Give Them One Day
thankful to all those who continue to serve each day so that we can be free.
thanks to all the vets and servicemen and women out there.
God bless our men and women in uniform serving our country.
God bless the veterans — and America.
Some of the Facebook statuses, written in honour of a national holiday. Just based on the above statements, which holiday would you guess?
Three years after the conclusion of the War Between the States, May 30 was declared “Decoration Day” — a day to decorate the graves of fallen Union soldiers. By 1890, all Northern States had declared May 30 a state holiday. May 30 was chosen with deliberate care. It was a day that did not coincide with the anniversary of any battle. The Southern states, where Memorial Day was observed at different dates during the immediate post-Civil War period, came to join the Northern States in a May observance about fifty years later.
Memorial Day, as it been unofficially called since just after the Second World War, become the official name in 1967 and, under the Uniform Holidays Bill, was moved to the last Monday in May, beginning in May of 1971.
Flags fly at half-staff until noon in memory of those who gave their lives in defense of the United States.
The statuses, however, might lead one to believe that today we honoured those who serve our country or have served our country.
That would be called…Veteran’s Day. We have one of those too.
It’s on November 11. (Eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month…)
Yes, we our a debt of gratitude each and every day to those who give of themselves each and every day. On this one day, the fallen deserve the attention.
Haveil Havalim #269
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 lot going on this past week in the world of Jewish blogs. So I’ll cut right to the chase.
Torah
Each person has certain parashiyot that hold special meaning. This is Geshmack Torah’s lucky week! Parashat B’haalosecha (that’s B’haalotecha for the rest of us) is one of his favourites and he shares some insights in “Drawing Conclusions.” Parshablog offers his perspective in “Ibn Caspi and the Magic Trumpets.”
The Velveteen Rabbi recounts the 4am lesson taught by Reb Zalman Shachter-Shalomi at the Elat Chayyim/Isabella Freedman Shavuot retreat. Using Mishlei 1:8 as a starting point, Reb Zalman examined some gender differences in approach in “The Torah of our Mothers: Reb Zalman, Shavuot 5660, 4am.”
Israel
Catch up on the latest media coverage of religious issues in Israel here and here, thanks to Religion and State in Israel.
Speaking of media coverage, The Israel Situation takes a look at Israel’s constant public relations predicament in “Israel is Always Playing PR Catch Up.”
Taking a close look at language, My Right Word wishes that the NY Times would read itself in “The NY Times Repudiates Its William Safire.” He also shares “A Picture of Hareidim on the Temple Mount.”
It is hard to argue with the logic presented by Eretz Avot in “Red Lines and the Green Line.”
Israelity reports a huge fashion shout-out in T, the NYT Style Magazine and favourable odds for winning the Eurovision finals in Oslo. And did you know that Hebrew is offered at Bagdad University despite a Jewish population that hovers around ten??
Another current fashion trend was spotted in Jerusalem by My Right Word. “The Modern Hareidi Feminine Fashion” might cause you to do a double-take.
A taste of the Gush: home-made, home-baked, and home-brewed. Yum. Live vicariously by sharing Ruti’s visit to the Gush Etzion Farmers’ Market in “A Land Flowing with Milk and Honey.”
Batya, over at Shiloh Musings, shares her thoughts about illegal immigrants in “If It’s So Bad Here, Why are There So Many Illegals?”
A weekly interview of fellow bloggers. What a great idea! This week, Ilana-Davita has a chat with Mrs. S.
Looking for an engaging conversation of your own? Dan has a chatroom set up and ready to go. More info in “Jewish Chat or Israel Chat.”
Couldn’t make it to the Salute to Israel parade? View these photos Jacob and Leora and feel a part of the magic.
Over at What War Zone, we find Benji’s “First Book Review.”
Making aliyah can be a difficult transition under the very best circumstances. One thing is for sure; “No [one takes a] Vow of Poverty” to do so, says Elms in the Yard.
I share the following post by Marjorie Ingall with some trepidation. I disagree with much of what she writes. However, that is not the cause of my trepidation. Choosing to share her own misgivings about how to talk about Israel with her children, she has received a tremendous amount of vitriolic and heinous comments. Rather than see this as a starting point for a fruitful dialogue, many have chosen to hurl hateful statements. If you take the time to read Marjorie’s post, I ask that you return to the site in the upcoming week to read the follow-up. I ask also that if you choose to respond, follow the rules of derech eretz, etc.
