the Hebrew month Adar, which occurs during late winter to early spring. The holiday commemorates the miraculous overturning of the decree.

At the Petaluma Community Center Sunday, visitors might have wondered if they had mistakenly confused it with San Francisco Giants fan festival. Giants jerseys and shirts were the most popular among the more than 50 attendees, though there was a smattering of Golden State Warriors T-shirts.

“Everyone loves sports,” said Rabbi Dovid Bush of the Petaluma Chabad, now in its second year. “We might not all agree on the same team.”

Bush and his family wore “Team Bush” T-shirts in the Giants’ colors of black and orange. Lou Seal, the Giants mascot, was slated to show up at the center in the late afternoon.

The rabbi noted the optimism inherent in the holiday through the hamantashen.

“What’s the hamantash? Outside is the dough, and inside is the yummy jelly,” he said. “So, it’s always about finding the goodness in our lives and the blessings.”

Wearing her Buster Posey jersey, Kelly Marks made her own noisemaker called a “gragger,” which she used each time Bush read the name of the evil prime minister Haman from the scroll.

Marks said the sports theme made it easy to get her children - Issac and Emery, both decked out in Giants T-shirts - to attend.

“It’s nice to have these little community events we can go to with the whole family,” Marks said.

Heather Jones of Petaluma wore a New York Yankees Derek Jeter jersey. Jones said she was partial to the team because her grandfather was a big fan of the Bronx Bombers - though she also quickly noted that she likes the Giants as well.

“As much as sports is not a religion, it is a religion. I really believe that,” she said.

The Sonoma County Chabad Jewish Center had a New York City theme as deli sandwiches and hot pretzels were a big draw for about 100 participants at the Steele Lane Community Center in Santa Rosa. After the reading of the megillah, Rabbi Mendel Wolvovsky showed kids how to answer multiple-choice questions about Purim projected on a large screen by using smartphones.

One question - how many times was God’s name mentioned in the megillah - didn’t stump many. The answer - none - alludes to the miraculous nature of the holiday and God’s involvement in every aspect of the world.

Altie Wolvovsky, the rabbi’s wife, dressed up as the Statue of Liberty while some of her other children came as a pilot, a police officer and even as a big apple.

Shalom Wolvovsky, 11, dressed as a pirate. Asked if there were pirates still in New York, he replied, “There used to be, a long, long time ago. Also, there are people who are dressed up like pirates there now.”

You can reach Staff Writer Bill Swindell at 707-521-5223 or bill.swindell@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @BillSwindell.