Long before the night curfew and the corona masks, Israel celebrated Purim with street parades, mass parties and focal points in every locality.
Students of the Gordon School in Ashkelon in Purim costumes, 1957
Photo:
Nostalgia Online Archive Online
Let’s face it: with a night curfew, medical masks and maintaining social distance - it’s hard to find a real reason to rejoice on Purim this year.
But fortunately, the Land of Israel and the Jewish state knew in the past quite a few joyous days of Purim, when the only fear of the holiday was the rain that would wet the costumes and ruin the makeup on the face.
More optimistic and innocent days, before the damn virus arrived with the crown and proved to all of us that he is a costume champion himself.
Until the very last decades, Purim was considered one of the most beloved and coveted holidays in the Hebrew calendar.
It was celebrated in large numbers, and not only children took part in it, with the best costumes made for them by their mother, but also the adults - who held big parties and drank to the brim at banquets like royalty.
For years, Purim was a central and unifying axis in Israeli culture, and every self-respecting community in the country produced centers of celebration, with colorful decorations and mass competitions.
Many organizations - from government institutions to sports associations and commercial companies - have all set the holiday as a date for a wild, formative and cohesive party.
From the carnival to the "Adlaide"
In 1912, a small three-year-old settlement was held in Tel Aviv, the first "Adlaide" of Purim, which was initially simply called a "procession."
Avraham Aldama, a colorful Tel Aviv figure who was considered a local cultural hero at the time, wrote in his diary: "I organized all the students of the Herzliya Gymnasium in threes, led by a student riding a white horse in the costume of Mordechai the Jew. Another student, disguised as Haman, led the horse. "Queen Esther was also led in the procession, dressed in lavish clothes, as well as the thick-bellied Ahasuerus, and other figures from the scroll, when they were religiously and lawfully disguised, according to the best Purim costumes."
Since the whole of Tel Aviv then covered no more than one street, the route of the Purim procession was determined without much effort.
It started in the courtyard of the Herzliya Gymnasium and ended at the end of the street (today's Herzl), only about 350 meters away.
Aldama himself, who was a painting and writing teacher at the Herzliya Gymnasium, was involved in the production of the event - in addition to being an artist, bohemian, actor, photographer, organizer of public celebrations, a man of spirit and active in the public sphere in Little Tel Aviv.
Due to the outbreak of World War I, eight years passed before the second "Adlaide" city was held.
In its early years, the procession was generically called "Carnival", until in 1932 it was decided to re-switch, and a competition was announced to choose a permanent name.
Out of 300 submissions, the author's proposal was selected YD Berkowitz, brilliant "Purim" - according to quote from great Babylonian Talmud, under which a person should drink on Purim drunk "to real knowledge between cursed is Haman and blessed Mordechai."
Among the other bidders The names, by the way, stood out Haim Nachman Bialik, who suggested the word "Pora", Shaul Tchernichovsky, who suggested "Estoret", and Avraham Shlonsky, who suggested "Tzahulula".
The 1930s were considered the "golden age" of the Adlaide, which was a huge attraction for the masses: in addition to the residents of Tel Aviv, which grew to about 120,000 people in the middle of the decade, curious people from all over the country visited the city, along with thousands of enthusiastic tourists from Arab countries. Neighbors and also from Europe.
Aldama, who led the processions with a high and creative hand, set for each Adlaide another theme - "Tribes of Israel", "Yishuv achievements" or "The situation in the world".
Participants matched their costumes to the chosen theme, and large exhibits were placed on top of vehicles traveling slowly along the route.
Over the years, the Adlaide route has expanded to include all the main streets in Tel Aviv, with tens of thousands of partygoers filling the sidewalks.
The Adlaide processions took place in succession until the outbreak of World War II, in 1939, when they were stopped again - and resumed only after the establishment of the state, in 1955.
Over the years, Zoharan faded, and between the late 1960s and early 1970s, they finally faded.
The Legendary Balls of My Legend
Along with the "Adlaide" processions, Tel Aviv in the 1920s and 1930s had another major attraction: the unburdened Purim parties, which also attracted masses of participants.
