Little-Known Facts About Snow in Jewish Tradition and Lore


Many traditional Jewish congregations
refuse to count
snowmen in the prayer quorum.

Medieval Jewish mystics practiced
rolling in the snow to
purge themselves from evil urges. They
were the first
snow angels.

Moses Maimonides, 10th century
physician to the Egyptian
Khalif, prescribed snow as a cure for
the hot Cairo
summers.

The elders of Safed have 36 different
words for snow --
but none for snow removal.

During 3 particularly cold Sinai winters,
the Israelites
were led by a pillar of snow.

It is forbidden to write in the snow on
the Sabbath.

Following the great Jerusalem blizzard
of 1900, Zionist
visionary Theodor Herzl proposed the
"Uganda option."

According to some rabbinic authorities,
one must wait six
hours between going out in the snow
and in the rain.

On snowy days, the procession of King
Solomon's immediate
family was pulled by 2,800 reindeer and
1,200 huskies.

Israel's national hockey team
participated in the 1992
Winter Games, dominating both the
Olympic village and
concession area.

On January 9, 1896, a snowball from St.
Patrick's
elementary school landed in Mrs.
Manischewitz's kitchen,
inspiring her to invent matzo ball soup.