As the sun set in Jerusalem on Friday,
after days of dressing up and celebrating, Shushan Purim came to an end.
Even though Purim is over, I would like to share a few favorites.
Sometimes it is hard to tell what is a Purim joke
and what isn’t, but this sign in Mamilla Mall did get attention.
Mountains of candy are bought for and consumed on and after Purim,
Machane Yehuda Market, the shuk, is a favorite place to get the right thing.
In the Rova, The Jewish Quarter in the Old City,
this Fiddler on the Roof costume was a favorite of the afternoon crowd.
But in Mamilla Mall,
I liked the Israeli soldier carefully watching the duck.
The emergency medical crews were wonderful, responding quickly
to aid young men and women who had too much to drink.
Men were falling down and staggering alone in moving traffic;
it is truly a Purim miracle that no one was killed.
One young woman in the Old City was sitting on the street crying,
not a pretty picture with her mascara running down her face.
There was feasting and singing in the Old City,
but the sights of excessive drinking were depressing.
I wonder what went through the minds of unsuspecting tourists?
Then as I started home, I spotted this young yeshiva student making balloons
and giving them to passing children. What a simple and uplifting sight…
even more so when I realized that the young man is my nephew!
The clear skies were wonderful for photographs
and the warm weather was great for being outside.
Many who were out during the day
were surprised to find themselves sunburned when they got home.
And near the end of the day, my favorite:
even with drunken Jews on the streets of Jerusalem…
Arab families felt safe enough to shop and go for a stroll on the mall.
