There is no Purim like Purim in Israel.
In the United States, you go to synagogue, maybe dress up in costume, hear the megillah, and eat hamentaschen. It's one evening. Not so here in Israel. If it wasn't for Shabbat, the party would have continued throught the evening. Here, if you are not in costume, it's weird. Everybody has something silly on, whether it's a hat or face paint. Whether they are 2 months old or 92 years old. Everybody is in disguise.
There was a small party at the kindergarten for the kids. The came into school dressed in costume. I have never seen such cute lions, penguins, and princesses. They of course didn't really understand what was happening, but I think they had fun at the activites that we had planned for them.
Thursday was not technically Purim in Jerusalem. Because Jerusalem is a "walled-city", she celebrates Shushan Purim. This is because the Jews were not invloved in Haman's defeat until the day after the rest of Persia. It was then decided in Joshua's time, that Purim would be celebrated in all citied that were enclosed by walls when he conquered Israel. Despite that the rest of the country was celebrating Purim on Wednesday/Thursday, the Yerushalmim (Jerusalemites) continued celebrating with them. By the time I left work, everybody was in costume and families crowded Ben Yehuda street. While this tourist street is normally crowded, it was nothing compared to what it was like Thursday afternoon and especially night.
Friday, we drove into the city center and actually managed to find a parking spot. Not only was it Purim, but it was also almost Shabbat. With these two holidays back to back, the shuk was even more crowded than usual. If you have ever been to the shuk on a Friday afternoon at 2pm, you know there is very little room to move and you choose food from the closest stand knowing that it will be five minutes, at least, before reaching your favorite vendor. On this day, however, it was a sea of people. If one person stopped, the whole crowd stopped. It took over 15 minutes to pass from one end to the other. After swimming through the sea, we stopped in Nachlaot, a neigborhood near the shuk. Music was played by some of the neighboorhood's residents and people filled the streets. As we walked along the street, we stumbled on a Megillah reading. Only in Israel can you wander the streets and randomly bump into a group of people listening to the megillah. Because we had not heard the megillah yet, we stopped and listened until its finish.
The party continued and people piled up. Cars could no longer get through the street (though it's a minor street and very few cars pass through anyway) and the cars that were parked had dents in the roof from being danced on for seven hours by a hundred people. As the day went on, more elaborate costumes appeared. There was the simple "salt and pepper", "put on a wig and call it something", and animal costumes. However, there were some that were very creative and elaborate. Two girl dressed as Ursula and Ariel from The Little Mermaid. One guy had popped a football and put it on his head. And one girl dressed as a peacock.
As Shabbat neared, people dispersed to get ready and by the time the Shabbat alarm sounded, the neighborhood we had been in suddenly had fewer people. However, with no music playing, we decided to end our Purim and go home. After all it was Shabbat.
Here our some pictures (and videos) of the latest adventures!
