Shalom all,

It's the end of April, and Israel is at full bloom. If we were traveling through the Galilee these days, we would see the two flowers called "Lotem" - the beautiful, silky white white one, and the amazing, wrinkled purple one. They are two brothers that have an interesting story... A nice legend that can be part of our Shabbat table stories tonight:

King Solomon was having a party, to which he invited the entire kingdom. A special invitation went out, with beautiful gold letters, decorated with silver and gems, telling everyone to come in their best clothes to the spectacular ball at the palace. And when King Solomon invites you to a party - you come. The kingdom was at uproar: everyone was buying new clothes, getting new haircuts, purchasing new shoes.
In a small village, there were two brothers who were very excited about the ball. The older brother was a very tidy, responsible young man who always took care of his younger brother - who, of course (like in every good tale) was exactly the opposite:
his room was always a mess, he was careless and free-going (sometimes I fell like he still lives in my house...). The two of them would argue quite a bit, but they loved each other and were inseparable. On the day of the ball, the older brother set out two beautiful suits: a white one for himself and a purple one for his brother. He made sure the suits were clean and pressed. Then he called his brother, and both of them got dressed, shined their shoes, took a good look in the mirror - when the younger brother said: "we still have a lot of time. I would like to sit down for a few minute".
"OK, but make sure you don't wrinkle your suit!" said the older brother.
The younger brother went to his room and soon fell fast asleep. When the time came to leave, the older brother tried unsuccessfully to wake his younger brother. Angry, he decided to leave him behind. The older brother stormed out of the house. going to the King's party. A few minutes later the younger brother woke up, realizing what had happened, and ran out after his older brother: "wait for me!"
He reached the palace, breathless, just as his older brother was being introduced. Seeing the younger brother running in, all wrinkled from sleep, breathlessly standing at the side of his older brother, King Solomon asked them to explain what had happened. After hearing their story, the King decided to punish both of them - the younger brother for being so careless and late, and the older brother for not taking well enough care of his sibling. So, the king turned them into two flowers - the white, silky and smooth Lotem who, just like the older brother, always blooms first, and the wrinkled purple Lotem, who always blooms just a little bit later...
Maybe this is why, for Israelis, being late is a matter of ancient tradition...

Shabbat Shalom,

Liat