• Thu. Mar 28th, 2024

Purim to be Celebrated Only with Nuclear Families

Feb 16, 2021

Just recently, the coronavirus cabinet came up with a specific outline for the much-awaited and upcoming festival in the country. The celebrations for Purim will this year begin on Friday, the 26th of February. However, the holiday is going to fall on Sunday in Jerusalem. 

As per the decisions made by the relevant authorities, the citizens of Israel will be permitted to enjoy the traditional holiday but, only with nuclear family members. The Health Ministry also announced that it will personally be organizing a PR campaign. 

The aim of this campaign will be to persuade the citizens to host only those family members who have been fully vaccinated. In addition, they will also be allowed to invite relatives who have recovered from the virus. Simply put, Israelis are free to celebrate the holiday with family members who are eligible for the green passport. 

Moreover, come Saturday, synagogues will be granted permission to increase their functional capacity to 50%. However, this concession has been made only for green passport holders. For others, there are a couple of more conditions, such as only ten worshippers will be allowed inside and twenty can stay outdoors. 

On the festival of Purim, Jewish people are required to listen to a reading of the Scrolls of Esther, at least twice. One reading is to be listened to in the morning, and one in the evening. 

In addition, Saturday will mark the celebration of yet another important day for the Jews that is the day of Shabbat Zachor. On this day, the believers have been commanded to mandatorily attend a reading of the Torah. 

Due to the novel coronavirus, other forms of gathering and parades have been banned on Purim. As per the outline produced by the coronavirus cabinet, it will be in the best interests of the people. The plan was decided together by the relevant ministers and Moshe Gafni, the leader of the Ultra-Orthodox Ashkenazi Party known as Degel Hatorah. 

In the year 2020, the events of the same holiday led to a rise in the number of patients in the country, as well as in Diaspora Jewish communities. 

Professor Nachman Ash, the Coronavirus Commissioner, called on the people of Israel to ensure that they celebrate responsibly. He stressed on the importance of following all coronavirus safety guidelines and warned them of the risks that the country will have to bear if there is another wave of infection. 

Meanwhile, the Hadassah-University Medical Center has been making efforts to ensure that there is a decline in the number of people who become hospital patients. For this purpose, they are offering the newly infected people of Jerusalem, an infusion of monoclonal antibodies. 

The treatment consists of laboratory-made proteins, which will mimic the ability of the immune system to fight off harmful antigens, including the virus. This particular way became especially well-known in the year 2020, when Donald Trump, the former President of the United States, was given this right after he was diagnosed with the coronavirus. 

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