A few hours after 8-year-old Sammy Sommer and his parents were told by their amazing doctor in Milwaukee there would be no more treatment for his acute myelogenous leukemia, I met them for French fries at a hot dog stand in Highland Park.

In an increasingly mobile society, families often are separated by many miles. Far from family support, we seek community elsewhere, including in our Jewish institutions.

No matter how you go about producing your Purim celebration, don’t forget that it’s a religious imperative to make people laugh on Purim (or to die trying).

Purim is often celebrated by dressing up as the brave and honest characters from the Megillah, who stood up for their peoplehood. Purim is also a wonderful opportunity to affirm our commitment to community. In keeping with the URJ’s core value of Audacious Hospitality, Camp Harlam is proud to call itself an inclusive camp, welcoming campers of all needs and abilities who want to be here. Here are 5 lessons from camp that can help make your synagogue’s Purim Carnival accessible to all this year:

Upon receiving the news that the Jewish community in Brussels has canceled its Purim festivities in light of yesterday's tragic terror attacks, Reform/Progressive Jewish leadership shared the following letter of solidarity.

While the Purim celebrations and unpacking of lessons continue, we continue to explore other ways to celebrate - including partnering with our "twin" sisterhood in Israel.

I remember the Purim celebrations of my youth: homemade cardboard crowns wrapped in aluminum foil; groggers fashioned from Styrofoam cups, dried beans, and masking tape; my brothers dressed in bathrobes, beards and mustaches sketched on their faces. As in many other congregations, our Purim carnival was run by the youth group as a fundraiser, and when I reached high school, I became a planner instead of a participant. We planned games and activities that sounded like fun to us teenagers and would be enjoyed by the religious school kids who were our target audience. Neither preschool children nor their parents were part of the planning equation.

We know that it takes more than fun and games to make the Purim Carnival a success. Here are 6 ways to help your teens make the Purim Carnival a magical experience for everyone.