Happy Thanksgiving

I didn't take this picture, but thought it was cute.

What is the approach of Judaism to the observance of Thanksgiving holiday. Is it observed or recognized: if yes why, if no why?


Thanksgiving can be divided into three parts:
The idea. The day. The celebration.
The Idea:
Giving thanks is a very Jewish idea, as a matter of fact, as Jews we give thanks to G-d every day as soon as we wake up, right before we go to bed, and at least a hundred times in between.
The Idea of thanks-giving is thus supported and celebrated by Judaism.
The Day:
Thanksgiving Day as a national American Holiday, is just that: a National American Holiday. As Jews we ought to commend America as a nation for deciding out of the goodness of its own heart to dedicate one day to give (or highlight) thanks to G-d. At the same time, as Jews there is no reason to limit our own thanks to one day, or to have an American chosen day represent the Jewish idea of thanks.

The Day of thanksgiving should be recognized and categorized as a noble American Holiday; Judaism doesn’t think it needs to be officially endorsed or adopted by Jewish institutions.
The Celebration:
There are two ways to give thanks to someone.

A) Give him something you like, or you think he likes.

B) Give him something he asked for.

The American Thanksgiving gives thanks to G-d through the former. The Jewish idea of giving thanks to G-d is the latter. So if you feel the need to apply the adage “when in Rome do like the Romans” and thus celebrate Thanksgiving precisely the way our fellow citizens do, make sure it is a Kosher meal, and remember to recite the proper blessings. Additionally, don’t let the festivities of Thursday night’s dinner take away from your enthusiasm and celebration of the Friday night and Shabbat meals.

The Celebration of Thanksgiving is a marvelous human gesture. Judaism hopes you will also give thanks befitting of a Divine request.

There is an obligation for a Jew to make at least 100 blessings a day.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Hurricane Ike blew down this pecan tree.

Part of the tree fell into the water and we couldn't get it out. Birds and ducks have taken up residence around the fallen tree. This bird has been out on the branches for days, sometimes it brings friends with it.

The black duck is keeping him company, knowing the white bird is hunting for food.

A little scratch and...

BAM!! He got one!

Saturday with Sophie

Sophie spends the night

She rides her horse in her new pjs.

She reads her books about dogs.

She wears zayde's shoes.

She measures her stepstool.

and measures the cabinet....

and measures Buddy.

Then she falls fast asleep in her new big girl bed,

holding her stuffed "Buddy" tightly in her arms.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Isn't this weather wonderful. Since it is so nice and cool in the mornings, I leave the front door open to our apartment/classroom (we are in an apt while the building is being remodeled). Suddenly, during storytime, a bird flew into our room, fluttered about, and quickly flew out. It happened so fast, but the kids all saw it. They were so surprised and excited about it. It was very funny to see.

Meet my kids, the gardeners

This is my kindergarten class, holding their seed packets, ready to plant.

We must have flowers in our garden, too.

Our tiny little garden!

Cabbage, onion, and radishes are all a part of the garden.

I don't usually write about my class because I do a separate blog just for Kindergarten. I wanted you to see how cute my class is. We decided to try and plant a little garden. I sure hope we get some sprouts. (I know the space is way too narrow, but it is all a part of the learning experience)The last time we tried planting , we planted beans in egg shells and all they did was get moldy! My green thumb might be turning blue.

It's harder than it looks

Philip trying to open the coconut.
He finally got it open.

Sophie enjoying a coconut smoothie.

I make alot of smoothies. So many of my recipes call for coconut water or meat. So i decided to try it out. I researched how to open it on you tube. It looks so easy. Four hits with a cleaver and then pop the top off. Right?....Well, if I had the cleaver, maybe it would have been.

After several attempts with a cook's knife, philip finally got it open. I was so surprised by the water and the meat. Neither tasted like the coconut i knew, the kind from the store. The water was basically bland and the soft mushy meat had no flavor.

The smoothie was great: a healthy dessert choice.

1 cup coconut water

the meat from the coconut

about 2 cups of honeydew melon

about 5 strawberries

agave to taste

Tuesday, 11/11

To all our Vets, thank you for your service to our country.
If you can, at 11pm, take a moment to pause and be thankful.

Hold that Ladder!

According to Consumer Product Safety Commission accident estimates, tens of thousands of stepladder accidents requiring emergency room treatment occurred annually in the United States. Approximately 85-90% of these accidents involve the user falling from the ladder and 8-9% of these injuries are serious enough to require that the victim be admitted to a hospital. In addition to posing a severe health concern, these accidents have significant loss-of-wages and high medical expense implications.

This Saturday, my uncle was one of those statistics. He was changing light bulbs in his house, with the assistance of his son who was holding the ladder. After they were finished, he decided to take a nap, only to walk into his bathroom and realize that he forgot to change one more bulb. So he decided to just do it himself, not calling his son in to hold the ladder. Big mistake...one that so many people make. We all think that falling off of a ladder is something that won't happen to us. Well, you probably know what happened....he fell off and fell into the bathtub. He was rushed by ambulance to our local trauma hospital since it was a head injury. At first sight, he was bad, confused, bleeding, .moaning in pain, disoriented....and so on. The good news is he was very very lucky. There were no injuries to the spine or brain, however, he had multiply facial fractures, including his eye socket and jaw. Luckily, he only spent one night in the hospital, and now has some healing to do.

This has taught all of our family a big lesson, especially Eddie, my husband. He is the worse about doing everything himself....including climbing high on ladders and doing jobs without any assistance. This scared him. Good, I'm glad. He has now vowed to hire a handyman!

Challah Baking Class

My mother, Roz, actually braided her own little challah!

You have to understand, she doesn't cook, doesn't know how. Growing up, we were fortunate enough to have my grandmother cook everything for us. Obviously, i get my love for cooking and baking from my grandma lil.

A first....my mom making challah!

Actually, a first to bake anything that didn't already come frozen in a box!

We had a packed house.

The other side of the room...standing room only.

Last night, I taught a challah baking class for a group meeting between my Hadassah group and my Chabad House's Women's Circle. Never have we had a turn out like last night...there were over 40 women. Everyone made a tiny, bite-sized challah to take home. I demonstrated how to make, braid, and cook the challah. Afterwards, we ate every crumb.

Don't forget to vote!

This was taken at my niece's Bat Mitzvah.

The only family missing is Josh and his girlfriend, Alex.

Eric and Heather are continuing on the final leg of their one year journey tomorrow.

They are headed for Costa Rica. We are going to meet them there in a few months.

Don't forget to vote today....it's your right and obligation as a free American!

Rachel's Bat Mitzvah

This weekend was my neice's bat mitzvah. This is a milestone event in a jewish child's life, when they turn 13 years of age. Once they have become a Bar (for boys) or Bat (for girls) Mitzvah, they are required by jewish law to follow all of the commandments given to the Jewish people by G-d. Rachel was so prepared for her Bat Mitzvah, she has such a beautiful voice that it enhanced the melodies of the prayers. Almost everyone in the family was here...my brother, Howard and his son came in from Atlanta. Unfortunately, Josh was not able to leave school to come in for it. What a nice weekend we had.