This is a Purim-themed comic strip that was published in the January 2 1925 edition of the monthly newspaper Eden. Eden was a Jewish children’s newspaper that was printed in the United States in Hebrew.
In the cartoon, the character Tzali-Mah-Li is given a Purim food gift (mishloach manot) by his mother to deliver to a friend of the family. The recipient of the basket had actually hit Tzali in the past, so he does not seem too happy about delivering the treats. On his way, Tzali sees a cat and recalls his unpleasant encounter with the family friend. In the next frame, something is happening behind the building which the reader cannot see. Next Tzali is presenting the mishloach manot to the man, who is sitting at the table with his family or friends. In the last frame, they remove the cloth napkin covering the top of the mishloach manot, and the cat jumps out and surprises the man! Tzali has his revenge with this prank, and the caption beneath the last frame says, “And Tzali-Mah-Li had ‘light and gladness, happiness and honour’ which is a play on a well-known verse from the Book of Esther (8:16): “The Jews had light and gladness, happiness and honour.“
It is interesting to note that there is a mistake in the Hebrew text. The text uses the word כלב (dog) to describe the animal in the story, even though it is clearly a חתול (cat). This suggests that the writer or editor was not actually fluent in Hebrew.
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Eden –The newspaper Eden was published in New York between 1924 and 1926. The Hebrew-language newspaper included varied content and, for the first time, rich graphics. According to its editor, Daniel Parsky, Eden was the first newspaper to include crosswords in Hebrew. Eden was a Zionist newspaper, and many stories and reports, such as “The Adventures of Hofni the Dreamer,” described the life of the pioneers in Israel and the activities of the Zionist movement.
Purim - Purim is celebrated on the 14 Adar as the day the Jewish people were saved from destruction during the fourth century BCE. The heroine of the Purim story, Queen Esther, worked together with her uncle, Mordechai, to reverse the decree of genocide issued against the Jewish people by Haman, the vizier of Persia. It is the tradition on Purim to dress up in costumes, distribute small food packages known as mishloach manot, give charity, and listen to the reading of the Megilla – the Book of Esther.
Purim Mitzvot – Four special mitzvot (commandments) are associated with Purim. The central mitzvah is listening to the reading of Megillat Esther (Book of Esther) which tells the Purim story of Haman’s attempt to annihilate the Jews of Persia and their salvation with the help of Queen Esther and Mordechai. The mitzvot of giving mishloach manot (Purim food gifts), which often include pastries, sweets, and wine, holding a seudah (festive meal) , and distributing matanot l’evyonim (gifts for the poor) are all performed during the day of Purim.
