Yes, we yelled at by women, yes we heard people say rude and negative things about what we were doing, but we also had an amazing expeirience with an ultra-orthodox man. He went up to Ariella and asks 'Are you with Women of the Wall?' Ariella replies hesitantly, but with pride, 'yes we are' and he responds to her saying 'col hakavod, keep doing it, what you guys are doing is important.' I think that is amazing. No one expected a man like him to say anything like that and aside from the multiple people boo-ing and yelling at us, for some reason, what that orthodox man told us means a whole lot more. I'd say it's very empowering.
And I mean how could anyone in today's world think that the above picture is such a wrong thing? Maybe it's the inner feminist in me, but I think that what Women of the Wall does is amazing and very inspiring. After to reading, we had a few photo ops, not to mention made it on the Women of the Wall facebook page!!
So now after a good few days of celebrating Purim, and really seeing Israel light up, my question is, what is a tradition that you and your family celebrate at home that you saw here, and what were some of the traditions that were new to you that you found interesting?
At home, my family and I go to the purim carnival at temple which is always fun. But, here at the kotel, I think it was more religious than just winning goldfish and jumping in bouncy houses. We read the megillah in full which was cool and were at a historical and holy place. I enjoyed this a lot and thought it was a cool new experience.
ReplyDeleteAt home, my temple has a Purim carnival for the kids and on Purim, a Megilah reading/ Purim play where everyone attends and dresses up. While spending my first Purim in Israel, I learned that Purim is a huge holiday that everyone celebrates. Also, that it is a religious holiday where many people fast the day before Purim. It was so amazing to be here while this celebration was happening, everyone was so cheerful and happy and being able to hear the Megilah reading at the wall was such an amazing experience, one I will never forget.
ReplyDeleteOne large tradition at home is to have a Purim Shpiel similar to the one we had. We may put a different, creative theme on it every time, but it's still the same story. New but good to me was the Purim "spirit week" and just the overall love Israel had for the holiday. Purim in Israel is one of the greatest things ever.
ReplyDeleteMy family and I do not have any similar traditions to the ones that we saw. A tradition that I found very interesting is everyone dressing up in costumes for multiple days and having a really fun time as a whole nation together. Unlike Halloween where a lot of it is about being scary, this seemed to be more about being happy and rejoicing together. It was a great atmosphere to be a part of
ReplyDeleteAt home my family doesn't celebrate Purim, so it was cool to see that most of this country celebrates it. I guess Purim is similar to Halloween, with the dressing up in costumes, but I like that there's a deeper meaning behind Purim.
ReplyDeleteAt home I don't celebrate Purim, so no traditions, but it was great seeing how the women of the wall choose to celebrate. I think it's cool how they read the whole meguilla and dress up in costumes. It was definitely a memorable experience that I'm happy I got to be a part of.
ReplyDeleteI never really celebrated Purim and it was really nice to feel as a part of a community while at the Kotel. Women of the Wall was such an amazing and meaningful experience. It was really cool to see how Israel celebrates Purim. I had a lot of fun!
ReplyDeleteAt home Purim is not a major holiday within my family but my Temple always has a Purim Carnival which the teens help to run. Having gone to it as a child, it is always a fun way for me to give back to the community and I always remember it fondly.
ReplyDeleteAt my synagogue, there is a Purim party every year with costumes, food, games and a Purim play. There is also a service where we read from the Megillah Esther and the children march around the synagogue in their costumes dancing and singing. Although I love celebrating Purim at my synagogue, I thought it was an amazing experience to celebrate with the Women of the Wall. It made me happy that women were allowed to read the Megillah at the wall.
ReplyDeleteAt home, Purim isn't a huge holiday for me. One thing that I remember from my Jewish preschool was doing purim parades, with "floats" (little wagons) and costumes. It makes me happy to see that here on a much larger scale in Israel, because it just brings back so many memories. The tradition that was new to me was surprisingly what seems to be the oldest tradition of Purim. I guess I just don't remember going to services on Purim and reading the meguillah, but I really liked it.
ReplyDeleteI found yet the way people embrace ePurim here to be very interesting. In the United States it is usually Halloween only where people find the need to get dressed up, but here purim is a full scale event.Instead of just people at my temple celebrating, there are people everywhere.
ReplyDeleteThe big purim skit we performed as a class reminded me a lot of home. It is a big annual tradition and it is interesting to see where people take it. It is not necessarily something new, but the size and age inclusion of Purim is fantastic.
ReplyDeleteprior to this year, I had never heard the Migila read in Hebrew. I know this is something that I think almost everyone has experienced, but it was new to me and it was cool to watch and be apart of something bigger
ReplyDeleteHearing the magical read in hebrew was a very next experience for me.
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