State Of The Fed Up Nation

I've not blogged much for a couple of months because I didn't feel like it. We don't go anywhere and it's been over 30 deg C for the whole summer and the mercury's still up there. On the one hand, we're fed up at home (fed up in every sense of the words) but on the other hand, I'm thankful that I've not had to go out to work or anywhere in this heat. 

Israel is entering its second lockdown starting tomorrow at 2 pm, the eve of Rosh Hashana - the Jewish New Year. We got the rules a few days ago and they were vague enough that, as someone wrote on fb, you can't leave your house unless you need to go somewhere. 

The one clear directive was that we're not allowed farther than 500 m from our places of residence - except to go to work, shop for essentials, health care, exercise, to assist someone in distress, and various other caveats to do with prayers, children and special needs.

Fine. We have friends who live very close by as do many people. So we all arranged our two-day festival with meals together in each other's homes - not exceeding 10 people at any one meal. Then today - 24 hours before the lockdown, after we'd shopped, after many people have already cooked, after all arrangements have been confirmed, they clarified that we are not allowed to visit other homes (although we are allowed to meet in the local park),

Meanwhile there are thousands of ultra-orthodox men trapped in no man's land between Belarus and Ukraine because they thought God would open the border for them when Ukraine made it very clear that they are closed to tourists until the end of September. It's an annual pilgrimage to the grave in Uman of Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav. Basically it's a rave party for men and they won't give it up. And their rabbis told them not to give it up because these ultra-orthodox rabbis are power mad and won't be told anything by a secular government, secular doctors and, God forbid, scientists. It hurts because, as one of the leaders of the opposition, Yair Lapid said, we have all had to give up on our personal "Umans" this year. 

These hassidim, including lots of male children, are sleeping rough in the cold and relying on the red cross for food. Israel is telling them to return to Minsk where there are planes ready to bring them home but it'd be a shame if they left and then God sent a miracle - right? Did I mention that traveling on Rosh Hashana is forbidden (Like on Shabbat) so if they don't leave now they will be stuck there until Sunday night. 

The ultra-orthodox are a law unto themselves - they do what they like and bugger the rest of us. Two mayors of ultra-orthodox towns are among those waiting for the Ukrainian border guards to be touched by God. You couldn't make it up. 

So while I'm bashing these hassidim, others are blaming everything on Bibi Netanyahu. They're not wrong. He has put himself and his interests before that of ordinary citizens at every opportunity. But others love him because ...... they have reasons and I'm not going into all the politics now. However, the hatred on and off of facebook is astonishing. 

The Bibi bashers throw vitriol at Bibi and the religious respond with disgust that political demonstrations are permitted with thousands of demonstrators while the rest of us point fingers at their massive weddings and overcrowded prayer services and study halls. They're not wrong either - I also don't understand why demonstrations are allowed.

It's all political. Bibi cannot alienate his religious supporters by banning all religious gatherings, and democracy must be seen to be sacred, hence the demonstrations. Meanwhile the Yeshivas (religious colleges) are open while schools are shut. Ultra-orthodox men travel to Belarus to visit the grave of a man who died in 1810 while we (like many others) can't visit my mother who is very much alive.

I don't even know if a lockdown is effective or not. There are heated arguments on both sides. The only truth is that no one's opinion is totally subjective. 25% of the country are currently unemployed. If I had lost my own business that paid the rent on my family home or was in danger of losing the home that took me decades to buy, and I had more children to feed, etc.. etc.. I'd also be shouting about the unnecessary lockdown. 

But I wore my mask properly when supermarket shopping today while many didn't bother. My motives are not political. I'm scared of getting corona and I don't want to have to pay a 500 shekel fine if I'm caught. For these reasons I tend to follow the rules. 

I canceled our plans for the holiday weekend. Others are sticking a finger up to that and going ahead. I don't blame them and I won't judge. Everyone's situation is different. I'm an older, overweight, single mother and so I will err on the side of caution. 

So as we go into the New Year in a state of mud-slinging, blame naming, anger and hatred towards each other, I wish everyone a happy new year in lower caps. 

Meditating And Other R2BC

A sukkah for living in next week during the festival of Sukkot

Reasons 2B Cheerful is brought to you this week in the middle of the Jewish Holidays of New Year, Atonement, and living in Booths. The Linky is with Michele on Mummy From the Heart. 

