Books Read in 2016

This was a great year for books, and here's the list of all that I read. I started to put stars next to the ones that I would recommend, but then I found myself starring a lot of them so I skipped that plan. A lot of good books here...(a few that I would probably skip, so you can privately message me if you want to know which ones to skip - I hate to malign an author publicly.)

1. You Learn by Living: Eleven Keys for a More Fulfilling Life by Eleanor Roosevelt
2. The Last Summer at Chelsea Beach by Pam Jenoff
3. Palace of Treason by Jason Matthews
4. The Hired Girl by Laura Amy Schlitz
5. Come Away with Me by Karma Brown
6. Zoo Station by David Downing
7. The Coincidence of Coconut Cake by Amy Reichert
8. The Two-Family House by Lynda Cohen Loigman
9. Euphoria by Lily King
10. Nurture the Wow by Danya Ruttenberg
11. The Last Flight of Poxl West by Daniel Torday
12. The Road to Character by David Brooks
13. How Mirka Got Her Sword by Barry Deutsch
14. The Marriage of Opposites by Alice Hoffman
15. Untwine by Edwidge Danticat
16. The Quality of Mercy by Faye Kellerman
17. Armada by Ernest Cline
18. The Beautiful Possible by Amy Gottlieb
19. When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
20. A Quiet Flame by Philip Kerr
21. The Dinner Party by Brenda Janowitz
22. Duet in Beirut by Mishka Ben-David
23. Sunny Side Up by Jennifer Holm
24. The Muralist by B.A. Shapiro
25. The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
26. About the Night by Anat Talshir
27. Luck, Love, and Lemon Pie by Amy Reichert
28. The UnAmericans by Molly Antopol
29. The Memory of Us by Camille Di Maio
30. Flora and Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo
31. Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelley
32. No Place Like Oz by Danielle Paige
33. Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear
34. Invisible City by Julia Dahl
35. The After Party by Anton DiSclafani
36. The Black Widow by Daniel Silva
37. Saving Abby by Steena Holmes
38. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by John Tiffany
39. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehad
40. The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem by Sarit Yishai-Levy
41. The Swarm by Orson Scott Card
42. Short Stories from Hogwarts #1 by J. K. Rowling
43. Short Stories from Hogwarts #2 by J. K. Rowling
44. Hogwarts: An Incomplete and Unreliable Guide by J.K. Rowling
45. Washing the Dead by Michelle Brafman
46. An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
47. The Book of Esther by Emily Barton
48. A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir
49. The Mathematician's Shiva by Stuart Rojstaczer
50. The Thinking Woman's Guide to Real Magic by Emily Barker
51. Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty
52. After Abel and Other Stories by Michal Lemberger
53. The Orphan's Tale by Pam Jenoff
54. The Sun is also a Star by Nicola Yoon
55. The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan
56. Faithful by Alice Hoffman
57. The Wonder by Emma Donoghue
58. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
59. One Thousand White Women by by Jim Fergus
60. Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson

So many great books this year. I rarely re-read any books any more (there are so many more that I want to get to!) but I'm considering re-reading When Breath Becomes Air, so I know that was my top book of the year. If you haven't read it, grab a box of tissues and plan to stay up all night reading. I also really liked the little series of books I read between 54-58 -- this was my winter break attempt to get to 60 books (nailed it with a day to spare!) and it was a really good run of book-in-a-day books. 

Books that are on my "to read" list (some inspired by this great feature in the New York Times)

• Moonglow by Michael Chabon
• Commonwealth by Ann Patchett
• It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis
• Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
• Swing Time by Zadie Smith
• Evicted by Matthew Desmond
• Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler

What else do you think I should read in 2017?

What are you going to read? What was the best book you read in 2016?

I keep track of my books on Goodreads - follow me there.

And previous years' book lists are here:

Books Read in 2015
Books Read in 2014
Books Read in 2013
Books Read in 2012
Books Read in 2011
Books Read in 2010 (this year I read 100 -- a big highlight!)
Books Read in 2009
Books Read in 2008

This is Six

Fusible Bead Sukkah Decorations

Back in the dark ages before Pinterest,
(let's not even begin to discuss the REAL dark ages, before the internet)
those of us in the Jewish blogging community worked hard to share our project ideas and such.

