Gail-Friends

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Chag Purim Sameach!

Hamentaschen recipe HERE

Chag Purim Sameach - Happy Purim! We are smack-dab in the middle of it, as we say down south! Purim began at sundown last evening and continues through till sundown tonight.

Purim is a time of fun, food and fellowship in our lives. We read "the whole magilla" - the entire book of Esther and we remember the power of Adonai to save us in times of distress. We also remember that, like Esther, we were born for such a time as this - to fulfill G-d's call on our lives. You can learn about Purim here on my blog.

Didn't my hamentaschen turn out beautifully? I was very pleased with them this year. I think I have the hang of using my thumbs to make the shape of Hamen's hat. They're very easy to make with my recipe here

We did a Purim play at the synagogue and it was so much fun. Some people dressed up and some just wore hats. We used printed scripts and didn't rehearse (on purpose), so that added to the laughter. Here's the cast:

Before the play started, we had a surprise visit from the oldest rabbi of Israel. He was visiting the area, and dropped in for a visit. He was a hoot!

After the play started, we had another surprise visitor. Our grandson walked through the play unexpectedly....

Our grandson stealing the show!

That little stinker had gone in the other room and found the oldest rabbi's get-up. He put it on and came strolling through the play. We all cracked up!!! I would say he's a ham, but that's not kosher. (laughing). Anyway, he really stole the show. Here's a picture I took after the party:

Chag Purim is one of the songs we sing at Purim:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpmEq3VnWIs

And I love the Maccabeats that tells the story of Purim in a fun way:

I'd love to hear about your Purim celebration!

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Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Wisdom Wednesday #16 - Blessings

Last week, I said I'd talk about the hand sign Rabbi Jem uses when giving a blessing. This is it:

If you are a Star Trek fan, you probably think this was stolen from Spock. No, the truth is Leonard Nimoy is Jewish and learned this from his grandfather who was a rabbi.

The fingers make the letter "shin" in Hebrew: ש
The letter shin is a the first letter of the Hebrew word "shomer" which means "guardian". The rabbi is the guardian of the synagogue.

Blessings are an important emphasis in Jewish life. I wrote about the blessing for wives and children, and today I'll share about the Aaronic blessing. The instructions for this blessing are found in Numbers 6: 23-26*

Speak to Aharon and his sons, and tell them that this is how you are to bless the people of Israel: you are to say to them,

May Adonai bless you and keep you.
May Adonai make his face shine on you and show you his favor. May Adonai lift up his face toward you and give you peace.

At the end of service, we gather in a circle.  The men hold up their tallits over their family members and Rabbi Jem gives the blessing. What a wonderful way to end our time together - going home being blessed and feeling under G-d's wings.

Well, we don't all go home then.  We have "oneg", which is a time of food and fellowship together.  It's a great time with "mishpacha" (family).

Shalom (peace) to you all, and have a good week.
*quotations are from the Complete Jewish Bible

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I'm sharing this post at:

Spiritual Sunday

Let's Get Social Sunday

Modest Mom Monday Link-up

Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!

Teach Me Tuesday

Titus 2 Tuesday

Tuesdays with a Twist

A Hope in Every Season Homemaking Link-Up
Wordless Wednesdays

Winsome Wednesday

A Wise Woman Builds
Whole Hearted Wednesday
Wake Up Wednesday

Hearts for Home
Favorite Things

Faith Filled Friday
Friendship Friday
Freedom Friday

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Wisdom Wednesday #15 - Blessing Our Children

Every Sabbath, Jewish children receive the blessing of their parents. It is traditional for the parents to place their hands on the child's head and say this prayer:

For sons: May G-d make you as Ephraim and Manasseh.

For daughters: May G-d make you as Sarah, Rivkah, Rachel, and Leah, the four mothers of Israel.

During our Erev Shabbat service, the children stand under the tallit and we sing a song of blessing to them, followed by the blessings listed above. This is the song we sing (from Fiddler on the Roof)

Don't you love the words? Imagine growing up being blessed by your parents in this manner. My husband, Rabbi Jem, grew up in a Jewish home and was blessed by his parents each week. The prayers and the blessings he received have had a great impact on his life.

I love this part of the service because the children look so precious standing there as we bless them. We stretch out our hands to them and make the sign of the "shin" (a Hebrew letter). You can see the two littlest boys trying to make the sign, too. I'll explain more about this in next week's post.

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