With the Jewish holiday season drawing near us, the Consulate General of Israel in Hong Kong takes this opportunity to give sweet delicacies to the Hong Kong senior community and to share with them some reusable masks manufactured in Israel.
According to Jewish traditions, much similar to that of the Chinese new year of sending gifts to families and friends, the honey, apples, dried dates and pomegranates symbolize a sweet new year.
Our holiday season begins this Friday evening with the Jewish New Year, followed by Yum Kippur, the Day of Atonement that is the holiest day in Judaism, and Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles that commemorates the booths in which the Israelites lived in the desert after the exodus from Egypt.
The Jewish people celebrate freedom and praise the importance of hope at difficult times, especially as the COVID-19 situation is still very challenging these days.
We are excited to see the hope and the prospect of peace in the Middle East with the historic signing of peace agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, and between Israel and Bahrain, today. We are hopeful that the normalization of relations will bring prosperity to the region.
For us in Hong Kong, it is also time for sharing and solidarity. Just a few days ago, I met with some elderly friends from God's Glory Ministry and Stepping Stones, to present them with the masks and see how they cope with the difficult circumstances. We are grateful for these two Hong Kong Christian organisations, which have been helping the underprivileged people in Israel during this COVID-19 pandemic.
Our best wishes to all our friends in Hong Kong, for a happy and sweet new year, good health and safety.
Shana Tova ve Metuka!
Ahuva Spieler
Consul General
猶太新年將至，以色列駐香港總領事館特別依猶太傳統為香港長者送上甜食，並附上在以色列製造的可重用口罩。
就如中國人在農曆新年拜年時送上禮物一樣，猶太人在猶太新年會送蜂蜜、蘋果、椰棗、紅石榴等給親友，象徵有一個甜蜜的新年。
今個星期五傍晚開始是猶太新年，接着是猶太人每年最神聖的贖罪日，而之後的住棚節是紀念以色列人在逃出埃及後在沙漠中的生活。
猶太人在慶祝團結、重獲自由的同時，亦會緊記在困難的時候保持希望。
今天，以色列將分別與阿拉伯聯合酋長國和巴林簽署歷史性的和平協議，令我們對中東和平、關係正常化所帶來的繁榮懷有希望。
目前的新型冠狀病毒疫情仍然嚴峻，我們在香港亦要繼續分享的責任，上星期我向幾位來自榮耀事工和SST背包事工的長者朋友送上可重用口罩，瞭解他們的抗疫情況，並感謝這兩個一直協助以色列弱勢社群對抗疫情的香港基督教團體。
在此祝願大家身心健康、猶太新年快樂！
以色列總領事 詩愛華