Temple Sholom’s Megillah Commission
In late 2025, Rabbi Rigler and Cantor Marx hired the talented soferet (scribe) Julie Seltzer to create a one-of-a-kind megillah scroll. Based on her own original design, it would be a “hamalka scroll,” with nearly every column starting with a word centered around the women of the Esther story, such as Vashti, nashim (“women”), hamalka (“the queen”), and of course Esther herself.
Typically megillah scrolls either do not have any sort of theme around the starting word of each column, or they use hamelekh (“the king”).
They also commissioned beautiful artwork from Jessica Deutsch to be incorporated into the scroll itself, painted on parchment and illuminating the story. It highlights both Vashti and Esther, the women who drive the story and serve as the story’s moral center, and the many symbols that represent Esther in Jewish tradition such as myrtle and roses. You can read more about the artwork here.
A beautiful case for the scroll was crafted by Israeli artisan Sarah Tamir, whose work beautifully bridges tradition and contemporary expression. In crafting this case, Tamir honors the deep symbolism of Purim — hiddenness, revelation, and transformation — while giving physical form to the artistry and sacredness of the scroll it protects. Just as the Megillah itself tells a story of concealed Divine presence unfolding into light and joy, the case becomes more than a container; it is a frame for memory, resilience, and celebration, connecting the ancient story of Esther to the living creativity of the Jewish people in Israel today.
The community gathered on Saturday night, February 21, 2026 to dedicate the new megillah scroll, witness the writing of the final words, and enjoy a concert of Purim spiel parodies written by Cantor Marx (a.k.a. The Spiel Guy). The sanctuary was filled with laughter and smiles as Cantors Justin Callis, Sierra Fox, Jamie Marx, and soon-to-be Rabbi-Cantor Shayna Burack sang silly songs!