Ekev 5771: Fertility and Fidelity

This is the Parsha Cake Blogs' Ekev cake showing the all the good things with which the Israelites will be blessed when they enter the promised land.  2 questions:  Which verse does this refer to?  What are the species depicted?



We send our condolence to the families of those killed at the Indiana State Fair and prayers of healing to those who were injured.

Vayigash 5771: Drama! Drama! Drama! You are the boss of me!

Show Notes

Vayigash 5771

Hanukkah Radio Programs

I couldn’t actually find the audio feeds for these programs, but perhaps you will be able to find them through you own local NPR radio stations.  If not, you can at least look for the stories and people mentioned on these programs for further insight into the celebration of Hanukkah!
Hanukkah Lights - December 1, 3-4pm on 93.9FM          
On this perennial NPR favorite, Hanukkah stories and memoirs, written by acclaimed authors expressly for Hanukkah Lights, are read by NPR's Susan Stamberg and Murray Horwitz. Hanukkah Lights celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, with four brand new works:  "Finding Golda" by Margot Singer, "Legacy" by  Lev Raphael," "Geek Week" by Rebecca O'Connell, and "Moon Landing," by Shira Nayman.
In "Legacy," Lev Raphael reflects on the Hanukkah celebrations of his youth, and the miracles of a dark time that, quite literally, brought his family to life. In Shira Nayman's "Moon Landing," two young girls find common ground in the age old miracles of their vastly different cultures. In "Finding Golda," by Margot Singer, a middle-aged man, adrift in a troubled and violent city, finds new hope in the hearts of those who love him. In Rebecca O'Connell's "Geek Week," two teens meet at a high-school science fair, and stumble on a formula to reunite a divided family.
A Great Miracle Happened There: A Hanukkah Special – December 5, 6-7am on 93.9 FM and 9pm on AM820
A conversation between Rabbi Ismar Schorsch and Host Larry Josephson about the history, rituals, foods and meaning of Hanukkah--and its importance to American Jews in our time. Cantors David Lefkowitz and Elisheva Dienstfrey sing the music of Hanukkah.
A Chanukah Musical Celebration – December  5, 10-10:30pm on 93.9 FM
The spirit of Chanukah, a holiday joyous at freedom's triumph and spiritual rededication, is richly reflected in the folk melodies and songs from countries across the globe where Jews have lived and worshipped for centuries. Host Naomi Lewin presents this music for all to enjoy in A Chanukah Musical Celebration.
To see Steph Gorin’s amazing work look at:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/loop.
Jewish Fiberaholics is a group on Ravelry.com.  You can find many different groups on Ravelry for all types of fiber arts and groups throughout the world.  Over 1 million people turn to Ravelry.com as a way to learn and grow in their craft.

Lech Lecha

Happy Birthday to me!  It was my birthday when I recorded this podcast….of course, when you listen to it…it will be over and I will simply be old.

Here is the link to the article about Jboomers.  http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/new_york/boomers_needs_being_neglected_communitys_peril

You can find Jboomers on Facebook.  If you are interested in attending the Jboomers Klezmer Brunch at City Winery on Nov 21, send a note to Jboomers through facebook.

New York Sheep and Wool, Oct 16-17 in Rhinebeck, NY.  You can look for my skein entries in the novice category.  (1 skein is purple and pink, the other two are grey, pink and blue and very sparkly).  Maybe I’ll even win a ribbon or something!  The last time I entered an artistic type contest was when I was 10  or 11 years old!  (I won!)

http://www.sheepandwool.com/

Thank you Linda Hirschhorn for giving me permission to play her song “Sarah and Hagar” as performed by Vocolot on their Album Heart Beat.   Heart Beat is available at Itunes.  You can find more information about Linda and Vocolot by clicking on the links below.

http://www.lindahirschhorn.com/

http://www.vocolot.com/

Two Contests

Donation Drawing:

If you donate to Torah Threads during the month of October you can win either a personalized yad or a skein of handspun wool.

You can send a donation by clicking on the paypal link at torahthreads.blogspot.com

Essay

If you submit a short essay about the relationship between the children Ishmael and Isaac, your feelings about the pre-ordained strife mentioned in this week’s portion and/or the implications of the strife arising from the relationship of Sarah and Hagar, you are eligible to win a personalized yad or a skein of handspun wool.  I will read the winning essay on a show in early November.  Please submit your essays to me at:  torahthreads@gmail.com

                                 

Our Sponsor, Frisky Lamb Farm is now taking orders for fresh, 100% grass fed, humanely raised lamb on our 75 acre pesticide free farm.  If you live in the Binghamton area you can pick up the meat directly from the farm.  If you live in NY, we can make arrangements for delivery in early December.

The chart below shows relationship of Torah to other forms of Jewish Literature.  More on this in the coming weeks

Show notes for Parshat Bereshit

For the audio feed click on this Torah Threads Link torahthreads.libsyn.com/rss


Thank you for joining me for our first week!  I am sorry there are some imperfections in the audio balance.  I will try to do better for the next one. 

The Torah portion for this week is Bereshit:  Genesis 1:1-6:8.

You can purchase the Plaut Torah Commentary, from URJ books and music.  There is a new revised edition and a travel edition.   http://www.urjbooksandmusic.com/product.php?productid=2086&cat=0&page=5

You should also own the JPS Tanakh.  It is the best available complete English translation of the full Hebrew bible.  There are many different formats available at:  http://jewishpub.org/product.php?terms=tanakh&search.x=0&search.y=0

(I am still trying to get permission to add the text for each week here).  Tell JPS I recommended you purchase the book from them.  Maybe I’ll finally get permission to use their text. 

I have added the widget for JPS’ audio Torah to this webpage.  However you should know, they control the feed.  It is set to only have the audio text available for each parasha for one week before it changes to the next portion. 

Books to consider reading:

Milton’s Paradise Lost with Isaac Asimov’s commentary or the audio edition available for free at librivox.org.

John Steinbeck’s East of Eden and Ernest Hemingway’s Garden of Eden might also interest you. 

Puff Pancake Recipe (with thanks to Ujjala Schwartz)

1 stick of butter

1 cup of milk

1 cup of flour

4 eggs

Vanilla and cinnamon to taste (I forgot to mention that in the podcast).

Cast Iron Skillet

Fruit and or Powdered Sugar for topping.

Heat oven to 425°.

Place stick of butter in cast iron skillet and place in oven to melt butter.

Beat Eggs, add in milk and flour and blend.

When butter is melted, pour the batter into the pan and replace in oven. 
Bake for 18 minutes.

While the pancake is baking, prepare fruit.  You can use fresh  or frozen berries, apples, bananas, lemon,  and/or nuts.

I like to sauté apples and walnuts in a pan with a little orange juice or butter.  I also zap some apples in the microwave for 3 or 4 minutes.  Defrosted frozen berries also work well. 

You can sprinkle the pancake with some powdered sugar.

Serve hot!

Enjoy!

Have a good week. Next week's  Parasha, Noah,  will be released on Sunday, October 3. 

Sukkot

I just finished erecting my Sukkah for this year.  Each year I always plan to have it ready much earlier than three hours before Sukkot begins.  Each year I plan on creating a beautiful, Sukkah made of natural woods so that it would truly be a testament to the beauty of God's world.  I even designed a deck for my house which would have the Sukkah Frame built into it so that all I would have to do each year would be to hang beautiful wooden sides and the Sechach (branch covering).  Unfortunately those designs are still on paper because it was too expensive to build.  So, this year, as I have for the past 20 or so years, I pulled out the metal poles and canvas cloth Sukkah I bought in desperation when I realized my plans for something nicer were not going to come to fruition in time for the holiday.  My poor Sukkah is so sad looking.  I have lost some of the joins for the poles and have not been able to replace them.  So we now have the proverbial duct tape helping hold the Sukkah together.  The wonders of duct tape!