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Happy Where I Am

A few days ago I was told that they are looking for an English teacher at a school very near where I live. My school is a 40 minute bus ride away. Before I could even weigh up the pros and cons I found myself saying, "no thanks, I'm happy where I am." 

I work in a challenging school and every year so far I've vowed not to return for the following year. But here I am starting my fourth year. This year there are have been a lot of changes in the work conditions so I'm in a better place without going anywhere. It was nice to know that my subconscious mind agrees.

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Rosh Hashana Meditation

I didn't write a R2BC last week as I left it until Sunday and then something tragic happened that made it inappropriate to publish such a post. Had I posted, I was going to mention a wonderful Rosh Hashana experience on the first morning of the festival. 

Three friends got together in one of our homes for a meaningful discussion about the year ahead. We had all expressed some dissatisfaction with the regular synagogue services as they are very rigid and leave no space for your own individual prayers. There's also a lot of unnecessary repetition of things you didn't really want to say in the first place. 

We had a loose agenda decided beforehand including a guided meditation. I've only ever meditated successfully once and that was over 30 years ago. This was the first time since then that I felt the value of it and understood why so many people meditate daily. 

The meeting wasn't supposed to be instead of synagogue but rather an extra something before it. However, we were so content in our little Rosh Hashana circle that we decided to have kiddush together before we went. Kiddush is sanctifying the wine and it's usually an aperitif after services and before lunch, said with a blessing and often served with some light refreshment. 

It doesn't have to be wine - any alcohol will do. So out came the whisky and a plate of biscuits. From there we progressed to tea. Long story short, we spent the morning together and forwent the traditional service completely. This didn't matter as there were repeat services on the second day of Rosh Hashana. Our welcoming in the New Year was perfect. I hope we do it again next year. 

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Sukkot

One of my favourite festivals and we are spending it in various places with family and good friends. It starts on Sunday night though the booths are already going up all over the country. And no school for another week. So that's next week's R2BC taken care of.

September 2018 - R2BC

The obligatory back to school photo.
Begrudgingly allowed because it's the law. 

It's the Jewish New Year this week, it was the academic new year last week, also my birthday, the weather got cooler, as if by magic, and autumn is definitely in the air. The End.

Just kidding. September has always been my favourtie month for all the above reasons.

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Rosh Hashana
A chance to repent, renew, recharge and reinvent. This year I finally stopped pretending that I would be going to traditional synagogue services and have arranged to meet with a  few friends on the first morning of Rosh Hashana (it's a 2-day festival) for some meaningful start to the year. I'm not sure exactly what will happen as although we have a  rough agenda, this is the first time we're doing this. But I'm very much looking forward to it.

At home DD and I will do all our own Rosh Hashana traditions - blowing away our sins and bad habits, and eating our menus with the Rosh Hashana Symbols. And some of the meals we're eating out with friends.

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School
It was back to school for both DD and me this week. DD has always hated having her photo taken so on the first day of 1st Grade I told her it was the law. She's now in 5th Grade and she still thinks it's the law. Hilarious.

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My Birthday.
Me and Ingrid Bergman reduced to tears as we marched, singing This Old Man, into a Chinese village in North Wales. You had to be there.

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The Weather
It's overcast. Seriously, there's grey in them there clouds. We are praying for a wet winter in Israel. Turns out that desalination isn't enough and we're once again facing a water shortage. However, the heat of the summer is behind us and hopefully the universe will be kind.

The Reasons 2B Cheerful linky is with Michelle on Mummy From the Heart this week and for the whole of September.

Wishing everyone a SHANA TOVA UMETUKA (A Good and Sweet Year). 

Rosh Hashana So Far So Good - R2BC

Today is the first day of Rosh Hashana which started at sundown last night. DD and I continued with our new (from one year ago) tradition of doing tashlich with soap bubbles. We sat on the balcony and blew away our sins and bad habits from last year and we promised to try harder for better habits this year.


DD: I'm going to try to not lose my temper and scream at you. (Me: thank you.)
Me: I'm going to try to go to bed earlier and get up earlier. (I got up this morning at 10 but it's a process.)
DD: I'm going to do important things like homework and shower, before television.
Me: I'm going to do the dishes in the sink and prep my lessons for the next day, in the evening and before social media time. (I did the dishes last night.)

And so we went on....

I tried to capture the bubble blowing on camera but Rubbish Photographer struck again. Then we did some selfies which were equally rubbish but I posted a few on the right sidebar because DD is almost nine, not four as she was in the previous thumbnail.

