Every year, on the 14th of the Jewish month of Adar (which usually falls in February or March), Jewish communities all over the world celebrate the holiday of Purim. In synagogues the communities read the Book of Esther. This book is the account of Mordechai and Esther’s tale of saving the Jewish people from evil Hamman’s plans to annihilate them. The story is set in ancients Persia and depicts a story of Jewish survival.
Since the Jews of the story prevailed over evil, the holiday of Purim is all about celebration and happiness. Joy for children and adults alike.
The main and most know feature of Purim is costumes. Similar to European carnival, the holiday demand you to dress in costumes and celebrate publicly. In addition, the holiday rules command you to share your happiness. Gift bags of sweet goods, the most famous of the is Hamantaschen (traditional triangular shaped filled cookies) are exchanged between friends and neighbors. In addition, one is commanded to donate to the poor so that everyone can be happy on the holidays.
The last commandment of the holiday might sound more than a little surprising to European ears. On Purim one is commanded to drink Alcohol. Yes, it is a religious requirement. And not just a sip, it is recommended to drink until you’re drunk, to drink alcohol until you are unable to differentiate your right hand from your left. This principle is called Adloyada, meaning unable to differentiate. We must stress, not everyone heavily drinks on Purim, but is it nice to have religious permission, isn’t it?
“Adloyada” is also the name of many Purim parades that take place in Israel over the days of the holiday.
Purim is a whole week of festivities that goes beyond the religious reason.
In Tel Aviv, it started at the beginning of the week, when most of the startups and other companies would organize costume contests and parties for their employees. One of the most famous ways to celebrate Purim in Tel Aviv is in the big street Parties for four days, Israelis and tourists celebrate nonstop in Tel Aviv! From Rothschild to Ibn Gvirol Boulevard through the souk, the rooftops and the bars are full of Shubakas, ice queens, unicorns and mini Netta Barzilais.
If you missed this year Purim’s Festivities, don’t worry! Israel will do it again next year the week of the 9th of March 2020. In the meantime, Tel Aviv is preparing for Eurovision 2019 coming soon in May, this party would be the biggest one of all.