Rabbi Yisroel Greenwald and Rabbi Yossi Kirsch retrace the makings of their classic The Purim Story

Photos: CK Studio

Okay, so here’s a pop halachah quiz:

If a fly falls into a cup of wine, what would you pasken? That’s right! You take out the fly and drink the wine. Now, if a Persian monarch touches the cup… Did you just say “spill it all out”? Amazing!

If your eyes are glazing over, that’s okay, you can turn the page, but if you’re already laughing and nodding along, you’re probably among the approximately 250,000 kids and parents who’ve listened to The Purim Story since its 1989 release. The enthusiasm for that iconic children’s story album hasn’t dwindled in 33 years, and for so many of us, those larger- than-life characters and adorable voices continue to lend so much color and graphic detail to our Purim experience.

Today, Rabbi Yisroel Greenwald and Rabbi Yossi Kirsch, masterminds behind the enduring tape, live at opposite ends of the world: Rabbi Greenwald is a dayan on the Melbourne, Australia beis din, and Rabbi Kirsch is chaplain at Menorah Park, a kosher senior center campus in Cleveland, Ohio. But on a recent trip to the US, Rabbi Greenwald got together with his old production buddy and I was invited along to reminisce.

Excited as I was to speak to the adult voices that had so formed my own childhood memories, there was an initial barrier I had to overcome. Those voices. When Rabbi Greenwald speaks, he is clearly Mordechai (“Goodbye Esther, goodbye Esther, and never forget, Hashem will always be, ah, with you”), and, when Rabbi Kirsch speaks, if you listen carefully, you can detect a trace of a familiar twang which, when manipulated correctly, makes an easy Achashveirosh (“Gentlemen, gentlemen, please, please, we have been dddebating this, hic, vital topic…”).

But, as I would soon learn, Rabbi Greenwald was also Seresh (“We’ll have to speak in the language of Tarshish… a cheeka binka binka bunka”), Shikur (“Not a pushka, a puska, now open up your mouth a little”), Shaul (“I’m 68… I just look so young because I exercise”), Shimshi (“I like fish too, especially fried fish with bread crumbs and lemon juice”), the Royal Chronicles Boy (“Tales of Vashti — no, that one’s too long”) and the voice of Royal Guard Number 1, putting in the “we’re here” of the timeless “We’re here… to do… the will of the King!”

And Rabbi Kirsch, who played Achashveirosh, must have assumed that evil enjoys company and, once you’re Achashveirosh, why not pile on Haman and Vashti as well? Then there’s Nutti (“Uh, Shaul, you always told me you’re 35”), the waiter (“Portuguese pigs, Scandinavian snails, rhinoceros bits, and elephant tails”) and a few other familiar characters.

But Purim is all about seeing beyond the surface, penetrating the veneer of simple, and revealing a story of depth and meaning. After 33 years, Rabbi Yossi Kirsch and Rabbi Yisroel Greenwald open up to share the story behind the story.