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

Boy, Did I Do A Lot Do In Eilat!

Shalom Yeladim, Morot ve'Morim:
Times flies when you’re having fun and I’ve had the most fabulous, fly-full vacation this summer. In fact I just returned from Eilat. WHAT!!!! Eilat???? Isn’t it sizzling, burning hot there? And didn’t Israel just have one of the worst heat waves in its history? Yes, that is all true. But it’s hot and dry in Eilat (10% humidity!), and there’s so much water all around to cool off in, that you hardly feel the heat.

In fact – get ready for this – Eilat is the favorite summer vacation spot for Israelis, especially families. So much to do – like swimming with the dolphins at Dolphin Reef. I did that and the dolphins snorted me out of their nostrils. When they did, I flew all the way over to the Marine Park Underwater Observatory to see colorful fish, sea turtles and sharks. Oooooh. Scary! Those sharks made me wonder what’s it’s like to snorkel in the Red Sea. So I did that as well. No sharks there. What a relief! All I could think of was how Moses split this sea in half so he and the Children of Israel could cross it. I still can’t figure it out. I know, I know, he had help from a higher source. But, hey -- I can fly pretty high too! Up in the sky, the wind swept me over to the Kings City theme park where a lot of fun-filled activities helped me journey into the past – I mean the real past, like thousands of years ago. You’ve got it. I met Moses, Pharaoh, King David and King Solomon. I played Bet You Can’t Catch Me with each one and you know who won – ZVUVI!!! I am king of the high flyers.

So, I’m flying high, feeling great about myself and thinking of different ways I can drive teachers crazy when school starts September 1st. After all, I’m more than a zvuv – fly. I’m a shovav – a cutie on the wild side. You gotta love me!

Le’hitraot…Zvuvi

America has the Golden Retriever, the French have Poodles & We have the Canaan Dog

Shalom Yeladim:
It’s me Zvuvi – the national fly of Israel. Today I want you to meet the national dog of Israel – the Canaan dog - a beautiful, proud guard dog. Canaan dog has been around for a VERY LONG time. So long that archaeologists have found the remains of dogs in two ancient caves. It makes sense that these dogs are called Canaan because that’s the original name of the Land of Israel. A few weeks ago while I was flying around, I heard some people talk about a newspaper article written on the Canaan dog. Actually, it was written about the lady who set up the first guard dog unit for Israel’s army. Her name was Dr. Rudolphina Menzel. She moved here ten years before our War of Independence and came up with the idea of using the Canaan dog to protect the areas where the Jews lived. The Haganah – which was the Jewish army back then – heard about her and asked her to help them build an army unit using these dogs. Thanks to her, to this day the Israel Defense Force has a special, elite unit for training dogs.

You want to know what’s so good about the Canaan dog? Aside from being beautiful, it has a strong survival instinct. It reacts quickly to danger and barks right away when it sees or senses a stranger. It’s very smart and learns quickly. It is also good with children it knows. You know what that means? The Canaan dog is the perfect family guard dog. Today, the Shaar Hagay Kennels outside of Jerusalem continues Dr. Menzel’s work of breeding Canaan dogs. You can virtually visit them right now. Tell them Zvuvi sent you. And guess what? You don’t have to go to Israel to get a Canaan dog. There’s a Canaan Dog Club of America.

I’ve got to go. NOW! A Canaan dog is furiously wagging its tail at me. All I did was buzz by to check if it could see me. O.K., O.K., so I jumped on its nose a few times. That doesn’t mean it has to bark so loudly.
Byyyyyyeeeeeeee…Zvuvi

