Chanukah Chaiku & Build A Bear Giveaway

(This is a re-post of this Chanukah Chaiku I wrote last year. Did you know there's a new Hanukkah Haiku book out? We have it in our synagogue's library and it's darling.)

Alex the Great died.
His empire was split up.
Who owned Judea?

King Antiochus
was the new king for the Jews
but he wasn't nice.

"Give up your Torah,"
he said to the Jewish folks.
"Bow down to my gods."

The Jews weren't too pleased.
He defiled the Temple --
sacrificed some pigs.

Things were bad for Jews
They were being killed for faith.
But one guy stepped up.

In his town, Mod'in,
Mattathias stepped up
He said, "Let's rebel!"

His five sons followed
They helped lead the rebellion
and fled to the hills.

A guerrilla fight
against the Syrian-Greeks
hit-and-run fighting.

Mattathias died.
His son Judah took over -
he was a great guy.

Rebellion went well
They called him the Maccabee
(the word means "hammer")

He struck fast and hard
and finally the Jews won -
a long time coming!

A great victory
It was quite a miracle
Just one of many

Back to the Temple
but it was totally wrecked,
defiled, defaced.

They made it holy,
rededicated to God,
prepared for worship.

A legend for sure:
There was no oil to find
to light the great Lamp

One small flask was found,
only enough for one day
but it lasted EIGHT!

Today we rejoice
with victory dances,
remember that time.

The more likely tale:
They missed Sukkot in that year
and observed it late.

Eight days of the feast
have been translated to this
time of Chanukah.

Either way, it's fun
to eat latkes and candy
and play the dreidel.

Happy Chanukah
(However you spell the word)
let's all celebrate!

See more Haiku Friday here.

And now, today's Chanukah Countdown Giveaway....

Build-A-Bear Workshop is selling a really cute Moose for another holiday. They were very sweet to send me one to tell you all about and it is absolutely gorgeous. It is soft and cuddly and the antlers light up, similar to Bruce, I would imagine. His name is Hal and he and his pal Holly have a sweet little story book that come with them.

I think that it is a great holiday gift (and I plan to gift it to my neighbor's little boy even though my kids really love it and want to keep it!) and I do love the whole Build-A-Bear thing -- what a fun activity that gets you a friend at the end!

(I actually thought their stuff was much more expensive, too. There are some very nice looking inexpensive animals. If they are as soft and cuddly as Hal, it looks like a great product.) Go check out their fun stuff. Could be a fun winter break activity...(even though they don't have a rabbi-bear)

Thanks to Build-A-Bear, I have one $10 gift card to Build-A-Bear Workshop to give away to one of you, my lovely and wonderful readers! Such a nice Chanukah gift...

What do you have to do?

To enter, leave a comment on this post!

Earn an extra entry by tweeting about it. Let me know below in the comments.

Comments will close at 7pm Saturday, December 20th. (after Shabbat)

Comments closed.....the winner is Leora, @leoraw !!! Mazel tov!

Come back all week and next for some great Chanukah posts and giveaways!

Negotiating with God

This week's portion is
very very full of stuff.
A lot to speak of!

God told Abe, "it's time!"
"Those cities are really bad."
(Sodom, Gomorrah)

"It's time to wreck them,
destroy their outrage and sin.
I'll sweep them away."

"Um, God? Are you sure?"
Abe had the guts to argue.
"They've innocents there!"

A bargain was struck
as Abe negotiated,
"Let's see who is good!"

"Are there fifty good?
forty? thirty? twenty-ish?
Are there ten good folks?"

God said, "okay, yes,
if there are 10 good people
I'll spare the cities."

Jewish tradition teaches that one of the reasons Abraham is considered "the first Jew" and given the blessings of God rather than Noah is because of this interaction. Noah doesn't argue when God threatens to destroy the world, he basically just does as he is told. Abraham, on the other hand, has the chutzpah to negotiate and argue with God on behalf of the innocent.

A lesson for all of us to fight for the voiceless....

See more Haiku Friday here.

Shabbat Shalom y'all!

Shabbat Shalom!

