Springtime! But Where is the Spring?

It was just a little over one year ago that we celebrated Passover, known as the “festival of spring.” This year due to the Hebrew leap year (giving us 13 rather than 12 months) Passover falls in mid-April. And that’s a good thing, because there’s no sign of spring at present. On the contrary, when I look out my window, it looks like we’re still in the middle of winter. It’s grey, cold and with intermittent rain showers. Tomorrow at 2 am we put our clocks forward one hour, Daylight Saving Time begins in Israel, otherwise known as the “summer clock.” What a joke.

Where is the spring? Winter is still here in Israel, despite daylight saving time starting tomorrow. Photo: Dov Eilon

I jokingly blamed our eldest son as it has been colder here ever since he returned from a short ski holiday in the Swiss Alps. But kidding aside, it’s good that we’re still getting some rain, because the moment it gets hot again, we’ll miss the cold days. I’m absolutely sure with this. You always long for what you don’t have at the moment.

Our everyday life these days is shaped by the terrible war in Ukraine, a resurgent wave of terrorism here, and the first signs of another corona wave. Yes, Corona has regained a place in the daily news cycle. Once again, we are treated daily to the warnings and predictions of now-famous doctors and infection experts.

The terrible terrorist attack of the day before yesterday in Beersheva has brought us back to reality and pushed back the reports about the war in Ukraine a little. Everyone worries about their own problems first. It is terrible what happened in Beersheva. Four people lost their lives. And that’s only because they were Jews. The government is expected to do something about terror, to protect the citizens. But is there a solution to this? Unfortunately, it seems that even after almost 74 years, Israel is still struggling for its existence.

And despite everything, life goes on.