Take the Old and Make it New, Take the New and Make it Holy

That title above (a little longer than a usual blog title), is one of my favorite Jewish ideas.

We are always looking at "old" things and bringing them into a new day.
Then we are tasked with bringing holiness into each new day, new idea, new plan.

About two years ago, I learned to do a 6-strand braided challah.
It makes perfect sense to me to braid 6 strands, one for each member of my family.
I braid in the love each week.

This is NOT a challah I made. Mine are never this pretty. So I borrowed this picture from Instructables rather than show off my somewhat embarrassingly funny looking challot. My challot taste wonderful. Someday I will master the art of beautiful appearance as well.

On Thursday night, I baked challah. I usually do it on Friday, but I knew that I was headed up to the hospital to spend Shabbat with Sam, and I wanted to take a challah with me. My regular recipe, from my friend Ruth Ross, makes two challot, but often I only bake one and freeze the second batch or make a set of cinnamon rolls for Shabbat morning. As I divided the dough in half and started rolling the strands, I realized how precious this shared challah was going to be.

Six strands, representing the members of our family...one batch split into two challot...eaten separately but spiritually together.

An old ritual - making challah.
Now made new by circumstances that I never ever imagined.
But yet...we find holiness, even in the newness.
In the darkness, we find light.
Even if it's only a piece of bread, it brings comfort.
If we don't look for the light, we're going to end up sitting in the dark.
So we eat challah and salt it with our tears....

And then she rested...

I did it....NaBloPoMo - a full month of daily blogging. Okay, I think I missed one...and it was a little bit of an accident. Not bad! I think this was my fourth or fifth time doing it, and it's a great challenge.

And then...a short rest.




Shabbat Shalom!
I'll be back on Monday with some more reviews, and some Hanukkah Hoopla coming your way soon too!

New Thanksgiving Tradition: Challah Turkey

Me: Guys, I'm going to make turkey challah for Shabbat. I'm so excited.
David: Ew, are you going to put turkey in the challah? That's disgusting.
Me: Yep, turkey in the challah. Doesn't that sound good?

I seriously had the kid going for a few minutes...then he realized that I, their vegetarian mama, was NOT putting turkey into my challah.

Instead...voila, a new tradition is born:

After all, the Shabbat after Thanksgiving is actually

Yom Sheni shel Thanksgiving...

(the Second Day of Thanksgiving)

See other turkey challot here.

And the original inspiration...

Need advice: My challot do not have good definition of their shapes.

What am I doing wrong?

Shabbat Blessings Online

People often ask me about my online life.
You know, the one that exists inside the Internets.
The one where all my imaginary friends live...but that's a different post.

People want to know about the whole rabbi/twitter/facebook thing. As in, how do you do it and why do you do it, and what does it mean to you and how does it impact your rabbinate and just where do you find the time?

Right, all *those* questions.

And I don't have a lot of answers. Sometimes I find the Internets an incredibly spiritual place.
(By the way, I tend to think of it as a plural word, like The Badlands or The Mountains...I don't know why. And I visualize it as this swirly ever-world of sparkly bits...which might be why I find them so happy...)


Sometimes I read stories that move me to tears, sometimes I get goosebumps and want to jump inside someone else's words and roll around and just fill myself up.
Sometimes I connect with people in amazing ways that give even me a little thrill.
(And someday, I might answer those questions...if I ever figure out the answers.)

But the one thing that I find most wonderful and interesting about my online life is Shabbat.
This is pretty funny, because I don't actually post on the internet on Shabbat. So, you're thinking, tell me why Shabbat is so interesting and wonderful then!

Ah...it's all the Shabbat messages that get sent out right before Shabbat starts and all the Shavua Tov messages after it ends. Each week, I get at least 5 (if not more) "mentions" on Twitter, someone wishing me a #ShabbatShalom (that's Twitter-speak for Shabbat Shalom!) and the same afterwards. This gives me a happy feeling right as Shabbat begins. To know that friends and acquaintances all over the world are all taking a moment of their own Shabbat prep to wish *me* a Shabbat Shalom...what a good feeling.