Enjoy this Shabbat.
May it bring rest and calmness.
And maybe some sleep.

Shabbat Shalom!

(How can I not write a haiku on Friday...)

Rules and More Rules in the Torah....

Here, seventy-two
is the number of mitzvot*
within this parsha.

Wow! That is a lot!
Captives and inheritance,
what to do with sons...

Property you find,
who can wear dresses or pants,
and don't wear shatnez**.

A famous command:
If you see a mother bird
sitting on her eggs

You may not take both
the mother and the babies -
it is not so nice.

There are many rules
as we come to the Book's end --
many reminders.

*Mitzvah = Commandment, Mitzvot = plural
**Shatnez = Jewish law that prohibits mixed fibers (wool and linen)

Shabbat Shalom!

See more about this week's Torah portion here.

See more Friday Haikus here!

Tzedek, Tzedek Tirdof*

Justice, O Justice,
you shall pursue her always.
It is a great goal.

This week's Torah portion, Shoftim, reminds us that justice is our highest goal, our loftiest aspiration. It is a Torah portion full of rules -- rules for judges, rules for kings, rules for Levites, rules for prophets, rules for witnesses, rules for war. Interesting, then, that the Wordle for this week's portion finds the word "shall" as its most common word.



And, of course, I made one of the famous verse: "Justice, justice shall you pursue."
*The title of this post is the Hebrew version of this phrase.



Read more Haikus here.
Read more about the Torah portion here.

Shabbat Shalom y'all!

Did you post about the Torah portion today or this week?
Leave me a link if you did! (And comments. I'm a fan of comments.)

Seven Wonderful Species

All through the book of Deuteronomy, Moses is giving his final exhortations to the people as they prepare to enter the land.

If you keep God's laws
God will bring you to the Land,
and it's a Good Land.

There are seven things
that especially grow there
and make the Land great.

Wheat, barley and grapes,
Figs and pomegranates too.
olives and honey.

It's a Good Land.

Shabbat Shalom!

See more haikus here.

Another Step Back

A few weeks back, I spoke in glowing terms about the step forward that the daughters of Zelophechad represented.

Now here we go backwards, just a little bit.

The rest of the clan
was a bit worried themselves
that land would be lost.

If girls can get land
that was their father's holding,
that is fine with us.

But what if they get
husbands from outside our tribe?
Then we would all lose.

Eventually
their land would end up in hands
outside of our tribe.

Mo made a ruling:
Daughters that inherit land
must marry tribesmen.

Just one restriction.
Does it really seem so fair?
Land over freedom.

What do you think?

See more Haiku Friday here.
Read more about this week's Torah portion here and here.

Shabbat Shalom!

One step back, one step forward

in this week's Torah portion...

Last week things looked up.
Daughters got a few land rights.
Joy was premature.

Mo explains vow rules.
Men must hold the vows they make.
Not the same for girls.

The vows of women
can be rendered null and void
if the men say so.

Particularly
the girl's father or husband
can nullify her.

(There's much more to this week's Torah portion. Much of it is rather troublesome. That is part of the importance of reading ALL of the Torah -- even the parts that we don't agree with, that we don't like. But it's hard to write haiku about it!)

Shabbat Shalom, y'all!

Read other Torah thoughts here.

See more Haiku Friday here.

Daughters Unite!

in this week's Torah portion...

A man without sons
like our man Zelophechad
has a big problem.

Without any sons
who will inherit the land?
Daughters want to know!

Mahlah and Noa,
Hoglah, Milcha, and Tirtza
came before Moses.

"Our dad had no sons,
but we want to inherit!"
So Mo considered.

Moses took their case
and brought their pleas before God.
God made a judgment:

A man without sons
can pass on land to his girls -
the family plot!

A great victory
for feminists everywhere.
Equal rights - begin!

Read more about this week's Torah portion here.

See more Haiku Friday here.

Shabbat Shalom!

P.S. Today is Yom RJ.org (yom = day) so make sure to check out the Reform Blog today.

A Man, A Plan, A Donkey?

In this week's Torah portion....

Balak was afraid
He thought the Jews were too strong
he wanted a curse.