We ate some of the Rosh Hashana menu with symbols - salmon for a year of being sameah (happy); peas and sweet potato (afuna  and batata for akuna matata) to have no worries, fruit salad for dessert for a sweet year, and we drank our apple juice spritzers through the last two straws (the shop didn't have any at 1.30pm and no time to go to another shop) for a suck-cessful year. I wanted to make a salad out of a whole head of lettuce for the head of the year but the shop had also run out of lettuce.

We played Taki, Set and Kalooki until far too late. We have established another tradition that Friday night is games night. (I know it wasn't Friday yesterday but Festival evenings are similar to Friday nights.)

We got up late this morning - I felt bad about not going to synagogue as it's a small community which only exists because enough people do make the effort to go. We will go tomorrow as we're going to friends for lunch afterwards. And we heard the shofar blown (all 100 blasts) as the next door neighbours had private blowing on their patio. Then, throughout the morning as men came home from synagogue and blew the shofar for their womenfolk who had stayed at home - I''m guessing but there are shofars blowing all over the neighbourhood atm. I think we're covered.

Friends are coming here for an early dinner tonight. I took a big white fish out of the freezer and I want to make some sort of baked fish dish. I've never baked fish before (except for salmon) so I'm off to find a recipe.

So far, and 18 hours in, it's been a good year. :~D

I'm linking up with Michelle's Reasons 2B Cheerful on Mummy From The Heart.

The Gift Of Wadi Qelt

Tonight is Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year. It's a two-day festival but this year it finishes as Shabbat comes in so actually it's three days straight of eating, socialising, praying, eating, sleeping, and did I mention eating? If you do the whole lot religiously, which we actually don't, that's the equivalent of six Christmas dinners at home and a number of smaller refreshments (like cocktail parties without the cocktails) at synagogue after the services.

We only accept invitations or make a big meal for once a day. However, that's still a lot of cooking and cleaning for me and DD was home because the schools are off from today. This is good because otherwise I'd be at my school, but difficult because she gets bored.

At 8.30 this morning we got a phone call from DD's BFF. Would DD like to go with them to Wadi Qilt. She wasn't sure. She's a bit of a ditherer and she worries in case it's going to be a difficult hike. It's not, it's a gentle stroll through the riverlets to the waterfalls and natural pools at the end. I accepted for her.

So off she went in her swimming costume, wearing my old sneakers - we threw her old ones away and she wasn't going to ruin her new sneakers walking through the water. This caused me to ponder on two things. 1. Decluttering is not always so brilliant. And 2. my daughter has almost the same size feet as me. (I knew this as she already takes my socks and this summer I bought us the same size socks).

I had five hours to shop, cook and clean. So I did go shopping because the supermarkets are going to be closed for the next three and a half days (from 2pm today). Then I spent a lot of time on the computer, and then DD came home.

Luckily she fell asleep on the sofa this afternoon and I did get some cooking done. And some laundry, and some grading  papers for college. Not as productive a day as intended but then it never is these days.

DD had a wonderful time. I think one of the greatest gifts you can give a single mother is to take her child out for a few hours before a major festival or weekend. We both appreciated it very much.

I wish everyone a wonderful, good and sweet year (Shana Tova Umetuka) whether you're Jewish or not. 

(I joined the Country Kids Linky at Coombe Mill with this post.) 

Written In The Book Of Life

In Israel and in the Jewish calendar the new year begins on September 1st in the solar calendar (schools go back) and Tshrei 1st in the lunar calendar (Rosh Hashanna). The Hebrew new year starts three weeks of intensive festivals marking the new year, days of repentance, atonement, finishing the annual cycle of reading the Torah, and the sealing of the book of life and death.

Rosh Hashana can fall any time from September 5th to October 5th. and this year was almost the latest it ever gets. There has been loads of synagogue time, eating with friends and family, holidays from work and school, street festivals, days out, etc... However, it's also a time of retrospection, repentance, and atonement.

Tonight was the final sealing of the book of life or death for the coming year. We hope we have been written in the book of life, but of course there's no way of knowing. Did we do enough praying, apologising and forgiving during the past three weeks? I probably didn't.

What I did do was a lot of introspecting (is that a word?), declutterng, preparing coursework for the coming year, and mental revving up for the duration.