And then there's Shabbat on Facebook. Almost each week, I spend a few minutes (I wouldn't say this is like writing a sermon or anything, but I do think about it for more than just your average Facebook update) crafting a Shabbat message for Facebook. It's my "sign-off" - I won't be back til Saturday night. But it's also my own way of leaving the sacred space of the Internets with my fondest wishes and blessings for a Shabbat of peace and health.

Lately I've noticed that more people comment on these posts, so I'm hopeful that others feel the Shabbat-love the same way that I do. And sometimes I wonder if there are people out there who might not even really celebrate Shabbat who enjoy a reminder of this special day, a chance to slow down, to be with family, to find blessings, and to disconnect from the Internets to find the spirituality in other places...maybe.

Shabbat Shalom!

Hold on Tight

A dear friend of mine lost her husband last night. May his memory be for a blessing.

It certainly makes you squeeze your loved ones more tightly.
It certainly makes you count your blessings.
It certainly makes you hold on to each moment, no matter how silly or mundane.

It certainly makes a birthday weekend (like we're about to celebrate in Beit ImaBima) a reason for celebration.

Stay tuned for birthday posts...and a cake post that will surpass any I've ever made before.

Until then....Shabbat Shalom.

Scenes from Shabbat at Camp....

On Shabbat at camp, everyone gets dressed up in their finest (camp) Shabbat clothes, and greets each other with smiles and happy hugs. Here's David, waiting outside his tent, doing what he loves to do best:

In the dining hall, waiting for dinner...

Dinner is followed by Shabbat Shira, a rockin' and crazy song session. Can you see all those kids in the distance? They're lining up to go into Port Hall, that building right there, to start the fun. And yes, Michael has a bear on his head.

On Shabbat, we don't swim in our pool, but instead spend the day on the waterfront. Here are my littles, enjoying the sand and the sun....

A restful and lovely Shabbat was had by all!

How was your Shabbat?

See more great Summer photos at Summer Stock Sunday.

Peace for Shabbat

So much has been said this week. If you're following me on Facebook or Twitter, you'll know that I have posted so many articles and editorials about the flotilla incident. Many of my colleagues and friends have been incredibly eloquent and succinct.

But for Shabbat, I just want to think about peace. I know, I know, it seems so trite and silly. I know that peace needs work, it needs partners, it needs dedication and commitment. I know.

But humor me a little as we head into Shabbat, okay?

What shall I ask You for, God?

I have everything.

There's nothing I lack.

I ask only for one thing

And not for myself alone;

It's for many mothers, and children,

and fathers

Not just in this land, but in many lands

hostile to each other.

I'd like to ask for Peace.

Yes, it's Peace I want,

And You, You won't deny the single wish

of a child.

You created the Land of Peace,

Where stands the City of Peace,

Where stood the Temple of Peace,

But where still there is no Peace . . .

What shall I ask you for, God? I have

everything.

Peace is what I ask for,

Only Peace.

by Shlomit Grossberg, age 13, Jerusalem

A Great Shabbat Mitzvah

A great way to honor Shabbat - leave a bag of groceries on your front porch for your mail carrier to pick up on Saturday. Or, even better, can you deliver bags and flyers like the Homeshuler does?

Here in the northern Chicago suburbs, I know that our local food pantry needs:
•  Canned fruit
•  Pasta sauce
•  Rice
•  Canned tuna/salmon
•  Canned soups
•  Cookies, crackers
•  Salad dressings & oils
•  Paper goods
•  Laundry detergent & cleaning supplies •  Diapers (Size 1, Size 4, Size 5) 

You can see the whole of the New Trier Township Food Pantry Wish List here.
Here is the list from the Moraine Township Food Pantry.

Also, in this week that we celebrate our mothers,

Every spring Jewish Women International's Mother’s Day Flower Project sends beautiful bouquets of flowers to 150 battered women’s shelters across the U.S. in time for Mother’s Day, while it raises funds for programs that help victims of domestic violence throughout the year.

What a fabulous way to honor your mom or any other woman in your life. It's not too late to make a gift (although it's too late, I think, for delivery of a card) that will make your mom and so many others happy.

