Category: food

Fess up– Hanukkah is the Jewish Christmas!

Fess up– Hanukkah is the Jewish Christmas!

Before I continue, I will let those of you gasping for air catch your breath.

Yes, indeed, the rabbi went there! But it is hard to refute the statement. And you know what else? It is okay.

Here in the United States, we have thought longingly of the Christmas portrayed ironically by Irving Berlin- replete with a white (from the snow, that is) Christmas with cards, sleigh bells, and glistening trees. The Coca-Cola Santa Claus brings presents to everyone traveling on a flying sleigh powered by eight reindeer (nine including Rudolph), Christmas Trees, gifts, love, and good cheer. Of course, once the marketers got hold of this, they commercialized the holiday even further. Everyone who ever sang anything now records an album of Christmas songs or has a television Christmas special.

Who wouldn’t want to be a part of this party?

So we have amped up Hanukkah, a minor yet complicated holiday, not even part of the Jewish Bible. Our Acceptance in this country is the great miracle of our time. And if we could place the menorah in the window without fear of retribution, what else might we enjoy? The secularized Christmas is at the center of the American holiday season, bounded by Thanksgiving and New Year’s.

So we are in full bloom- we have Hanukkah bushes, lights of blue and white to decorate the house, and latkes and sufganiyot are now things in the American public space! Giant menorahs are lit alongside the Christmas trees, eclipsing the simple manger scenes of the holiday’s religious roots. It is a mash-up of the best our traditions have to offer, and we all join together in the kind of unity we could only pray might somehow extend to all the other days of the year (either 364 if you are Christian or 357 if you are Jewish).

They say competition is a good thing.  And arguably, Hanukkah is a bigger, better celebration because of Christmas.

Let us wish everyone Happy Holidays and a year of bounty and joy. Let us thank God for bringing us to a time when our lights can burn brightly, and we can be with our brothers and sisters; whatever their faith traditions, we are together here in the United States.

Shabbat Shalom (and Chag Urim Sameach)

As we welcome Shabbat, Hanukkah comes immediately after on the 18th.  Six13, the outstanding a capella group shares “Elton Johnukah.” Take a listen and enjoy the music and the joy.

Shabbat Shalom

(PS shout out to Jeff and Ilene for sharing this video with me so I can share it here)

Do not stand idly by


Do not stand idly by while your neighbor’s blood is being shed- Lev 19:16

There is something we can do; Contribute to the organizations on the ground aiding the victims of war.  Choose from among many humanitarian groups trying to ease the suffering.  Consider a donation to Doctors without Borders; HIAS, JDC, World Central Kitchen.  Everything helps, no amount is too small.  Thank you.

 

Grandpa’s Magic Marshmallows

 

When we went to grandma and grandpa’s house to visit, some things stood out. Among them was a giant breakfront that contained the unique items they had collected over the years. I remember the porcelain figurines on display, delicate and colorful, gracing the shelves just behind the beautiful curved glass. But there was something even more extraordinary; it was a secret that only my grandpa knew. He would call us over and open the top right drawer and withdraw a box of campfire marshmallows. The box had eight marshmallows, so my brother Jeff and I always enjoyed the special treat and even got seconds.

As I got older, I got a bit bolder, and the allure of those marshmallows was too great. So, I decided to sneak over to that drawer and get a marshmallow for myself. I waited for the appropriate time and stealthily made my move to the treasure chest. I opened the drawer, but the marshmallows were not there. I was crestfallen. I was sure grandpa put the box back in the drawer. But like magic, they disappeared. What was amazing to me was that the same thing happened the next time.   Grandpa produced the box of marshmallows and put the remaining ones away, but they disappeared when I went back to look. It was truly magic.

I never did ask my grandfather about the magic disappearing marshmallow trick. But now that I am about as old as he was when he performed that trick, I think I figured out how he did it. I hope that someday I will be given the gift of performing that same magic trick for my grandchild. For, the breakfront now sits in my study. I have replaced the porcelains with special books and mementos, including a picture of my grandparents on their 50th wedding anniversary. It is magical.

When you emerge, who will you be?

Behar-Bechukotai

by Yoram Raanan

Have you ever taken a vacation?

Usually, it is for one of two reasons:

To see or experience something new, or to Rest and relax (and of course some of us combine these). Both are ways to recharge to have a reset, time away from the normal and challenging tasks of work to engage in shavat v’yinafash, resting and refreshing both the body and the soul.

This week׳s Torah Portion Parsha Behar-Bechukotai talks about a reset- The Shmita -a reset of the land.  Every seven years we are supposed to stop tilling the soil to let the fields recharge and all people regardless of stature; resident, worker, and slave alike, even the animals, get to partake equally in what is there.

We let things lie dormant so they can be rejuvenated.

The land is recharged and also not uncoincidentally those who do the hard physical labor of farming are given a respite as well.  We do this for seven cycles of seven years and then in the 50th year is the Jubilee.  “And you shall sanctify the fiftieth year, and proclaim freedom for slaves throughout the land for all who live on it. It shall be a Jubilee for you, and you shall return each man to his property, and you shall return each man to his family.”(Lev 25:10)

What might we learn from such a giant reset?

Our tradition recognizes that there are imbalances in the system- imbalances inherent in all systems.  Some people are more successful in acquiring things, in working skillfully or even artfully, some possess better business acumen, some are particularly adept in choosing the right parents perhaps.  And then, there are those not so skilled.  The Talmud extensively discusses the issue that  “Batar Anya Azla Aniyuta,” or  “poverty follows the poor” or that Poverty actually increases from being impoverished.

All societies naturally tend towards these proclivities,  and it is up to us, those who can make a difference, to make a change.  To reset society to align with our values and principles.  Another example of such a reset is commemorated at this time in our calendar.

As we mark the 34th day of our trek to Sinai the story of Shimon Bar Yochai is also worth noting.  A disciple of Rabbi Akiva, he and his son, Eleazar, fled to escape the Romans, living in a cave for 12 years.  He emerged but instead of re-joining his community, he was disgusted by a perceived lack of piety by the people.  Shimon’s eyes burned everything they saw to a cinder, field and man, alike.  God’s messenger, The Bat Kol, sent him back to the cave for another year and he emerged an enlightened man dedicated to righteous living and scholarship, redeeming Tiberias and possibly laying the groundwork for writing the seminal book of Jewish Mysticism, the Zohar.

This is the charge of this week’s Parsha- for each of us individually to rededicate ourselves to serving the needs of our people compassionately and deliberately, fully committed to the sacred cause of living Jewishly if we are willing to take up the challenge.

When this health emergency is past, will you emerge hardened from the cave? Or will you emerge from this quarantine open and deeper in touch with the values that are there to guide you?  Or, will you figuratively burn what you see to the ground by turning a blind eye towards the deep injustices and needs that exist, or instead, will you choose to engage in pursuing righteousness and Jewish values, treating the people with Tzedek and compassion?

Which path will you choose?

May you choose to walk the Jewish path

Cain Yehi Ratzon,