Judaism
Bar Mitzvah at the Western Wall. Isramom asks what does it mean today in “The Emanuel Family’s Bar Mitzvah — Not Your Father’s ‘Today I am a Fountain Pen.'”
“Living with the Host Majority” is the topic for the day, thanks to not one, but TWO experiences I had this week.
In “Thinking about Caring for Dead People,” Susan shares her discomfort at participating in taharah.
Please enjoy Jessica’s account of a new mitzvah that she and her husband have taken on as their own. How wonderful it will be for future congregants to learn from their Rebbetzin that ritual decisions can change and evolve as we change and evolve.
What is it like to “Stand at Again at Sinai — For the First Time”? Sara shares her experience. It is an honour to be a part of her journey…
A teacher gives the following assignment: Write a diary entry as if you were Moshe at the end of the forty years. This is what one student wrote in Moshe’s Log: End of Year Forty.
The same teacher ended the year with a special art project. Students were asked to artistically represent something they had learned from the Gemorrah they’d studied the past year. Take a look at one interpretation entitled KeVatikin (at sunrise).
A Chassidishe Farbrengen beautifully explains the resistance to move from the mundane to the sacred in “A Difficult Transition.”
When Leora says “better late than never,” boy is she right! Thought she posted “Kosher Cooking Carnival: Dairy, Meat, OR Pareve” just before Shavuos, the offerings are as fresh as ever.
“And You Think *Synagogue Dues* are Expensive?!” On The Fringe takes a look at the cost of participating in the Temple rites. Even more interesting are the comments about the costs of being a Jew in contemporary times.
I am so excited for my friend, Amy. Her blog, Homeshuling, is now over at Beliefnet. Which is a very big deal. Please go over and say hello.
See if you can read “Smile!” by The Rebbetzin’s Husband without…smiling.
Humour
Wondering what type of picture to use on your online dating profile? Wonder no more, thanks to TellAviva. She offers sage advice in “Rouge or Ruse? How to Choose an Online Dating Photo.”
Tzedek-Tzedek regales us with his tale of a recent, high-drama visit to the Bet Shemesh town council meeting. Hold on to your hats, folks!
Jacob’s got a new website. This one is devoted to learning through humour. “Hebrew Jokes — Learn Hebrew and Laugh.” GREAT idea.
Here’s a way to support a worthy organization AND enjoy an evening of humour. Get the deets for “Comedy for Koby” over at What War Zone.
Oh thank goodness! FrumSatire has discovered the cause of the Shidduch crisis…and its solution.
Personal
The Minnesota Mamaleh considers the messages we send to our children in “About Raising Girls.”
NY’s Funniest Rabbi shares his more serious side with Personified Poems.
If you will it…Leah, over at Accidentally Jewish, created and expertly executed an enjoyable evening that raised $14,000 for her shul. Kol HaKavod!
Batya is getting used to Facebook as well as getting some Divine Intervention.
JaneTheWriter addresses her absence in “Letter to My Blog.” Pay special attention to the link that will take you to her article at Reform Judaism Magazine.
Having just passed the 1,500th post mark on Israel Situation, Eric shares his thoughts and what he’s learned from a few years of blogging. Mazal tov!
Isramom takes a moment to spotlight other bloggers in a “say thank you” meme in “Blogsphere Thank Yous.”
Speaking of thank you…a shout-out to my bosom friend, the Ima, who constantly provides me with inspiration. She shares the beautiful “Faces” of her three children. With God’s Help, there will be FOUR faces at the end of the secular year. B’shaah Tovah, love.
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And that concludes this week’s edition of Haveil Havalim. I hope that you enjoy these varied posts!!
Next week will be hosted by What War Zone???. Submit your blog article to the next edition of Haveil Havalim using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.
Finally Famous
Pretty cool, BossGiraffe, pretty cool.
Living with the Host Majority
Two experiences in the past three days remind me that we are so in the cultural/religious minority.
Seeing my hat, the barista greets me.
Barista: Hello Raa-bee?
{{Raa-bee?? Really?}}
FrumeSarah: It’s Rabbi.
Barista: Is that your name?
{{Come on…my name? Really??}}
FS: It’s my title.