So many ways to help others....our lives are so full and blessed.

Overheard at Shabbat Class today

As I brought out the challah...

little girl says: 

I don't like the skin.

Other girl: It's okay, you can just pick it off.

And so she did.

Shabbat Shalom! 

May you only get the part of the challah that you like this Shabbat.

Shabbat Rocks My World!

Shabbat Shalom!

Hope your Shabbat is restful, peaceful, and fjavascript:void(0)ull of joy.

And A Hush Fell Over the Camp....

 Today is Friday. Hayom yom shishi....you can feel the very air of the camp begin to change.

As Friday (Yom Shishi) begins, there is an excitement, an electricity in the air. The campers know it, the faculty know it, the counselors know it...it's all around us.

Shabbat is coming.

Shabbat is coming!

As the afternoon comes, the camp begins to clean up, to prepare, to take showers and put on pretty dresses and shiny clean polo shirts. Hair is combed and fingernails are cleaned...sometimes.

The strumming of guitars begins to fill the air as Shabbat Walks begin, welcoming Shabbat all around camp. The sound of "Shabbat Shalom!" fills the air and friends who saw each other only moments before greet each other with kisses and hugs, their world transformed by the change over into Shabbat.

Together as a unit we pray, welcoming the Sabbath Queen, and then the whole camp, all the units, gather together for dinner. There is an overwhelming din and then a hush falls over the camp as the candles are lit and the blessings said over wine and challah.

The evening truly culminates in singing - Shabbat Shira, the Shabbat song session - is both rowdy and controlled, celebratory and exhilirating, full of passion and spirit and love and joy. Music fills the camp, fills the air, fills our souls. We drink it in, knowing that we can only have this experience, this moment for 8 Shabbats of the year (and for some of us only 2...), knowing that this community only comes together just like this for just this week. Last week, next week, we'll be different. But today, here, now, we are together just like this.

We ARE Shabbat.

Shabbat Shalom from OSRUI!

A Shabbat Tune....

Click over to read the lyrics.

Shabbat Shalom!

Jewish Mommy Meme - Community ROCKS

It's so great to find other Jewish moms blogging out there. The Homeshuler has created her own Jewish Mommy Meme and tagged me! So here goes...

1. Challah – home baked or bought?
I love to bake challah and I have some great recipes, but usually we eat the one that comes home from school with my preschoolers. It's a school fundraiser (I think) and it's easy. Easy is good right now. I do love a good home-baked challah...

2. Favorite shabbat meal:
My favorite meal is whatever I can prepare in advance for my family to eat while I'm getting ready or already at services. We have 6:30pm services each week and my kids are too young to make it. So I usually prepare dinner in advance and get it all ready to go, with directions for the completion of the preparation! One of our recent favorite meals are these Quorn cutlets....they are very yummy. (We are vegetarian in our house, so no chicken....)

3. Any creative shabbat rituals?
We have a tie-dyed challah cover....the kids wear their kippot and sing the brachot, usually with the Abba...when my oldest was really young, we decided that the only day for TV watching was Shabbat. While this may seem like a backwards plan for some of my more frum readers, it made sense to me. The idea of Shabbat is to set it apart and make it special. This was the point of the TV gig. (Side note, whenever he went to my parents, they'd let him watch TV all the time, coining the phrase "it's always Shabbat at Bubbie and Zeyde's.") This was a big problem when we visted my frum relatives and had to explain that on Shabbat they DON'T watch TV. But I think that's another post. Anyway, eventually he figured out that the TV works on other days and the whole Shabbat/TV thing ended. I have a lot of visions for great Shabbat ideas but in general I just find myself saying things like "dessert? sure, it's Shabbat..." and that seems to work.

4. Shul? With or without the kids? (yes, I know some of you are rabbis)
Usually for Tot Shabbat, which is just their speed. Plus they're at the synagogue all the time. I'm trying to get my oldest to services on a more regular basis - now that he can read English and Hebrew, I think it's important. For myself, obviously, I'm there a lot. A LOT.

