Purim celebrations tempered by trauma and thoughts of the hostages

(JTA) — In Jerusalem, a service omitted the loud noise-making associated with the holiday in order to accommodate soldiers traumatized by months of war. In Tel Aviv, bakeries peddled a triangular treat renamed for a contemporary villain, the leader of Hamas. And in Jewish communities around the world, costumes and holiday gifts paid homage to the more than 130 Israeli captives who remain in Gaza.

Those adjustments marked some of the many ways that Purim, a generally whimsical Jewish holiday that celebrates an ancient victory over a threatened genocide, took a different shape this year because...