Happy Purim!

Happy Purim everyone!

Thought I would add a few more things about Purim. During the service they read the book of Esther (called the megdillah) which tells the story of Haman and Esther and how she saved the Jews. Whenever Haman's name is read the congregation may stomp their feet or shake noise makers known as graggers. The noise makers are symbolic of an alarm clock to wake us up to the evil in the world. The stomping is symbolic of stomping it out since Haman was evil. In the past it was tradition to write Haman's name on the bottom of your shoe or on the floor of the synagogue and wipe your feet on it as you walk over it.

Also, there is a special mitzvah (good deed) that is traditionally done on Purim- sending food baskets to family, friends and those in need (or doing other charity work). The basket is called a mishloach manot. The baskets should contain two ready to eat foods- nuts, fruits etc.

Lastly, for the kiddies- this is a fun holiday. In addition to the festivals you can use things around the house to dress up as the King and Queen. Homemade costmes are the best! This link will take you to masks that you can color and cut out, directions for handmade graggers and other fun activities. www.holidays.net/purim

Happy Purim!

Easy Hamataschen from Recipezaar & Jewish Holiday-Do Book

Lazy Hamantaschen
From recipezaar.com and Jewish Holiday-Do Cookbook

Ingredients
1 c. softened butter or butter-flavored margarine
2 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
4 c. flour
Jam or chocolate chips or other fillings

1. Beat butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla together, add flour
2. Form into 3 inch logs, wrap and freeze
3. Before making, remove from freezer and let thaw slightly. Slice in ¼ “ slices.
4. Put some filling in the center of each slice and pinch to make 3 corners- like a triangular hat.
5. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes

Tip- use parchment paper to help with clean up and then you can write down the flavoring.

Purim- eat, drink and be merry!

So here’s the lowdown on Purim as interpreted by me. Esther, a beautiful young Jewish girl, was chosen to be a part of King Ahasuerus’s (King of Persia) harem. However, the King loved her more than the other women and made her his queen. Esther, who had been raised by her Uncle Mordecai as his own daughter had been advised not to tell anyone she was Jewish.
Meanwhile, one of the King’s advisors, Haman, hated the Jews. The only real explanation I could find for this was that he hated Mordecai because Mordecai wouldn’t bow to him and thus hated all Jews. Haman advised the King that the Jews should be killed and the King gave Haman permission to do whatever he wanted (of course not knowing that his wife the queen was Jewish). Esther learned of Haman’s plan and managed to convince the King to save the Jews and as a result Haman was hung.

This is a one day, festive celebration. Many temples have festivals and the children dress up as the King and Queen. I found reference of cross-dressing in celebration of Purim but when I brought it up with my husband he had never witnessed such activity and thought I was making that part up.

As for eating traditions- hamentaschen is the way to go. They are little triangular shaped cookies filled with jelly or fruit preserve. They are shaped that way to imitate the shape of the hat that Haman wore. This is also a very “festive” occasion in the drinking department and you are encouraged to drink until you can’t tell the difference between, “cursed be Haman,” and “blessed be Mordecai.” Really- I am not making this up- this comes directly from Judaism 101- www.jewfaq.org.

We’ll talk more later this week about the service and specific activities you can do to celebrate Purim. Until then, get your costumes ready and your liquor cabinet stocked.

Third time is the charm

So this is officially my third time trying to get this off the ground- and I feel good about it. Third time's the charm, right? What have I missed- a lot. There was Hanukkah, Tu B'Shevat and of course Christmas and New Year's. So, I will try again. Purim is right around the corner (as in next week) and then not far behind is Passover with lots of "stories" in between I am sure.

Talk to you in a few days...

Hanukkah is coming

Has anyone seen how much bigger the Hanukkah section is at Target this year?   It's like twice the size of the past.  Last year it was an end cap that barely overflowed into an aisle in the stationary section.  But this year it has an entire side of an aisle and is right next to the Christmas section.  It even has cute stuff, which has always been hard for me to find.  

Start stocking up- Hanukkah is only 5 weeks away! 

Happy Halloween!

I love Halloween! I am silly and dramatic by nature so Halloween is like my own personal holiday. This year our family is going as "Wizard of Oz." My husband is the tin man, the little one is Dorothy and the older one is the lion. We had to buy a scarecrow and just keep him propped up next to us. Appropriately enough, I am the witch and just like the witch, I have things that will send me into a melt down. Here's my top five- not necessarily in "melting power" order.

1. All the little things that go wrong when I am already running late- can't find my keys, son running away from me as I try to get his shoes on, garage door won't close etc.
2. Inconsolable crying- I usually am a champ about this but when it does send me into meltdown road- IT REALLY SENDS ME INTO MELT DOWN MODE.
3. An annoying husband. Now let me follow that by saying I have the most wonderful husband in the world who treats me like a princess and puts up with much more from me than he should or than I care to admit, but he sometimes misses the key details in ourconversation which result in additional trips to the grocery store, a forgotten child at pre-school or duplicated work.
4. Not finding anything to wear. In 3 years I have gone from a mostly business wardrobe to a very casual wardrobe- 2 sizes bigger. I also have less time for personal attention so there is often no makeup and unwashed hair. All of this combined just leads to me feeling ugly and gross and often late as I try on one outfit after another.
5. Not being able to find something. I used to be a very organized person and have a very organized way of living- work off lists, strategically plan my week with errands needing to be run, coupons organized by aisle etc. However, I don't know if it's my husband, combining our stuff, being in a constant state of renovations on the house (until this year), working from home or just being a family of four, our house is frequently messy and things are never organized as well as I would like. When I can't find something I feel like my entire life is a mess and quite frankly just overwhelmed.

I know this seems like a lot. It really takes these things combined with a bad day, being over- tired, PMSing or some other circumstance that already has me on the edge. But I do know these are all little things and that's something I am working on. Because in the grand scheme of things who cares if I am the parent known for being late or if my son doesn't have his shoes on as we approach school, or if I have to go to the grocery store everyday of the week or if I am still in running shorts and a sweatshirt when my husband comes home. Nobody. Nobody really cares and it doesn't really matter.

So I will try not to sweat the small stuff- especially since I am probably already sweating from running my son into his pre-school class.

Mile high club

Don't get excited. It's not THAT mile high club. I wish I could say I was a member of that club but my life just isn't that adventurous (and plane bathrooms disgust me). For the first time I took my breast pump on the plane and pumped. I packed the pump and small bottle cooler as carry ons and then on the way home I emptied the ice just before security and replenished right after I went through. It was actually pretty easy. The best part was the reaction I got from the gentlemen I encountered along the way.

I am not really a shy person and will admit that I sometimes get pleasure out of making people uncomfortable. Not in a mean way- more of a teasing way. Like pretending I don't notice my son has a dirty diaper as I leave him with my husband. So yes, it was fun to watch the TSA official at the security gate take a second look at the milk and even more fun to watch the reaction of the 20 something guy behind me when I proudly, and a little loudly, announce that the liquid in the plastic bags was breast milk. I only wish I could have seen the face of the person banging on the plane bathroom door when I yelled, "it's going to be a minute, I am pumping my breasts."