For the year 2021, the Jewish holiday of Purim begins Thursday night, February 25, 2021.In most of Israel--as around the world--the holiday continues the next day, Friday, February 26, 2021. But in Israeli cities that had ancient walls around them, Purim celebrations actually begin the next day, Friday night. For 2021 that would mean not a Thursday night-Friday Purim, but a Friday night-Shabbat Purim. Since it is not universally agreed upon which cities in Israel had such ancient walls, this 'deferred day' of Purim is celebrated only in Jerusalem.
We do not live in Jerusalem. Therefore, we celebrate Purim the way the rest of Israel--and the world--does, Thursday night-to-Friday afternoon (until just before Shabbat begins.
Purim is a holiday that commmemorates an incident in Jewish history that happened perhaps 2,500 hundred years ago. It celebrates how the Jews of Persia were saved from being annihilated by the evil government official, Haman. Of course, there's much more to this holiday, but that's the core of Purim.
This is why Purim has been termed as a holiday of joy. Included in Israel's Purim 'joy' are parades, costumes and a traditionally large festive meal for family, extended families and friends. There are also (depending on location) street dancing and public gatherings to sing and dance.
But not this year, not in 2021. This year, Purim (at least in Israel) will be different. Very different.
This year, Israel's Purim will have a distinctive Coronavirus feel to it. Purim 2021 occurs at a time when Israel is still trying to enforce a universal social-distancing mandate to prevent the spread of the cornavirus. Purim's parades and celebrations represent a threat to such a mandate.
Last year's Purim celebrations provoked (according to Israel's Health Ministry) a spike in new corona cases. For 2021, the Health Ministry fears that such celebrations could cause another post-Purim spike in new corona cases.
Israel's Health Ministry doesn't want to see that spike. So it has published new rules for Purim 2021:
1. In Charedi (Israel's ultra-orthodox) neighborhoods, a concerted call has gone out to restrict or limit all "excessive" alcohol consumption (here). The assumption here is, intoxication reduces social distancing to close to zero--at least, among the intoxicated. That failure to observe social distancing, it is believed, would spread the virus.
2. Family festive meals are to be limited to one's nuclear family.
3. A new, temporary lockdown (for Purim only) has been ordered for Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, beginning February 25, 2021. It will start each night at 8:30 pm and end at 5 am the next morning (here). The goal is to prevent public gatherings that could spread the pandemic (here).
4. All parades and Purim parties--cancelled.
5. Only those with written verification of having received a vaccine shot will be allowed to pray inside a synagogue. Others are to pray outside the synagogue. Synagogues are to monitor who will be allowed to enter.
Will these 5 rules work? Well, Purim is a real "party" holiday. Public celebrations and gatherings are part of what it means to celebrate Purim. Stopping those gatherings will be a challenge.
Police in Israel have apparently understood this "Purim-means-party-time" mentality. That's why they spent the better part of Wednesday, February 24, 2021 bringing "Purim Party organizers" to police stations around Israel--to warn the organizers against holding any Purim or pre-Purim parties (here).
Within 24 hours, Israel's Police issued a statment that they had already "thwarted" 31 such so-called Purim parties (here). Their statement added that 33 "suspects" had been questioned--and warned not to hold parties (ibid).
Will their pleas, warnings and lockdowns work? We don't know. We don't know how many people will actually obey the State's Purim restrictions.
The only thing we do know is that Israel's Police have publicized they will set up 24 roadblocks (Police call these 'checkpoints') around the country to curtail intercity travel, to keep people from "gathering" (here).
Will the Police succeed? Will these rules and restrictions keep people from their Purim celebrations?
There's already a problem with at least one of the restrictions. This problem involves the planned Purim lockdown that's scheduled to start tonight at 8:30 pm local time. That's a problem because many synagogues in Israel have already scheduled a repeat reading of the Purim story (called in Hebrew, the Megilat Esther) to begin at 8 pm tonight--just 30 minutes before the lockdown is to begin.
A repeat reading is typically scheduled at this time because hearing this story read aloud is a religious obligation. Some people (mostly caregivers of smaller children) cannot always get to the first reading, read earlier in the day this year at app 6:15 pm. Therefore, this repeat reading was created for 8 pm.
The problem is, a reading of this Megillah usually takes app 45 minutes. This means that anyone going to this repeat reading at 8 pm won't be done until 8:45 (at the earliest), on average. If the reading won't end until 8:45, how will these people be able to leave their synagogue without violating the lockdown start-time of 8:30 pm?
What will police do to those people? Will the police allow them to disperse--or fine them for obeying the laws of their religion?
Public posters and internet announcements for an 8 pm start for the repeat reading have already been posted or sent out. Will the start time be pushed back to 7 or 7:30 pm? Will everyone truly find out about any last-minute time changes to the start-time? Will people show up at the originally-scheduled 8 pm time only to find the Megillah is more than half-done?
Jews world-wide are required to hear the Purim Megillah read twice (in addition to any repeat readings), once this year on Thursday night, then once again the next morning. Missing half of either such reading (or its repeat) doesn't fulfil a person's requirement to hear the Megillah being read. What will those who arrive late to any repeat reading do? Will they be forced to violate the lockdown by staying until yet another reading has begun?
Finally, there is the issue of the Purim festive meal (called a seudat mitzvah--a meal required to be done to fulfill a commandment). This meal is traditionally for extended families and/or friends. That is, these meals represent a form of "communal" dining--which the State wishes to curtail this Purim. How many Israelis will violate this rule by trying to skirt all those police roadblocks ("checkpoints") referred to above?
Israel's political leaders appear very worried about this year's Purim. They are so worried that Israel's Health Minister has delivered a public message to some of Israel's pre-Purim 'revelers'. He said, "you are to blame for the coming dead" (here).
That's what Israel's Corona Purim looks like. Apparently, Purim 2021 isn't so much about celebrating our being saved long ago from annihilation. It's about, "the coming dead!"
Happy 2021 Purim, Israel.
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