Reality and Duality

                                                                       Vol: #10    

Last week on my blog I wrote about one of the first memories I had in Israel and  I shared a sweet remembrance about my grandparents bringing me to Jerusalem.   Little did I know how much my world would change in one week.

 Last week on Monday my grandmother was still alive and there was still that faint hope that she would come out of her coma.  Last Wednesday my grandmother returned her pure soul to her maker after living a full and Rich life. My grandmother Left Behind more than 70 direct descendants,  which is such an amazing life accomplishment.   

this week the blog falls on a Jewish holiday called Tu Bi-shvat a lot of the holiday concentrates on the rejuvenation and rebirth of nature and life itself Using trees as a metaphor for life. Such a fitting tribute to my grandmother. 

On Tu' Bishvat We celebrate nature. Traditionally  In Israel on this holiday  we plant trees  and
celebrate the Seven Species-  the seven fruits, and grains mentioned in the Bible as typical of the land of Israel 

However, if you're in Canada like I was for many years this is the holiday where you get to eat a bunch of dried raisins and one or two almonds, you're absolutely drowning in snow and you hear things like the Almond trees are blossoming in Israel- but it has no bearing on your reality.

Your reality is snow. and more snow. and more snow.    Spring at this time of the year is a foreign concept and not even on the radar.

I want to talk today about the difference in realities. My reality today is not the same as it was last Monday. Last Monday My grandmother was still alive. My reality is also not the same as other people's reality.  Nor is their reality the same as mine.  Two people can be in 2 different places, on the same day and experience a totally different reality.   Like me and my husband experiencing Tu' Bishvat when we were younger.   He would go out and plant trees with the sunny sky, and I would be trying not to freeze to death while shaking out the wet snow from my boots.

However, 2 people can experience different realities being in the same place, at the same time. Again I refer you to me and my husband celebrating Tu' Bishvat in the present.  My husband who grew up in Israel and got to plant trees and do the whole "Tu Bishvat Thing" doesn't experience the holiday with the same intensity that I do.  He loves Israel and Israeli products with a passion. But he didn't come to Israel and didn't have to "become" Israeli. He was born that way.  For me, it was a choice and it was a process.  

My reality is that I see Tu Bishvat as the ultimate holiday of giving thanks for being in Israel, and celebrating all the good that the land has to offer. It is a day where I give thanks for  the "roots" I have planted- mainly my family and celebrate that we are in the "Promised Land"  

Weather and various aches and pains permitting it is a day that I theoretically plant trees.  This year the weather did not permit and I am shivering with fright wondering about the "Snow Storm" that is heading our way.  ( I still remember the trauma of the snow in 2014 in Israel). 

Of course, there is also something that I have to do on this day,  proud Jewish mother (and now thank God Grandmother) that I am- I have to remind my children of my past.  How we had the snow, and how it was so cold, and how we paid seven dollars to receive a certificate that we planted a tree in Israel. Somewhere in Israel is probably a whole forest of trees planted by my husband and paid for by me. And of course, receiving the few pathetic raisins and almonds to make me feel like I am in sunny drenched Israel.  By telling my children about my Tu Bishvat experiences as a child, I am working on changing the reality that my children have as well. They will not be able to view this holiday without hearing their mother's voice in their heads about how lucky they are. 

All joking aside I am so grateful to be living in this country, to have planted my roots here, and now   see the "fruits of my labor."

 I bless us all with the ability to identify our own reality. 

 In the meantime, I hope you have a Qwerki and Inspirational Week.