We’ve Moved Our Clock Back One Hour. Why?

Shalom Yeladim, Morim & Morot:
I bet you didn’t know that we’ve already changed our clock. What??? you ask. Doesn’t daylight savings time end at the end of October? No way…not if you live in Israel. We have a fast day coming up – in fact you do too – Yom Kippur. The thing is we want to make sure it goes by fast. Like fast as a fly? Well, not quite. But that’s why this past Saturday night we turned our clocks back one hour. That way we start the fast an hour earlier and then the next day it feels like it’s going to end sooner. You could kinda say that it’s psychological! I keep on telling you we’re a fun country. Aren’t you glad you have us? And to make it even more fun, the city of Givatayim, which is right next door to Tel Aviv, decided to have its own time zone. That’s right. Some Givatayim residents decided not to turn back the clock. What???!!! Does that mean if I buzz on up from Tel Aviv, where it’s 8 a.m. it’s going to be 9 in the morning in Givatayim, which is literally a hop, skip and a fly from Tel Aviv??? And then, when I leave Givatayim and make a fly line to B’nei Brak – which is literally on a street next door – it’s going to be 8 a.m. again?? I mean is this fun or what??? You have to fly over here and see what it’s like. But oh, oh – you may not be able to land. The airport workers went on strike yesterday morning and with all these time zones I’m not exactly sure what time that was. Oy! That’s Yiddish for OMG!
BUT...they've ended the strike. Instead they're talking about work sanctions. So now we’ve got a lot to clock: how many hours for each sanction and how long our 25-hour Yom Kippur fast will take.
Are you as confused as I am? I’m certainly not going to tick off the minutes while I’m fasting on Yom Kippur, but I will try to play Beat the Clock.
Have an easy fast…Zvuvi

It’s Almost Rosh Hashanah and I’m Having a Honey of a Time

Shalom Yeladim:
To bee or not to bee? Isn’t that the perfect question for Rosh Hashanah – especially if you’re an insect? Being Jewish – and Israeli, I’ll answer that question with another question: To fly or not to fly?
Am I confusing you? Selicha – forgive me – which is another important part of Rosh Hashanah. If I’ve done anything to get you upset, I ask forgiveness. But getting back to my question about confusing you, here’s my answer. I’ve decided yes, I’m going to fly – this time to some of Israel’s bee farms. Do you know that Israel has 500 honey farmers? These farmers maintain 90,000 hives, producing 8 million pounds of honey! But here’s the thing. Honey production isn’t new to Israel. After all, our country – yours and mine because it’s the Jewish state – is often called The Land of Milk and Honey. And with good reason. Israeli archaeologists have found the first real evidence of bee hives in the Biblical city of Tel Rehov located in the Jordan Valley, close to the city of Beit Shean.
So let’s get going with my mini-bee hive tour.
Our first stop is Kibbutz Shamir, located in the Upper Galilee. Natural springs and wild flowers surround the kibbutz apiary (that’s a fancy term for bee farm). I just love the clean, clear mountain air.
Next, I’m going to fly to Olam Ha’Devorah – Bee World – a family run farm found in Binyamina, a small town in the center of Israel, close to Zichron Ya’acov. I like going there because I get to make my own honey. It’s kinda sticky and for a fly that could be a fly-by-night affair – which is why I visit during the day. I know, I know. You’ve had enough of my puns, so let’s head over to Lynn Bee Farms in Moshav Kfar Bilu. The reason I go there is because besides the honey, the Moshav also produces natural and organic foods. Mm, mm. It’s also in the direction of my last stop – the Kibbutz Yad Mordechai apiary – one of the oldest apiaries in the modern State of Israel, with 4,000 hives scattered all over Israel.
Am I having a honey of a time or what???
Have a sweet year…Zvuvi