The time is now!

This week there was a confluence of current events which led me to believe that we must act now. First, I hope that everyone voted this week and plans to vote again at the midterms in November.  It is crucial if you want your voice to be heard whether it be in local or national government.  I was glad to vote in our Illinois primary and I am looking forward to voting in November.  I am also so proud of our High School seniors who voted for the first time in this primary! 

Second, Speaking of students, this Saturday morning students from all over the nation are joining with their parents and adults in the community to protest gun violence and advocate for gun control in the United States.  There was another school shooting yesterday in Maryland and I hope by the time you read this blog there will have not been another shooting.  It is frightening to watch ads pop up about bullet proof back backs and even sadder bullet proof preschool nap cushions.  What has the world come to?  I hope that in the future we can look back and say that this year with the students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school leading the way that was the tipping point in gun control in this country. I pray that our representatives in Washington DC are moved to take action and pass REAL laws that will help us and our children in school stay safe.

Third, this week in our Lakeside Social action meeting with met with the Citizens' Climate Lobby. We learned about Carbon Fee & Dividend policy which levels the playing field between those who have the resources and those who do not and it also lowers carbon emissions which as science will tell you is the leading cause of the climate change.  Check out their website and see what they have to say.

Find your passion, pick a project and do something this week.  

Our sage Hillel  “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?”

It is up to us to start making the world a better place right now.  We can not be complacent about it taking on new tasks.  We must get up and get out to make sure our voices are heard.  Pick your task:  working on a political campaign, joining Citizens' Lobby, going to the March for our lives or just talking about some of this at your upcoming Passover Seder next week.  
We must tell the story in every generation and sometimes we must listen to what this generation has to say to us.  This year at my Seder we have asked our children to lead the Seder and engage us in discussion.  I am looking forward to their discussion and learning from them.  Have a wonderful Pesach and let me know what you discussed at your Seder!

Posters done by our Pre and Confirmation class

Recount #BlogExodus 7th of Nisan

I am late coming to the blogging Exodus party but I started on the right day.  RECOUNT  is today's topic and let me tell you how we count the Omer at Lakeside Congregation.  First what is the Omer and why do we count in the first place and if you google you will find:

Counting of the Omer (Hebrew: ספירת העומר, Sefirat HaOmer, sometimes abbreviated as Sefira or the Omer) is an important verbal counting of each of the forty-nine days between the Jewish holidays of Passover and Shavuot as stated in the Hebrew Bible: Leviticus 23:15–16.

We count and RECOUNT from Pesach to Shavuot and at Lakeside we do this not with wheat but with products made from wheat, rice and other grains:  CEREAL boxes.   On every day of the Omer we put on our bimah the number of cereal boxes that correspond to that day.  By the end of the 49 days we have 1225 boxes of cereal which we donate to local food banks.

For the first time this year one of the food banks actually contacted me wondering if they could receive our cereal boxes.  They let me know how much they appreciate getting all of the cereal boxes for their clients. Cereal is not inexpensive and they thank us and I thank all of the families at Lakeside for bringing boxes of cereal all through the end of April, May and the beginning of June.  We appreciate all of the cereal boxes that congregants bring in and if you are in the neighborhood drop off a cereal box or two. 

#BlogExodus Day 4: Free: Kitniyot Rebellion who is with me?

I know that Pesach is the holiday of Freedom; however the week of Pesach in particular does not on the surface seem freeing to me.  As the main cook and bootle washer at my house the week of Pesach highlights to me how dependent my family (read ME) is on restaurants, pre-prepared and packaged food. We usually eat out as a family a few meals a week.  Then there are the stops at our favorite kosher restaurants, which for us is like going into the Cheers Bar...everyone knows our names at these establishments.

I suppose you could say that Pesach frees me of this food dependence and I am forced to cook and create new dishes not just for Seder but the whole week.  I do think about each meal, who will eat it, how will we transport the food if we are at work/school?  We are fortunate enough to live in an area where my local grocery stores sell ready made Charoset, which I would never buy because the way I make it is the best!

Last year I was in Israel for Pesach and most of our meals served Kitniyot and it was a change for me.

(Kitniyot, (Hebrew: קִטְנִיּוֹת ,קיטניות‎, qit'niyyot) (legumes) is a category of foods that may not be eaten during Passover by Jews following traditional Ashkenazi laws and customs. Long-standing tradition in other communities and recent rulings have given support in certain cases for variation from this practice.    Kitniyot are grains and legumes such as rice, corn, soy beans, string beans, peas, lentils, mustard, sesame seeds and poppy seeds)

There is already a Kitniyot Liberation Front

The week of not eating Chamatz but eating kitniyot seemed to go by much faster.  Granted I did not have to cook ANY meals last year so perhaps this is why the week went faster but just the options of food seemed tastier to me.  I think I might start a family revolt for Kitniyot.  I know I will be happier and I think my family will be too. It is healthier for vegetarians as soy and other proteins are allowed. Last year in Israel it also meant we could eat falafel and hummus.  So I am seriously thinning about adding Kitniyot because that would be freedom.  

Breaking the Glass at a Wedding and Birkat Hamazon with EIE

Omer and Zahava

Part of the reason I came to Israel, besides visiting Ethan on EIE and helping to lead a trip to Israel with my congregation, Lakeside, was to attend the wedding of my cousin Omer and his new Kallah, Zahava.  What a lovely evening from the chupah outside, delicious food and a gathering of friends and family.  The venue was beautiful and could easily hold the over 400 guests in attendance.  There were similarities of course to Jewish weddings in the States: the 7 brachot, exchanging of a ring and of course breaking the glass.

What I liked best was at the end of the wedding just before Omer broke the glass he said:  "If I forget thee Oh Jerusalem, let my right hand wither, let my tongue stick to my palate if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my greatest joy" (Psalm 137).

Under the Chupah

I googled and found out that: "With the sound of shattering glass at the conclusion of the wedding ceremony, generations of Jews were reminded that Jerusalem was destroyed and the Jewish people were in exile." I was in Israel and Omer, not an observant Jew declared the centrality of Jerusalem.  I loved that minhag (custom) and would love that to our family minhag.  Omer is the first of the next generation to get married followed by two more cousins this summer in the States.  

Ready for Pesach in Machane Yehudah

By the next day Ethan and I were back in Jerusalem exploring Machane Yehudah, exploring the Market and buying some treats.  I was reminded again and again that Pesach is coming and some of the vendors had already changed their wares in anticipation of Pesach which will be here next Monday night.  We enjoyed fresh pomegranate, garinim, (sunflower and pumpkin seeds) and halavah.  We enjoyed warm weather and I know that although it is spring back in the states it has been cold and snowy.  

Leading Birkat Hamazon

As EIE parents and students came together for the final banquet, I was proud to see Ethan and his chevre lead Birkat Hamazon, grace after meals.  We also find in this prayer: May God rebuild Jerusalem, the holy city, speedily in our lifetime. Blessed is God, who restores Jerusalem with mercy. Amen.
 Again we mention our connection to Jerusalem and Israel in this prayer just as I had heard at the wedding the previous night.

I was glad to have spent a few days with Ethan and see what he is learning and doing.  To see the students fully immersed in all things Jewish and all things Israel.  After this banquet all of the students and madrichim on EIE were moving to a youth hostel in Jerusalem so that the kibbutz could kasher for Pesach.  There is no way to escape that this holiday is fast approaching.  To live and breathe Judaism has always been very meaningful to me and to watch all the EIE students doing this warms my heart as an educator but more importantly as a Mom.