He summoned Balaam
a well-known prophet, to curse...
Balaam wasn't sure.

God said "don't curse them"
But after a lot of cash
God told him "go on."

Balaam rode his steed
(it was really a donkey)
an angel stopped him.

Finally Balaam
realized what was going on
and apologized.

But the angel said
"Go on, but say what I tell."
So Balaam went on.

Balaam overlooked
the tents of the Israelites,
he had to bless them.

"How fair are your tents,
O Jacob, your dwelling-spots!"
(It was a great line!)

Moral of the story: Always listen when your donkey speaks to you.

Shabbat Shalom from OSRUI!


See more Haiku Friday here.

Why the Red Heifer?

This week's Torah portion is Chukat...

Why the red heifer?
We don't know what it's all for
But the Torah says!

It's a sacrifice
and its ashes make a paste
that helps purify.

Touching a dead guy
(or gal for that same matter)
makes you real impure.

Only a red cow
can fix that impurity,
bring back a pure state.

--

They got to Kadesh.
That's where Miriam fell dead.
They buried her there.

--

They had no water
and the people moaned and whined.
Mo and Aaron cried.

God told them to ask
the rock for water, nicely.
But Mo hit the rock.

The water came forth
but Mo was in big trouble
and so was Aaron.

"You did not have faith!"
God was angry with them both.
A punishment came.

"You will not enter
into the Land I promised
to all the People."

--

Aaron died at Hor
and they mourned him 30 days
Things, they were changing...

(Stay tuned for next week, the Talking Donkey!)
Shabbat Shalom from OSRUI!

See more Haiku Friday here.

Sh'lach L'cha...Sending out the Scouts!

in this week's Torah portion...

12 spies were all sent
to scout the land of Canaan
one from every tribe.

They came back with grapes,
reports of milk and honey,
and fear of giants.

Caleb calmed them down
"we can do it!" he told them
Josh stood by him too.

It was lack of faith
in God's promise of the Land
and they paid the price:

As a punishment
they would not enter the Land
except Josh and Cay (leb)...

And so they wandered
forty years in wilderness
until....Israel.

Shabbat Shalom!

See more haikus here....

Blessings...Priestly and Otherwise

It's a famous line
"May God bless you and keep you."
the priests all said it.

"May the face of God
shine on you and be gracious
unto you and yours."

"May God's face lift up
to you and may you always
find completeness -- peace."

The Priestly Blessing is the centerpiece of this week's Torah portion, Naso.

The Hebrew root of the word "shalom," which means peace, is "shalem" -- which means wholeness or completeness. Only when we have completeness...in ourselves, in the world...can we truly find peace.

May you find blessings, completeness, and peace on this Shabbat.

Shabbat Shalom!

See more haikus here.

And thus begins Numbers...

"In the wilderness"
that's how "bamidbar" translates
not really "Numbers"*

Our parsha opens
with a census of the folks
how many - each tribe.

Tribes were directed
in what order they should camp
and what part of town.

The rules for Levites
are delineated here
all the tasks for them.

*Numbers is the English name for the fourth book of the Torah, called Bamidbar in Hebrew. The word Numbers gives an excellent explanation of what is contained within the book...and so does Bamidbar. Taken together, the words give a very full picture of what is to come in the book!

Shabbat Shalom!
See more haikus here (even though it's a theme week, I stuck with my usual...)

Parashat Behar...Gimme a Break!

This week's Torah portion is Behar, from the book of Leviticus.

Sabbatical Year
comes after six years of work!
Year Seven: land rests.

The fiftieth year
is the most special of all
the Jubilee Year!

Everyone goes home,
the land reverts back to each
of its ancestors.

The land is all God's,
we are really just settlers,
using it for now.

(There's some more on reversion of land, debts, debt servitude, etc. But I have a lot to do before Shabbat!)

Shabbat Shalom!

See more Haiku Friday here.

The Torah is Full of Rules...

In this week's parasha....

There are rules for priests
Don't touch any dead bodies
except your family.

Do not shave your head
or the sidelocks of your beards.
Do not gash your flesh.