As I look at my sad little Sukkah sitting in my yard instead of the dream house Sukkah I wish were there, I think though, that because it is so weak and ugly, I will have greater appreciation for the meaning of this holiday.  For I know that there are hundreds of thousands of people all over this world who would love to have even the little bit of shelter my weak little Sukkah offers.  I know that there are people who would love to have a corner of my yard to call their own.   I know that the meals I will eat in it during the coming week will provide me with nutrition others lack.  When I was a child, we used to make strings of cranberries and popcorn to decorate the Sukkah,  Then I realized that food should not be wasted on Sukkot decorations. Instead of wasting food, I ran  food collections for the hungry.  It was a much more beautiful use of food.

Sukkot reminds us too of the travails of the our ancestors as the traversed the desert trying to find a place to settle in peace and security.  These thousands of years later we live in a world in which peace and security is not a reality for all people.  We live in a world full of mistrust, greed and violence.  We live in a world where hundreds of thousands of people go to sleep each night without knowing when they will have their next morsel of food.  But rather than sit and bemoan this sad state of affairs, there are things we can do.  We can give non-perishable foods to a local food bank.  We can donate to organizations like Mazon:  A Jewish Response to Hunger and AJWS:  American Jewish World Service who are working hard to alleviate the suffering of the hungry and the homeless.  While these small actions won't solve the problems of our world completely, they are definitely a step in the right direction.  So I guess my little Sukkah is just right the way it is....at least for this year.

Chag Sameach.  A joyous Sukkot Festival to you all.

P

P.S. One week to go until our podcast goes live!

Preparing for Rosh HaShanah

Rosh HaShanah is only a few days away and is looming large for the usual and unusual reasons.  The usual reasons are always focused on making certain I have the meal ready with all the proper accoutrements.  Including:  Chopped Liver, chicken soup, Noodle Kugel, Brisket, homemade challah--whole wheat of course, tzimes and apples and honey.  Recipes available upon request!  I am a really good cook, though newish to many of the more traditional foods as I didn't eat most of them until recently.  I am a reformed vegetarian (I was a vegetarian for 25 years) so my holiday meals used to be quite different. 

The unusual reason that Rosh HaShanah is looming large is that my life is less settled on this Rosh HaShanah than it has been in past years.  In past years it seemed I had life together..I was working, had my kids, my meals with friends, everything seemed together...though I didn't for many years have a partner in my life after my divorce.  But with my professional life under control, and my kids well...all seemed fine.  Then life blew up for me in many ways this past year  My older son become ill for many months, I started and left a job and have now spent many months searching for the right professional path.  However, I have also found new pathways to follow.  I have become a handspinner and revitalized my knitting and other creative involvements.  I have met a great group of people through my spinning.  My older son is doing better.  Son 2 just went back to school and is deliriously happy and I have just celebrated two years of having a wonderful new man in my life who is totally supportive and loving and kind.   So...yes as knitters say...I have many UFOs (unfinished objects) in my life-with myself being the biggest UFO of all!  Perhaps rather than being a UFO--I am really a work in progress.  I am beginning to take shape...but I need some more work before I am done--a process that I hope I have many, many more years to finish.  All great fiber projects need a few things to keep them going---A willing creator, ready to take the time to turn ordinary things into works of art---some imagination to visualize the possibilities, time, a lot of love, and the understanding, that if the finished object isn't shaping up to be what you imagined...you can modify it, redesign it a bit or unravel it and restart it if necessary.  I can't start my life totally over and frankly I wouldn't give up all the lessons I have learned thus far that have strengthened me.  However, I know that on this Rosh HaShanah, I will be doing some serious re-imaging, reshaping and reconstructing my life by gathering my life's various threads, knitting them together to create an ever larger and hopefully ever more interesting fabric for my life.

My best wishes to you for a year of personal renewal, beauty, health and strength as you knit together your own threads to create your own beautiful fabric for your life.