Jerusalem, Israel – what is really happening
Last week Jerusalem, Israel, was a winter wonderland,
snowing hard enough that even friends from Norway and Canada commented.
However, by Friday afternoon it had warmed enough that
our snowman was not looking so good and had lost one radish eye.
A few dirty old piles of snow and ice are still around,
while piles of downed branches line many Jerusalem streets.
Large limbs of trees fell near the Prime Minister’s residence,
and many large trees like this one came down because of the weather.
In the Davidka Square, all the newly planted trees were ruined;
only one branch was left dangling after the snow damage was cleaned up.
When the sun came out and temperatures warmed up, not everyone
seemed to be bothered by the branches that littered the sidewalks.
Post-snowstorm, there is still plenty to clean up on the streets,
but if you are looking for ice,
you’ll have to go once again to the Machane Yehuda market, the shuk,
where the fish shops are filled with fresh fish on ice.
At the shuk, fresh figs were on sale yesterday ahead of Tu B’Shvat,
the New Year for trees, ten days from now:
a perfect time to plant new trees.
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/