Priests have lots of rules
Do not marry a harlot
or a divorcee.

Priests have to be pure
They can't share the sacrifice
with any lay-folks.

Holidays happen:
Shabbat, Pesach, Shavuot
Yom Kippur, Sukkot,

Rosh Hashanah too.
These holidays are holy,
each one on its date.

Light the lights a lot
every day in the Mishkan
an "eternal light."

There was once a man
and he was a blasphemer.
He was stoned by all.

Kill a man - you die.
If you kill a beast - you pay.
The laws are so clear.

Shabbat Shalom!

See more haikus here...

You Shall Be Holy...

"The Holiness Code"
is what we call this portion.
"You shall be holy."

We are told to be
as holy as we can be
because God's holy.

Here are some methods
and rules for being holy...
God gives us a list:

Revere your parents,
observe Shabbat and keep it.
Don't bow to idols.

Don't harvest your fields
all the way to the edges -
leave it for the poor.

Don't steal or lie or
swear falsely or cheat others.
Pay workers on time.

Don't insult the deaf,
don't impede a blind person.
Judge everyone fair.

The most famous one:
Love your neighbor as yourself
and observe God's laws.

Don't mix up your cloths,
or cut the side-locks of beards.
Do not turn to ghosts.

Rise before the old
and show deference to them.
Treat strangers nicely.

Don't lie about weights
and measures in your business.
Ani Adonai.*

Don't sacrifice your
children to the god Molech --
you will be punished.

Don't insult your mom
or commit adultery
or consult spirits.

Ani Adonai.
If we do as God says to,
we will be holy.

God says: "I set you
apart from the other folks."
Ani Adonai.

Shabbat Shalom!

See more Haiku writers here.

*I am the Lord.

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Wow!

I feel so special
I'm someone else's subject --
front page of her blog!

A series of posts
interviews with awesome gals
and she picked me too!

I hope I can be
always as wise as I sound
in my interview!

Go see Bella's blog
read all her amazing posts
she's so inspiring.

Plus she's helping Jen
in a really awesome way
make sure you go see.

Thanks for the amazing opportunity, Bella! It was such a joy to answer such thoughtful and thought-provoking questions. I really look forward to our meeting in "real life" too!

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach (a happy Passover) to all!

P.S. Torah haikus will return next week after Pesach cleaning...

See other haiku-writers here...

The Yucky Stuff

This week's Torah portion is Metzora, but usually it is read along with last week's parasha, Tazria. Since I missed last week's haiku-ing (no good Internet hookup at camp), here are both portions together in one...in all their yucky fun!

When you have a boy
you have seven days unclean
after childbirth.

When you have a girl
it takes longer to regain
ritual pureness --

Fourteen days it is!
A sacrifice will suffice,
restore purity.

If you get a rash,
swelling, discoloration,
scaly affliction,

redness or burning,
you must report to the priest
to check it all out.

The priest will decide
if the disease or rashes
make you pure or not.

If you are unclean
you have to live outside camp
until you're better.

Wool, linen or skins
can also be affected
and have to be checked.

Priests decide: pure? not?
Wash the fabric, check again.
You want it all pure.

(Metzora starts here)

If you have skin-yuck
the priest has a whole process
to fix it right up.

Sacrifices and
spices and shaving are part
of the cure-it-all.

You might not know this
but a house can get sick too
and the priest can fix.

It's not just disease
that can make you impure.
Boys, girls...different ways.

For men, a discharge
from his genital area
makes him impure-ish.

It takes sacrifice
and/or a bath to fix it,
make him pure again.

That time of the month
for the gals makes them impure,
what she touches too.

Seven days for her
until she is clean again,
back to a pure state.

Shabbat Shalom!
See more (probably less gross) haikus here.

Jet Lag...or, Excuses for No Haikus

Second week of two
no parsha haikus for you.
too tired to think.

its not just jet-lag
but catching up on it all
chillin' with the kids

i promise - again
i will write torah haikus
just wait til next week.

please?

see more haiku friday here.

To tide you over and make you feel better, here is a beautiful shot from my visit to Israel...taken at the southwest corner of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem...