Hi,
Firecrackers are one Purim main attraction. The Mitzvah is to make a loud noise when the name of evil Haman is heard during the reading of the Scroll of Esther.
Tradionally, a Grager is used to make the noise, but you can use other tools. As a kid, I remember how the Ultra-Orthodox kids in my neighborhood used to stand outside the Synagogue and lit firecrackers each time Haman name was heard. The Hazzan had to wait several minutes each time until all they all exploded to keep reading the scroll.
But in Israel, a country with so many people with PTSD, firecrackers can also be a very stressful event to many people.
The first one I remember to have PTSD and suffer in Purim was my friend’s dog. My friend’s brother accidentally shot a pistol next to the dog ear, which made him deaf in one ear. He used to go crazy when he heard loud voices. On Purim, he refused to go for a walk, and if they did manage to take him out, he used to run away. I remember helping to look for him all day, till one called yhay he found him.
Since the Purim of last year, many advertisements have been calling children not to lit up firecrackers at all. You can say we all suffer from PTSD, and maybe the country itself suffr from it as well.
Take Care
Gad
Today, more than ever, in Dolev we say no to firecrackers
Parents and kids, in this building lives people with PTSD, this Purim (and every Purim), we really ask, please do not use firecrackers, and other accessories that makes explosives sounds, your celebration is our war. Thank you very much your neighbors.
A video produced for Purim, of a soldier tells of how the firecrackers reminds him the fights, and ask kids not to lit up such as.
59 hostages are still held by the terror organization of Hamas in Gaza strip.