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Outnumbered
Yesterday, as we began our walk home from Shabbat morning services, my friend, Father Goof, remarked that the adult:kid ratio was way off for my house that afternoon! He was right, but, thankfully, it worked out well. I had 6 boys, aged 7-12, and three dogs (we were keeping our friends’ pair of golden-doodles for…
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Gone, 34 years…
I’ve been absent from this virtual space for awhile. My last post was in October and it was prompted by the book club I belong to (From Left To Write). And, prior to that, I was posting from Sierra Leone. This month, January, is the month that my father died, 34 years ago. My daughter was…
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Do these look like keys?
I read this week about the tradition of Schissel Challah, a loaf baked in the shape of a key, or with an actual key baked into it, served on the first Shabbat after Passover. Here’s one link, with explanations. And here’s another link, with better explanations. I’m afraid my keys don’t look much like…
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Chag Pesach Sameach – next year!
In a few hours, my family and friends, and community, will sit down to retell the story of the enslavement of the Hebrews under Pharoah in ancient Egypt, and the remarkable events that led up to their release, and beginning their journey to the Promised Land (or not). This year, I will not be celebrating…
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Monday – waiting for the Ferguson decision
Last Monday morning, like most mornings, my commute was in the company of NPR, which, like all the news outlets, was describing the preparations in Ferguson, MO, anticipating the announcement of the Grand Jury decision. My last patient of the day was a man I have taken care of for some time, but this appointment…
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Jewish Identity
I’ve been catching up on my podcast listening, partly because of a reminder from my daughter about the new podcast Serial (which is fabulous!). My podcast subscriptions include three podcasts produced by The New Yorker magazine: New Yorker: Comment New Yorker: The Political Scene New Yorker: Fiction New Yorker: Outlook And the most recent episode…
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Biting off more than I can chew
Well, this past Shabbat I really did it to myself! I volunteer for my synagogue in a number of capacities, and the main role I have is as one of four volunteers, fondly nicknamed the Yad Squad. Yad mean hand in Hebrew, and it can refer to a pointing tool used by those who chant…
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End of the holiday season…
This past week marked the end of a string of holidays/Holy Days, starting with Rosh HaShanah on September 24 (actually, starting earlier, with Selichot on September 20, for me, but for many observant Jews, the preparatory month of Elul before is part of the experience). Anyway, we finally wrapped it up, with the exuberant, music…
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What a weekend!
Saturday was Yom Kippur (which actually started Friday night). Sunday I ran my first 5k in a few years (with no training beforehand). This is me, wearing my Mollybethalon running shirt from 2013 (when I did not run 4.4miles – or km – whatever it was…because I was with J, and he didn’t want to…
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Fast days…
At sundown tonight, we broke our fast. The fast was in observance of Tisha B’Av, the 9th of the Hebrew month called Av, which “commemorates the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem and the subsequent exile of the Jews from the Land of Israel.” (from Wikipedia). Traditionally, all the other incidents of Jewish persecution – the Crusades, the Pogroms, the…