Fun with “Adon Olam”

When I was a student getting ready for my bat mitzvah, I remember my Hebrew school teacher kept the end of each service interesting by letting us pick the tune for the last song, “Adon Olam.” For some reason, this hym works with just about every tune you can imagine. My favorite was “Gilligan’s Island.”

Thought of that today when my youth group friend Caroline shared this awesome video on Facebook today:

Feeling at Home

It's been too long since I blogged. I've been working hard as the Westfield licensee for TheAlternativePress.com and spending time with my family, which are both good things.

Today I ran across an article shared on Facebook by my hometown rabbi, Rabbi Mark Levin of Congregation Beth Torah in Overland Park, KS, and I just had to share it here. Called, "New to Jewish Prayer? Nine Tips for Beginners," it's a must for anyone visiting a synagogue for the first time or who maybe hasn't been to one in some time. Click here to read it.

Speaking of Beth Torah, I'm reminded of my childhood congregation as, I'm happy to say, Temple Sholom of Fanwood/Scotch Plains will hold a groundbreaking ceremony tomorrow for our new building! I spent many years with both congregations as we underwent the building and fundraising processes. I hope my Temple Sholom family is as happy in our new home next year as my friends at Beth Torah are in theirs.

Looking forward to what the future will bring!

Giving up Chametz, and Gaining Perspective

More than ever before, my five-year-old son, Noah, really "got" the concept of giving up chametz (leavened foods) for Passover this year. We talked at length about how eating certain foods--and not eating others--helps us remember who we are and where we came from.

It also helped him appreciate all of the things he takes for granted most days. I've never seen anyone so excited to buy hot dog buns.

Throughout the year, we Jews give up all kinds of things voluntarily. We even give up eating entirely on You Kippur. I'd like to think we do this not just because our ancestors did but because it's meaningful. And I'm happy to see that my children are learning that, too.

Prepping for Passover

This morning I am simultaneously making a seder and writing about a car accident for TheAlternativePress.com. My, how my life has changed. Last year, I might have been prepping for Passover and writing a story about prosciutto.

We'll have brisket, a traditional tsimmes, asparagus and--of course--matzo ball soup on our table tonight. What's everyone else serving this Pesach?

Debating the Best Hamantaschen Filling

Evelyn, Noah and Eric fill the hamantaschen.

Happy Purim! I love this holiday.

It's been years since I made hamantaschen. Like, since college. They're not usually my favorite cookie, and they're available for sale everywhere. But this year, on a whim, because Noah really wanted to make them, we did.

I found a great recipe in a cookie cookbook from Rosie's Bakery. It calls for a lot of butter. Essentially, these are more like shortbread cookies than the more cakey, dry hamantaschen that I'm not too fond of. So that took care of the cookie problem.

But the filling? I haven't decided what the perfect filling is. We used cherry preserves in some, chocolate chips in others and both the preserves and the chips in a few, and they were all quite tasty.

What's your favorite filling? And what have you tried that absolutely didn't work (so you can warn the rest of us!)?

This Shabbat, Let's Share Torah with Our Kids

As a blogger and a mom, I’m always looking for more ways to incorporate Judaism into our lives. So when my good friend Rabbi Leah Doberne-Schor asked me if she should share on my blog how she’s teaching her five-year-old about the weekly Torah portion each Shabbat, of course I said “yes.” Here’s what she wrote:

Recently, my family has begun introducing a short conversation about the Torah portion of the week as part of our Shabbat dinner discussion. I like to think of the portion (parasha in Hebrew) as a shared conversation among the Jewish community—we all read the same section at the same time (beginning with the start of Genesis during the holiday of Simchat Torah in the fall and finishing at the end of Deuteronomy the next year). 

Sharing Torah with my family has been an excuse for me to slow down and pay attention when I read the portion and to really think about how it relates to my life and to my family. I admit it’s not always easy, and some of our conversations are more successful than others. But I plug on because I believe that, in the long run, it will help us all learn and live and connect with our ongoing Jewish conversation about how to live a life of meaning and blessing.

While each parasha often contains many different stories, rules and/or ideas within it, I usually find it easiest to focus on one or two aspects of the portion. Because we'll come back to it the next year, we can discuss a different element of the parasha then.

This week the parasha is called Yitro, and it contains within it the Ten Commandments. (You can read them in Exodus 20:1-14.)

Questions I’m thinking about:

1. What are the rules we have at home? At school? What would happen if we didn’t have rules? If you could make rules, what would you include?

2. This week, God shared with the Jewish people 10 Rules called the 10 Commandments. Here is my version of child-friendly ones:

- I the Eternal am your God
- Do not have any other gods and do not make any pictures (images) of God
- Be respectful when you talk about God
- Celebrate Shabbat
- Respect your parents
- Do not hurt people (the original commandment: do not murder)
- Married people should respect each other (the original commandment: do not commit adultery)
- Do not take things that are not yours
- Do not tell lies about other people
- Be happy with what you have (don’t be jealous of the things other people have)

3. Choose one or two to talk about. Maybe it’s about why Shabbat has become important to your family. Or maybe it’s an opportunity to talk about using our kind words. Or learning to be happy with what you have. Whatever the case, I think it’s important to never put a kid on the spot. Don’t be afraid to share about your experiences in these areas; or use a hypothetical (what would happen if…) as a way to get into the conversation. 

4. Also, leave room for your child to ask his or her own questions! Consider asking your child if there is a rule that should be added to the list… and what it would be!

5. A gem for parents: Right after the Ten Commandments, God continues to share rules with the Israelites. God says “you shall not make any gods of silver, nor shall you make for yourselves any gods of gold” (Ex. 20:20). The Israelites had just been told to not make any idols and to not be jealous of what others have (what I interpreted for the kids as “be happy with what you have.”) Why do they need an additional reminder?

It’s really hard for us to be satisfied with what we have. In particular, so many of us would like to have just a little bit more–whether to send the kids to summer camp or take a vacation or fix up the home or whatever the case. We say to ourselves that our happiness depends, in some measure, on that additional wealth. But when we do this, do we not verge on making an idol out of money (aka modern day “gold” and “silver”)? Yes, material wealth can make life easier, but it is never the end; rather, it is a means that can be put to wise and good use not only for us, but to better the world around us.

What an important reminder for us that we can, by not only our words but also by our deeds, teach our children a healthy, appropriate role for money and all of the material objects in our lives!

My "Emergency" Shabbat

We'd run out of Shabbat candles. We couldn't get groceries. We weren't going anywhere. What's a family to do but improvise?

This Friday, we had planned to spend Shabbat dinner at the JCC. Of course, life is what happens when you're making other plans. Evelyn came down with either a bad cold or a mild case of the flu (we'd all gotten the flu shot) and had a fever, which meant that we were staying home.

I opened the fridge. Half a gallon of milk, a few sticks of butter and a lot of condiments stared back at me. So I turned to the pantry. Angel hair pasta, dried garlic, olive oil ... a few fresh grape tomatoes. I did happen to have some Parmesan cheese in the fridge, so dinner was saved!

We used votive candles. I don't think they were kosher. I don't think it mattered. The important thing was, we were all together.

"Emergency" Shabbat Dinner:

Ingredients:

pasta
olive oil
a spoonful of minced dried or fresh garlic
chopped tomatoes
Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Pour enough oil into pot to coat the bottom; add garlic. Cook over medium heat until garlic begins to turn golden. Add tomatoes and cook until tomatoes begin to soften. Remove from heat: add pasta and toss to coat. Add more oil, if you need to. Serve with cheese.