The parties were organized by Baruch Aggadati, the bohemian man who became a cultural icon in Tel Aviv, due to the many activities he organized throughout the city in those years.
My legend's Purim Balls were considered the largest and most important cultural event in the country.
They were held in spacious halls in Tel Aviv, and for some years focused on the large "exhibition" hall, which was owned by the Jewish National Fund and located adjacent to the area on which the old Central Station was later built.
Admission to the banquet was limited to invitees only - about 3,000 people at each banquet.
Needless to say, a costume duty was imposed, and all the exaggerations in this - it is fine.
Every year my legendary Doug decorated the ballroom according to a changing theme.
On Purim of 1935, for example, the hall was adorned with a white blanket of artificial snow, and the impression that the "Hollywood" trick left was so intense - that they did not stop talking about it in the White City even many years later.
At each ball, two or three different orchestras played dance music, culminating in a costume contest and a procession led by "Queen Esther," a coveted title in those days.
In the early morning, the disguised and drunken participants set out for a large, colorful and noisy procession through the city streets.
Rupture in Queen's Choice
In 1926, Baruch Aggadati decided to add a preliminary event to the Purim balls, which was an attraction in itself and also served as a sales promoter for the upcoming holiday events.
In the newspapers and on the bulletin boards, leaflets were published ahead of time, inviting suitable candidates to participate in the "Queen of Esther's Prom," in the "exhibition" hall in the city.
The response was great, and on Tu B'Shvat, which took place three weeks before Purim that year, crowds came to take part in the new event.
This was, in fact, the first competition for the election of a beauty queen in Eretz Israel, and ads published by Aggadi throughout the city read: Queen Esther - the beautiful typical Hebrew. "
Each candidate for the title was required to present to the prom committee a document with 50 signatures of recommenders aged 18 and over -" who will testify in her signature of her beauty. "My legend promised that the lucky Shabbat she would be chosen was the upcoming Purim prom queen. On the streets of Tel Aviv during the holiday. "
Queen Esther's first chosen was Lila Chertkov, who came to the prom as a guest, but captivated the hearts of those present - who chose her immediately. This is how Haaretz journalist Uri Caesari described her:" She has green eyes that wash gently and radiantly, and radiant black hair. .
She carried her beauty with the special pride of a woman whose steps did not touch the prosaic soil at all.
She is a lady, and her supreme daughter of laughter can change the world map.
Beautiful as the sun, beautiful as the world of God.
Following the success, the "Queen of Esther" ball was established as an annual tradition for Purim itself.
Over the years, Aggadi made sure to give adequate representation to the various sections of the people, stating in one year that "Queen Esther will be chosen from among the daughters of the Bukharian community", and a year later the ballet participants chose a beauty queen "from among the Yemenites" - and so on.
However, even after the election of Queen Esther I, many attacked the event, and the newspaper systems were flooded with letters from angry readers, emphasizing that "beauty - God's gift is to his elect, and not at the ballot box!"
Others wrote: "What have we, the Jews, with the customs of the Gentiles, to choose a woman as if she were a cow in the market?"
My legend did not flinch and continued the tradition, and every year, alongside posters hung on billboards, protest leaflets appeared attacking the event, bearing big headlines: "A scoundrel was made in Israel" and "What about the corrupt culture of the Gentiles?"
The protesters claimed that "competition causes a decrease in national dignity" and demanded "to remove disgrace from Israel and return to the sources of our lives, since the organizers of the perverted ball forgot that we are the source of morality from which the world is nourished."
The tradition continued for another five years.
In 1927 she won the title of Rickettsiya Three, followed by Tzipora Tsabari, a year later Hannah Meyushes-Polish, and in 1931 she was crowned Miriam Blumenfeld.
From 1932 onwards, the election of "Queen Esther" to the Purim ball, ceased to be a preliminary event.
Army paratrooper to Steve Austin
Surprisingly, the costume custom among the Jewish people began among the adults.
As early as the 14th century, the Jews of Venice, Italy, adopted the custom of Purim costumes, then called "face," "mask," or "costume" (the word "costume," coined in the early 1930s, came into use only after the establishment of the state).