5. Traditionally shomer shabbat? If not, what’s your definition/style?
Not "traditionally" but happily observant of Shabbat. At the moment my biggest Shabbat observance is no Facebook, no Twitter, and no blogging...but I do use the phone/drive/etc. I've always said that the idea of shomer, meaning "guard" is about making sure we're aware that it's Shabbat and making it special. See answers to the above question.

6. Favorite shabbat story/book
How Yussel Caught the Gefilte Fish.

Love it.

I probably have 20 other favorites. But this is the top of the list! (With my oldest, we read Shai's Shabbat Walk every week. But we've progressed...)

7. no seventh question – time to rest.
If you're a Jewish mommy and you read this blog, I tag you!

(See how neatly I did that? I always leave someone out... :-) )

A Shabbat Mitzvah

What a wonderful Shabbat mitzvah...



Leave your grocery bag filled with food for your mail carrier tomorrow. I know that local food pantries are terribly in need this year. A simple and wonderful way to make a difference.

Shabbat Shalom!

Please help - Time is Running Out

Only 29 days remain on this Donors Choose project.

Here's what Mrs. M says about her program:
As a new teacher at a junior high last year, I enthusiastically developed an after-school Book Club for Girls. This new extracurricular activity was a smashing success, particularly with bilingual and socially-challenged girls who may not have otherwise joined an after-school club. A group of approximately fifteen girls met weekly to discuss book and life related issues of friendship, diversity, peer pressure and determination. This group of girls, representing a plethora of races, languages, religions and ages, put aside their differences as they bonded over great literature.

 This project only needs $312 more. If each of my wonderful subscribers (I know there are a bunch of you!) clicked over to the left <---- where the Donors Choose widget is, or clicked on that link above, and gave just a few dollars of your tzedakah money....we will fund this great project, helping girls gain so much from reading. I know there are a lot of causes out there in the world, but I'm hoping you'll help me and these students out here today.

It is customary to give tzedakah (charity) before Shabbat begins. So click over today....you certainly won't regret it and it will help out.

Thanks so much and Shabbat Shalom!

Closed on Shabbat....not just my blog!

 

Is this a sign you would expect to see at a restaurant in Highwood? (Okay, they claim that it's Highland Park. But I tell you, it's my neighborhood!)

Tonight we finally went to La Casa de Isaac. It's a Jewish-Mexican restaurant that's been in my neighborhood for almost 2 years now. 

The place was packed, on a Monday night! The food, excellent, of course. It was Monday night after a long weekend, so I didn't have a margarita, but they looked lovely. And the sign in the bathroom did seem to say it all: "The only thing better than a margarita a day is 2 margaritas!"

The chips and salsa were on the house and they were fantastic. We ordered guacamole, and mmm....I'm going back for more. I had chilaquiles with sunny-side-up eggs, because they serve breakfast all day and I'm just a breakfast-eating-fool! (Oh, and I asked which was spicier, the red or green sauce. The server then offered me the "extra hot" if I wanted it. When I hesitated, he said he could do "half and half." A wise choice. "extra hot" is not a misnomer.)

So why the Closed on Shabbat sign? The restaurant is owned and operated by Isaac and Moishe Nava, Jewish-Mexican brothers who really are running a family business. It's not a kosher restaurant, although they don't serve pork and shellfish. There is milk and meat mixed on the menu (and the plates) and I'm pretty sure the meat served isn't kosher. (Not that I eat it...but, you know.)

The brothers have made it quite clear, however, that they are not willing to compromise on the Shabbat thing. They're closed. Period. I think that shows an amazing conviction - this is a pretty hard-core restaurant area and I am super-impressed that they're succeeding so beautifully while continuing to be closed on Shabbat.

The food is absolutely stunning. The commitment even more so.

If you're in the neighborhood, please make sure to check it out and support this excellent restaurant.

And that's my Tuesday Torah. What's yours?

P.S. Be sure to check out this week's Haveil Havalim.

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...)

Shall....

Quickly, before Shabbat!

This week's Torah portion, Re'eh, encapsulated in a Wordle:




Shabbat Shalom!

A Taste of Shabbat at Camp...