Celebrating Purim Today.

Everyone in Israel loves merry Purim festival, but I am at a loss to explain why tears welled up on my eyes together with a happy smile, when I am looking on dressed up children, going to their schools and kindergartens. May be this really symbolizes for me free Jewish people in their own free state.

This what is said about how to celebrate Purim:
“Read the Megilla, eat, drink, sing, drink, discuss or playact Purim story, drink, read Megilla again, drink, give money to the poor, drink, eat, drink, give Mishloach Manot, drink, eat, drink, sing, drink, sleep, wake up with Excedrin Headache”.

Now just few details.
The Book of Esther is read on Purim night, and again the next day.
It's a tradition when reading the Book of Esther to drown out the name of Haman, the story's villain, with a loud noise. This cacophony is often accomplished with groggers, the special Purim noisemakers.
Because the main theme of Purim is that things didn't turn out, as they seemed they would, it became to the custom to dress up and mask one's own identity. We dress up in costumes and arrange carnival procession to let our defenses down and open up to the deeper reality of our world and ourselves.

There is a custom to perform the Purim story on a stage – such a show has special name “Purimshpiel”. Because of this o many children are dressed up as little Mordechais, Ethers and Achashveroshs.

Purim is known as a time of delicious smells emanating from the kitchen from the baking of the delicious sweets and goodies. The filled triangles to your right are Hamantashen or Haman's hats, the most popular sweet made at Purim.

One of the most peculiar laws of Purim is the obligation to drink wine, and even become intoxicated.
Excessive drinking is frowned upon by Jewish law, yet here it appears that the law specifically advocates drinking!
Purim is a day of taking pleasure but it's also a day of giving pleasure and doing good. We perform mitzvah by donating food or money to at least two poor and we practice Mishloah Manot or the "sending of gifts" by bringing a basket of fruit or plate of sweet treats to friends and relatives. On Purim, it is also a special mitzvah to give gifts of money to the poor. The Jewish people are one unit -- we can't possibly enjoy the holiday if poor people don't have enough.
There is truly no other holiday like Purim!

Eat, Drink and Be Merry - We Almost Died.

Eat, Drink and Be Merry - We Almost Died. This can be a slogan of the Jewish festival Purim, which we celebrate on March 14 this year.

Really, its story and history is devoted to happy rescue of Jewish folk In Persia many centuries ago. Though it’s a merry holiday, it has a deep meaning as usually. We celebrate our deliverance from the threat of annihilation. Anyone who is familiar with Jewish history can see the Purim pattern repeated over and over again. Purim, therefore, is the prototype for Jewish survival during exile.
Twice in history, we were brutally exiled from our Land and we returned twice: once after the Babylonian Exile and once in contemporary times with the establishment of the State of Israel and the incredible ingathering of Jews from all over the world to our Land.
HISTORY OF PURIM
The history of events that served as a source of Purim is described in a special book, named Megillat Esther (Scroll of Esther). The quickie version is as follows:
The events commemorated by Purim took place in the ancient Persian Empire, in the fifth century BCE, under the reign of King Achashverosh.
Mordechai, one of the religious leaders of that generation, refused to prostrate himself before Haman, the vizier to the King. Haman immediately set out "to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Achashverosh". In order to effect his vicious racist plan, Haman decided to enlist the aid of the unsuspecting King Achashverosh.
Since Haman was a very superstitious person, he had lots cast to determine on which day he should carry out his design. The word for lots is "Purim", and from it we get the name for the holiday. The chosen date was the thirteenth of Adar.
The king, who trusted Haman, agreed to his plan to murder the Jews. For Haman had told him that the Jews were "scattered abroad in all the provinces," and that "their laws are different from those of every people". Letters, written by Haman and signed by the king, were sent out throughout all the provinces, commanding all persons "to destroy, to slay, and to cause to perish all the Jews.
The heroine of the Purim story is Esther, a devout Jewish woman who was forcibly taken as a wife for King Achashverosh. Queen Esther was able to intercede and save the Jewish community from genocide and annihilation.
Haman was hanged on the gallows which he himself had prepared for Mordechai and Mordechai became prime minister.

