STORMY WEATHER AND CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR

So I was preparing a post reflecting on how our family has managed to instill a sense of unplugged time and space with our teen daughter, a post I am excited to share and extend, however things happen…

Last night after I set a few ideas on paper for such posts, our severe weather became even more furious with wind and rain threatening our windows and nearby trees!  Transformer POP , darkness …electricity gone… a situation not unfamiliar to our family and thousands of others in the Northeast!   Our previous experience with power outages left us in the dark and without electrical power for 8 days (a typical festival duration!).  So immediately following our lovely unplugged Rosh Hashanah holiday celebration, here was unplugged time imposed on our family exactly when the urgency of returning to the chol (the everyday ) hits hard.  We need ( crave?) “ plugged in”.  I needn’t enumerate the ways!

My irritation began to boil over as soon as I began to prepare lunch and food for my daughter’s school day and beyond as she participates in varsity sports and needs energy to propel her through her day. It was still so dark and I had to open the refrigerator and who knows how many days this would last and... This was my whine time and I was going to use it wisely or not. I was grateful for whoever would listen (like Clyde, our cat). 

Preparing food for my family is one of my favorite ways to nurture and this was feeling like a tremendous imposition.   Though I am a big proponent of choosing when to unplug as part of one’s Jewish, parenting, and Jewish parenting practice, the spiritual quality of this life approach is lost when you ‘ Lose Power’ !

It's Time to WAKE UP (and hear the Shofar)!!

So early this morning I out was out for my jog having determined which route I would run today and about 15 minutes in I 'missed' the turn up a quieter street that I had planned. It was probably that incessant conversation going on in my head worrying about and planning for this and that. I chuckled as it is a pretty funny thing to do when you are out running...forgetting to turn!



I began thinking of this little error metaphorically as we are now running towards the High Holiday season. Yes, I can and do think about all kinds of things when I am running!  How simple it is to get lost in head rambles and conversations and not pay attention; after all the sound of the Shofar, the ram’s horn blown on Rosh Hashanah, is supposed to be our wake up call to be attentive in how we live our lives.  However as I am thinking these thoughts, the next call that I hear is a group of middle school students on their way to school with a string of expletives – long ones – short ones– long ones …tikiah … – blasting from their mouths. 



OK so I am awake at this point conversing with myself about how unacceptable such language is and what, as an adult I am to do about this.  As I pass them by, I ask them to watch their mouths and surprisingly receive a sincere apology in return!  It was a magical moment for me... Until the point, 10 minutes later, when I was not paying attention again and almost got hit by a car as I am running across the street (no cross-walk in sight)!!!

My challenge to and wish for all of us is to learn to sustain our sense of awareness in the world whether in our parenting (family and village parenting!!), work relationships, community or wider world.  Please share your own thoughts and strategies for addressing this.

 

One interpretation of the sounds of the Shofar:

Tekiah - one long, straight blast                       WHOLENESS
Shevarim - three medium, wailing sounds        BROKENESS
Teruah - 9 quick blasts in short succession       SHATTERDNESS

These are things we all feel at different times in our lives.  But at this time of the year, after experiencing pain, mistakes, loss, illness, failure, weakness, we are reminded that we can find wholeness again.
                                                                                                                                                                                             

The Crunch of a Freshly Picked Apple, the Delight of a Child

Yesterday was our kick-off event for J-Kids of Northeast Connecticut.  Threatening clouds in the morning and torrential rain the day before in no way subdued enthusiasm for apple-picking at a bucolic orchard nearby.  The exhileration reminded me of our ritual autumn pilgrimages to our own orchard on the farm that I grew up on in upstate New York where my brothers would climb trees and toss apples down to me.  This time it was much younger hands reaching for low-lying McIntoshes to toss in their own bags.  The speed with which these youngsters filled their bags surprised me and we were done picking nearly 20 pounds of apples in no time! 







Lists of favorite things to do with apples soon enveloped our space : just eat 'em, apple crisp, apple cake, apple pie, dipped in honey!  We settled onto a nearby blanket to dip apple slices in honey and explore the tastes of the different kinds of honey brought along to help us prepare for the upcoming Rosh Hashanah holiday.  My puppet friend, Yanshuf (Hebrew for 'owl') and I lead a "rousing" rendition of an Apples and Honey song wishing each other a sweet and good New Year!  The clear late afternoon sky, the shade of nearby fruit trees, and the warmth of the sun were superb catalysts for young families connecting and reconnecting.  Surely the sweetness of the coming year has begun in earnest! 

Shanah Tovah!!
 

Recipe: Greek Apple Cake (thanks Sue S.) who says that it is also known as Jewish Apple Cake - Go Figure!  All I know is that it is absolutely delish...

Greek or Perhaps Jewish Apple Cake!!

5 McIntosh or Cortland Apples
1/2 C sugar
1-1/2 tsp cinnamon

Pare apples and coat with cinnamon.
__________
3 C flour                                              1  C veg oil
2 C sugar                                             1/3 C orange juice                              
1 tsp baking soda                                2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
4 beaten eggs

Blend in electric mixer on low speed and then on medium for 4 minutes. Grease a 10 inch tube pan.  Fill with layers of batter and apples: Batter –Apples-Batter-Apples-Batter.  Bake at 350° for 1 ¼ to 1 ½ hours.

So what is this thing about honey on Rosh Hashanah anyhow?

Recently I was in our local Whole Foods store thinking I would pick up some of their bulk honey when I ventured a little further around the corner and discovered oodles and oodles of jars containing different honey varieties – honey from clover, from raspberry flowers, from blueberry blossoms and on and on … what I triumph I thought!!  How fun will it be to taste all of these varieties with my pre-school children and their family this week when we go apple-picking!  So, why my exuberance?  Why is honey so central to a Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year, lit. head of the year) celebration?   Well for sure it is sweet and symbolizes our desire for a sweet New Year,  In fact on Rosh Hashanah, it is traditional to dip an apple slice or a piece of the egg bread, Challah, in some honey and recite:

“May it be Your will to renew us for a year that is good and sweet.”

So why not sugar or chocolate or ginger snaps or …?  My guess is that honey traditionally refers to honey extracted from dates, a prevalent, Biblical, and indigenous food in the Land of Israel.  Therefore, we can imagine that date honey has a certain elevated status.  When Jews in the Diaspora were wishing to eat customary food, they found it necessary to substitute another desirous sweet honey, bee honey!!

May yours be a sweet and fulfilling New Year!

Try this recipe for an astounding and unusual Ashkenazi (Jews from Eastern Europe) sweet for Rosh Hashanah: Teiglach!!!  My mother would actually make them and send them to me when I was in college, such a dedicated parent!!