We're Still Stranded: Biggest Snowstorm in Decades Blankets Jerusalem

Photo from Vos Iz Neias. Credit: Flash90

After three balmy weeks in Jerusalem, we didn't expect to be stranded in our cozy apartment for the last Shabbat and days preceding and following, but that's what's happening here. The biggest snowstorm in decades to hit the holy city came roaring through on Thursday and kept adding more and more snow on Friday and Shabbat.

Radio and TV stations reported the growing mess outside with the same attention that those of us who weather storms in the northeastern United States expect when winter storms hit. But you have to have a TV to appreciate what's going on outside, and not everyone has one here. And the reporting is all in Hebrew, so if your command of the language isn't the best, it's hard to follow all of the details.

We have been looking for a video clip or photo that conveys the magnitude of this snowfall and the ways that Jerusalemites are reacting to it. They say that one picture is worth a thousand words. If that's true, then the more than 40 photos that we're linking to have to be worth volumes.

A big credit goes to Vos Iz Neias, the Haredi blog based in New York, for posting a comprehensive collection of photos that show the big picture and the little details that bring home the reality of the snowstorm of the century.

Here's the link. Captions and individual photo credits are included with each photo. Enjoy the scenes, and join us in wondering how Shabbat was observed in so many homes when all the challah bakeries were closed since Thursday, and if the eruv, reported down on Friday morning, was repaired in time.