The colorful custom was adopted by the Jews of Venice under the influence of the city's famous mask festival, which takes place every year in the vicinity of Purim.
From 1901 onwards, the Tzafira newspaper published testimonies of glorious Purim parties held by the Jews in Vienna, Austria, and later in the other large Jewish communities in Europe, with costumes in the form of Mordechai the Jew, Ahasuerus, Shulamit, Miriam the Prophet, Rebecca and Rachel starring in events.
In the Land of Israel of the Old Yishuv period, at the end of the 19th century, lived only about 20,000 Jews, who were concentrated in the four holy cities - Jerusalem, Tiberias, Hebron and Safed.
These celebrated Purim in a limited and modest setting, with the parents making sure to create costumes for their children in the spirit of biblical and legendary stories: the four mothers, the three fathers, Queen Esther and Mordechai the Jew.
The Adlaide parades and the great Purim parties held in Israel in the early 20th century contributed to the rise in popularity of Purim costumes, and for decades almost everyone, from bearded men to old men, made sure to dress up for the holiday, as an expression of solidarity and courageous connection to the Land of Israel.
The 1930s and 1940s in Israel were characterized by a meager variety of costumes, all handcrafted and including classic figures from the scroll, along with costumes on a more "national" background, such as national institutions (the Jewish National Fund starred), British soldiers, Palmach members Many children loved to dress up as "adults", using the adult clothes they pulled out of the closet.
Immediately after the establishment of the state, following the national pride and militarism in which young Israel was immersed, there was a flourishing of "soldiers" costumes. it was only a Jewish soldier, but also officers and legionnaires Aostro-hongrim Roman empire. the boys often dress up American cowboys - "cowboys" - influenced by the fashion of Hollywood Westerns films began rising in the 50 (and booklets popularity blossoming genre).
alongside were cowboys Of course Indians, as well as cops and thieves, and lots of folk-style costumes - Spanish with a hoop, Dutch with wooden clogs, gypsy with a handkerchief, Chinese with an impromptu rickshaw and Japanese whose eyes are "slanted" in black
pencil.One favorite costume was of blacks from Africa, in those days, before The era of political correctness, was called "Negro
M "(as the name of Africa in the sources).
Since there was no awareness of the environment and chemical toxins at the time, children and adults were not afraid to apply black or brown shoe polish.
The "Negro" continued to be popular, until in the 1960s Israel began to forge ties with countries in emerging Africa, and the attitude towards the costume changed, so as not to offend anyone by mistake.
The blossoming of the costumes of the peoples was required in the small and closed Israel in those years.
Through it, the Israelis, who were not accustomed to traveling abroad, expressed their longing for the foreigner and the imaginative. The "Chinese" costume fashion was also responsible for, among other things, the book (followed by the film) "The Good Land" by the American Pearl Beck, which raised awareness in China - and influenced an entire generation of readers.
What else did he star in? The girls dressed up as white sisters, female soldiers in various units, including a beret, and characters from the legends - including Little Red Riding Hood. Members of all genders dressed up as clowns, while the sophisticated dressed as Charlie Chaplin.
Figures from the Jewish tradition, led by the proud Mordechai, who did not bow to the evil Haman, matched the spirit of the "new Israeli" as one who did not succumb to the many dangers lurking around. "Moshe Rabbeinu" also gained great popularity due to his status as a man who brought the people of Israel to the Promised Land.
Did you dress up for a savings account?
In the 1960s, many mothers in Israel were concerned about the preferences of their children, who wanted to dress up as bandits and other "non-educational" characters from the world of imagination and stories.
Psychologists required for the problem reassured by saying that "in everyday life a child does not have many opportunities to be a 'robber', and therefore he will be happy to take advantage of this opportunity on Purim, and thereby release his feelings of aggression. Do not worry, mothers, no one will suspect you are not educating your child properly."
At that time, with increasing awareness of marketing and advertising in the country, commercial companies began to use promotional costumes - launching a costume competition in the spirit of the company's products.
The new fashion was led by the cosmetics company "Shemen", along with the big banks, which encouraged the children to dress up as savings banks ("Dan Haschen" followed by "Noah's Ark").
