Wall Street in New York is almost deserted.
Bild: AP
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Although the virus was already in New York, people still went dancing, and many Jews were still celebrating Purim. That takes revenge. The city is shut down. But where do the children of the poor get food when the schools are closed?
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Et is one of the most exuberant festivals in Judaism: on Purim the Jews commemorate the liberation from the terror of the Persian government official Haman. Every year in early March, tens of thousands of people dress up in New York and celebrate Purim parties. Even where the Orthodox Jews live, in Williamsburg and Boro Park in Brooklyn, children in disguise and young men who are very tipsy are walking around. Getting drunk is rarely allowed among the Hasidim, and the costume party is enjoyed to the full. Many Orthodox men dance late into the night in the otherwise quiet streets.
But that year Ruchie Freier had a queasy feeling as Purim got closer. She asked the rabbis whether special precautions should be taken. Purim fell on Monday March 9th. The corona virus had long since arrived in the city, and there were over a hundred confirmed cases in the state. But next door, in the other parts of Williamsburg, people continued to squeeze into the narrow bars and go to the clubs to dance. Freier got conflicting answers – and in the end some families let their children celebrate and others didn’t. “We could have done a lot more if we had received clear announcements earlier,” says Freier.
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