I read this blog post from Carolyn and was enchanted with the idea of using fusible beads to decorate our sukkah! (check it out, hers are amazing!)

We've been doing this kind of decorating since then, but this year the kids have been very into these beads, so we were a little more ambitious:

The "Sukkot" sign is from a previous year!

We hang them with zip-ties. 

Want to see more Sukkot decoration ideas? You CAN go to Pinterest!

Bring on the Sukkah Building

Putting up a sukkah has always been a family project.
Even when we weren't all available to help.
Even when it was hard. And when it was harder.
We've only really missed one year.

The sukkah is fragile.
It's meant to be that way.
Life is fragile. And yet we keep building.

I love the simplicity of the reminder to go outside.
To breathe the fresh air.
To live...

And so we build....

Yes, he's showing that he's almost as tall as the sukkah

Sammy always in our hearts...

#BlogElul 5: Accept

Acceptance seems like a good idea.
Until it's not.

There are some things I just can't accept.

And I won't.


The Jewish month of Elul, which precedes the High Holy Days, is traditionally a time of renewal and reflection. It offers a chance for spiritual preparation for the Days of Awe. It is traditional to begin one’s preparation for the High Holy Days during this month with prayers of forgiveness, but I like to think of it as a whole-person preparation activity. We look to begin the year with a clean slate, starting anew, refreshed. All month, along with others, I'll be blogging a thought or two for each day to help with the month of preparation... I will be blogging here, and sharing #Elulgram photos on the same themes at imabima.tumblr.com and on Instagram @imabima. Follow me on twitter @imabima for all the #BlogElul posts, not only mine but others' as well! Read more about #BlogElul here.

#BlogElul 4: Understand

Sometimes I just don't get it.

The Jewish month of Elul, which precedes the High Holy Days, is traditionally a time of renewal and reflection. It offers a chance for spiritual preparation for the Days of Awe. It is traditional to begin one’s preparation for the High Holy Days during this month with prayers of forgiveness, but I like to think of it as a whole-person preparation activity. We look to begin the year with a clean slate, starting anew, refreshed. All month, along with others, I'll be blogging a thought or two for each day to help with the month of preparation... I will be blogging here, and sharing #Elulgram photos on the same themes at imabima.tumblr.com and on Instagram @imabima. Follow me on twitter @imabima for all the #BlogElul posts, not only mine but others' as well! Read more about #BlogElul here.

#BlogElul 3: Search

Elul is all about
the search.
What are we
looking for
as we search
our hearts?
What is it
that
we
seek?

Some would say that we are searching for
the flaws,
the cracks,
the missteps,
the misdeeds.

And so it's hard.

So this year
this Elul
let's search for
the light
the joy
the hope
the blessing.
Let's search for
our good deeds,
acts of kindness,
successes,
triumphs.

Can you find it?

The Jewish month of Elul, which precedes the High Holy Days, is traditionally a time of renewal and reflection. It offers a chance for spiritual preparation for the Days of Awe. It is traditional to begin one’s preparation for the High Holy Days during this month with prayers of forgiveness, but I like to think of it as a whole-person preparation activity. We look to begin the year with a clean slate, starting anew, refreshed. All month, along with others, I'll be blogging a thought or two for each day to help with the month of preparation... I will be blogging here, and sharing #Elulgram photos on the same themes at imabima.tumblr.com and on Instagram @imabima. Follow me on twitter @imabima for all the #BlogElul posts, not only mine but others' as well! Read more about #BlogElul here.

#BlogElul 2: Act

(This is actually a repost of last year's "act" post but I think it's still pretty true.)

It's all an act.
Every day.
Putting on a mask to
find the quiet space
inside.

It's all an act.
Every day.
Getupgetdressedgetgoing.

It's all an act.
Every day.
A piece of the story
always
missing.

It's all an act.
Every day.
Smiling through
tears.
Breathing
in and out.

It's all an act.
And yet
it's somehow
it's all
real.

The Jewish month of Elul, which precedes the High Holy Days, is traditionally a time of renewal and reflection. It offers a chance for spiritual preparation for the Days of Awe. It is traditional to begin one’s preparation for the High Holy Days during this month with prayers of forgiveness, but I like to think of it as a whole-person preparation activity. We look to begin the year with a clean slate, starting anew, refreshed. All month, along with others, I'll be blogging a thought or two for each day to help with the month of preparation... I will be blogging here, and sharing #Elulgram photos on the same themes at imabima.tumblr.com and on Instagram @imabima. Follow me on twitter @imabima for all the #BlogElul posts, not only mine but others' as well! Read more about #BlogElul here.