For months no one has been motivated to get much done as there is no real routine. No sooner do we go back to school than we have three weeks of holidays and holy days. The phrase, 'after the festivals,' is ubiquitously used as an excuse for not really getting stuck in to anything after the long summer until the end of the festival period.

Well it starts tomorrow folks! No more excuses. Yesterday I was actually cold enough to put on socks and long sleeves. New Year, I'm ready for you! I'm written in the book of readiness and good intentions, this much I know.

A New Rosh Hashana Tradition

No sea in Jerusalem for 'tashlich' so we made our own

Just before the Holiday I wrote about our Rosh Hashana menus with symbols. It was a lot of fun and much groaning over the awful puns abounded.

The big change for me this year was that DD was old enough to go to synagogue with me. We went to morning services on both days. She spent most of the time  playing outside with the other children there who she knows already, but also managed to sit with me for a while and hear the shofar (ram's horn) blown and join in some of the singing.

I've promised her that we won't do anything this shabbat and the shabbat after in compensation for having to go out so much this holiday. She's a real homebody my daughter. What she doesn't know is that Yom Kippur falls in between the two weekends..... We'll do some of the services though not the whole day. This is still better than I've been able to do for the past eight years re going to synagogue. I hope we will also be able to visit the 'Yom Kippur club' which is a gathering of non-synagogue goers and their children at a friend's house.

Apart from the food with symbols, the synagogue services, a communal breakfast at the synagogue both days, my nephew joining us for the second night dinner, lunch at friends today, some playtime in the park, and about four chapters of Harry Potter (yes I read aloud about 100 pages but not all in one sitting), we did manage to instigate one new activity that I hope will become a family tradition.

There is a short ceremony called 'tashlich' which involves going to some flowing water - a stream, a river or the sea. In England we used to go to the brook in the park at the end of our road. It was never hard to find some flowing water in the UK. You put some bread in your pockets and then empty them into the water to symbolize getting rid of your sins and any bad stuff from the previous year. And obviously there are some verses to say to seal the deal. In England it's often part of a pleasant afternoon stroll after a heavy lunch. Just right.

In Jerusalem it's a nightmare. There are some trickles of natural water in obscure places but they involve a long walk and it was still over 30 degrees heat this year. You can imagine how hot it is when the holidays fall even earlier at the beginning of September. Most people here don't bother or they compromise with a man-made water feature or fountain (the garden hose?).

We did our tashlich on the first night after dinner. We sat on the balcony with a bottle of soap bubbles and blew away our sins and undesirable stuff. We took turns to name the items we wanted to blow away and blew the bubbles into the night, watching them pop and disappear. All very poetic and rather sweet.

We had a full Rosh Hashana and what I loved the most was that we had parts of it on our own. I don't mean we gave up on parts of it like we sometimes do on a Friday night and just go to bed after a cheese sandwich instead of a proper Shabbat meal. We did everything but without the pressure of having to find other families to be with to somehow 'make' the festival. We were a complete family of two celebrating the New Year. And we loved it.

Rosh Hashana Menu With Symbols

From a previous year. Too busy blogging to have set the table yet.

There is a Rosh Hashana tradition of eating symbolic foods at the meal. The symbols are based on puns from old and obscure Hebrew and Aramaic words relating to good and bad things that we do and don't want for the coming year. If it's a bad thing we say we don't want this and if it's a good thing we say we do want it. Some people do a whole ceremony of saying blessings over the different foods and repeating verses 3, 7, or 10 times that connect to the food in some way. It's all very contrived, ancient, and quite frankly, boring.

In recent years my friends on facebook have been making up new symbols for foods, still based on puns, but with English as well as Hebrew. One hilarious symbol this year was to wrap fruit in Kleenex (clean Kleenex of course) that we should be fruitful and multi-ply. You get the idea. It's all a bit silly but lots of fun.

First night:
Apple juice spritzers (apple juice with soda water) drunk with a straw for a successful year (suck-cess).

You're supposed to make a blessing over wine (or grape juice for the children) but what's so special about grapes except that traditionally people drank wine? They probably would have done themselves a favour had they drunk apple juice instead.

Beigels instead of challah. They are round symbolizing the circle of the year and the cycle of life. (It's traditional to eat round challah instead of the plaited challah but we love beigels so that's what we're having.)
Egg salad because eggs are also round (cycle of life, circle of the year) and DD likes it.
Butter that we should be better people.
Brie because the Hebrew word for health is briut. So we should have a healthy year.
Almonds to make amends for anything we did wrong last year.