Hsin-i In Israel

I would like you to make a trip about Israel together with wiyh my son and his girlfriend from Taiwan.



Tel-Aviv. The seashore.


Jerusalem - "Golden Cuppola".


Yoni's sister Yael entertained her guests in Jerusalem, where she lives and studies in the Art Academy.



After Jerusalem they continued to the Dead Sea - the lowest place in the world.


Akko - the old crusader’s city.




Gamla - a very interesting and beautifule site, both natural reserve and historic place.



Israel at the highlight of spring blossoming.

My Taiwan Family

My son Yoni came for a visit from Taiwan with his Taiwan girlfriend Xshin-i. He works there as a technician of some Israel hi-tech company. He has a contract for a year and comes home for his vacations every 3 months. This is his last vacation before finishing.
She is a musician, graduated from the higher music school in Taipei. Now she is considering the opportunity to complete her education in Jerusalem. She is very nice cheery girl. My son is also a good handsome fellow, so they form a great couple! I must say that if in US international couples are usual thing – in our small rather closed Israel this is not so often affair. But my family is open-minded of course. We only wish that our children would be happy.
Yoni brought many pictures of his visit to Xsin-i’s family and also beautiful gifts from our new Taiwan “relatives”.

My son on a scooter in Taiwan.

Our international couple: the Israeli from Russia and his Taiwan girlfriend, speaking English with each other.

Xshin-i’s family and Yoni at their home in a small town in the middle of Taiwan.

Three generations of women in the kitchen.

The name Xshin-i means “happy heart”.
Let’s pray that hearts of our children will be always happy.

If something is impossible this is my son at piano! But the photo is great!

February Flowering In Israel

Blooming Almond Tree


Anemons.

Wild Cyclomens.

Yael's portfolio is renewed. Her new works are added to the section Graphic Design, Illustrations for Children, Greeting Cards.
Today I publish here three of her new illustrations to the book "A Butter-fingers".

Tu B'Shevat – a New Year of Trees.

Here I begin to tell about the Jewish traditions and holidays, which we celebrate in Israel.
This series is started symbolically – with a New Years of Trees. Let it be my blogging year start.
On February 13 we celebrate a minor Jewish festival Tu B'Shevat – a New Year of Trees. “Tu B'Shevat” means the 13-th day of month Shevat of the Jewish calendar. It falls each year on different day in January or February. But never mind which date it is, each year at this time almond trees begin to flower. Tu B'Shevat is the beginning of a new cycle for the tithe on fruit trees. This is the most beautiful season in Israel.
The New Year of the Trees -- Rosh Hashanah La'ilanot -- is an ancient concept. Though the 15th of Shevat isn't mentioned in the Bible, the Mishnah tells us that on this day the tithes on fruit were taken to the Temple in Jerusalem. Tu B'Shevat was also the start of the tree-planting season when God determined which trees would live, which trees would not and how fruitful any would be in the coming year.
The early pioneers of the State of Israel began the practice of celebrating Tu B'Shevat by planting trees.
In the 1600s, Jewish mystics in Safed created a Tu B'Shevat seder modeled after the Passover seder. Participants eat four different categories of fruit and drink four different combinations of red and white wine or grape juice, symbolizing the four seasons and the mystical "four worlds"
I publish here two pictures: one of the blooming almond tree, and the next of my husband and daughter keeping the old tradition.

I start Blogging here!

Hello, I am Gali Pushkin - graphic designer and artist from Israel. I am happy to welcome you on my blog. I catch a chance in the very beginning to apologize for my English, far from being perfect. My posts here will not be proofread by anyone. I am grateful for my friend AndyE Barnes, who did this with my site. I can’t trouble him any more.

I have just uploaded my new web site GaliGifts.com. I offer there a variety of products with my original graphics on them.
It is also closely connected to my another site AllOccasion-Clipart.com. This site is devoted to my graphic services and artwork. On-line collection of my original vector clipart is located there.
On this blog I will post about new products and services, my articles and simply news of my life.