HH #295 — And…It’s Tevet

Photo: Microsoft Office

Founded by Soccer Dad, Haveil Havalim is a carnival of Jewish blogs — a weekly collection of Jewish & Israeli blog highlights, tidbits and points of interest collected from blogs all around the world. It’s hosted by different bloggers each week and coordinated by Jack. The term ‘Haveil Havalim,’ which means “Vanity of Vanities,” is from Qoheleth, (Ecclesiastes) which was written by King Solomon. King Solomon built the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and later on got all bogged down in materialism and other ‘excesses’ and realized that it was nothing but ‘hevel,’ or in English, ‘vanity.’”
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A hearty welcome back to The Rebbetzin Rocks. You have been missed. And your return post shows us why.

Chanukah was clearly on the minds of many this past week. And in the midst of the festival, we moved from Kislev into Tevet. A beautiful post by Amy on this transition.

So let’s jump right in with some Chanukah posts —

חנוכה

The Minnesota Mamaleh take a turn at being the Hanukkah Mom.

Chana Sorel muses about everyday miracles and the light of the festival.

We Ashkenazim can be so ashke-centric. Just ask Susan. She shares her experience in Attack of the Latke Lovers.

A rabbi lighting an electric menorah? Sure thing. Read more over at Sects and the City.

What about a Christmas tree made out of Jewish Stars? PepGiraffe has something to say about this.

Living in the Diaspora? Thanks to Jacob for giving us a sense of the advertising possibilities of Chanukah in Israel. And a tremendous thank you to CosmicX for Zot Chanukah.

The Jewish BlogMeister provides links to some a capella Hanukkah videos for our enjoyment.

And a whole slew of DIY menorot: a blingy one from Amy at Homeshuling, one using alphabet blocks from Creative Jewish Mom, SEVERAL amazing projects over at Crafting Jewish Style

And if you are Peach, then your Chanukah was perfect for you got your dream gift: a doll.

A really fun Chanukah over at the Minnesota Mamaleh’s place. I want to go there next year. They know how to make simple things really special.

December Dilemma, anyone? Hadassah asks if it is OK to bring Christmas into a Jewish home. Don’t freak; not to celebrate it. But to watch a Christmas-themed special.

Just like that…Chanukah ended. As it was ending, life is beginning. As captured by Robin.

Israel

A post by Sara Esther Crispe at Chabad.org reminds us that fire can either warm, illuminate, glow and sustain, or it can burn, disintegrate and destroy…

Can one individual in the government be responsible for the Carmel Fire? CosmicX in Jerusalem ponders this very question. He also shares some of the rabbinic viewpoints regarding the cause of the fire.

Esser Agaroth defends Eli Yishai.

Ruti implores God to provide rain at this most needed time. (Caution: this is a stunning piece.)

Prayers for rain came from all over the world, as JaneTheWriter shares

And then…there was rain. Batya shares her rainy experience. She also asks “What’s the Attraction of Rachel’s Tomb?”

David, over at Israelity, talks about the beauty of this particular rain. He also shares his experience of seeing a great adaptation of Disney’s Little Mermaid (בת ים הקטנה) in Tel Aviv.

This post about hitchhiking reminds me of my first trip to Israel over twenty years ago. Thanks, Dave, for reminding me of the decency of folks.

Reality Bites! Miriyummy shares some of the conflict that comes from being a passionate Zionist who loves a passionate Zionist when they are on different pages politically. And for sharing a picture of a beautiful Jerusalem sunset and the Kotel at night.

Joel Katz provides us with the top stories of Religion and State here and here.

The Velveteen Rabbi blogged over 27,000 words from the recent Rabbis for Human Rights conference. Here are some of the highlights.

Yisrael Medad asks if Julian Assange and the King of Siam are interconnected somehow, shares his theory of jet lag and the peace process, and criticized the use of the word ‘settler’ in a Letter to the Editor in the NYT.

Judaism

Wow. The Independent Patriot asks some painful questions regarding the Rabbi at her shul and his political leanings over at Liberty’s Spirit.

The Third Edition of the Jewish Homeschooling Blog Carnival is live over at Adventures in Mamaland. Yasher Koach! A very impressive collection of links.

So what do rabbis do all day? The Rebbetzin’s Husband take a walk down memory lane to answer that question. He also takes a hard look at the meaning of prayer.

Chavi (no, not this one) asks “Is Red an Immodest Color for Women?” as well as sharing a comprehensive list of well-known Jews-by-Choice. She also addresses the issue of folks who start with a liberal conversion and then move to the right. (I don’t love the title, but there are some real truths in her post.)

Esser Agaroth disagrees with one woman’s interpretation of the meaning of Havdallah.

And a guest post by Marcy over at PopCulture provides some solid objections to Matisyahu’s most recent video.

Kashrut

The latest edition of the Kosher Cooking Carnival is over at Miriyummy. Take a look.

Humour

And just when you thought that it was safe to return into the water, the JewTribe sheds some light on the Wikileak exposure of the Mossad.

What’s a tefillin-wearing woman supposed to wear? On the Fringe shares her fashion dilemma.

Politics

Weighing in on the Jewish community’s enduring loyalty to FDR is Batya.

Personal

We are meant to learn from life’s lessons. If that be the case, then Ricki’s Mom is well on her way to Getting a PhD in Life.

A sweet gesture from a husband to his beloved. I found this touching…but reading through the comments shows that some find such public displays of affection to be inappropriate.

Also from Hadassah, what do you think of this? And again, it’s worth taking the time to read through the comments.

Chavi’s back from Israel…and with some bittersweet thoughts.

Finally, a reminder that we’ve all met...once a upon a Time.

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A huge, HUGE mazal tov to the Ima on the safe delivery of her son. May he bring much light to our world!

And that concludes this week’s edition of Haveil Havalim. I hope that you enjoy reading these posts as much as I did!

Not certain who will be hosting next week as the Blog Carnival site has been down. With God’s Help, it will be up and running shortly. You can participate in the next edition of HH by using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.