#BlogElul 1: Prepare

Are we ever fully ready?
Each year, I notice that we're all
overwhelmed
busy
stressed

and we can't quite wrap our heads around the idea of
preparing
for
the
High
Holy
Days.

It's ominous.
They loom
large
over us.

But perhaps
preparation
is
a
gift
we give to ourselves.

When I take the time to
prepare myself
for the High Holy Days,
really
prepare
myself,
I know that
I am better.
The holidays are better.

I feel the words.
I breathe the music.
I do the work.

Preparation is a gift.

In Elul
we
unwrap
it.

The Jewish month of Elul, which precedes the High Holy Days, is traditionally a time of renewal and reflection. It offers a chance for spiritual preparation for the Days of Awe. It is traditional to begin one’s preparation for the High Holy Days during this month with prayers of forgiveness, but I like to think of it as a whole-person preparation activity. We look to begin the year with a clean slate, starting anew, refreshed. All month, along with others, I'll be blogging a thought or two for each day to help with the month of preparation... I will be blogging here, and sharing #Elulgram photos on the same themes at imabima.tumblr.com and on Instagram @imabima. Follow me on twitter @imabima for all the #BlogElul posts, not only mine but others' as well! Read more about #BlogElul here.

#BlogElul and #ElulGram 2016

For the last few years, I've embarked on a project, and invited the social media world to join with me.

#BlogElul and #Elulgram have inspired, informed, and offered a little bit of additional introspection across the internet for the last few years. By popular request, it's back! 

Elul -- that wonderful and terrifying month that precedes the High Holy Days.
Perfect for blogging and other social media... 

A month of introspection and considering, a month of personal reflection and preparation.

What's it all about?I have made a list of Elul-related topics, and I'm inviting you (yes, you! reader, colleague, friend...anyone with a desire to share ideas about the holidays) to join me.

But I'm not stopping only with blogging. Sure, it's called BlogElul but you can "blog" in any way you like. Maybe it's your daily Facebook update or tweet. Maybe it's your Instagram photos or SnapChat story? Now we have Vine and other quick-video services -- perhaps a daily 6-second video? Maybe you don't want to do it daily. Maybe you just want to dip your toe into the experience, or just read (and share?) what others write. It's totally up to you. I always love to see the creative things that the #BlogElul community comes up with.

Feel free to right-click and save this image to post wherever you #blogelul

There are no rules. I provide the topics (right above) for each of the days of the month. Just write a post of some kind about that topic on that day. Use the hashtag to share your post (I like to put it in my titles) and share other people's posts as well. This could be a way to revitalize your blog, kickstart a new project, or even just get yourself ready for the holidays! I know that lots of people use #BlogElul as a spiritual exercise each year, and I'm so proud to be a part of their yearly journey through Elul.

And what about #ElulGram? This one is even more interpretive. Photos, art, illustrations, quotes -- what kinds of images can you put together to explore and interpret these High Holy Day themes? You don't have to limit your picture-sharing to Instagram (even though I totally appropriated the name), you can use any image-sharing site you'd like, such as Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Tumblr, etc. Whatever you do, tag it with #ElulGram so we can call share and follow.

These themes and ideas are broad and open, and again -- there are NO RULES except the ones you make for yourself!

And yes, I know that the dates include Shabbat. I personally don't blog/tweet/Facebook on Shabbat, but I will post before and after Shabbat. You can do whatever you like!

Are you going to play along? Let me know! Leave me a comment here, send me a tweet, or send up a signal fire.... Feel free to grab my pretty badge to announce to the whole world that you're Blogging Elul. If you let me know that you're doing it, we can cross-post, or guest-post, or even just do some virtual hand-holding as the days grow closer to Tishrei. I'll try to link to as many posts and pics as I can - won't it be amazing to all share in the Elul journey together? 

I'm looking forward to sharing this journey with you. Elul begins on September 4th (it's always on time), so I wanted to give you a head start if you're going to pre-write some of your posts. (And yes, I know it's a 2-day Rosh Chodesh, but let's start on Elul 1 to make things simple, okay?)

