Tikkun Olam

My son-in-law's mother, Chaya Marsha Rivka bat Yocheved (Marlene), died at home, Sunday, October 26th (27 Tishrei, 5769) almost three years to the day after her cancer was first diagnosed. We received this devastating news (you know it's coming; you are never ready for it...) just when I was getting ready to go to a Torah Dedication Ceremony at our Chabad. My husband was already there, so when I got there, I had to break the news to him. We both began to cry, right in the middle of the celebration. Marlene was a special, special person. She touched the lives of many people. She was very involved in her community, gave friends and family abundant love, helped others, gave much tzedakah and did many acts of chesed (she even helped me when I was feeling low). She was a wonderfully strong wife, mother, and Grandma to her (and my) grandchildren, who in turn loved her very much. The grandkids, from the oldest(-being seven and a half and with Down Syndrome), to the middlest ...

Haveil Havalim #188 is up and running at Benji's What War Zone . He even makes that funny (and it's not always a laughing matter)! Go have a read, and laugh.

I shot some photos just before Shmini Atzeret of our sukkah with the few decorations we put up this year. Most years we had a child or two to decorate--this year, the child who graced our presence by her visit, Toodles (-or Tangus, as she is known by her pseudonym) visited for the second time this summer on the first day of chol ha-mo'ed , so the only ones who had time/patience/energy to decorate were...hubby. I was cooking at the time (a reversal, no?) Anyway, for the rest of the kiddies who couldn't be here and for our friends who made Aliyah(Baruch and Chani and Aunt Laya and Sol and Martha and Lynn and Tzvi and Rivkie and please forgive me if I didn't name you--and for everyone else--here are some pics of our sukkah, Sukkot 5769, in galut . Enjoy. This photo is inside the sukkah against the outer "front" door, looking into our kitchen: half of this fourth wall was the wall of our townhome (you can see the brick and patio light on the left). This one is ...

Hubby had made the mistake of reading the weather report online on the Tuesday before Yom Kippur: rain and snow and a short freeze was prediced for the Sunday after Yom Kippur, so, instead of waiting for Sunday when our friends were to help him (we had scheduled for two or three friends, Joe, Mark, and Mark (thank you so much guys!)to help hold the plywood panels up and put them together to build the sukkah with hubby), he went out into the patio, took the lawn mower a friend had given us, and first mowed down the jungle we had there. And believe me, it was a jungle: the nana my hubby had planted for me (so sweet) two years ago overran the grass and was climbing up the sides of the fence (how did we know it was really a weed?!) Then, he went straight to the panels, which had been standing vertically one in front of the other against the fence by the carport. They had been standing there all year, with the schach nitzchi rolled up next to them. There was no way to know anything was ...

What does Haveil Havalim #186 (up and running at The Israel Situation ) have to do with 'cooking up a storm?' NOTHING! I was about to turn in at 2:00 a.m. after cooking (with my hubby the Chef) for hours, when I had this urge. . .a little voice (a bat kol from cyberspace) said to me mysteriously ' go thee to thy computer ' . . . and so, because I have been absolutely out of the JBlogger-loop since Rosh Hashana, I did just that. Lo and Behold (I've always wanted to say "lo and behold."), two of my posts were linked; musta happened between baking the challot and mixing the Lokshen kugel, I guess. So, you want to know what we are cooking for Sukkot (the first days, anyway)? I thought you'd never ask. Here is a preview of coming attractions: Baked five beautiful (ptu ptu ptu) round honey-raisin challot; made fish (the loaf kind; hubby made his special poached trout for Rosh Hashana; I do the "loaf kind."), chicken soup, 48 matzah balls (we fre...

Forgot to tell you about JPIX, the JBlogger Photo Carnival. JPix #19 is up and running at Me-ander . Beautiful pics from Jewish blogs from around the world that I've never been to before. Definitely worth visiting and viewing.

