Tikkun Olam

I wish I could take credit for thinking this up, but alas, it is from another circulating email that my friend, M. (yes, that M) has sent me.  After reading it, I think I know the reason Jews are so smart, and neurotic.  It's the diet. Subject:    Jewish Weapons of Mass Destruction Latkes A pancake-like structure, not to be confused with anything a first-class health restaurant would put out. In a latke the oil remains inside the pancake. It is made with potatoes, onions, eggs and matzo meal. Latkes can be eaten with applesauce but COULD also be used to comb your hair, shine your shoes or lubricate your automobile. There is a rumor that in the time of the Maccabees, they lit a latke by mistake and it burned for eight days. What is certain is that you will have heartburn for the same amount of time. It tastes GREAT but will stop your heart if the grease gets cold. ...

I thought this would be interesting for you, my readers, especially those of you who are not familiar with the process of baking shmurah matzahs by hand. What are shmurah matzahs? They are matzahs which comply more stringently with halacha , or Jewish law, by being "watched" or "guarded"(-the meaning of ' shmurah ') from the time of harvest so that the wheat will not come in contact with water or anything that would enable it to ferment and 'rise.' The matzah flour has to be prepared and baked within eighteen (18) minutes in order to prevent fermentation and rising ("chametz"). Here is a video depicting the preparation and baking of shmurah matzah, in Bnei Brak, Israel:

The kitchen is a mess as another marathon three-day - Yom-Tov-sheni-shel-galuyot* bites the dust. I should be washing the fleishig* dishes and cleaning the kitchen. Instead, I'm blogging (smart choice). But the older I get, the less I can handle the three days (but I still love that matzah shmurah* ). . . It's amazing-when I was a child, I just loved it. It was a glimpse into another universe for me: three days of Avodat Hashem* , with davening* (which I've always loved), singing zmirot* of all kinds, a Seder which transported me into a spiritual realm. I waited for Eliyahu* to come in through our open door with baited breath. These days, it's all that, but all the while I am collapsed with aching legs and bleary-eyed from lack of sleep. Can't do the physical side of this so easily any more. Started feeling a bit better on Shabbat (today), with 7 or so hours of sleep Friday night, to make up for four hours of sleep after the 2nd seder, and three hours ...

Haven't posted for a long while; work and busyness and tiredness (tired-itude?) have precluded and prevented my posting. I thank my loyal readers (ok, it's really just that they have nothing better to do with their time...) for their patience. I have actually had people - friends and acquaintances - ask me when will be my next post; that they looked periodically, searching, and (-to their consternation, of course) gurnisht* - or as they say in the vernacular in our commercialized, cerealized America, "nuttin' honey!" Ok, so I'm finally posting. About Pesach Sheni . What is that, you say? (What you really mean is, 'isn't ONE Pesach enough already?!) Pesach Sheni is a special day one month after Pesach (on yud-daled Iyar, the 14th of Iyar) which was set aside for those people who, because of being tameh - impure - were not able to bring the Pesach korban , or sacrifice, on the night of the 14th of Nissan, the first night of Pesach (the 15th being the f...

I just felt like adding something light, since my previous post was heavy (I'm from the 60s). I myself have made kosher for Pesach matzah in our former shul's kosher-for-Pesach-matzah-baking-sessions, many years ago--as have my husband and kids--but I've never been in a commercial matzah factory. Quick, before it's too late: grab a piece of matzah (wash first),sit down, and crunch !