This is a pashkevil (a public notice in the Haredi community) by the Committee for the Purification of Our Community in Jerusalem, which calls on parents to keep an eye on the behaviour of their children during the “three-day Purim.” The sign was published in 1994 when, due to special circumstances, Purim was celebrated in Jerusalem over three days instead of the usual one day. The pashkevil warns of “degeneration in our streets” and advises parents “to be on guard.” The poster expresses the fear that the three-day celebration of Purim, a holiday during which it is customary to rejoice and to get drunk, may lead to worrying behaviour.
A three-day Purim (Purim Meshulash) occurs when Shushan Purim, the day after regular Purim and the day on which the holiday is celebrated in Jerusalem, falls on a Saturday. Since many of the mitzvot (commandments) associated with the holiday can’t be performed on Shabbat, they are instead divided up over three days: on Thursday night and Friday morning the megillah is read and matanot l’evyonim (gifts to the poor) are given; on Shabbat, the special Torah reading for Purim is read and the al hanisim prayer is recited during the amidah prayer and birkat hamazon (grace after meals); on Sunday, mishloach manot (food gifts to friends) are and the Purim seudah (feast) is held.
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Purim - Purim is celebrated on the 14 Adar as the day the Jewish people were saved from destruction during the fourth century BCE. The heroine of the Purim story, Queen Esther, worked together with her uncle, Mordechai, to reverse the decree of genocide issued against the Jewish people by Haman, the vizier of Persia. It is the tradition on Purim to dress up in costumes, distribute small food packages known as mishloach manot, give charity, and listen to the reading of the Megilla – the Book of Esther.
Shushan Purim – Shushan Purim, celebrated on the 15 Adar, is the day when Purim is celebrated in cities, such as Jerusalem, that were surrounded with a wall during the times of Joshua. It is written in the the Book of Esther that while most of the Jews of Persia finished fighting their enemies on 13 Adar and celebrated on 14 Adar, the Jews of the capital city of Shushan did not finish fighting until 14 Adar and thus couldn’t celebrate until 15 Adar. To commemorate the extra day of fighting in the walled city of Shushan, Jews living in walled cities, like Jerusalem, celebrate on 15 Adar.
Pashkavils - Pashkavils are a genre of posters found in ultra-Orthodox communities for conveying a wide and varied range of messages. The language used on the posters often contains internal codes that people within the community immediately understand. These codes are often allusions to traditional Jewish literature, such as the phrase “The Nation as a Wall” that refers to the ultra-Orthodox seclusive ideology. The posters deal with topical issues within the ultra-Orthodox community. One of the most prevalent issues is the challenge of preserving the boundaries of tradition and social values while living in modern Israel.
