Blessed once again with copious rain in the Judean Desert this winter 2025/2026 - the flowers have once again been nothing short of miraculous by the shores of the northern Dead Sea.

Reseda boisseri רִכְפַּת בּוּאַסְיֶה like a meadow of candles.

Wildflowers blooming in the Judean Desert this winter near the shores of the Dead Sea. Only spent a few hours in the area one morning, but worth every minute to see this in person, just glorious.

Lunar awareness: If you follow the solar Gregorian calendar it may have slipped your attention that it is the new moon and those of us following lunar based calendars that means a new month, and for some a new year.

This week's new moon ushers in:

- the month of Adar for Jews - the month of silliness, joy and miracles centred around the holiday of Purim in the middle of the month.

- the month of Ramadan for Muslims - the month of fasting by day and celebrating with family by night culminating in the festival of Eid el Fitr at the end of the month.

- the east Asian/Chinese lunar new year spring festival

For all of us that follow a lunar based calendar the cycle of the moon remains closely tied to the rhythm of our daily lives, looking at the night sky still helps us to tell time and work out our schedules.

Maybe it's a small thing but to me there is always a thrill at being able to look up at the night sky and know when the next festival or fast is coming by the shape of the moon or when one the kids says "Look Imma, the moon is getting small again, it's almost Rosh Hodesh", or "Look at the moon, it's going to be my birthday soon".

I feel a frisson of connectedness with my heritage, with my ancestors, all the generations who looked up at that moon and did the same thing, all those who came before me and looked to the night sky to know whether it was time yet to celebrate the new month. That direct link to the eternal, the ever so distant moon by which generations of my people, and so many other ancient peoples, tell time.

A moment of breaking through the ever present electronic hum of modern hi-tech living to remember something more primal, one of the first mitzvot in the Torah, the blessing and honour of keeping alive this millennia old tradition.

Side point - both the Chinese and Jewish calendars are lunisolar, meaning that they are calculated according to both the moon and the sun.

In these times of intensifying anti-Semitism and open assaults on Jewish people around the world it can be challenging to find a child appropriate medium to help younger kids learn and have a framework within which to talk about these issues.

My dog loving 10 year-old and I have just finished reading this excellent book together. As DH says, as long as we have kids who enjoy being read to, we shall continue the "book at bedtime" tradition and read to them each night.

"The Lost War Dog" by Megan Rix tells the moving story of a Jewish girl and her beloved dachshund Wuffly living in Nazi Germany in 1938.

The persecution of Jews and those with disabilities (there are at least two prominent deaf characters) is told through the eyes of children living through these horrific times, the casual Jew hatred inculcated through teachers in the German education system, the growing isolation of Jews cast out of their jobs, homes and schools, the raw fear of simply existing day by day, including Kristallnacht and the Kindertransport.

The story is compelling, intense, and especially for a sensitive child, quite scary in places, but in a child appropriate way. The writer skillfully conveys the reign of terror under which German Jews were living without making the book too frightening for this age group.

While it's aimed at independent readers aged between 8-12, I highly recommend children read this book with a parent, teacher or other adult (or possibly older teen sibling) to help answer questions and provide background if necessary, though there is a glossary at the end of the book.

I found this story an excellent jumping off point both for teaching about Nazi Germany and the Holocaust, but also for discussing anti-Semitism, as well as mechanisms of persecution and demonisation of Jews and other persecuted groups throughout history and sadly of course in our own times.