-Jeep Trip!
-Art & Culture Day!
-Trip North!
-Poetry Slam!
-Random Other Stuff!
Purim
"Purim Sameach" or "Happy Purim"!
This a few weeks ago it was Purim!
Purim celebrates the story of Esther in the Tanakh, a Jewish woman who disguised herself as a gentile and won the heart of the Persian king, then later revealed her true identity in order to stop her husband from slaughtering the Jewish people.
Purim means "lots" or a "lottery" because Haman (the villain advisor) claims he cast lots to determine it was the Jews who would massively suffer first. But of course, we wonder if that's true, and we doubt it was chance at all, but rather intentional.
Similarly, Haman is of the Amalek people, who previously "chanced upon" the Jews wandering in the desert and set about trying to massacre them. Again, by chance?
And Mati made this amazing point that the story of Purim is a bit strange in the Tanakh, because God is really not mentioned in it at all. There appears to be no divine intervention, no conversation between God and people. The story is purely terrestrial, purely chance, or so it seems. Mati said that the story is told this way to reflect the way our lives look, every day, as if everything is chance, life is a lottery. But is it? I think we read the Purim story in the Tanakh as if God is very much present in it, just behind the scenes, and Purim is a reminder to look at our daily lives that way as well.
Life's a lottery, or is it? :)
The other theme of Purim is, of course, masks. Wearing disguises. Who we pretend to be and who we truly are. So everybody dresses up, kind of like Halloween in the US, except there's no scary/haunted aspect of the holiday, it's just very carnival-esque.
Ariane: I find this holiday so romantic.
Noam: Purim...? Why??
Ariane: Because it's about dressing up and then taking the masks off. Appearances and realities.
Noam: That's what you think the Purim story is about? No, it's about sexual abuse and questionable parenting.
Ariane: Okay that's part of it. But also, think about how nice the holiday is for couples. You get dressed up and go party. And then you come home together and take the masks off and show your real self in an intimate way.
Noam: Oi. You know, in the mood you're in, you'd find ANY holiday romantic. On Holocaust Memorial day, you're probably going to be all 'this is soooo romantic! I want to hold someone's hand during the siren!'
Ariane: Well, actually...
((I can't be the only one whose biological clock ticks faster at holocaust memorials, right? I just think... OMG THEY KILLED 6 MILLION OF US, MUST REPOPULATE ASAP! Nothing would piss off Hitler more than Jews getting it on. Revenge REVENGE!))
ANYWAY.
There are, as I understand it, 4 special commandments on Purim:
1) Hear a reading of the Purim story
2) Give out gifts to your friends
3) Give to the poor
4) PARTY.
(Seriously).
It's basically days and days and days of parties. And I'm not normally hugely into parties, but I figured, since it's my first purim in Israel, I should go big.
Wednesday night, I went to a rooftop party in Tel Aviv. There was a reading of the story with audience participation, and then a band played and there was lots of dancing and drinking and general debauchery.
I was a bumblebee and Leonora was a pregnant Charedi woman XD
The second night I went to a big party in Jerusalem, at a really beautiful building that used to be a Leper Colony. I love Israel, it's so bizarre.
I met up with a bunch of friends from Ein Prat!
The third night, I went to a bar and kept it a bit lower key :).
All weekend Tel Aviv was full of people in costumes, everywhere! It was crazy. I'm sorry I didn't take more pictures, but I wasn't really in charge of all my faculties much over those days, to be honest...
One night there was a Zombie Parade down my street.
Jeep Trip!
I went with Yahli and his friends on a jeep trip near Beit Shemesh! It was fun. I envisioned most of our time spent in the jeep, but a good portion of it was actually spent outside pushing the jeep and making sure it didn't fall into one of the many gaping holes in the path... but it was still fun!
The countryside was beautiful! And there were lots of sheep
Yahli and Luna!
It took all of us pushing, but we kept it from toppling over!
We made coffee and shakshuka and hung out
I think I look really American.
Art & Culture Day!
Our seminar last week was on Israeli culture, and it was really fun!
She had a lot of interesting things to say. Here are some of my favorites...
"If I have the audience in mind when I'm creating, if I think what will you think or how will you like it... I'm not really giving you something, I'm taking something from you."
"My instincts make me always take the roles that will change me. I ask myself... what can I give to this character and what can she give to me? And if the answers are not very specific, I don't take it."
She said that often when artists go abroad to work or create, they're treated bitterly by the Israeli public and press. "It's not that you want to go somewhere else, you want success! You want as many people as possible to see your creation. What's wrong with that? People say 'oh, they'll be back.' We're like a woman with no confidence who's worried her man is straying."
"[Israel] is a very comfortable place to live in actually. Everything's so close and it's warm."
Next we did a gaga class. It was my second gaga class and I'm really enjoying it, I think I'm going to continue. If you don't know what gaga is, click here...
Then we went on a tour of Southern Tel Aviv, to galleries and looking at street art.
The highlight for me was going to Yuval Caspi's studio. He's working on a graphic novel and cartoonizes Biblical characters which is TOTALLY up my ally.
And we finished up the date with discussion and playing with clay :)
I made the cherubim from the ark of the covenant because I'm a nerd <3
Trip North
I did a day trip last Friday with JNF to some spots in the Galilee. It was fun and I met some cool new people.
First we went to Atlit Prison/Transit camp. A long story somewhat shorter, before the founding of the modern State of Israel, the British were in control of the region and severely limited the number of Jews who could immigrate. But of course, during and after WWII, LOT'S of Jews wanted to seek safety in Israel, so the ones who persisted on coming anyway on illegal transports were often caught and the British stuck them in a camp like this or in a similar camp on Cyprus until they could figure out what to do with them.
You can imagine that Holocaust survivors were perturbed when the first thing they did at the camp was go into this disinfection center and have a shower and hand over all their clothes to this giant industrial laundry machine.
Barracks
Next we went to Ein Hod, and artists' colony near the sea. It was totally gorgeous... like Gilmore Girls but artists. Everyone in the town is an artist, you have to be to move in. The entire place was quirky and cute, and there were so many galleries.
However, I was a little disturbed that nobody really mentioned that it used to be an Arab village, and all of the Arabs were expelled during the war for independence in 1948, and that a bunch of those Arabs stuck around and tried to come back in, and when they couldn't, they founded a neighboring village called "Ein Hawd." I only know all of this because my Hebrew teacher told me and then I looked it up. Shit happens in war, and tons of Jews have been expelled from Arab areas, as well. But I don't think just totally glossing over reality is helpful.
In one of the galleries, I spent a long time admiring a triptych of Jerusalem, and this guy came up to me and said "I think you like this painting." And I said "Yeah, I do." And he said "I painted it!!" So we took a selfie.
Poetry Slam
Last month I went to a poetry/story telling slam and I really enjoyed it, and I decided I wanted to try it. So this month, I competed!
I told a personal story to fit the theme of the night, "Turning Points." I've decided to be more open with my writing so I'm going to put it here... but just be warned, it's personal :)
I got an average score of 9.66 and got first place! So I'll move onto the final round in the fall, which is exciting.
Sam did a really amazing job as well! You can read about us on the organizer's blog here. 
It was a really great experience. It was my first time performing something creative I made. I mean, I've done talks before, but mostly academic or debate-y. And I've acted, but in other people's stuff. I guess other than improv and plays I wrote as a kid, I really haven't put my stuff out in this way. Mostly it's because I didn't want to attach a point of view to my name, I think. What if I feel differently later? What if I want to do something serious later? What if I apply for Mossad and they find a video of me talking about dating? Yeah I have a novel coming out, but I can always hide behind the fact that it's fiction. Or I can use a pen name. Or both.
But actually I was inspired by one of the other fellows, Elisheva Goldberg and of course, Lily Ross. They're both people who are really honest in what they put out there in the public and have reputations for that, and I suppose it some ways it might limit them, but in most ways it seems to open them up to the world.
And I think I've been operating on the "I'm still developing as a writer, I'm still growing, I'm still figuring out what I think, I should wait..." plane for a long time. Way too long. Of course i'm still growing/developing, hopefully I'll always be growing and developing, but now I also hope I have the guts to do that where other people can see the fruit of it in the meantime. Which I guess is a little ironic given the subject of my story.
Anyway, aside from the fun of performing itself, it was great that so many of my friends and both of my advisors and my roommates came! I felt really loved and supported. Louisa even brought flowers <3. It's a really beautiful thing to do something you love and be surrounded by people who want to see you succeed. Especially so far away from home and my usual support systems. So, thank you everyone <3.
Random Other Stuff
Tel Aviv graffiti!
Other graffiti!
Random art installation... that is a MOUNTAIN OF TREASURE. WHERE IS THE DRAGON?!?
Matat came to town! We had coffee on my balcony!
Around election time there were a lot of protestors on my street
And people camping out
And people marching up and down it singing "All we are saying is give peace a chance."
Aaaand the "next step" deliberation continues. I've started looking for jobs in Israel. I feel like I should keep pushing while I have momentum. But we'll see. It's pretty exciting to think of holding an Israeli ID card! And being Israeli!
Matat and Ariane, 2012, Masada
Matat and Ariane, 2015, Mirpeset
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