I hope that our shared preparation for 5777 brings meaning and hope, inspiration and enlightenment for all of us. 


The list:

Elul 1: Prepare

Elul 2: Act
Elul 3: Search

Elul 4: Understand

Elul 5: Accept

Elul 6: Believe

Elul 7: Choose

Elul 8: Hear

Elul 9: Observe

Elul 10: Count

Elul 11: Trust

Elul 12: Forgive

Elul 13: Remember

Elul 14: Learn

Elul 15: Change

Elul 16: Pray

Elul 17: Awaken

Elul 18: Ask

Elul 19: Judge

Elul 20: Fulfill

Elul 21: Love

Elul 22: End

Elul 23: Begin

Elul 24: Hope

Elul 25: Intend

Elul 26: Create

Elul 27: Bless

Elul 28: Give

Elul 29: Return

Stuff I've Saved This Week (5/13)

Did you know that you can "save" links, videos, pictures, and even posts on Facebook in order to read or share later? It's one of my favorite new-ish features of Facebook, and helps me to keep track of what I'm reading and what I want to save/share/use later.

And yet, it's a pretty eclectic list. Recipes, articles, silly stuff....it's all there. So I thought I would start to curate this list on a weekly basis. Hope you enjoy my list!

Pink is for boys and blue is for girls

Surviving cancer without positive thinking

Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie bowls

Celebrating 68 extraordinary women in Israel

In praise of naturally curly hair

What have you saved this week?

Stuff I've Saved - Week of 5/5

Did you know that you can "save" links, videos, pictures, and even posts on Facebook in order to read or share later? It's one of my favorite new-ish features of Facebook, and helps me to keep track of what I'm reading and what I want to save/share/use later.

And yet, it's a pretty eclectic list. Recipes, articles, silly stuff....it's all there. So I thought I would start to curate this list on a weekly basis. Hope you enjoy my list!

Using the Rule of Three for Learning

Shaboom Episode 4: Get with the Giving

How All Your Favorite Chefs Make Brownies

Kids' Art Kits

Mighty Girl List of Books for Yom haShoah

What have you saved this week?

Count Up: The Omer

Countdown:

three

two

one

blastoff!

Taking one away

as we move

forward.

Counting up,

we add:

plus one

plus two

plus three

building

increasing

improving

growing

Filling our lives

our hearts

our selves

with the blessing

of Torah.

The second day of Pesach begins the Counting of the Omer, the period between Passover and Shavuot, a 49 day period.

The period between these two holidays represents the journey between them - from the Exodus from Egypt (celebrated on Passover) to the Revelation at Sinai (celebrated on Shavuot). Receiving the Torah isn't something that can just be done at the drop of a hat, it takes preparation and work. The period of the Omer gives us that time to reflect and consider, to pay attention to each and every day, and to literally "count up" until the Torah comes into our lives.

#BlogExodus 4: Grow

"Said Rabbi Simon: 'Every single blade of grass has a corresponding mazal (star) in the sky which strikes it and tells it to grow." Midrash Rabba, Bereshit 10:6

Usually this quote appears with a sweeter tone, something like "every blade of grass has an angel leaning over and whispering 'grow!'"

Sometimes we need something sweet to help us grow.

But more often we need a good solid smack. 

Growth can be painful, difficult, hard. 

It often seems like it would be easier just to stay the same.

But growth is inevitable, right? We have to grow or we'll fade away....

So sometimes it takes an extra bonk on the head.

Want to join in? We're sharing #BlogExodus for the 2 weeks leading up to Passover. All you have to do is use the hashtag and there are suggested prompts on the graphic above (feel free to grab it). Maybe you just want to post on your Facebook or Twitter about these topics...or maybe you want to try #Exodusgram, posting photos related to these themes? I'll be posting my #blogExodus posts here, at this blog, my #Exodusgram pictures on my Instagram and also my tumblr site, imabima.tumblr.com, and who knows what else!? It's going to be a busy fortnight!

#BlogExodus: Purify

At the Seder we wash our hands twice.

It's not about a overly- developed sense of cleanliness, although that does seem to pervade the Pesach holiday. 