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While fixing my computer, the tech guy tries his hand at small-talk.
Tech Guy: So what is it that you guys do here.
FrumeSarah: It’s a synagogue.{{{Silence}}}
FS: You know. Like a church. But for Jews.
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It just gets so tiresome. Having to explain. Guess this is why Beernut tells people that his parents force him to go to “Christian” school.
Which is why I am such an advocate for JewCamp. Providing an environment where our kids are in the majority, rather than in the minority, is a precious gift.
Forty-one days and counting…
DIY Judaism
True Confession: We have been inconsistent in our approach to the Shalosh Regalim. We celebrate them, of course. The inconsistency has been with the kids’ school attendance. Pesach: off. Sukkot: sometimes off, sometimes we send them. Shavuot: we send them.
The recent issue with the JCC’s decision to remain open on the chagim (here and here, if you need a refresher) served as the perfect motivation to revisit our family practice as we approached this year’s Shavuot celebration.
One of the difficulties of being in a Reform community is that those of us who choose to be observant find ourselves observing alone. I don’t see tremendous value in keeping my kids home from school just to say that they had stayed out of school. If they are going to stay home, it should be to observe the chag in some fashion.
Since my own shul has never had a morning chag service, I figured this would be the perfect opportunity for us to visit another community. And so began my quest to find a Shavuot observance for us.
I started with a near-by Conservative shul. Their primary observance was a Tikkun Leil Shavuot on erev Shavuot. A Festival service at 9:30am on Wednesday morning, but no indication of any kids’ programing. As I widened my search to the counties both north and south, I discovered a curious trend; the Tikkun Leil Shavout appears to have become the Shavuot observance. And the Shacharit services, in most locations, are simply an early morning minyan. An acknowledgement that Conservative Jews are going to work and are not likely to attend a full festival service.
As for some type of kid-friendly Shavuot observance, it seems to have been relegated to the nearest Sunday. Leaving the next generation without anything age-appropriate on the actual chag itself.
What’s a rabbi to do??
Wait just a minute…I’m a rabbi. What if I just organize a Shavuot experience for my kids and a few of their friends?
Which is exactly what we did.
Breakfast — chocolate Entenmann’s Donuts and milk as the kids and I shared our favourite Torah stories.
Gleaning strawberries at a local farm (efforts donated to a local food bank)
Lovely dairy lunch prepared by a friend
Ice cream cake for dessert
Swimming
Pizza dinner
Ice cream for dinner
(Why Entenmann’s donuts? I was first introduced to these donuts at the first Tikkun Leil Shavuot I ever attended. More info in another post.)
Was it a Sinai-experience?
Not in the way I have always thought of a Sinai-experience. But it was a day filled with Torah, the warm earth, friends, and God.
Guess it’s time to expand my understanding of Sinai.
Unresolved
Poppyseed passed through the kitchen wearing a sweatshirt that had been mine as a young girl.
Frume Sarah: She looks so cute in that.
Prince Charming: Yeah, but it’s starting to look small on her. She’s not going to be able to wear it for much longer.
FS (sighing): And there’s no one to wear it after her…
PC: I’m sorry. I know it’s hard for you.
PC: Hey, look at it this way. You’ve gotten good use out of it.
FS: Um…are we still talking about my uterus?
What happens when there is a disconnect between the mind and the heart? The heart must lose. And so it aches. And yearns. And grieves.
How much time must pass to heal from that pain?
I had always assumed that my last child would be the one whom I knew would be the completion of our family. My family of origin had four children and I wanted to replicate the chaos and camaraderie in my own household. I imagined a family with at least four kids. Kids who bickered noisily and loved passionately.
I might have emphasized the noisy bickering a bit too much…
Intellectually, I understand, and agree with, the reasons why my child-bearing years are over. Emotionally… A different story.
Yes, I know that so many women have struggled to have just one child and here I am complaining that I have “only” three. Please forgive me for what might appear to be a lack of gratitude. I have been entrusted with three wonderful children. I cannot conceive of a world without them. Yet, I am missing my “last child.” The one who is not to be.
I’m just not ready to say goodbye to the act of creating life one more time.
Mindful Counting
How timely it is that Sefirah occurs just as the earth is awakening from her slumber. Beckoning us. Calling us to connect with the very source of our sustenance.
