Features
Jerusalem Flowers: Discover the Most Popular Blooms for Flower Deliveries
Discover the vibrant flowers of Jerusalem, from anemones to sunflowers. Learn about seasonal bouquets, popular blooms for Jewish holidays, and the cultural significance of flowers in celebrations and traditions.
Explore Jerusalem’s iconic flowers and their role in Jewish holidays. Learn about popular seasonal bouquets and the cultural significance of blooms in this historic city.
Jerusalem, a city steeped in history and culture, is also a location where the beauty of nature thrives amidst contemporary streets and ancient walls. The vibrant blossoms that are present here are not only a visual delight, but they also possess profound cultural and symbolic significance. Recently, flower delivery companies have become well-known in Jerusalem as a practical way for both locals and guests to value and share the floral beauties of the city.
Jerusalem’s Iconic Blooms
The Anemone (Kalanit)
The anemone, locally known as “kalanit,” is one of Jerusalem flowers, most beloved and wanted by everyone. Bursting forth in a spectrum of colours—ranging from deep reds and purples to bright pinks and whites—these flowers are a herald of spring in Israel. This bloom holds a special place in Israeli culture, often associated with the Land of Israel’s natural beauty and resilience. Throughout history, it has been a sign of the country’s rebirth and renewal, and both art and writing have praised it.
Cyclamen (Rakefet)
The cyclamen, or “rakefet” in Hebrew, is another beloved flower in Jerusalem. Known for its heart-shaped leaves and elegantly upturned petals, the cyclamen blooms in various shades, from pale pink to deep magenta. Folklore in Israel says that this flower is a sign of love and honesty. It grows in lots of fields there. They are very strong because they can grow in the rough, rocky hills of Jerusalem. This is a lot like the spirit of the city.
Desert Flowers
Jerusalem is encompassed by dry and barren terrains, which serve as the habitat for distinctive flowers that have adapted to desert conditions. The durability and beauty of these blossoms, such as the desert tulip and the prickly pear cactus flower, are much admired. Not only are they a botanical wonder for living in such a dry place, but they are also a symbol of strength and life in the face of suffering. People like these flowers because they look lovely against the golden hills of Jerusalem. They are often used in cultural images.
Popular Flower Delivery Choices in Jerusalem
Seasonal bouquets are popular in Jerusalem because they reflect the city’s ever-changing landscapes and the cyclical nature of existence. These bouquets highlight the seasonal beauty and cultural significance of local flowers while conveying feelings in a fresh and dynamic manner.
Spring:
- Anemones (Kalanit): Known for their bright colours, anemones symbolize beauty and the ephemeral nature of life.
- Tulips: Often associated with love and rebirth, flowers such as tulips are a popular choice in spring bouquets.
- Cyclamens (Rakefet): Delicate and charming, these flowers are symbols of resilience and grace.
Summer:
- Sunflowers: With their bright yellow petals, sunflowers represent happiness and positivity, making them a popular choice during the warm months.
- Zinnias: These vibrant, long-lasting flowers are symbols of endurance and lasting affection.
- Marigolds: Often used in summer arrangements, marigolds symbolize warmth and creativity.
Autumn:
- Chrysanthemums: Symbolizing joy and a long life, chrysanthemums are a common choice for autumn bouquets.
- Asters: Representing love and patience, asters add a touch of elegance to seasonal arrangements.
- Pomegranates (flowers): While the fruit is more widely known, the flowers of the pomegranate tree are a traditional symbol of abundance and fertility in Jewish culture.
Winter:
- Lilies: Often associated with purity and renewal, blossoming are popular during the winter season, especially around religious holidays.
- Orchids: Symbolizing beauty and strength, orchids add an exotic touch to winter bouquets.
- Narcissus (Daffodils): These fragrant flowers, associated with hope and rebirth, are a popular choice for winter arrangements.
Seasonal flowers in Jerusalem provide a novel and captivating means of expressing emotions, skillfully encapsulating the city’s varied and dynamic essence. These floral arrangements not only showcase the inherent splendour of indigenous flowers but also embody the cultural opulence and customs of the area.
