(Photo of my fantastic roommates and I dressed up for Purim. On the left is the little prince and on the right is an American hillbilly)
So last week was the Jewish holiday of Purim- I've included below a description of what it is made by a religious friend of mine in Israel:
"In its essence this is a holiday of opposites, where everything and anything is excepted, where normal is banned… why? I know what you may be thinking and its not because jews have so many commandments to follow, so lets give them one holiday to break loose- on the contrary. This holiday is like this because its believed that each one of us, with in himself has this somewhat abnormal- and amazingly free spirit, that is beyond borders and regulations, and this is a chance to let that all shine. But if so- why limit this?? Why not let us run free of limitations all year long?
That would be so amazing! Being a free spirit- completely! Doing exactly what we want- at all times!!!
But- for us to work together, to live in a world consisting of cooperation and relationship- certain ways of communicating these amazing spirits have to formed- and with that some of the basic lights are lost- but only to create much stronger and greater lights between people and the world were in. BUT to ensure that we don’t loose our light, our amazing source, we get this holiday, once a year, to regenerate, to refuel, to ensure that our encounter with the world is done from the most real and honest place…"
For me, the jury's still out on religion and all of the rules involved. But, as far as religious holidays go, I'm really into this one! Read about the "Story of Purim" on Wikipedia.
In modern Israel, where most people consider themselves secular, Purim is a 3-day stretch where everyone (all Jewish Israelis, anyway- secular, religious, etc) has this free pass to get TOTALLY wasted. And dress up in costume. And of course, eat a lot :) It's in one of the religious text that Jews are commanded to get so drunk that they can't remember their name. Really, it is. For a little background, Israeli society is really intense- which is a huge understatement. It's a militaristic country where everyone is really tough and on the defense all the time. By tough I mean little old ladies push me out of the way to get on the bus and no one uses the word please. EVERYONE here serves in the military (ok, except for the really religious and the 500 refuse-niks). It's not an easy thing to experience, especially since serving in the army means you are taking part in the occupation of an entire people. This topic is a huge issue on it's own, but I wanted to make the point that, putting all political opinions aside, a few nights of revelry, drinking, and chaos is an unbelievable release. It's like the whole society lets out a big sigh. And I think I'm still hungover.
