Are Cicadas Sick?

The purpose of this blog is for a sick Shabbat table. Please print, share, forward, etc.

Here's another angle on the theme of unity (see Is G-d G--d and How to Be Mivatayr).

A common enemy unifies. So does a common experience.

Here in the East, everyone is sharing the experience of cicadas (sick-ay-daz), back in town after 17 years underground.

Are they a common enemy?

They are amazing creatures. After 17 years living on sap from tree roots, billions of them burrow out and climb up trees (some can't find a tree so they choose a tall blade of grass) where they use gravity to assist shedding their exoskeleton. You can see them doing this in real time - just walk up to a tree and you'll probably find one or more cicadas (or dozens) in some stage of mulching. 

Then they have to pump out their wings with hemorphin.

Then they have to learn to fly, which they practice on the ground. The problem with this stage is that many of them become road-kill and sidewalk-kill.

After a few days of flight practice, the males will fly up to a tree and select the best branch for egg-laying. These guys will then start chirping for the ladies to come and lay their eggs.

But because there are so many of them (estimated 1.5 million per acre), the chirping is getting louder and louder, each one chirping at around 100dB. Here is a recording I made yesterday in front of our house.

(Here in my office, where I rarely hear thunderstorms, I can now hear them.)

The best branch for egg-laying is a small, soft one, because she's going to saw into it and lay her eggs in there.

The larvae need to get to the ground, and often bring that branch with them. They burrow down and we'll see them in 17 years....

• The process naturally prunes trees, resulting in more flowers and fruit.
• They feed birds, bears, raccoons, reptiles and amphibians; as well as fish (bass, trout, carp, catfish, bluegill, walleye and muskie) contributing to a huge boom in these populations. Fly-fishing heaven!
• They also fertilize the ground, benefitting the trees and surrounding plants and their holes aerate your yard.

Question for your table - While they are like grasshoppers in our eyes, do you think they are like grasshoppers compared to us in their eyes?
 

​Shabbat Shalom

PS for a great book on amazing insects, click the image above.

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A

Who's Going Up?

The purpose of this blog is to bring a little "aliya" to the Shabbat table... Please print and share...

A troubling realization dawned on me yesterday.

We are in an historic moment in so many ways. But there is present detail that I hadn't noticed. I wonder how many people have noticed?

A bit of background, and then the reveal, and then the question.

Ever since I turned 18, I've always made sure my passport was up-to-date. Even when I had absolutely no plans to travel, I've always liked the idea that I could, in a moments notice, get on a plane and go almost anywhere.

Today this is still true. (I don't mind wearing a mask on the plane.)

With one exception.

For the first time in my life, I am not able to get on a plane in a moment's notice and go to the Land of Israel.

Anyone without a current visa (student/work/etc) is being denied entry.

This came up because I have two daughters who are both hoping to move to Israel in late summer (one to live, the other to study). It is currently unknown when they will be allowed in. Makes it tricky to plan!

The short-term outlook remains 0% certain due to the recent rise in cases. The current trend is not good.

This is also true of you - just about anyone reading this. Unless you have a current Israeli passport or visa, you are barred from the Holy Land - for the first time since 1948.

Here's your question for the table: How do you feel about that?

 

Shabbat Shalom.

 

PS - Click on the image above for a related summer book that I'm betting you've never read.

PPS - Shopping on Amazon? Please use https://smile.amazon.com and Amazon will donate a % of the sale to the non-profit of your choice (such as Jewish Spiritual Literacy), at no extra cost to you. Why not?

 

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"My Gradulations"

In honor of 2 special anniversaries this week - you know who you are!
Also in honor of Devorah (see below)!
(To dedicate a future Table Talk, send an email.)

For weeks, our Devorah has been preparing for what she calls "My Gradulations".

She means, of course, her graduation from kindergarten.

The graduating class of six-year-olds were able to summarize a year's worth of learning in fifteen minutes of song. Very impressive.

If you'd like to compare how she looked just a year ago, click here.

Devorah is the first child in our family to have the dubious distinction to have no memory of the Land of Israel.

I'd hate for her to wait as long as this couple, but I guess better late than never.

By the way, if you are interested in the latest stunning archaeological finds in Israel, bookmark this link.

The flow of discoveries is almost like a river, too many to keep up with. Here is a cool one sent by a TT reader.

Question #1 for your table - On a scale of 1-10, how important is it to instill in American Jewish children a love for the Land of Israel?

Question #2 - What are the best ways to do this?

Shabbat Shalom


My iPhone app: http://tinyurl.com/amazingcalendarlink
Android version: http://tinyurl.com/amazingandroidcalendar
Bar and Bat Mitzvah gift suggestions at bestjewishkidsbooks.com (a service of JSL).