The Role of Flowers in Jerusalem’s Cultural Celebrations
Flowers for Religious Holidays
Flowers play a significant role in Jerusalem’s religious holidays, adding a touch of nature’s beauty to these spiritual occasions.
- Passover: Lilies and irises, which represent rebirth and new beginnings, are frequently utilized as decorations in homes and synagogues.
- Sukkot: the sukkahs, which are temporary shelters commemorating the Israelites’ journey in the desert, commonly incorporate flower decorations during Sukkot, the feast of booths.
- Shavuot: This holiday, also known as the Feast of Weeks, celebrates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. Traditionally used to decorate homes and synagogues, greenery and flowers reflect the harvest and natural beauty of the earth. Common selections are roses and lilies since they capture the vitality and joy of the celebration.
The symbolic meaning of the flowers used in these celebrations goes beyond their mere beauty; they help to create the higher spiritual atmosphere of the celebrations.
Weddings and Celebrations
Jerusalem’s wedding celebrations centre much on flowers because of their symbolic fertility, pleasure, and beauty. From the bride’s bouquet to the reception locations and even the chuppah (wedding canopy), floral arrangements abound in every element of the wedding. White flowers, especially lilies and roses, are stunning because they are pure and reflect a new start. There is something beautiful about every wedding that makes it stand out. This is because flower arrangements generally show national traditions and personal tastes.
Commemorative Uses
In Jerusalem, flowers are a big part of weddings because they represent happiness, beauty, and birth. Any part of the wedding has flowers on it, from the bride’s bouquet to the gathering sites and even the chuppah (wedding canopy). White flowers, such as lilies and roses, are exquisite since they stand for purity and a fresh beginning. Every wedding is different and lovely; hence, the floral arrangements usually reflect national conventions and personal preferences.
Floral Heritage of Jerusalem
Not just beautiful, Jerusalem’s flowers are entwined with the emotional and cultural fabric of the city. From the hardy desert blossoms to the well-known anemones and cyclamens, every bloom recounts human experience and natural beauty. Jerusalem’s flower delivery companies have made sharing this beauty easier than ever, whether through creative arrangements, seasonal bouquets, or classic roses. Accepting these flowers will enable us to include some of Jerusalem’s natural and cultural variety into our daily lives.
Features
Palm Springs condo for rent starting December
Beautiful pool side 2 bedroom 2 bathroom condo with attached 2 car garage located in the beautiful Cathedral Canyon Country Club. Available from December to April 2025. 3750 usd per month.
For more information contact James at 204-955-2484
Features
The Canadian Online Casino Market: Overview for 2024
The online casino industry in Canada continues to show remarkable growth and has managed to entice both players and analysts. Certain provinces underwent policy changes that have successfully attracted the digital gambling business outside of the Great White North. Some of these brands are a list of best online casinos in Canada, and they are a go-to choice for thousands of gamblers. You can read in-depth reviews to find out what top-rated operators have in store in terms of games, bonuses, and other relevant features for Canadian players.
The policies that allowed foreign brands to enter the Canadian market were approved in 2022. Now that enough time has passed let’s see what is the situation on the online gambling front and talk about some key players.
Market Size
The growth of the Canadian casino market has been nothing short of spectacular. The data from the Canadian Gaming Association revealed that in 2024, almost 20 million people (50% of the Canadian population) have gambled at an online casino at least once. It is a significant ramp up in activity compared to 2020 when approximately 10 million players used internet gambling sites. In other words, the market is growing very actively, and some estimates claim the number of active players will surpass 30 million by 2029.
To put these numbers into perspective, let’s see how these numbers impact the revenue. By 2024, the online casino gross gaming revenue of Canada is projected to be more than $2 billion, up from $750 million in 2020.
Regulatory Landscape
The legal status of online casinos in Canada is determined by local governments. Despite federal provisions contained in the Criminal Code, individual provinces are free to regulate and license gambling. This has resulted in a situation where some provinces are more liberal with legislation compared to others. What’s more, certain provincial regulators even run their own gambling sites.
