Guess Who's the Artist Behind the New Masorti Movement Simhat Torah Flag?

Shalom Yeladim:

I'm so excited! Take a look at the new Masorti Movement Simhat Torah flag.

 I love it! Not only because it puts girls and boys, men and women on an equal footing -- and there's a lot of footwork on Simhat Torah -- but also because of something else. And that else is the artist who made the flag -- Ksenia Topaz. I am the cutest, shovavi fly around thanks to Ksenia. Tami created me and the whole idea of my book -- and Ksenia? She gave me my look.  Yup! Ksenia, the same artist who created this flag, illustrated my book Zvuvi's Israel. 

I can't wait for the Hakafot. I'm going to spread the buzz.

חג שמח

P.S. Can you name the historical figures on the right side of the flag? What else makes this flag unique? Write and tell me.

To Bee or Not to Bee this Rosh Hashanah

Shalom Yeladim:
I know that I'm a fly but I'm as busy as a bee this pre-Rosh Hashanah season. I've decided that I want to find out where the honey is in this Land of Milk & Honey.

Do you know that the term honey appears 55 times in the Bible? That's a lot of beeswax to mind, so I started my journey by making a bee-line to Dvorat Hatavor in the Lower Galilee.


There I met Yigal Ben-Zeev, a fearless bee farmer. Yigal took me to his apiary and showed me around.

He's been breeding bees and making honey products with fingertip ease since 1982. According to Yigal, honey is the best antibiotic, and of course, the world's first sweetener. I couldn't help lick my lips when I saw the honey from the bees up close. It made me make another Bee line -- straight to the supermarket to look at all the honey products and hope I don't get stuck in some type of a jam.

It was a jam all right -- a mental jam. There were so many honey products made from different kinds of fruit. Date honey was the biggie. So I said to myself, Zvuvi, time to go back to the Bible and find out what's going on. Sure enough, the honey from the land of Milk and Honey is primarily from dates and figs! Actual bee honey is only mentioned twice --  in a story about Samson in the Book of Judges and in another story about Jonathan in the Book of Samuel.

That was an eye opener!

Wait a minute, I said to myself. Didn't archaeologists discover an ancient apiary in Beit Sha'an a few years ago, proving that we Israelites were master beekeepers?

I flew to the ancient ruins to have a look.

I flew and flew, and flew until I finally found Tel Rehov, home to the earliest apiary found so far. I listened to the buzz of what the archaeologists were saying and you're not going to believe this!!! The bees that are native to Israel are Syrian bees but the bees the Israelites bred were imported Turkish bees. Why? Because the Syrian bees were too aggressive and they couldn't get them under control. Now, I don't want to start in with politics, but doesn't that sound just a bit like today's buzz from Syria?

I think I better stop here. Things are getting too sticky.
Have a sweet year!
Zvuvi





Beit Sha'an photo credit 

I'm Joining the Matkot March

Yeladim -- girls and boys -- it is HOT, HOT, HOT!!!

What to do? Go to the beach of course! Swim, snorkel and play Matkot.

From the sandy shores of Rosh  Hanikra...


all the way down to Ashkelon's beach and harbor...

kids are marching to the beach to play Matkot.

Ping, ping, ping. That's the sound everyone associates with Israeli beaches. A small black ball  whacked back and forth by wood paddles. It's kinda like ping pong, kinda like paddle ball and it's all ours -- Israel's national sport Made in Israel. Aside from being a great way to exercise, it's a win-win game. You got it -- nobody loses! You miss the ball? Pick it up and start all over. Want to see? Meet the people who've made Matkot such a special sport.

Have a ball!!!!





Rosh Hanikra photo credit
Ashkelon Photo credit
Kids Matkot photo credit

A Mosaic That Will Knock Your Socks Off

Shalom Yeladim:

You know that I'm spending this summer on a nature tour of Israel. That doesn't mean I don't take time out for art. Sometimes it goes hand-in-hand, especially when it comes to mosaics. We are a land of rare mosaics often  unearthed by archaeologists.

Have a look at this one.

It was found in Tzippori -- a small city sitting on a hill in the Lower Galilee.

Take a look at another mosaic. This one was discovered in the city of Lod, which is not far from Ben Gurion Airport.

You get the picture? Mosaics are part of our landscape. They don't always have to be ancient and they're not always dug up by archaeologists. The city of Netanya just created the world's largest sock mosaic. Sounds unbelievable, but have a look and think twice about throwing away socks with holes.
Hmm....a sock mosaic. That could make for a good summer activity!
Have fun!


Tziporri mosaic photo credit

Lod mosaic photo credit

A Different Kind of Animal Hospital at the Ramat Gan Safari

Shalom Yeladim:

Yesterday I reported about fish flavored popsicles for animals at the Ramat Gan Safari. I buzzed over for a few licks and to my surprise I found out that this Safari is a very caring place. Around two years ago they opened up a special hospital for injured wild animals and treat close to 2,000 creatures every year.

Who knew??? I just found out and it makes me really happy. Read this article. If you're an animal lover, you'll be hopping on the next plane to Israel. The hospital is so overcrowded they're thinking of opening a new wing.

Hm...I could make a pun about wing and flies....but I won't.

Le'Hitraot at the Safari....Zvuvi

Latest Heat Wave News HOT off the Radio

Yeladim, we're having a heat wave -- an Israeli style heat wave --  and I've got HOT news for you that's really COOL. Makes sense, since everyone wants to stay cool right now. Anyway, it was just reported on the radio -- as in 5 minutes ago -- that the Ramat Gan Safari  is preparing special popsicles for its animals. I think I heard that they're even going to make fish flavored popsicles!!! I've got to fly over there right now because we flies can't resist fish. And hey, I'm hot too!

Let's Go Kayaking on the Jordan River

Yeladim -- kids -- it's hot out! That's why I'm making Kibbutz Kfar Blum the next stop on my nature tour.  This kibbutz is in the upper Galilee, so it's going to be cooler there than the center of Israel.

I'd call Kfar Blum an action packed vacation spot in the middle of a lot of nature. The best thing I like about Kfar Blum is going kayaking on the Jordan River.

Hmmm....I see a bunch of kayaks over there.

What's that? You'd like to see what kayaking on the river is like before you get in? No prob. Watch this clip. It's got kayaking and a lot of other cool, action packed activities -- all at Kfar Blum.

I told you, you're gonna wanna do this.

Do I go kayaking in my book? You bet. Go to page 19. Where there's something to buzz about, I'm there.



Kayak photo credit