In 1967, a few months before the outbreak of the Six Day War, Purim was marked by an economic recession.
The Native American costume, which was sold for 17 pounds, pushed the cowboy costume, which was no less than eight pounds, because of the savings.
The popular costumes for girls at that time were of dancers, sun queens and ice queens - all comfortable for cheap sewing at home.
The Six Day War, and the euphoria that swept the public in its wake, rekindled the demand for "military" costumes.
Among other things, the costumes in the form of the revered Defense Minister, Moshe Dayan, with the black bandage on the eye, and the costume of the Chief of War - Yitzhak Rabin. The Dayan costume cost 30-25 NIS, much more expensive than the traditional costumes in stores.
In the 1970s, the costumes were divided between two periods: until the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War - and after.
At the beginning of the decade, the children of Israel began disguising themselves, for the first time, as characters from television, after it had begun broadcasting a few years earlier.
A favorite original costume in those years was the television set itself, which was a coveted (and rare) piece of furniture in homes.
Many children walked around in cardboard boxes with an improvised "antenna", with "Haven Yavin," the prominent news presenter of those days, pasted on the "screen," alongside characters from popular TV series such as "Popeye," "The Angel" (Simon Templer, played by Roger Moore) ), The British aristocracy from the Haggadah of the Foresight, and knotted cowboys from the Bonanza series.
Among the girls was still led by Queen Esther, followed by costumes of Japanese brides, anemones and geisha girls.
The boys also remained loyal to the well-known uniformed men - mainly paratroopers and firefighters.
The Yom Kippur War, and the atmosphere of mourning at its conclusion, landed a fatal blow on Purim that was noted after it.
The costumes were renewed in the second half of the 1970s, following a series of events that aroused national pride: Operation Entebbe and the Israeli Rina Moore winning the title of Miss World in 1976, the signing of the historic peace agreement with Egypt in 1977, and Maccabi Tel Aviv winning the trophy. Europe in basketball that year.
Many dressed up as Prime Minister Menachem Begin, basketball player Mickey Berkowitz, Miss Universe and special forces troops Daredevil. One costume white desirable in those years was Steve Austin, the Bionic Man "worth millions", played by actor I Majors.
Finish the years 70 marked the end of the popular costume custom, the one in which everyone willingly took part. From the 1980s onwards, in keeping with the spirit of the nihilistic local newspapers and the "individual" culture that pushed the "public", costumes became a matter of personal preference, losing their status as part of the "definition". Israeli. "
just Purim in 1991, similar to 2021 will go down as a holiday taken over by masks of a different species from that to which direction the poet, returned for a second national unifying glory days. the same year marked the end of a holiday just the first Gulf War, after weeks of missiles, sealed rooms, Syringes Atropine, "Viper Snake" alarms and calming messages from the then IDF Spokesman, Nachman Shai.
The parting from the ISIS masks was, therefore, a symbolic and liberating act, and many went out to riot at mass parties and disguise themselves as Saddam Hussein, Atropin syringes and Nachman Shai himself. For many, it was the farewell appearance of Purim costumes as "a holiday for all of us."
Ali Baba costume
Apart from the parties and "Queen Esther" parties, there was a great competition in Israel, from the 1930s to the end of the 1960s, between leading graphic artists and designers, who offered their proposals for the annual Purim poster, along with the holiday posters distributed by the major municipalities.
In addition to the honor, the winners also received money (in the 1960s, the city of Haifa awarded the chosen designer a respectable prize of no less than 300 pounds).
The business sector also did not miss the celebrations, and published a variety of special sales promotions for the holiday.
Organizers have produced sought-after cultural events, and record companies have marketed new music albums, replete with holiday-inspired songs.
As the years passed, the fund of Purim fell to the secular public (the religious sector, on the other hand, continues to maintain its allegiance).
The costume preparation, which used to take many days and was a unifying event for the whole family, has now been converted into synthetic costumes that are purchased online for pennies and thrown away immediately after being used in the trash.
And really, I wonder what Avraham Aldama would have said and blessed be my legend if they had heard about the wonders of "Ali Baba".
And no, not that one with the 40 bandits, which is a great costume.
shishabat@israelhayom.co.il