My childhood memories of Purim are faded into a blur of hamentashen, groggers (noise makers), and my Rabbi dressing up in costume while leading services. Beyond that, besides the annual “Purim basket” my Synagogue sends, the holiday has barely been a blip on my radar since my elementary school days. However, now that I’m living in the Holyland, there was no possible way to escape the madness that I have now learned is Purim.Â
While I’ve always been a fan of Halloween back in America (because really, why would I turn my back on a holiday where it’s socially acceptable to walk around in a princess crown?), after a week filled with feathers, sequins, and Purim costumes galore, I don’t think I can ever appreciate and enjoy October 31st ever again.
Since last Monday, there have been handfuls of people strolling down the street dressed as maids, pirates, pilots, queens, and everything in between.  There were kids running around the mall in Cinderella dresses, and a man casually hanging out on campus in a pink bunny costume.  Hurricane Purim had arrived, but the real celebrations began on Wednesday night. Â
My friends and I decided to step out of our comfort zone and went to an outdoor club on Ben Yehuda Street, a place we typically only go to during the daylight hours.Â
Located right next to a Max Brenner Chocolate Shop, we knew we had found a little slice of heaven. Although the music was great and the atmosphere was just what we were looking for, it was the Israelis that really made the night.
In America, there are always a handful of people that get very into Halloween; their costumes are over-the-top and have people gravitating toward them. However, in Israeli, everyone goes all out for Purim. There is no costume that doesn’t have you staring in awe. Whether it’s men dressing as women, or a duo disguised as LMFAO, every outfit is worth taking a picture of…especially when excessive amounts of face-paint are involved.Â
As I’ve said before, it seems like clubs never close in this country. But when it comes to Purim celebrations, they actually stay open all night. Personally, I don’t know how people do it (I like a solid 25 hours of sleep in a 24-hour day), but there are some who stay out until way past sunrise “observing” the holiday with fireworks, sparklers, and a whole lot of music.
But besides outrageous celebrations, Wednesday night had some cultural aspects to it as well—I mean, I am here to learn, technically. After leaving the outdoor extravaganza, our usual cab driver Ilan picked us up to bring us back to the dorms. We’ve been calling Ilan since our second week here, and as our trusted cab driver, he’s always there to educate us as well as drive us. On Purim, he gave us a lesson on Israeli television. Apparently, Married with Children is the show to TiVo, and Jim Carey is the funniest comedian in Hollywood. After trying to absorb this radical information, he also informed us that Full House is known as Three Fathers and that Bruce Almighty is in actuality called Great Bruce (insert Great Scott! joke here). Tom and Jerry and Liar, Liar are the two best things to hit Israel since sliced bread. Evidently, we’ve been doing something wrong back in America since we’ve moved on to Modern Family, Revenge, and the Bachelor. I was half expecting Ilan to start talking about the wonder that is SNICK (RIP orange couch and Are You Afraid of the Dark?).Â
With our cinematic lesson out of the way, we were ready to move on to bigger and better festivities on Thursday.  My friends tend to think of me as the biggest exaggerator, but when I heard we were going to an airport hanger with 6,000 people I knew that someone was showing me up.
Six thousand people? No, sorry. Not that many people gather at the same venue unless it’s for a Justin Bieber concert.  However, what I thought would be the exaggeration of the year, turned out to be a complete truth.  In fact, there’s a very distinct possibility that more than 6,000 people showed up in their Purim’s best to Hanger 11. I’ve never seen an event like this in my 21-years of fiestas. Even though I’m a writer, I’m oddly okay with the fact that I cannot put Thursday night into words. It was just something you have to experience firsthand. From pink and blue lights, to countless drag queens, booming music, an incredibly well-decorated hanger, and dancers in fluorescent bodysuits I can confidently say it was one of the most amazing nights…ever.
Needless to say, I’ve already looked into flights back to Israel for Purim 2013.Â
—-
Catch up on my Israeli life:
Lost in Translation
Jerusalem: Teen Tour Edition
Blame it on the Rain
You ‘Shook’ Me All Night Long
Surviving Week One
Ma’a Salama America, Shalom Israel
Â