We Just Celebrated Jerusalem Day

Shalom Yeladim:
I just had a “wail” of a time in Jerusalem, celebrating Jerusalem Day. Jerusalem is our capital city. It’s been our capital for a VERY long time – ever since King David ruled over the Kingdom of Israel. That’s why Jerusalem is also called the City of David. In fact, you won’t believe this, but legend has it that Jerusalem has 70 names!!! I guess that’s because it’s the most important city for the Jewish people. Hey, don’t we say “Next Year in Jerusalem” every Passover? That proves how important this city is for us. So when it became divided in 1948 – during our War of Independence – we were determined to make it whole again. Which is exactly what we did in 1967. We fought our famous 6-Day War, recaptured the part of Jerusalem that was taken away from us, and turned it into a united capital city. Ever since then we celebrate Yom Yerushalayim – Jerusalem Day. In my book – Zvuvi’s Israel –Jerusalem is the first city that I visit. I have a special treat for you. I am going to take you on my book tour of Jerusalem right now.
Have a good, and make sure you read all three pages…Zvuvi

Rain on Lag B’Omer!!!!

Shalom Yeladim:
The weather is getting weird – for you and for us. I heard that America had a snowstorm in the northeast in late April. Now Israel is getting rain on Lag B’Omer! Remember in my Purim blog I asked the rain not to go away? Looks like someone was listening. But hey, on Lag B’Omer? That’s raining on my bonfire! And that’s raining on the parade of all the Israeli kids – mainly boys – who have been using shopping carts to collect huge wood planks for the past two months. I’m not kidding. You see the picture of the shopping carts with the wood in them? That’s what kids all over Israel have been pushing and wheeling to their favorite secret storage spots where they hide the wood. Lag B’Omer is their holiday. There are medurot – bonfires – all over Israel. Even pre-schools and kindergartens invite parents to a group medura. If you’re flying to Israel and landing on Log B’Omer night, it can be pretty scary to look down from on high. The country looks like it’s in flames. But don’t worry, the El Al pilots usually warn passengers ahead of time. The problem with Lag B’Omer is that the air pollution level really jumps for a few hours, and all the smoke is not good for kids with asthma. So I guess the rain is a blessing in disguise because the pollution won’t be that bad this year.
My favorite bonfire site is on the beach. Since Israel is a Mediterranean country, we have a long coastline for setting up bonfires. Listening to the combination of the burning, crackling wood and the crashing of the waves really lights my fire. And no. I am not a fire fly. But I am all fired up about roasting some marshmallows.
Be’tay’ahvon…Hearty appetite...Zvuvi
Pssst…I almost forgot to tell you. There’s no school on Lag B’omer day. If there would be, I’d fire off a complaint!

Israel Independence Day is My Kind of Yummy Holiday

Shalom Yeladim:
Look at the picture of the meats grilling. That’s how we do barbecues in Israel. Another two days is Yom Ha’atzmaut and I’m going to have a flylicious time. Yum, yum. I’m already licking my lips just thinking about all the mahngles – barbecues – that are going to dot the public parks and beaches. Families, friends, you name it, take their travelling grills, fan the coals until they’re hot, then place all types of meats on the grill. Mm, Mm do I love the smell. I can smell a barbecue miles away and there are miles and miles of them on Israel Independence Day. You can imagine how many miles I log in on that day, jumping from one grill to the other. I’ll admit that not everyone is happy to see me. They greet me with open swatting arms, but I’m too fast for them to catch.
So what kinds of meat do we grill? Just like the United States, Israel is a melting pot. That means we have people living here who originated from all over the world, and we melt or blend together into one big pot, or country. Which brings me back to the grilling. We LOVE grilling Kabab – a type of roasted meat that comes from Turkey. We also adore Shishlik – a Central Asian way of roasting cubes of lamb on a stick with pieces of onion, pepper and tomatoes threaded in between the cubes. We lick our lips over American Beef Hotdogs – although most Israeli hotdogs are made from chicken. Do you believe!!! Speaking of chicken – we grill that too, and of course, steaks.
No Israeli barbecue is complete without pita breads, hummus, tehina and different types of salads.
Just talking about all of this food is making me drool. I’ve got to fly and get myself ready. I know that most people wouldn’t hurt a fly, but on Yom Ha’Atzmaut there’s a lot of flying off the handle when I come buzzing around.
Beh Tai’Avon. Hearty Appetite…Zvuvi