Haman

The Emmanuel Messianic Congregation is offering one of the more interesting presentations of the new year, a musical comedy called, "It Happened in Shushan."The play, based upon biblical events in the Book of Esther, was written by Clarksville resident, Steffi Rubin."It is in celebration of the Jewish holiday known as Purim," says Steffi's husband, Barry Rubin, who helped organize the event."Purim is a bright point in Jewish history, and is traditionally celebrated through festivals, carnivals and parties.

A regional gathering of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church to talk about strengthening black families will feature the Rev. Benjamin Hooks, the outgoing director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, as the main speaker.The March 13 convocation will draw delegates from northern and mid-Atlantic states to the only C.M.E. church in Baltimore, Mount Pisgah at 1034 N. Fulton Ave.The denomination was formed in 1870 as newly freed blacks in what was then a white-dominated and segregationist Methodist church in the South chose to start a Methodist church under their own leadership and with their own forms of worship.

Since a house is usually the most valuable asset a married couple has, each spouse should work to protect themselves from financial catastrophe in the event of a split, say people who have been through divorce.Here are a few of their suggestions for men and women happily married, and for those contemplating separation or waiting for divorce:* Find out about potential liens and encumbrances on property you both own before the divorce. Even if marital property is in only one spouse's name, Maryland law entitles both spouses to an equal share of it.But as recently as 15 years ago, husbands could legally offer a house as collateral for bank loans without their wives' signatures, or knowledge.

Of all the holidays that Robin Kershbaum celebrates, Purim is clearly her favorite."Every year I wait for this time to come," said 8-year-old Robin, one of 2,000 people who crowded inside Long Reach High School in Columbia yesterday to celebrate the Jewish holiday carnival."

Ari J. Zakem and about 15 of his fraternity brothers from the Johns Hopkins University got up early yesterday, ready to have some fun and help some people. After all, that is what the Jewish holiday Purim is all about - doing good works and spreading cheer. The members of Zakem's fraternity, Alpha Epsilon Pi, were among a group of about 100 children and young adults who crowded into Weinberg Jewish Community Center on Park Heights Avenue yesterday for events tied to the Purim holiday.

A Jewish holiday that coincides this year with Maryland's presidential primary threatened to leave some Pikesville voters without a polling place, but a local builder has saved the day.The problem arose at the Ner Israel Rabbinical College on Mount Wilson Lane, where the Purim holiday celebrating Esther's courage in saving her people from the machinations of the Persian court minister Haman took precedence over the March 5 election.The college is the polling place for the 3rd Election District's 11th Precinct, which has been moved twice since 1990.

In all the languages Jews speak, Purim is party time.For here is the one holiday on which Jews are commanded to give gifts of food, be merry, engage in raucous theatrics, make as much noise as possible in synagogue, and then have a feast.This happy holiday, which begins at sundown March 4, has a serious side, too. Jews are commanded to hear the Megillah, or scroll of Esther. She is the ancient Persian queen who saved her people from Haman, the wicked anti-Semite who plotted to kill the Jews.

Purim holiday to be explored in rabbi's lectureThe nearly 3,000-year-old Persian origins of the Jewish holiday Purim and the relevance of its customs for modern Jews will be tTC discussed by Rabbi Shlomo Porter at 8 p.m. Monday at the Etz Chaim Center for Jewish Studies, 3702 Fords Lane.And at the same time on Tuesday, also at the Etz Chaim Center, Rabbi Moshe Eisemann of Ner Israel Rabbinical College will teach a class on the ancient theological lessons of Purim.A spirited holiday that incorporates carnivals, parties with special food, costume plays and dances, Purim falls this year on March 7.The holiday derives its name from the dice, called purim in Hebrew, that were cast by an evil prime minister named Haman to determine the day on which Jewish people would be massacred.

FOR THE Elder family, home schooling their two children, Kelsey, 13, and Bart, 12, has been a rich educational experience. This year, the Hickory Ridge residents traveled to China, Russia, Central America and South America to get a firsthand education in world history, geography and foreign languages. Mike and Joanie Elder began home schooling their children three years ago. "We had decided all along that we were going to home school during the middle school years," Joanie said. "We felt that life got too rushed and too hurried with the activities the children were involved with.

June is a month of new beginnings. Marriages. Graduations. New jobs. New homes. New kitchens. This is the time when many young people discover they'll need more than a hot plate if they're going to feed themselves. Yet setting up a kitchen doesn't have to cost a ton of money. With a bit of resourcefulness, thrift and care, it is possible to equip a starter kitchen for less than $500. Randi Haman, a Baltimore native and recent graduate of American University, and her roommate, Lindsay Levine, have stocked the kitchen in their Washington, D.C., apartment the old-fashioned way: "We went around and asked," says Haman.