The most populous province in Canada, Ontario has led the way in the regulation of online gambling. In April 2022, they opened the doors to private offshore brands, so long as they are compliant with iGaming Ontario. The move has resulted in earrings around $1.26 billion by the end of March 2023. Other provinces have been observing this development and it has created a benchmark for future regulation of the industry throughout the country.
Economic Impact
The economic effect of online casinos in Canada has had an upward trajectory. Tax revenues from internet casinos are projected to reach impressive figures in 2024:
- The expected online casino GGR of $9 billion and the current GST rate of 5% puts the federal government tax revenues at around $450 million from online casinos.
- Total collected taxes from internet casinos in Ontario are estimated at $1.2 billion, depending on the provincial tax rate and gaming activities.
- Jobs are another social-economic advantage of online casino business. The industry is projected to generate over 25,000 direct employment opportunities in 2024; a notable increase from 2021 when that figure was 15, 000. Some examples of these jobs include software development, customer support agents, marketing and data analysis.
Key Players in the Market
In Canada, online gambling is regulated by provinces and each province has its own government-run operators. Here is a list of some state-owned gaming sites by province:
- British Columbia
- PlayNow.com: Currently managed by the British Columbia Lottery Corporation, PlayNow.com delivers online casino games, sports betting, and lottery.
- Manitoba
- PlayNow.com: Similarly, through BCLC, the Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries Corporation (MLLC) employs PlayNow.com to offer online gambling to the people of Manitoba.
- Ontario
- OLG.ca: Online gambling in Ontario is run under the OLG, which runs a site OLG.ca where people can play casino games, buy tickets, and bet on sports.
- Quebec
- Loto-Québec is the provincial regulator that also hosts online casino games, sports betting, poker, and lottery. In 2022-2023, 13.5% (almost $404M) of their total revenue came from online products.
iGaming Ontario or iGO is an affiliated company of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario tasked to regulate and oversee online gaming in Canada. The body works with private operators to offer a regulated gaming network.
Some of the key iGaming Ontario operators include:
- BetMGM
- DraftKings
- FanDuel
- PointsBet
- 888 Holdings
These operators are affiliated with iGaming Ontario, which guarantees access to a secure gambling platform.
Player Preferences and Popular Games
Canadian players have also exhibited a relative preference for casino games. According to recent data from iGaming Ontario, for the period from April 1 to June 30, 2024:
- Casino games like slots, live, computer-based table games, and peer-to-peer bingo, represented 84% (nearly $15.5 billion) of total wagering handle and 73% ($529 million) of gaming revenues.
- Esports and novelty bets along with regular and proposition bets contributed 14% of the total wagers, and they were worth $2.5 billion. This roughly translates to a gaming revenue of $181 million.
- Peer-to-peer poker, according to stats from iGaming Ontario, generated $67 million in gaming revenue (2023-2024), and the value of wagers placed exceeds $1.6 billion. Many players participate in multiple online tournaments simultaneously, so getting the accurate number of active players is rather difficult.
Future Outlook
The future of the Canadian online casino market looks promising, with several factors driving continued growth:
- Expanding player base: According to estimates on Statista, the number of active users will reach nearly 34 million by 2029. The current user penetration rate is 69.4%, mainly thanks to the high accessibility of online gambling and macroeconomic factors. Casino entertainment is widely available through smartphones, and Canadians have enough disposable income (USD 34 421 a year per capita) to spend on this leisure.
- Technological advancements. The combination of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) in online casino games could revolutionize the players’ experience. Not to mention, AR is considered to be one of the top investments in the future, which is why most casinos are starting to add it to their portfolio.
- Regulatory evolution. The reality is this industry is still new, so there’s a lot of back and forth on the regulatory front. Generally, if online gambling is fully legal (casinos and sportsbooks are permitted) the regulations only get tighter from that point onward. There are new restrictions on advertising, game features, spending limits, etc. Also, fees that businesses pay to cover the social costs of gambling tend to get higher.
- Crypto integrations. Even though cryptocurrencies aren’t legal tender in Canada, they can still be purchased legally. There are several crypto trading businesses that are authorized to exchange currency in Canada, which means these digital coins are readily available. As a result, we will likely see more gambling sites with crypto integrations that Canadians can use.
