Speaking About Persia With A Heavy Accent

(Chabad.edu) Sporting a bright red top hat, a gold chain and a star painted on his face, Rabbi Chalom Boudjnah certainly did not look like your typical rabbi last Saturday night.

Maybe the flowing beard, but that’s about it.

But Boudjnah, director of the Jewish Student Life center at S. Diego State University, had to dress up if he wanted others to follow suit at the annual Purim party. With refreshments, dancing, a talent show and an ultra-fast reading of the Megillah, the party attracted a medium-sized crowd. Certainly not the packed house of the recent West Coast Shabbaton, but a decent turnout nonetheless.

“We had competition tonight,” said Boudjnah. “We had three guys having birthday parties, but we still had people come. It’s nice — you always see new people here at Chabad, no matter the event. They come back, and they bring friends. Some kids came to Shabbat dinner last night, and tonight they’re back with friends.”

All told, more than 25,000 students turned out for Chabad on Campus Purim parties nationwide; 2,500 showed up in the greater Los Angeles area alone.

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