Purim 2024: What's happening in Jerusalem?

Adloyada or, in its original Aramaic form, “ad deloh yada” is an ancient custom. The expression translates as “until one does not know” and infers that on Purim, one should imbibe sufficient quantities of alcohol to the point when it is difficult to differentiate between “the blessed Mordechai” and “the cursed Haman.”

The contemporary outdoor secular manifestation, which centers on a colorful generally loud and boisterous parade through the city streets, began in Tel Aviv in 1912 and continued after the establishment of the state. Tel Aviv and, more recently, Holon have had their highly popular annual Adloyada Purim events over the years, but now Jerusalem is back in the carnival fold – for the first time since 1982. On March 25, residents of the capital – and, no doubt, some out-of-towners – can marvel at a festive procession in the center of town with giant characters made of all sorts of materials, as well as an abundance of live performers and multifarious artistic fare.

It is unclear why it took a full 42 years for Jerusalem to get back into the Adloyada swing of things, but Kobi Frig is sure glad it’s back. Frig is responsible for the artistic content and logistics, and for reviving the tradition here. He also serves as director of the Train Theater, which began life as a high-quality puppet theater for children one year before the last Jerusalem Adloyada took place.

FRIG DID his bit to get the city back in outdoor Purim festivities mode. He started organizing street parties in Nahlaot and the shuk – at his dad’s store there – on Purim around 20 years ago, although he ran into a few snags along the way. “We called it Adloyada, but they began renovating Jaffa Road and other places, and it was difficult getting the municipality involved,” he said. “When I started working at the Train Theater, I marked the Adloyada down as something I wanted to get going. It took a couple of years longer but we got there.”

Mayor Moshe Lion and his colleagues over at city hall are now well and truly on board. Indeed, Frig is full of praise for Lion and his role in getting back into Adloyada gear, particularly in the wake of Oct. 7.

“When the war started, we were all in shock and sad like everyone else,” Frig recalls. “We thought we were going to have a year of mourning. We didn’t know what was going to happen with the Train Theater, helping with refugees from the South and North and all of that.”

That left Frig’s long-nurtured dream of renewing the Adloyada events in Jerusalem sidelined. Or so he thought. “We went to a meeting with the mayor, and he really surprised me,” he says. “He made a leadership decision. It was very impressive. He made the decision on his own. He said it was important and that we would make the Adloyada into a festival of hope, and a means of connecting people and showing the world we are here.”

That didn’t mean it was plain sailing from then on in, but it provided Frig and his colleagues with the official backing, funding, and encouragement to move ahead with their plans. “It wasn’t easy, but it gave us motivation – and different ways of thinking about it all.”

THE SENSE of unity, national and local, will be front and center with an art installation on the theme of the hostages in Gaza making a prominent appearance in the carnival proceedings. Kids will also feature in the Purim program, with a nod toward children evacuated from their homes in the North and near Gaza.

Mayor Lion is all for that. “This year Jerusalem, the capital of Israel and everybody’s home, will celebrate Purim together with the families and children of Jerusalem and the entire country,” he declares. “The Adloyada is returning to the capital after 42 years to unite the people and salute the heroes of Israel, of the past and present.”

Lion says the barbaric terrorist acts of Oct. 7 and the ongoing war in Gaza have added to the significance of the renewed local festivities. “This year, the Adloyada is more than a Purim event. It is a parade of the victory of the spirit and strength.” Hope, he says, springs eternal. “Jerusalem, the capital, opens its gates and will host the whole of Israel while offering a prayer for the future and the unity of the nation, especially at this time.” Amen to that.

Monday’s parade program

For his part, Frig is doing his best to ensure we all get into celebratory mode, at least for a day, with a seemingly endless roster of events, activities, and shows lined up for Monday. The parade kicks off at the Inbal Hotel and will wend its way up along King David Street, and onto IDF Square before making a left into Jaffa Road, passing by Safra Square as far as King George, and then left again up to the former Hamashbir department store building.

All told, the program takes in some 30 original projects getting their very first airing, with all manner of walking music ensembles, dance troupes, and music shows in the mix.

The towering figure of a lion will take its place of honor as the symbol of Jerusalem and possibly as a nod to Mayor Lion. Fittingly, the outsized work was created by the Lili and Faluja studio folk who were evacuated from Kibbutz Tzivon in the Upper Galilee. The Tower of David will turn into a giant carousel with figures historical and contemporary doing the rounds at a gallop.

Music is also a recurring motif in the installations of the Adloyada parade. One, of a three-meter-high klezmer group accompanied by an actual live band, was created in collaboration with Lev Kreitman, head of the Midburn outdoor festival that takes place annually in the Negev. Kreitman was at the Supernova festival on Oct. 7 and recently returned to civilian life after a long spell as an IDF reservist in Gaza.

OTHER LARGE Adloyada accouterments include a giant dancing spider; a polychromic cloud generator hovering over the tall figure of Albert Einstein; a small child on a giant dove of peace; and a bunch of jumping kangaroos. In yet another gesture of national unity, the latter installation was assembled by a bunch of evacuees from Sderot together with some Jerusalemites. The Messiah’s donkey also puts in an appearance, accompanied by musical and liturgical fare.

Frig believes that this year’s Adloyada is an entirely appropriate development. “Purim reminds us of what happened in Persia two and a half thousand years ago: That it is never over,” he says. “We have to remember that this is our reality and that we have to live with it, but also to continue creating, hug our kids, inspire them, find joy, and show them that together we can create beauty.”

After a hiatus of over four decades, Frig is determined to make the Adloyada a significant milestone in the city’s multi-millennia-long continuum. “We have around 35 installations, all originals,” he notes. “We issued a call for proposals to independent artists, cultural institutions, communities, and to artists who want to work with communities.” That suggests an all-inclusive ethos. “We wanted the installations to reflect what the city is about,” he explains. “It also generated healthy creative competition.”

That, Frig stresses, is very much in line with the spirit of togetherness he senses in the capital these days – and the country as a whole – and with the philosophy behind the event. 

“Before I took over as director of the Train Theater two years ago, I didn’t see the cultural institutions here venturing out into the public domain. I understand that. They are very busy with getting on with their own work. But I felt it was important to break down barriers and for people to combine their efforts. That brings people together and also expresses what Jerusalem is.”

THE ADLOYADA and the work that has been put into getting it off the ground after such a protracted furlough, says Frig, is a quintessentially local affair. “This can only happen in Jerusalem, with a big lion marching as the symbol of the city, and the carousel at the Tower of David, through to the Shrine of the Book at the Israel Museum they are working on, and the model of Einstein they are making at the Science Museum scattering soap bubbles all over the show. Each [institution] brings its unique offering to the plate.”

Frig reprises the harmony theme which, he feels offers remedial benefits. “Everybody celebrates Purim – secular Jews and haredim, and everyone else. All the sectors of the population join in. I think Jerusalem needs this. We are often busy with our own interests and pitting them against others’ business. This bonds us; it is fun.”

The custom of mishloach manot – treating each other to festive food packages – also contributes to the prevailing air of inclusiveness and mutual support. “We set up a collaboration with a senior citizens’ home in Ramot and Beit Oman” – the Haredi Arts and Design Center, says Frig. “They have created a giant figure holding a bowl of fruit, and they will give out mishloach manot to people along the way.”

Providing older people with an opportunity to give to others, to show they are still active members of society, is a boon for all – as the Adloyada should clearly prove to be on Shushan Purim, the uniquely Jerusalem occasion.

With tons of shows, activities, and events going on all over the city, this really is a time to bond and rejoice.■

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