Folks, just a quick note to tell you that this week's latest edition of Haveil Havalim #185 (the Jewish Blog Carnival) is up at Writes Like She Talks . Be there, or be square.

I first saw the link on Little Green Fo otballs and then on Jameel’s blog, which led me to the AP article , intimating “racism” on Governor Palin’s mention of Senator Obama’s affiliation with unrepentant-terrorist Bill Ayers, of Weathermen fame. The Associated Press article, (or is it really an editorial masquerading as a “news” story?), suggests that Obama’s connection with Ayers couldn’t have been deep but rather that they knew each other on an ‘acquaintance’ level only. This reminded me of something I had just finished reading last night in Commentary Magazine (to which I subscribe) by Joshua Muravchik , resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and a former socialist, now self-described neoconservative ) . Mr. Muravchik seems to disagree with the author of the AP story as to the extent of the Obama/Ayers relationship. Mr. Daniel, author of the AP story also implies that Palin's statement is 'racist' (emphasis mine): By claiming that Democrat ...

I know it’s already after Rosh Hashana but I really need to unload about my wonderful cooking experience with Kugel Yerushalmi (“Jerusalem Kugel”). For those of you who don’t know what a ‘ kugel ’ is, it is a baked Jewish side dish or sometimes dessert generally made with noodles to which are added liquified sugar and oil and then a combo of beaten eggs, salt & pepper, after which it is baked. It is sometimes translated as ‘pudding’ or ‘casserole.’ One of my favorite and more difficult kugels is Kugel Yerushalmi. It is a (very) sweet kugel, which satisfies Israelis’ sweet tooth, and is often made to be eaten on Shabbat, but is also especially appropriate for the holiday of Rosh Hashana, where most foods are sweet and a “sweet new year” is emphasized. But, as I said above, it is more difficult to make than your average kugel; to make your average kugel, you have to cook the noodles—usually wide egg noodles-in a big pot of salted (or slightly oiled) water. Drai...

The Biden/Palin debate aired last Thursday. Last night (motzei Shabbat), SNL took the opportunity-and this campaign sure is giving them ample opportunity-to parody it. I just caught the tail end of it, but was reminded of it when I watched Meet the Press this morning. I think it's a *scream and therefore worthy of posting (and isn't Tina Fey almost a dead ringer for Sarah Palin?) Here it is in it's entirety:

Instead of fressing on left-over chicken (see previous post) I think I'll have some of my husband's heavenly left-over chicken soup, complete with (I'm salivating already) matzah balls, so light, they float on air. . . No wonder those smart Chinese Zoo Keepers at the Beijing Zoo are feeding their pandas the same thing. They know what food is the best stress-reliever (such as the stress from suddenly realizing that there is no one to vote for for President of the United States this November.) He Zhihua said 3-year-old Xiwang and Weiwei — literally meaning "Hope" and "Greatness" — were tired and suffering from a little shock since the start Monday of the weeklong National Day holiday. . . That's exactly how I feel after two intense days of Rosh Hashana and the vice-presidential candidate debate: tired and suffering from a little shock. "They had been getting less sleep, and they had to run around more," No, DUH. I'm going downstairs ri...

(warning: I like long, run-on sentences.) I had already decided that my Thursday night, Oct. 2nd 2008 entertainment would be to sit down on my 26 year old sofa in the family room and watch the debate while chapping dinner (Rosh Hashana left-over chicken) on paper plates on the coffee table. And what a great night it was. In my opinion, Governor Palin did better than before (she must have practiced and rehearsed forever ), but her inexperience and fear of venturing out from behind her prepared talking points showed, while Senator Biden's many years of political experience showed too, as well as his ease of speaking extemporaneously, culling facts--albeit some wrong ones, notably about Hezbollah being kicked out of Lebanon (they weren't) and Palestinian elections in the West Bank (it was Gaza), as Daled Amos correctly points out--from memory, in sharp contrast to Palin's constantly looking down at her notes while he was speaking, and towing the party line while she was...