2009 Purim at Ulpan Gordon
This was my first year attending Ulpan Gordon during Purim. In fact, it was my first Purim in Israel entirely! Needless to say, I didn’t quite know what to expect and I was pleasantly surprised by the schools enthusiasm to the holiday and to their students.
During this week of Purim, Ulpan Gordon is only open on Sunday to celebrate the holiday [see the holiday closure schedule here]. The Ulpan follows the same holiday schedule set my the Ministry of Education which essentially means that all the children throughout Israel will only have school on this one day too.
Of course saying “school is in session” only on Sunday this week is an overstatement. We only studied from 9:00 am – 10:30 am (a whopping hour and a half) and were then released to party… Purim style!
As an American, I immediately associate this holiday with Halloween although Purim is historical rather than mythical. Purim is celebrated as a festival to commemorate the deliverance of the Jewish people from the evil Haman, as apposed to Halloween which is a festival to celebrate cavities in our teeth from too much candy.
Naturally, I didn’t wear a costume (because I simply couldn’t fit my Wonder Woman outfit in my suitcase) but Ulpan Gordon was kind enough to supply hats, masks, Hawaiian leis, and noise makers for all of us to wear.
The class was also instructed to bring a gift of cookies or sweets to trade with another student. Another facet of Purim is to send gifts of food to friends and giving charity to the poor. Some people bought candy bars or little gift baskets. Other people baked cookies or bought their own “Oznei Haman” (אוזני המן, or, Ears of Haman).
Besides supply celebratory “gear” for the students to wear, they also set up tables scattered throughout the common area with drinks and cookies. It’s traditional to drink sweet red wine on this day (it’s actually considered a good dead to drink as much wine as humanly possible), so Ulpan Gordon supplied several bottles for the students to consume along with soda, water, and juice.
Afterward I wandered down the street and fell into a parade of children following a brass band and showing off their Purim costumes. Enjoy the video I took of this seemingly random and impromptu parade!
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