Our Ulpan is over, and about twenty of us are on a four-day excursion to Tel Aviv for our short break, which includes Purim. As the basic formula for Jewish holidays goes: Someone tried to kill the Jews; By some unlikely luck or resilience, the Jews are not dead; Let's celebrate! Purim is the epitome of this concept and the celebrations in Tel Aviv are across the board. A group of Hassidim dance in circles, little kids dress up as fruit and zombies, and the streets are filled with DJs, music and people of all ages roaming around. Day and night.
Yesterday, we went to an incredible restaurant in old Jaffa, one of the early port cities that was built with heavy Arab influence. It's an incredibly beautiful place, lined with brick and cobblestone, tall buildings and colorful gates. It was Shabbat, so we walked all the way (about an hour and a half) but along the way one of my shoes completely fell apart. I had to walk halfway to Jaffa barefoot and sit in a classy restaurant in my socks. At least it was Purim, where everyone is dressed a little differently. After eating, we roamed around the city, with completely empty streets (Shabbat), and I eventually found a store that would sell me flip flops. We biked back with the Tel Aviv Bike Share along the seashore at sunset -- one of the most pleasant experiences you can have here.
One of the incredible things about this country is that you don't need to celebrate anything specifically to feel the atmosphere of celebration. On shabbat, the streets are empty and you have to enjoy nature. On Purim, you can just walk around and see everyone in crazy clothes and celebrating in the street. The unity of holidays is something very special here.