In Every Generation
B’chol Dor VaDor. It’s all right there in black on white.
In every generation, one is obligated to see oneself as one who personally went out from Egypt. As it is written: “You shall tell your child on that very day: ‘It is because of this that God did for me when I went out from Egypt‘” (Exodus 13:8)
The way we approach the Exodus story is bibliodrama at its finest. In each generation, we turn the story over and over, looking for ways to insert ourselves into the story.
Rabbi Nachman of Bratzlav taught that “the exodus from Egypt occurs in every human being, in every era, in every year, and even on every day.”
How do we understand the Exodus? And what if we were to experience the Exodus in our own day, in our own time? And how would we transmit the story? We’ve moved beyond tablets. I, for one, would have tweeted it!
Wonder what it might have looked like if we live-tweeted the Exodus? Well, Rabbi Oren Hayon wondered the very same thing. The result??
— this quote was brought to you by quoteurl
Want to learn more? Take a look at this article in the Wall Street Journal.
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And given that it is the first day of the month of Nissan, this month’s edition of the Kosher Cooking Carnival can be found over at…the Ima’s place. There are some mighty tasting ideas over there!
Pubic Library
Yes, you read that correctly. Pubic library.
It is my constant reminder (with all credit going to my AWESOME rabbinic thesis advisor) that one ought not to rely on spell check. As in:
Ms. Frummie…spell check will never correct pubic library.
Case-in-point. A very misleading ad on Craiglist.
Rescued Rabbis Ready 4 Loving Home
I expected the copy to read something like this:
Two adult rabbis are ready for their loving home! They were rescued from a toxic shul just in the nick of time. VERY easy to care for – they need a loving congregation, kosher (or kosher-style) food, Slivovitz, freedom of the pulpit, and a book line! Other rabbis available for adoption too – check out the website. REFERENCES available. Both of these rabbis are fixed, so you don’t need to worry about baby rabbis. Also they are a BONDED PAIR which means they need to stay together because they are in love! 🙂 Please email if interested!
Mathematically-Challenged
Leave it to a bunch of brainiacs who can take a mathematical equation and make it into a quasi-holiday.
With all of the talk about pi(e) on Twitter and Facebook, I suddenly had a hankering for pie.
And that’s when it all started…
FrumeSarah Really thinking I need to bake a pie this afternoon. I need a nap, but might throw one together upon waking…
imabima @FrumeSarah YOU are going to throw together a pie? No offense but did someone hijack ur account 🙂 I was thinking of buying one… #dayofpi
— this quote was brought to you by quoteurl
Was that a dare? Or just a passing remark on my perceived lack of culinary expertise? Either way, it was all the motivation needed to get me into the kitchen.
TollHouse Pie
- pie shell
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup flour
- 2 eggs, slightly beaten
- 1 stick of margarine (melted)
- 1 bag of chocolate chips
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
- few drops of bourbon (also optional)
- Preheat oven to 325F
- Mix ingredients and pour into shell
- Bake for one hour
— this quote was brought to you by quoteurl
Here it is, Ima! And mighty tasty too.
P.S. Happy birthday, Cousin.
Some Afternoon Reading
Check out what’s going on in the Jewish blogosphere! And give a hearty welcome to first-time HH host, Yachdus.
Thanks, Village
While I was away…
- my Purim costume was returned…to the wrong costume shop
- Beernut received his twice-daily medication doses…almost every time
- Poppyseed was visited by the tooth fairy…a day late and a (gold) dollar (coin) short
- no broken items…bones or otherwise
- no spilled blood…accidental or out-of-rage
- no worse for the wear…though explanations to TWO costume shops were in order
Meaning…
In other words…
A successful trip!!!
Many thanks to the home team for making it all happen 🙂
In the Blink of an Eye
I just needed a change. And I wanted to look like Bubbe.
{{slow down…}}
Show Your Tzitzis
With the 121st Annual Convention of the Central Conference of American Rabbis coming to a close, we turn our attention to the 122nd Annual Convention. To be held in New Orleans.
Am the I only one who wasn’t aware that there is a rather lewd tradition surrounding these colourful beads??
Tourists
During today’s walk through the Mission District, I was reminded of a Yehuda Amichai poem.
Tourists
Visits of condolence is all we get from them.
They squat at the Holocaust Memorial,
They put on grave faces at the Western Wall
And they laugh behind heavy curtains
In their hotels.
They have their pictures taken
Together with our famous dead
At Rachel’s Tomb and Herzl’s Tomb
And on Ammunition Hill.
They weep over our sweet boys
And lust after our tough girls
And hang up their underwear
To dry quickly
In cool, blue bathrooms.Once I sat on the steps by a gate at David’s Tower,
I placed my two heavy baskets at my side. A group of tourists
was standing around their guide and I became their target marker.
“You see that man with the baskets? Just right of his head there’s an arch
from the Roman period. Just right of his head.”
“But he’s moving, he’s moving!”
I said to myself: redemption will come only if their guide tells them,
“You see that arch from the Roman period? It’s not important: but next to it,
left and down a bit, there sits a man who’s bought fruit and vegetables for his family.”
Except in this case, the story really is the building. Built in 1908, this Historic Landmark was once the home of B’nai David Temple. Today, it has been divided into individual apartments with much of the original architecture intact. Including a mikvah that is currently used as a storage closet.
There has been a Jewish presence in San Francisco dating back to Gold Rush days. Though it remains a vibrant community, it is remarkable to imagine people living in what used to be sacred prayer space. Don’t they find it odd to have part of a balcony in their living rooms?
Playing a Tough Crowd
Tonight, Peter Sagal addressed a room full of rabbis. A “certainty of rabbis.” It was some of the funniest material I have heard. EVER.
I really like smart people. Peter Sagal is smart people. Quick quips. And a sweet disposition.
He shared some of his favourite “Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me” moments. Including an exchange that was never aired due to the concern that thirty-two utterances of the word “crap” would rankle the FCC and bring stiff (read: expensive) penalties upon NPR. Watching Joe, one of the ASL interpreters < sign the audio caused the entire room to erupt in violent chortling. It involved pineapples. Crapping pineapples. And Ronald Reagan.
Afterward, he graciously posed for photographs and entertained comments. Which, in this group, were statements such as “I know your parents…” and “I know your brother…” Jewish geography. Having seen a live taping of “WWDTM” this past November, I asked him to sign my ticket.
Did you come to the Thursday show or the Friday show?
“I work on Friday nights.”
How Does She Do It?
Somehow, the Ima has managed to get Haveil Havalim posted while packing for the CCAR conference.
She rocks!
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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