Shalom Shaaaalom

Why hello there! Oh I'm doing fine, yourself? Everything here Israeli good. Yes, yes I know it has been quite some time since we've last blogged with one another. Well what the heck are we waiting for? I know you can't stop wondering what's going on in the life of your favorite Jewish friend, so let's get to it!

The Bahai Gardens in Haifa

The last three weeks have been quite an adventure; trips to Jerusalem, Haifa, and Akko (Acre) are just a few different fantastic places I've taken a day trip to. There was the high holy holiday of Purim -- which was celebrated continuously over five days of partying. Twice a week I'm still taking Yoga classes, and as of last Tuesday I began military training -- yelp! Don't get all panic-attacky on me, there's no mandatory military service, just a way to get my scrawny ass in shape. I had (and passed) my first Hebrew test, and when I'm not racking my brain studying I am honing my chef skills three days a week.

And as of Monday I'm in first place in the ATO NCAA March Madness bracket -- it won't last much longer, thank you very much Notre Dame and Pittsburgh -- but it's nice to be months removed from the last college basketball game I've seen and be beating all you suckers. 

Three weeks back our Ulpan took a day trip to Yad Vashem -- the national Holocaust memorial here in Israel. For anyone of any faith it is a place to come and visit. It is an incredibly moving and emotionally draining experience -- but the beauty of the memorial is that even through all of the countless atrocities that took place against the Jewish people, homosexuals, Gypsies, Russians, Christians, and everyone else that had their life stripped away from them in the Holocaust is that there is hope that good will over come evil. But we must never forget what happened just 70 years ago.

Alrighty then, now that we've got the not so happy update out of the way let's get to the cheerful news. I never thought there could ever be a holiday better than Halloween -- I mean free candy while dressing up in outrageous costumes and getting to be out until 10 on a school night -- come on let's get serious, that's the good life.

Purim legends: Gay biker, "Sesame Street," Groove-Shark, Hippie, and Mr. T

Than I discovered Purim in Israel and my mind exploded.

Unlike Halloween, Purim is a holiday with real meaning. The celebration that commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people from the ancient Persian Empire from complete annihilation at the hands of Haman.

How do you celebrate Purim? Why is it THAT much better then Halloween?

Well, you get dressed up in any costume your heart desires -- but here's the catch -- instead of candy, you drink, you drink until you can't drink anymore but than when you think you've reached your limit and there's no possible way you can stomach one more Vodka and Red Bull -- you drink some more.

Here at Kibbutz Romat Yohanan we celebrated with a 70's disco theme, had a marvelous dance floor that lit up, and later in the night Elvis showed up and performed for every one (despite not being time appropriate or singing any Elvis songs, but HEY) and without getting into any hilarious or embarrassing details -- it's safe to say I was the undisputed mayor of Dunski Town.

I guess the real question is MOM why we weren't celebrating Purim when I was growing up?

As for Yoga classes, day trips, becoming a master chef, and learning Hebrew there will be more blog entries on the way. For now I leave you with this and hope that the three or four thousand of you loyal fans reading this that you find yourself in great spirits and good health.

Loveeeeeee you.

Sean