Lettuce and onion soup made with a whole head of lettuce for the head of the year. A fish head is traditional - yeah right.

We don't need a main course as it's just the two of us.

Fruit salad with maple syrup for a sweet year. It's traditional to dip apple in honey at the beginning of the meal for a sweet year, and also to eat a new fruit. We don't like honey and we don't like sweet food before dessert, so all the above is covered in our fruit salad.
Vanilla ice-cream because it would be rude not to and we don't want to be rude next year.

First day:
We have a kiddush (brunch) at our synagogue where everyone brings something. I'm taking stuffed vine leaves. They come in a tin but I'm decanting them into a tupperware box. Well everyone else produces amazing dishes so I'm not turning up with a couple of tins am I? Vine leaves in Hebrew are aleh gefen so if I eat four of them I might be all forgiven (aleh 4 gefen).

Second night:
Apple juice spritzers and straws again, for a successful year.

Round gluten-free rolls instead of challah (our guest has to eat gluten-free) for the circle of the year and the cycle of life.
Egg Salad, butter, brie and almonds again for the same reasons as yesterday - cycle of life, be better, healthy and make amends.

Salmon mayonaise for a happy year (sameakh).
Sweet potato puree and peas for no worries. Sweet potato = batata, peas = afuna so together it's afuna batata (akuna matata).
Baked potatoes in their jackets and butter for better manners and punctuality.  This is a reference to the German Jews who always wore jackets (Jacke in German) and were called Yekkes. This came to mean someone who paid special attention to detail, manners, and punctuality.

Fruit salad with maple syrup for the same reasons as yesterday.
Vanilla ice-cream for the same reason as yesterday.

Second Day:
We are invited out for lunch to a traditional family who will, I'm sure, bless wine and dip apple in honey as most people do.

There are so many more foods with symbolic puns but there's only so much we can eat in two meals. As it is the fridge and freezer have been well stocked with the excess. I'm happy to consider any suggestions for next year. Just write them in the comments below.

 Shana Tova Umetuka! 

A sweet and happy year!

Making Rosh Hashana Traditions

Candles are a given

Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new Year, is almost upon us - it's Sunday evening - Tuesday evening (basically two days that start and end at sundown). The first evening of R"H is a big family event. It's roughly equal to the Passover (Pesach) seder in terms of being with family and friends.

Today I wished one of the teachers at DD's school Shana Tova (A Good Year) and, knowing that I'm a single parent, she asked me, "what are you doing for the festival? Are you invited?" And a few years ago my father asked me what I was doing for one of the festivals to which I replied, "I'm celebrating with friends." He came back with, "oh good, your friends are looking after you then?" WTF? I take it I don't need to explain how I feel about these inferences?

A few years ago I was deeply moved by a single mother who wrote about always being invited to other families to celebrate the major Jewish holidays. She was writing about the Pesach seder but her thoughts apply to all the calendar events. Her conclusion was that just because they are a family without a man at its head, this doesn't mean that they're not a real family. And as such, they should have their own traditions. She made the seder at home that year so that her children would have childhood memories of their own family seder rather than remembering that they were always the guests at someone else's table.

I have similar thoughts about Rosh Hashana. Not the whole festival - there are four meals involved in a two-day festival. Personally I prefer to keep the celebrations down to one festive meal per day otherwise it just gets gluttonous.

It's lovely to be invited out and we are going to friends for the final lunch on Tuesday. We also have a brunch in our small synagogue on Monday. But what about the two evenings and especially the Sunday night which, to secular Jews, is the biggy? (To religious Jews they're both biggies). I want to stay at home and establish ourselves as a family with traditions. I want DD to have special memories of Rosh Hashana. I want us to have family traditions.

Part of this urge came from Chris Mosler at Thinly Spread who back in 2011 wrote about their special family Christmas Eve and the snuggle-sack tradition. Yesterday Chris told me that they still do it and her kids still love it. I've never forgotten that post and I've always wanted to do something similar. We don't do Christmas and most of our festivals have plenty of customs already. However, Rosh Hashana is a special time with not much going on other than synagogue and meals. Perfect for making up our own unique R"H style.

