Tallit in Jerusalem Snow

When a bit of snow falls in Jerusalem, the whole city comes to a grinding halt, and this week’s snowstorm was no exception. Schools closed even before the storm hit, the post office shut its doors and didn’t deliver and most people didn’t go to work. With no courier pickup, it meant that any orders we were unable to send by Tuesday are probably now stuck here on our shelves until at least Sunday.

No work, but that doesn’t mean Jews put their avodah on hold, rain or shine. Part of that means trudging through snow to get to shul three times a day.

As its name implies, Givat Ze’ev, a community on the outskirts of Jerusalem, is high up and gets at least as much snow as Jerusalem. These photos of tallit- and tefillin-clad shul-goers were shot on Thursday morning.

A rare combination: palm trees and snow.

snow in Jerusalem

 Jerusalem in snow

 Tallit-clad in snow 5775

Originating in Eastern Europe, fierce winds cut power to some 17,000 homes in Israel on Wednesday. By noon on Wednesday all roads leading to Jerusalem were blocked off and the Jerusalem municipality deployed 150 snowplows and other heavy equipment to clear the main arteries.