Israel – a small country with very special world records. Some of the records are highly connected to the resources and the culture of our country such as the deepest place in the world. Other records are more personal such as building the largest rocking horse in the world. In this issue we will meet some interesting recent Israeli World Records and will reveal the stories behind them.
The Largest Mezuza
A mezuzah (מְזוּזָה, doorpost) is a piece of parchment inscribed with specified Hebrew verses from the Torah. A mezuzah is affixed to the doorframe in Jewish homes to fulfill the Biblical commandment to inscribe the words of the Shema "on the doorposts of your house" (Deuteronomy 6:9). The parchment is then rolled up and placed inside a decorative case.
The world’s largest kosher mezuzah was placed on the interior entranceway of Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport just before Rosh HaShana (on September 2010). It was handwritten by Rabbi Yitzchak Karichali. The completed parchment measures 101cmX101cm.
The Largest National Flag
The largest national flag in the world was spread near Eilat to mark its 59th year of liberation and Israel's 60th anniversary. The size of the flag was 20,000 square meter (about the size of two soccer fields) and it weighed 5.2 tons. The flag was donated by a Filipino’s business woman.
The Largest Cockhorse
Ofer Mor from Kadima is a carpenter who builds rocking horses (סוּס-נַדְנֵדָה) at his workshop. A year ago a friend asked him what the largest cockhorse in the world was. After checking the Guinness World Records, he realized that he could build an even larger horse. He raised donations and started building the horse. As the giant rocking horse was almost ready, he realized that there was another group on the other side of the world that attempted to break his record. He extended the cockhorse he had been building (with the help of many Israeli children) and recently made it to the 2011 edition of the Guinness World Records.
The horse stands 20 feet tall, almost 25 feet long, and nearly ten and a half feet wide. Mor used two tons of wood, over 20,000 screws and nails and 300 liters of paint. The horse can carry up to 50 children at a time.
World Record for Simultaneous Chess Games
Alik Gershon is an Israeli chess grandmaster who recently broke the Guinness World Record for simultaneous chess games. The event took place in the Rabin Square in Tel-Aviv during a hot and humid October day. Gershon played against 523 opponents for 18 hours and 30 minutes. His opponents varied in age (5-84 years) and represented different groups of society (Israeli Arabs, Palestinians, Russian veteran players, Chess Academy students and other players).
Gershon won 454 out of 523 games (86%), lost 11, and drew 58. He finally broke the former record of an Iranian chess grandmaster.
Let us all hope that the nation of Israel keeps breaking good records and makes our world a better, more interesting and challenging place.
לְהִתְרָאוֹת,
Lehitra’ot,
See you,
שִׁירָה כֹּהֵן-רֶגֶב
Shira Cohen-Regev
The eTeacherHebrew Team
Hebrew Words
דֶּגֶל
Part of Speech: noun, masculine Transcription: degel Translation: flagfkkf
סוּס-נַדְנֵדָה
Part of Speech: Construct state Transcription: sus nadneda Translation: cockhorse, rocking horse
עוֹלָם
Part of Speech: noun, masculine Transcription: olam Translation: world
שַׁחְמָט
Part of Speech: noun, masculine Transcription: shaxmat Translation: chess
שִׂיא
Part of Speech: noun, masculine Transcription: si Translation: record, peak
Hebrew Song
Horse Rider
פָּרָשׁ
Lyrics: Chayim Nachman Bialik
מִלִּים: חַיִּים נַחְמָן בְּיָאלִיק
Music: Daniel Samburski
לַחַן: דָּנִיֵּאל סמבורסקי
Translation
Transliteration
Run, my young horse,
Run and gallop!
Run in the valley,
Fly on the mountain!
ruts, ben susi,
ruts udehar!
ruts babik’a,
tus bahar!
"Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, and Ishui, and Melchi-shua, and the names of his two daughters were these, the name of the firstborn Merab, and the name of the younger Michal." 1 Samuel 14, 49
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