What is “barad” in Israeli summer drinks?

ברד (barad) is the Israeli word for a shaved-ice slushie, the icy summer drink poured at kiosks, beachside cafés, and pizza counters across the country. The word originally means hail, the small balls of ice that fall from a winter storm; the slushie picked up the same name because the texture matches: cold, crunchy, half-frozen. Israeli kids order ברד תפוח (apple), ברד תות (strawberry), or ברד לימון (lemon) on a hot afternoon at the beach in Tel Aviv, Eilat, or Netanya. The Hebrew Bible uses barad for one of the ten plagues, but in modern Israeli speech the word is mainly a snack-bar order.

In this clip, a parent calls their daughter to the kitchen with a verbatim line: “Az Guy, bo’i, ha-barad mukhan!” (“Hey Guy, come on, the barad is ready!”).