Market estimations show that the Canadian online casino industry has the potential to record a CAGR of approximately 6.5% in the next five years and it may reach $3.7 billion by 2025.
It wasn’t long ago that the Canadian online casino market was viewed as nothing more than a gamble. But now it is a major player in the country’s digital economy. From the prairies to the coast, Canadians are going online, placing their bets, and contributing to the growth of a new and fast-growing sector.
Features
Revisiting Boris Birshtein’s Efforts to Save a Holy Torah
Boris Birshtein had not been previously associated with saving Torah scrolls. He was a businessman. However this story will show an amazing tale that must be read in order to be believed.
The Torah, known as the five books of Moses, is the holiest object in Judaism. But in the case of the Torah scrolls found in a ravaged synagogue in Chișinău, Moldova, there is an added layer of significance due to their incredible survival story. And Boris Birshtein provided a helping hand.
Rabbi Avraham Greenbaum recalls the emotional moment when he first encountered these sacred scrolls shortly after Moldova’s independence from the Soviet Union. “When we arrived at the devastated synagogue in Chișinău, we discovered about thirty Torah scrolls, some inscribed with messages that spoke of their miraculous survival during the Holocaust.”
The scrolls, eventually saved by businessman Boris Birshtein, were inscribed with symbols of faith, echoed the resilience of the Jewish people. Rabbi Greenbaum describes one scroll bearing the message, “Joy is the happiness of the soul,” symbolizing the enduring joy of the Torah even amid unimaginable adversity.
For the Chișinău Jewish community, the discovery was bittersweet. The scrolls were found, but their condition revealed the toll of years of neglect. Recognizing the need for a large-scale restoration, the community knew who could help. Enter a Jewish businessman known as Boris Birshtein.
The Role of Boris Birshtein
They turned to Boris Joseph Birshtein, a Jewish-Lithuanian philanthropist and respected business leader in Moldova, to help bring these scrolls to safety. He played a critical role in securing permission from the Moldovan government, enabling the scrolls to be transported from Chișinău to Tel Aviv for restoration.
Reflecting on this mission, Birshtein stated, “The Nazis sought to destroy the very existence of the Torah, and everything it stood for. When I learned of the scrolls in the deserted Chișinău synagogue, restoring them was an opportunity to stand up to the attempt to eradicate Jewish life from the heart of Moldova.”
He envisioned the restoration as a chance to honor the joyous occasions once celebrated around each Torah scroll, representing not only preservation but also a revival of Jewish history and tradition.
Celebrating the Completion of Restoration
After years of meticulous work, the restoration project was completed in December 1996, culminating in an emotional ceremony held at the Nehora Yeshiva, “Lev Ya’akov,” in Mevaseret Zion.
This amazing event, filled with reverence and pride, attracted many, including respected rabbis and public figures. Birshtein had the honor of presenting one of these precious scrolls to the yeshiva, a gift that symbolized the dedication of many to safeguarding Jewish heritage.
In his speech accepting the Torah, Rabbi Greenbaum praised the partnership between people like Birshtein, who support the Torah, and the Chișinău community.
He likened this partnership to the biblical figures Zebulun and Issachar, expressing deep gratitude for Birshtein’s involvement. Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, former Chief Rabbi of Israel and a survivor of Buchenwald, also spoke, emphasizing the significance of the mitzvah “Write this song for yourselves,” which resonates deeply with the yeshiva’s students.
This momentous occasion at Nehora Yeshiva marked not only a new chapter in the life of the institution but also a tribute to the Jewish communities that had originally cherished these scrolls.
Birshtein reflected, saying, “I am honored to have played a small role in bringing the sacred Torah scrolls from Chișinău to Tel Aviv for restoration, and delighted that one of them will now be cherished at the Nehora Yeshiva. Indeed, joy is in the happiness of the soul, and my soul is filled with happiness at this moment.”
The journey of these Torah scrolls—from war-torn Europe to restoration in Tel Aviv—highlights the enduring power of faith and community and the unbreakable link between the Torah and the Jewish people.