Purim Meshulash

We finally returned to our rewired apartment on Friday afternoon. Even though there was a lot of cleaning to do from the construction it was really a relief to come back to home. We were getting sick of living out of suitcases and eating out every meal. Though we will miss the breakfasts at the hotel -- delicious! Thursday evening began the purim weekend extravaganza. For those who may not know, Jerusalem residents (walled cities) had the special privilege of having purim "last" for three days. Because Shushan Purim fell out on a shabbos this year the obligaitions for the day which are regularly all done on one day are instead spread out over three days. We heard megillah reading at the yeshiva (cap guns were fired at the mention of Haman) and distributed matanos l'evyonim on Friday. On Shabbos we inserted the Al'hanissim prayer into the davening and read the torah reading for purim. Finally on Sunday we exchanged mishloach manot and attended the seudah. Although it was really a great experience to take in an entire weekend of Purim I think I prefer it all on one day. It is very taxing to have such high levels of simcha over three days. It's also a bit annoying to listen to the fireworks and drunks for three days.