School children all over Israel learn by song that
on the holiday of Tu B’Shevat, the new year of trees,
“Shkadea Porachat,” the almond trees are blooming.
In Jerusalem,
it is much easier to find roses blooming than almond trees.
The fifteen day of the Hebrew month of Shevat is also
the holiday when dried fruit displays fill the shopping malls.
Machane Yehuda market, the shuk, always a source of dried fruit and nuts,
has even more piles and varieties on sale this time of year.
The dried chillies in the shuk yesterday
and these little rogalach seemed really special too.
Generations of American Jews
associate Tu B’Shevat with “bokser” or dried carob pods.
However, I prefer our lemon tree full of fruit as a symbol
of the start of the growing season.
Many people will attend a special Tu B’Shevat seder at night at a
table set with red and white wine and dried fruit and special prayers.
But some stores have been ready for a while with costumes and props,
and for some… it is never too soon to get ready for Purim.
Happy Tu B’Shevat where ever you are!
See Tu B’Shvat from last year for a rainbow of beauty in Jerusalem:
http://rjstreets.com/2011/01/19/tu-bshvat/
As long as we’re not yet getting ready for Pesach…
My mother used to ask for the carob that she called St. John’s bread that we got in school. I never cared much for it, but in 1980 I enjoyed eating it off the ground outside Yad Va Shem.
Love all the market/shuk photos! I would have such fun with those scenes and my camera.
I washed the moldy bathroom ceiling and shower curtain today, that could count as getting ready for Pesach, no chometz.
Could just do pictures each week at the shuk! My favorite scene yesterday was passing Natan Sharansky,
he was alone, schlepping plastic bags of pita etc in both hands.
I was so surprised, I only got a profile picture as he passed.
Just never know who are what you will find.
That’s awesome! (Natan Sharansky, not the mold) 🙂
I have seen Avital Sharansky several times in a small shul nearby. We said Shabbat Shalom to eachother several times.
I never got around to doing it, but it occurred to me once how nice it would be to invite Avital and Natan for Shabbat dinner. Just like that.
It is so wonderful to see such “shefa” in E”Y. In the early years the pioneers had little and were satisfied. I remember people used to ask us to bring candy when we came to Israel. Now, B”H, we bring candy home from Israel when we visit. We are blessed.
I also had a go at the mold yesterday and am still feeling heroic. Wonderful pictures. Thank you.
amazing colors of fruit. may we always deserve such blessings! great pics!
Hope you had a good Tu B’Shvat, Sharon…I went off to the Shomron with a busload of people to plant saplings in Itamar in memory of the Fogel family. Once the haze burned off it was a glorious day. http://jerusalemdiaries.blogspot.com/2012/02/tu-bshvat-good-excuse-to-visit-shomron.html
We were just in israel, and we saw the almond trees blossoming. I immediately thought of the song you named. Best regards, Helene
From Canada in quebec Mauricie Je vous suis dans votre ceremonie du Shalom