The just-passed Purim holiday is known for its "turn the tables" theme, as when the Jews took control over those who tried to kill them (Esther 9,1), and the reversal of "sorrow to joy, mourning to holiday." (9,22) This motif is often mischievously manifest in many schools, with pupils taking over from their teachers and playing harmless antics on them. Keren Eldar, a teacher in the Gush Katif community of Atzmonah, just off Israel's southern Mediterranean coast, relates that she had a very different experience this past Purim:
"I teach in the girls' school in Atzmonah, and a couple of days before Purim, a surprise awaited us, the teachers. The students of the 8th grade informed us that they would be teaching that morning in all the lower classes, and that we must report at once to the teachers' room. What we saw when we arrived was tables set beautifully with a delicious breakfast, with personal dedications for each teacher. The entire idea, of course, was thought up by the girls themselves.
"Beyond the happiness over the tasty meal, I was very moved by the entire thing. I know that as a student, I myself would not quite have thought of that type of idea for how to give the teachers a 'good time.' This is another proof that Gush Katif is a very creative place, that produces growths of a very special quality - in more ways than one."