‘Snakes in a tree’ isn’t movie sequel — it’s a real thing
Clay is off today. Here’s a column first published April 20, 2008:
Today’s question:
The other day my landscapers were standing around looking up into a tree. They said there was a rattlesnake up there. I have lived in Arizona all my life, and I’ve never heard of that. Can rattlesnakes climb trees?
Yikes. Snakes in trees. I don’t like the sound of that.
Like it or not, lots of snakes, including rattlers, can climb trees.
In fact, the Santa Catalina rattlesnake, which is found only on the Isla Santa Catalina in the Gulf of California, specializes in climbing trees to prey on birds. To that end, it has, over the ages, lost its rattles. That makes it easier for them to sneak up on birds.
However, most rattlesnakes don’t climb trees very often and usually stick to the lower branches.
How does a rattlesnake climb a tree? To tell you the truth, I don’t know. I guess they just get a purchase on it and wiggle their way up.
In a Jewish wedding, it is customary for the groom to break a glass wrapped in a cloth by stepping on it. What’s the origin of that custom, and what is its significance?
The origins of the glass-breaking thing are a bit hazy. One story has it that many centuries ago a certain Rabbi Mar de-Rabina thought the guests at his son’s wedding were too silly and not approaching the ceremony with proper reverence. So he got the crowd’s attention by smashing an expensive wine glass on the floor.
As for the significance, there are different opinions.
Some say the breaking of the glass reminds Jews of the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem.
Others say it is to remind the congregation that at their happiest moments there is pain and suffering in the world.
And some say it is a gesture of hope that the marriage will last for as long as the glass is broken — forever.