I love the mindfulness of this season.
Even the way we mark the passage of time during this forty-nine plus one days is particular. Rather than just count the days, we acknowledge each day in a formulaic manner. The Omer-count is given in terms of both total days and weeks and days.
Today is forty-four days, which is six weeks and two days of the Omer.
Each day is a deliberate step away from bondage towards freedom. And knowledge. And Sinai. And You.
Love your neighbor as yourself, You said.
And light-blinded we saw
that inner and outer worlds are one
as You are One.
You spoke and we wrote.
We reached for You down the centuries,
Your light moving before us
as we climbed, fell back and climbed again
Your Sinai of life.
Do as I Do
Rabbi,
I read your article on the Sh’ma and I am writing you to tell you a story concerning your father.
I was a young boy and I heard him explain to someone about why he said the Sh’ma every night before he went to bed.
I didn’t hear any part of the story except…
“…and that’s why I say the Sh’ma every night before I go to bed.”
Well, after hearing him say that I started to say it every night before I go to bed. I also say it in the morning.
It just seems like the right thing to do.
Best,
It so happens that it is the right thing to do. It certainly is the Jewish thing to do.
Rabbis, by nature, like to teach. And we love to explain. And elucidate. How easy it is to forget that sometimes we teach much more by our actions than by our words.
How many conversations we have with people over the years, never really knowing if we’ve made an impact. So I forwarded this letter to BossGiraffe. I was a bit curious what the explanation was that this young man had not heard. A one verse reply was all that was needed.
When you lie down and when you rise up.
No Less Than Thirty-Six*
The amount of times the Torah commands us to care for, protect, or support the stranger. More than any other mitzvah.
When the professor of a class turns to the board (chalk, white, or Smart) and writes something down, you can be certain it is going to appear on the final. Literary repetition in the Bible is God’s Smartboard and will most certainly be on the Test. Though the phrasing may reflect word changes, the thematic repetition as a narrative tool indicates the importance of this leitmotif. God is really, REALLY serious about the treatment of strangers.
An undercurrent of hate and fear in this country has surged forth in recent weeks with the passage of an illegal-immigration bill, signed into law, in the state of Arizona. While the country was busy debating the constitutionality and humanity of Arizona SB 1070, also known as the “Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act,” the Arizona Department of Education ordered school districts to remove from the classroom teachers whose English was heavily-accented or whose speech is ungrammatical.
Yes, we have immigration laws that must be upheld. Yes, it is important that our children have teachers who model proper grammar. But the way in which these laws and policies are being written and implemented leave little question as to the motivation driving them.
Hatred of the other. The stranger. The immigrant. The alien. The man with dark skin. The woman who swallows “the ending sounds of words, as they sometimes do in Spanish.” It’s not the Caucasian man born in Europe. Or the woman from South Carolina.
The drug trafficking that makes its way across the border is a legitimate concern. As is the manner in which we attempt to control it.
As this issue continues to be debated in the public arena, let us not forget that we too were “strangers in a strange land.” Throughout most of our history. Rashi suggests that when the Torah says “you know the feelings of the stranger,” it is the recollection of our painful experience in Mitzrayim that instructs us to “know how painful it is when (we) oppress him” (Comment on Exodus 22:20, 23:9).
Mere days remain before we stand again at Sinai. Now is the time to heed God’s Call. Now is the time to take God’s Test.
Please take a moment and sign an Open Letter Supporting Humane Immigration Reform. It was drafted by Justice Team members from IKAR.
*36, 33, 24 — different sources share different numbers.
Common Sense
Parenting requires a good sense of humour. And a very thick skin.
Presented with two beautiful pendants for Mother’s Day, PC gave me the choice of one with a longer chain or one with a shorter chain. I was to try them both and decide which is the one I wanted. He would then send the other back.
Beernut: You should take the bigger one, Mom. Just like with a shirt. That way, when you get bigger, you’ll get more wear out of it.
Happy Mother’s Day!
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Speaking of mothers…check out what the Ima has put together for this week’s Haveil Havalim.
Frume Sarah is Shabbos-observant -- in a Reform way, that is. Please note that from Friday afternoons until one hour after sundown on Saturday evenings, Frume Sarah will be unavailable, in observance of the Jewish Sabbath.
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Thank you for your understanding...and gut Shabbos!!! 
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