It’s Crowded in My Kitchen

by Rabbi Janie Grackin
www.janiegrackin.com

My friend Ellen describes my kitchen as ‘the size of a postage stamp”, and she might be exaggerating.  It might be smaller.  And cluttered.  And every holiday, it’s crowded in my kitchen.

I always tell my students that the place to be before any festival meal is in the kitchen.  Not so that they can get any goodies before they hit the floor or get given to the dog, but because it is there that family happens, and memories survive, and stories are told.

From the time that I was very small and permitted to join the women in my

Bubbe’s kitchen, I understood that what happened there was like Las Vegas – whatever happens there, stays there.  The conversations, gossip, even the foods that were eaten, never appeared at the dining room table.

And so, the kitchen became a sacred space.

And so it is in my home.  Before each holiday, birthday, or festival, as the food is prepared, there is sharing and caring, laughter and tears.

We mark time by the passing of holidays and also by the empty chairs at our tables.  This year Aunt Joanie is gone.  Last Rosh Hashanah Uncle Len was here.

My father died at Purim, and as we dress in costumes and read the megillah, we will always remember that the last time he saw my daughter she was dressed as Queen Esther.  And a few weeks later, we gathered together for the first Passover without Daddy, who always chopped the charoset.

And it got crowded in my kitchen.

All day long, as we peeled and prepped each item of holiday food, we remembered seasons past.  Enter the memory of Bubbe, and her stories of growing up in Palestine, as she rolled each matzah ball between her palms and dropped them in the boiling water.  And as my mother reached into the fridge, she came across the dark chocolate covered orange peel, my father’s favorite, and she began to cry as we passed the agri-dulce (bittersweet) candy around the kitchen.  As we chewed each piece, we remembered stories of the things my father loved, and we talked of how we would miss him this year.  And, of course, we ate all the candy.  We talked and we cried.  And we laughed!  We laughed about how my father would never accept the use of the food processor machine for making anything as sacred as chopped liver or charoset.  It always had to be done by hand, in the wooden bowl, with the round edged chopping blade.

Who does that anymore?  And who will make the charoset this year?

And so, a new tradition was born in our family as we passed on the secret recipe for our Sefardic charoset to the new “man” in the house, an ex-husband, a high school friend, an out of town visitor.

And the kitchen got more crowded.

Last year, my daughter brought the love of her life home from London to join us for Passover, and he learned much about slavery and redemption in the time we had to prepare for the cast of thousands about to descend upon our dining room.  It got more crowded in the kitchen as he learned about the “miracle” of whipped cream (you mean it doesn’t come in a can?), the mystery of matzah balls, and the history of charoset.

And, of course, stories were told, people were remembered, tears were shed, and we laughed.  How we laughed!

The relatives came, friends filled the room, flowers, candlelight, wine, music, food and the Hagaddah.

And it was crowded in my kitchen.

So, this year, as you prepare to celebrate the holidays, invite some people into your kitchen.  Bring in the neighbors to help cook and taste.  Tell stories and share memories.

And always invite a stranger.

Shabbat shalom. 

Reprinted with permission from Janie.  Originally published in  Reclaiming Judaism’s National Jewish Book award winning Mitzvah Stories: Seeds for Inspiration and Learning

Add to your mask one of these silly pairs of eye-glasses!

Add a tiara or crown to your silly Purim mask!

From now until Tu B’Shvat 5773 / January 26, 2013…

With any Earth Worm Disco CD order, we will send you these beautiful Butterfly Garden Mix seed packets!
Perfect for indoor and outdoor planting.  Order directly through ShirLaLa.com or visit RockinOutGreen.com for lyrics, eco-lessons, music and pics.

Happy birthday to the world, Happy birthday to you! What sweet honey of a birthday gift can you give yourself this year?

1.  I had a mentor who used to say, "Be sweet."  This year on Rosh Hashanah, take the "Have a Sweet New Year" symbolism literally and find ways to bring kindness and gentleness and loving care into your interactions with the world around you and especially with yourself.

2.  Honor this important time cycle.  Do you remember where you were last year on Rosh Hashanah?  Take a minute to think and talk about how you have grown, new things in your life, what you have let go of, etc.

3.  Give yourself a birthday treat – don’t just dip apples in honey, treat yourself to your favorite sweets!  It’s a birthday party!

4.  Make a wish on the new moon in honor of renewal and rejuvenation. (more…)

Put the Fire Out!

Once there was a man who sold buttons. He went from town to town talking to people and selling buttons. This man’s name was Moishe, and he loved to travel. He liked selling his buttons, but most of all he loved learning things like how different people said hello in other places, what they ate for breakfast in the next town over, or how they decided big, important things – like where to build a school or how to help each other out in times of trouble.

One day, he reached a town called Plotchk late at night and decided to stay over at an inn. He awoke, surprised, in the middle of the night, to the sound of lound drums banging. Even stranger, he heard people get up from their beds to leave the inn. “How strange,” he thought to himself, and went back to sleep.

(more…)

There are so many wonderful things you and your children can do to prepare for the High Holidays. All of these activities help to better understand the themes, learn Hebrew vocabulary, and become more familiar with the symbols. Please take this opportunity to send in more activities as well as photographs of your children in action so that we can add to the list for parents and teachers everywhere. Send your ideas to shira@shirlala.com

Do the Shofar Dance!

