Service, Fun, and Jewish Joy at Campus Hillel Purim Celebrations
This week, campus Hillels around the world celebrated Purim with dance parties, Megillah readings, carnivals, service programs, and many other events marking this holiday that centers Jewish resilience and pride.
“Purim is… the ultimate reminder that our happiness and our success will pave our future, not [someone else’s] darkness,” said Tess Hewitson, a student leader at Hillel of Metro Detroit.
Finding joy in the midst of darkness feels especially relevant right now. Students in Israel are continuing their studies while navigating sirens and shelters, and students in the United States are closely following developments and potential security concerns related to the conflict with the Islamic Republic of Iran. But moments like these can make it even more important to focus on Jewish resilience and joy.
At the University of Colorado at Boulder Hillel, Purim programming centered on one of the four traditional mitzvot of the holiday: matanot la’evyonim, giving gifts to the poor. In many communities, that mitzvah has expanded to include broader service and volunteer opportunities. CU Boulder Hillel’s Purim Service Carnival blended meaningful service with the festive spirit of a carnival.
Alongside classic Purim activities like mask making and a photo booth, 50 students packed meal kits for Circle of Love, which serves meals to unhoused people at the Boulder Bandshell, and wrote letters to isolated seniors through Letters to Our Elders.
“The carnival celebrated Purim through both joy and giving,” said Shira Finke, program manager at CU Boulder Hillel.
“The Purim story represents Jewish resilience and the power of responding to darkness with light and celebration,” Finke said. “Being able to bring that spirit to our students, especially through a program that extends joy to others in need, feels incredibly meaningful.”
Purim carnivals are a longtime tradition in many Jewish communities, and Hillels are no exception. At Rutgers Hillel, students embraced the holiday by reconnecting with childhood joy.
More than 175 students arrived in costume to play classic carnival games like ring toss, “find the special duck,” and bean bag toss. Game tickets could be redeemed for prizes that felt straight out of childhood, including paint-your-own-mug kits, magic grow capsules, themed rubber ducks, and bubble wands.
“This year’s Purim Carnival was a real joy to create and was inspired by childhood carnivals,” said Alex Prowisor, Rutgers Hillel holiday chair. “It was so fun watching many young adults put on their ‘child’ costumes to play games and win prizes.”
At Oregon State University, Hillel hosted its annual McMenamins Purim Party at the Pacific Northwest landmark McMenamins restaurant. The top floor was transformed into a celebration worthy of Queen Esther, complete with a Megillah parody play, competitive games of pool, and a crowd-favorite costume contest.
“We’ve had students dress as their favorite Hillel staff, [bring to life] current memes…, and super creative students who make their costumes from scratch,” said Yael Raich, a student leader at OSU Hillel. “The McMenamins Purim Party is a staple of OSU Hillel tradition, and we’re excited to see how its legacy lives on.”
Other campuses put a unique spin on the holiday. At the University of California, Santa Cruz, Hillel hosted its second annual Purim-themed murder mystery, “A Night of Masks and Mischief.”
During the event, staff and board members became actors portraying characters from the Purim story. Students stepped into the role of investigators, questioning suspects, analyzing clues, and working together to identify a culprit. The evening included costumes, a dramatic coronation scene, Persian Jewish food, raffle prizes, and a photo wall.
“We were most excited to give students a meaningful and memorable way to connect with Jewish tradition by combining immersive storytelling with joyful Purim celebration,” said Zion Tunstall, director of Jewish student life at UC Santa Cruz. “Students got to engage with the story of Purim in a new, fun, and exciting way, connecting with their Judaism through creativity and community.”
One student participant summed it up, saying, “This is honestly my favorite event of the year. I’ve been looking forward to it since the first murder mystery we did last year, and I already can’t wait for next year.”
Food also played a central role in many celebrations, reflecting the Purim tradition of sharing festive meals and treats. At John Carroll University, the Hillel community joined the campus-wide Tower Time tradition, a weekly midweek gathering by the clock tower on Saint Ignatius Plaza hosted by a different student group each week.
For their Purim edition, Jewish students brought hamantaschen from a local bakery and invited their friends to decorate masks while learning about the holiday.
“We don’t have many Jewish students on our campus, so we don’t get to have many campus-wide events around holidays,” said Orli Peleg, a student leader at John Carroll University Hillel. “It’s exciting to have the campus community come together for an event about a Jewish holiday.”
Hamantaschen were also front and center at Hillel of Metro Detroit’s celebrations, which included a baking competition and a poker-themed event called “Hold ’em and Hamantaschen.”
“Seeing how hyped different groups on campus are for the perfect Purim chaos is unique,” Hewitson said. “It has been energizing to see people who usually stay in their own lanes, the poker crowd, the bakers, the competitive types, all get excited about the same event.”
Because Hillel of Metro Detroit serves students across multiple campuses, organizers aimed to create an event big enough to bring everyone together.
“To me, Jewish joy is extremely inclusive,” Hewitson said, ”It’s so meaningful to me to prove that everyone is welcome to the party and that being inclusive makes our own community stronger. When the whole campus is having a great time, it makes our Jewish students feel like they are part of something vibrant, visible, and worth standing up for.”
However your campus celebrated, all of us at Hillel hope you had an amazing Purim.