But it's about a kind of holiness that comes in a ritual purification. What does it take to make ourselves holy? Is it truly a physical act? I don't necessarily think that I need something physical to remind me to be holy. And yet....there's something powerful about ritually washing the hands, about pouring the water and thinking, considering, remembering, and yes, knowing, that there's something special, something unique, something different, and even something holy about THIS moment, this hand washing. 

So we wash our hands to purify them, to make them holy, and to set this moment apart from all others.

Want to join in? We're sharing #BlogExodus for the 2 weeks leading up to Passover. All you have to do is use the hashtag and there are suggested prompts on the graphic above (feel free to grab it). Maybe you just want to post on your Facebook or Twitter about these topics...or maybe you want to try #Exodusgram, posting photos related to these themes? I'll be posting my #blogExodus posts here, at this blog, my #Exodusgram pictures on my Instagram and also my tumblr site, imabima.tumblr.com, and who knows what else!? It's going to be a busy fortnight!

#blogExodus: Honor

There are so many ways to celebrate Passover. More, perhaps, than any other of our holidays. It is more subject to personal traditions and preferences, it is more subject to different cultures and customs.

We read in Pirke Avot: "Hold the honor of another as dear as your own."

And so a gentle reminder to honor the customs of each Jew as we observe in our own ways this year.

Want to join in? We're sharing #BlogExodus for the 2 weeks leading up to Passover. All you have to do is use the hashtag and there are suggested prompts on the graphic above (feel free to grab it). Maybe you just want to post on your Facebook or Twitter about these topics...or maybe you want to try #Exodusgram, posting photos related to these themes? I'll be posting my #blogExodus posts here, at this blog, my #Exodusgram pictures on my Instagram and also my tumblr site, imabima.tumblr.com, and who knows what else!? It's going to be a busy fortnight!

#BlogExodus: Start

Dawn
Kickoff
Onset
Inception
Inauguration
Takeoff

Start...

Ready, get set, go!

We're so good at the beginning, aren't we?
Good intentions, ready to get started.

This is the year that I'm going to clean all the crevices.
This is the year that I'm going to write the fabulous new haggadah.
This is the year that I'm going to create stellar menus for every night of Pesach.
This is the year that I'm going to write beautiful, thoughtful, erudite #blogexodus posts every day.
This is the year that every child will fully immerse him/herself into the story of the Exodus.

And then reality hits, doesn't it?

I'm so good at the beginning.

So I'd better get started...

Want to join in? We're sharing #BlogExodus for the 2 weeks leading up to Passover. All you have to do is use the hashtag and there are suggested prompts on the graphic above (feel free to grab it). Maybe you just want to post on your Facebook or Twitter about these topics...or maybe you want to try #Exodusgram, posting photos related to these themes? I'll be posting my #blogExodus posts here, at this blog, my #Exodusgram pictures on my Instagram and also my tumblr site, imabima.tumblr.com, and who knows what else!? It's going to be a busy fortnight!

Yes, We Still Need an Orange on our Seder Plate

This week, my colleague, Rabbi Stephen Fuchs, wrote an essay on the ReformJudaism.org site about the inclusion of an orange on the Seder plate.

To quote him in order to explain this custom:

In addition to the traditional symbols, many families and communities will include an orange on their seder plates. The most prominent myth behind this custom is that, years ago, a man confronted Professor Susannah Heschel and told her, “The idea of women rabbis makes as much sense as an orange on a seder plate."

Rabbi Fuchs reminds readers that Professor Heschel has actually debunked this "myth," and explains that her real intention was to put the orange on the plate in honor of gay and lesbian Jews who have been marginalized.

All true.

But then Rabbi Fuchs suggests that the time has come to eliminate this symbol. He says:

But I believe our focus at the seder should be on telling our story. Though that story can and should reference other struggles for liberation, our seder plate is full enough without symbols that do not explicitly reference our liberation from bondage.

And this is where I disagree. Yes. The focus at the seder should be on telling "our story."

But how can we tell that one story, that story of long ago, without connecting it directly to as many other stories that we have? How can we make this long-ago-tale of slavery relevant and understandable to each generation, to each individual participant at the table, if we don't remind ourselves of continued oppression in our midst?

