Tonight on the bus ride home from Neve Yaakov, Caroline asked me how I would rank this year's Purim and I responded "11 out of 10". It was truly a phenomenal experience with great friends, close teachers, and the comfort and excitement of Jerusalem surrounding me.
Today we exchanged presents in the morning around the MRC apartments. Kate made me a gorgeous watercolor painting and I put it up on my window. We ate lots (... and lots) of hamantashens that we made the other day in the Gush with our teacher Osnat and we sang and danced around the apartment. I stopped by the Mannings to wish them a happy Purim and give the kids presents and then about 15 of us met up at the Central Bus Station to head out to Rabbi Shurin's in Neve Yaakov for his seudah (meal).
Rabbi Shurin's family is mindblowing to me. As an only child, simply having a roommate is a culture shock. The Shurin's have ten children and it's incredible. We met a lot of them today and celebrated with them at the extra long table. We ate delicious food, sang, listened to stories, drank wine, and laughed ... we laughed a lot! People told so many jokes. My favorite was: What happens when you squeeze a shul (synagogue)? You get Jews!
There were quite a few moments when I looked around me on all sides and realized how happy I was to be surrounded by such special people. My roommate was across from me, my other friends to my left and right, and my Rabbi sitting at the head of the table. When we got off the bus, I also saw Joe from Arizona. Now that was a small world, "only in Israel", moment. I don't typically like big social situations but this was definitely an exception.
I just got home and I realized that my bright mood has dimmed a bit after reading the news. There are so many rockets being fired at Southern Israel and it is sickening. I don't understand. I can honestly say that. It boggles my mind how someone could shoot a rocket at someone else, how someone could kidnap someone else, or how someone could blow something up like a bus. I can't comprehend this. Today was a very special day for the Jewish people because Purim is a time to celebrate miracles and all of the amazing feats the Jews have accomplished throughout the years - most importantly, those rooted in getting rid of evil people from the world. It is such a shame that these people exist. There are two sides to every story and it is astonishing to me how so few people in the world are so blind to the reality of the situation here in Israel. These rockets are not a joke. They are not toys that we play with or stories simply being told. They are big projectiles being shot at people's homes, schools, synagogues, and streets. They are hitting people. They are destroying properties. They are emotionally harming people forever.
If someone shot a rocket at Boston or at Tempe, President Obama would not stand for it. The American people would not stand for it. There is absolutely nothing that justifies what is going on and I cannot even begin to comprehend how nations in the world feel it is necessary to donate money to rebuild Gaza... when Gaza is shooting rockets at a civil country. It is disgusting and really sets us back in terms of the celebrations across this country.