Tekiah - one medium length blast Shevarim- three short blasts Teruah- nine very short staccato blasts Tekiah G’dolah – one single blast that is held for long as you can possibly hold it!

For each shofar sound, make up a dance movement. The leader (children can take turns being the leader and practice pronouncing the different shofar calls) calls out the name and the group dances the associated movements. For example, for Tekiah – how about one high jump, for Shevarim – turn around in a circle 3 times, and for Teruah – do the twist until the end of the Shevarim sounds. The leader can either call out the names ("Tekiah!") or make the sounds of the blasts.

Shofar Red Light Green Light

The participants line up on one side of the room. The leader calls out the different shofar calls ("Tekiah!") For each shofar call, the children take a certain number of small steps forward. For Tekiah – 1 step. For Shevarim – 3 steps. For Teruah – 9 baby steps forward. For Tekiah G’dolah – Run for it! First one to the leader wins.

Hebrew Lessons

Teach the words tapuach and d’vash using a picture of an apple and a picture of honey. After initially going over the two words in Hebrew, hold the picture of the an apple at eye level and have them say the word "tapuach" in a medium voice. Then hold the picture high above their heads and let them shout out "TAPUACH!" Follow this up by holding the picture down low by their toes and get a whisper "tapuach." Play with different volumes. Use one picture at a time or interchange two or three pictures for an extra challenge.

Other Hebrew vocab words for the High Holidays: challah, shofar, shanah tovah (on a greeting card), sefer chaiim 

(more…)

The Shepherd and His
Flute

There is a story told of a young shepherd who on Rosh Hashana came to his synagogue to pray. But he could not pray.  For he had not learned to read the words that skipped across the pages of his books and prayers.  He sat quietly, listening to words that "climbed in wisps, soaring upwards into the white light to meet the heavens."  The more he listened, the more he wanted to pray.  But all he could do was sit silently and listen.

Then he remembered that in his pocket was the little flute he carried, with which he led his flocks.  He drew the flute from his pocket, lifted it to his lips, and began to play the simple melody he used to call his sheep.

Of course a shepherd’s flute has to be very loud, and indeed it was.  The sound of his melody filled the synagogue with its high, piercing notes.  The people around him looked up in surprise!  What was this?  Who was this young boy, not dressed well, not holding a prayer book, playing his ugly flute in the middle of services on holy Rosh Hashanah?!

(more…)

Pebbles From the Heart

Reuben Kaplan was a talker. At breakfast he told the stories of his dreams from the night before always adding a thick layer of interpretation. On the way to school he told the same stories to his neighbor Sam but this time they seemed a little more detailed, a little bigger. While he hung up his coat and put his lunchbox away, Reuben told the stories to his friend Emily. Only this time, he raised his voice during different parts and when Emily asked him if the stories were true, Reuben just raised his eyebrows and gave her that look.

In their spelling lesson that day Reuben noticed that his friend Jake peered into his backpack every few minutes. Reuben figured that Jake must be hiding something pretty special so he told his friend David that Jake was hiding a pet snake!

But really Jake was just looking for his homework. At lunch Reuben saw that his friend Franny didn’t finish her sandwich. Reuben figured it must because she’s on a diet so he told his friend Annie that Franny was worried about being too fat to fit in the doorway! But really Franny just didn’t like peanut butter and banana sandwiches. On the way home from school Reuben saw his neighbor Mr. Shlimkovitz studying a book very hard and shaking his head. Reuben figured that Mr. Shlimkovitz was having a tough time understanding something so he told his parents that Mr. Shlimkovitz was still learning how to read! But really Mr. Shlimkovitz was studying Torah and disagreed with one of the commentaries.

Every day Reuben talked so much that his parents started to roll their eyes and his friends started to turn away whenever Reuben came around. His parents decided to visit Rabbi Leah for a little help. When Reuben entered Rabbi Leah’s office and saw all of those books he figured that she must know everything so he started to tell her the stories of his dreams from the night before but this time somehow he included a snake and a million peanut butter and banana sandwiches and old Mr. Shlimkovitz who still didn’t know how to read. "Enough!" shouted Rabbi Leah. "Go outside and gather a big handful of pebbles." So he did. He went outside and returned, his hands overflowing with pebbles. Rabbi Leah looked at Reuben very seriously. She selected one pebble from his hands and said "Now Reuben I want you to go back outside and place this pebble back exactly where you found it." Reuben was surprised! He laughed and said, "Rabbi Leah how am I supposed to remember where a little pebble like that goes?" And Rabbi Leah said, "This pebble is too small and unimportant for you to take much notice of it or where it came from." And then suddenly she flung the pebble at the window. Crashing loudly, it shattered the window! Rabbi Leah looked back at Reuben and said "That pebble is just like a word. It was too small for you to take notice but it was powerful enough to break the heart and trust of your friends. After a while you may not remember where your stories come from, but you can be sure that they still hurt people nonetheless." Rabbi Leah pointed to the rest of the pebbles in Reuben’s hands. "What will you do with the rest of these pebbles?" she asked. Reuben decided to carry one or two of those pebbles in his pocket to remind him of his Rabbi’s shattered window and of the fact that each word counts. Every word that comes from our mouths is very powerful.

Adapted by Shira Kline

Origins unknown

©ShirLaLa 2007