Israelis Dig Sandals

Hey, Shalom:
I’m on my way to Lod, a small city near Ben-Gurion Airport. In Biblical times it was called Lydda. Now it’s in the news because of the beautiful mosaic floor that Israeli archaeologists have discovered and the sandal footprint next to it. I put a picture of the dig above so you can see the mosaic. Isn’t it beautiful? And check out the sandal footprint on top of it. That’s why I want to buzz by Lod. It’s still hot in Israel and we’re still wearing sandals. I want to see if our sandals look anything like the print on the mosaic.

Israelis love wearing sandals. It’s been part of our fashion for thousands of years. Hey, didn’t Moses wear sandals? And what do you think the Children of Israel had on their feet when they entered Canaan? Sandals, of course!

Wait…wait. I’ve got a great idea. How about if I give you a simple Hebrew lesson. Guess what the word for sandals is in Hebrew. Come on…give a guess.... O.K. I’ll tell you – sandalim, and one sandal is called a sandahl.
Since the sandal footprint was found in an archaeological dig, I want you to learn the word for archaeology. It’s archaeologia.
And the word for mosaic? You can say psifas or mosaica. Do you believe it??? Looks like learning Hebrew is not that hard after all. By the way, did you know that the word “alphabet” comes from the first two letters in Hebrew: aleph and bet?

I hope you enjoyed your Hebrew lesson. Now I want to ask you another question: Do you know what a mosaic is? If you don’t, let me explain. It’s a picture or design made out of small pieces of colored tiles, stones or glass. The one found in Lod is the largest mosaic in all of Israel.
Want to try to make a mosaic of your own? I found this simple project.

Teh’henu - that’s “Enjoy” in Hebrew. See you in two weeks…Zvuvi