I deny the idea that we have "arrived" in terms of gender equality, especially when taken on a worldwide level. I deny the idea that the presence of women on the North American Reform, Conservative, and Reconstructionist bima is "enough" when held up to other movements, other countries (read: Israel), and other aspects of society. Telling the story of the brave women who participated in the story of the Exodus is good. It is an important step in restoring equality to our storytelling. But merely to place those women back into the story without acknowledging how long it took to get them there? Merely to place them into the story without pointing out that their presence alone is a milestone for our people? I think this is missing the point of telling the tale of liberation.

Yes, I agree. "Our story" is important. But the seder has retained its relevance for generations exactly because we have taken the once-upon-a-time story and made it our own in every generation. I agree that the orange does not need to merely refer to women on the bima, and it doesn't even need to refer only to the LGBTQI community. But instead, it stands out as a reminder of all people that, at some point in their history, might have felt that they "didn't belong." I like that my orange has to jockey for a spot, teetering on the edge of one of the other seder plate spaces. The orange never quite fits -- yes! That is exactly the point.

The orange will remain on my seder plate, as a sign that we are always striving to help everyone to feel included, a sign that we are always looking out for those who might not feel that they "belong," and a sign that we are full of juicy vitality: always growing, always changing, and always aware, keenly aware, that our history of bondage requires us to tell those stories.

#BlogExodus and #Exodusgram 5776

I can't keep a secret -- Passover is almost here!

Rosh Chodesh Nisan is just one week away, which means that it's almost time for the annual #BlogExodus and #ExodusGram prompt list!

Feel free to grab this image and share it, use it, post it....add it to your blogs, whatever!

This year's topics, like last year's, are based loosely on the steps of the Seder.  

So what is this really about? #BlogExodus is really what you want to make of it. I've provided topics for the first 14 days of the month of Nisan. What you do with it is up to you -- write a blog post, tweet, Facebook, tumblr, or something that I haven't even thought of yet! Use the hashtag to share your post (I put it into the title of each post). It's a great way to kickstart a blog or rejuvenate your languishing blog or just get yourself ready for the holiday of Passover! I will be posting my #blogExodus posts here on this blog and I will tweet them out at @imabima. There aren't any rules, so maybe you don't like the order of the topics? Maybe you want to write on only a few of them? It doesn't matter. It is what you make of it. 

#Exodusgram is a little more interpretive. While I love Instagram (I'm imabima, of course), I know some people don't. So maybe you want to share Exodus-themed photos via Facebook, Twitter, tumblr, Pinterest or....whatever! My #Exodusgram posts will go up on Instagram and then be shared to my tumblr, imabima.tumblr.com. Whatever you do, don't forget to tag with #Exodusgram so we can all share. (Note for some of my colleagues: this might make a fun teen project, maybe not done over the two weeks but instead over one class period...)

The themes are really up for your own interpretation. I was thinking broadly and openly about what makes Passover special and interesting to me. I hope it will translate into creative and inspirational posts from all of us!

Are you going to join in? Leave me a comment here or send me a tweet or just...jump in!At some point in the middle, I will probably do a "roundup" post and I will retweet all the #BlogExodus and #Exodusgram posts through Twitter via @imabima. If I miss your posts, let me know so I can go back and be inspired by what YOU have to say!

*Yes, I know that I put the Shabbat dates there. I don't blog/tweet/Facebook on Shabbat but I will post on Fridays before Shabbat and on Saturdays after Shabbat is over. You can, of course, do it any way you like!

1 Nisan - Start

2 Nisan - Honor

3 Nisan - Purify

4 Nisan - Grow

5 Nisan - Hide

6 Nisan - Recount

7 Nisan - Examine

8 Nisan - Deepen

9 Nisan - Perplex

10 Nisan - Unite

11 Nisan - Rejoice

12 Nisan - Discover

13 Nisan - Accept

14 Nisan - Praise

TorahMama: Shemini

This is a particularly hard Torah portion for me. Nadav and Avihu, the sons of Aaron, are in some way misbehaving. It's really not clear what they do wrong, but God is displeased. A fire consumes them. 

The whole community mourns for Nadav and Avihu. But Aaron and his family are told to refrain from any mourning. "Aaron was silent," is perhaps one of the most chilling phrases in the Torah. 

And yet...in some ways I can see it. When our Sammy died, we were the ones left with the gaping hole. We, his family and loved ones. And there was a whole community that mourned for us. Did we mourn too? Of course. And we still do. But often, we were the ones who kept silent so that others could speak, and often we were the ones who bit our tongues with held-in laughter when we knew something was deliciously funny, but only to our family. 

We are the silent mourners, because we continue to mourn, even today, even 829 days later. Like Aaron, we might be quiet about it. But that doesn't mean the river of grief has run dry. 

Today, there's a different way to be "noisy" or "silent." In today's palance, perhaps Aaron wouldn't have posted much about his sons' deaths on Facebook, and perhaps he might not have posted reminiscences of their childhoods or their funny stories...perhaps his silence was a reticence to share, publicly, the chasm that had opened up inside of him. Perhaps he was a lurker, watching the happy stories of others from afar, holding onto his own inner pain.

Perhaps the silence is there to remind us that everyone has pain. Sometimes you can't see it...but it's there. 

TorahMama is my attempt to look at the Torah portion through a parenting lens...

TorahMama: Tzav

Tzav is a list of sacrifices, an explanation of many of the tasks of the priests. Delineated in this portion are the various ways that offerings are made on the altar, the mixing of the meal offering, and all of the rules that Aaron and his sons must follow to shepherd the people through these rituals.

This Torah portion can feel very tedious. After all, it's a somewhat repetitive listing of tasks, punctuated by a recipe for a pancake. The priests' work is nothing but holiness. And yet, they are even instructed in the process of removing the ashes from the altar -- taking out the trash. 

Sometimes, that is what parenting is like: daily tasks, repeated over and over, punctuated by a meal that may or may not be eaten, and ending each day with taking out the trash. 

And yet...holiness.

Somehow, it's hard to find that holiness in the ashes. Somehow, it's hard to figure out what exactly might be holy about making yet another lunch or doing yet another load of laundry or changing yet another set of bedsheets. Somehow, though, it's there. Not every day, or every time. But every so often...I'm reminded through the haze of it all...even the pancakes, the daily tasks, the trash....it's all holy.

TorahMama is my attempt to look at the Torah portion through a parenting lens...

Hand-Pie AKA Pop Tart Hamantaschen

In our usual annual tradition, we have started to make a lot of hamantaschen.

In the course of one baking session, we used one batch of Aunt Dora's dough, one batch of chocolate dough, and a double batch of cream-cheese dough (that's my favorite). It was about 150 cookies. Yum! The chocolate and cream-cheese recipes that I used this year came from Marcy Goldman's cookbook A Treasury of Jewish Baking.

Hamantaschen are, as you might know, the three-cornered filled pastries that remind us in some way of The Bad Guy from the Purim story, Haman. Some say they are reminiscent of his hat, his pockets, or his ears. Either way, they're a fun and delicious treat for this holiday!

So this year, I have started thinking more and more about what "counts" in the field of hamantaschen. After all, there's no list of "rules" for making them -- and over the last few years, perhaps thanks to Pinterest, hamantaschen creativity is off the charts!

So this year, inspired by this post from Kosher in the Kitch, I decided to try my hand at hand-pie hamantaschen, also known as Pop-Tart Hamantaschen.

I picked up a package of refrigerated pie dough (careful, some of the supermarket brands contain lard) and let it come to room temperature. Then I rolled them out into the round circles (meant to make pies of course) and sliced them like a pizza!

I filled up half with chocolate spread and half with strawberry jam, crimped the edges, brushed with a little egg wash, and baked.

Then we added some glaze -- about a cup of powdered sugar and a tablespoon of milk made a nice sugary topping. Then I had a little helper who might have gone a little overboard with the blue sugar...

my helper

I thought they were delicious!
Next time I will make them slightly smaller (it will make more from a batch of pie dough), and perhaps mix up the chocolate and strawberry!

Bonus -- I also made hamantaschen-shaped challah:

Luckily, challah doesn't mind dressing up as other baked goods.

The usual Hamantaschen Post Round-Up:

Hamantaschen Tips and Tricks
Great-Aunt Dora's Dough Recipe (a basic, wonderful, forgiving dough recipe)
Yeast Dough
Chocolate Dough
Cream Cheese Dough
Thin-Mint-inspired Hamantaschen

No-Roll Hamantaschen (And Rainbows)
And if you don't like hamantaschen, try these Palmiers for Purim.