There is a tradition of a R"H seder which is a series of foods during the meal that symbolize things to do with the new year. For example, some people have a fish's head on the table for the head of the year. We dip apple in honey for a sweet year (we also drizzle honey on our challah and eat honey cake). We won't be having a fish head and we don't like honey but you get the picture. And we will have some symbollic food - I'll let you know when I've decided what.

I'm collecting my thoughts and ideas. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated in the comments. The theme is obviously the New Year and I'm not against a gift or two. Obviously I'll be back with a full report after the holiday.

Checking Out Nightmare On Rosh Hashana Eve

What's the worst thing that can happen in the supermarket on one of the busiest days of the year?

I admit that I left it till the last minute to do my Rosh Hashana food shop. There was no way I could have lugged it all up the hill in last week's sand storm. Yes, I could have ordered a delivery online but actually I prefer to see what's there and to choose.

Four things spurred me on this morning to brave the supermarket on Rosh Hashana Eve.

1. The weather is much clearer. Whilst I wouldn't go so far as to say that the sky is blue, it's a much less heavy sort of white and the sand seems to have all settled. We could breathe at last.

2. I promised DD Hello Kitty chocolate surprise eggs to add to her Hello Kitty collection. She only gets sweets on Shabbat and this last shabbat she didn't get anything.

3. We have friends coming for lunch tomorrow and I need to serve them something.

4. I have a 25 shekel voucher from Supersol Deal which expires today.

Off we went. Not a big shop but necessary nevertheless. The supermarket was packed as expected although not as packed as it probably was on Thursday and Friday of last week when people stocked up for Shabbat and this two-day festival together, and wanted to get a head start on the cooking.

A word of explanation about the cooking. This is a two-day festival during which no shops are open. You basically have 'Christmas dinner' four times - two evening meals and two lunches. Family and friends gather. It's a big deal. I deliberately avoided the 'What's for dinner?' fb group as we are keeping it very simple this year.

This evening we are on our own (by choice - before anyone starts phoning). We will eat our apple dipped in honey for a sweet year. We'll break our challah and eat it with egg salad, tomatoes and pickled cucumbers. DD will have ice-cream for dessert and I will have coffee. Perfect. Tomorrow two friends are coming for lunch - one my age, one DD's age. Tomorrow night will be simple again and we are going to friends for lunch on Tuesday. By Tueday night we're back to beans on toast.

So, back to the supermarket. We went round the produce section and carefully selected our bananas and grapes. I grabbed 3litres of fresh OJ from the fridge. A quick pop over the main isle to choose DD's sweets and chocolate. Back to the produce/crisps isle. I threw in a bag of popcorn. DD chose her favourite crisps while I decided not to buy a cabbage. I chose my favourite crisps. Picked up a bag of lettuce. And on to the the bakery, dairy, non-perishables, etc...

Fast forward to the checkout where we had been waiting patiently for about twenty  minutes for our turn. DD started helping me to unload the trolley onto the conveyor belt. Suddenly she exclaimed: "Hey! These aren't the crisps I chose!"

Somewhere along the line we had switched trolleys with someone else by accident. I don't know if we took theirs or they took ours. I hope they noticed that they were missing their carefully chosen tomatoes, lemons, and pomegranates before they reached the checkout.

I can tell you exactly when it happened by what was missing from our trolley. It was while I was deciding not to buy a cabbage but after DD had chosen her crisps. We were missing our OJ and bananas as well. I sent DD off to get her replacement crisps. I apologised to the cashier and ran off to choose more bananas and grab another OJ. Luckily the original trolley owner had chosen grapes as carefully as I had. On the way I dumped the poms, the toms, and the lemons.

As we finally left the shop with a full shopping bag on wheels I had a niggling feeling that we'd forgotten something. Half way up the hill I remembered the chocolate and the sweets. DD was distraught. I promised her that as soon as we had put this shopping away we would go round the corner to the smaller market for sweets. I think I may have promised her an ice-lolly as well.

In the end my daughter is as pragmatic as I am and she decided it wasn't worth going out in the heat again for chocolate. She'll wait till next Shabbat. A win of sorts after the all the hassle and upset.

I'm still hoping for a Shana Tova, a new beginning, a fresh new start, and to become the sort of person who doesn't leave everything till the last minute. Shana Tova again, I still have four hours to go into the holiday calmly. Breathing deeply... and relax.

Out With A Gasp

This past week and a half, the last 10 days of the Jewish Year 5775, have been tough. It was supposed to be a welcome cooling down as we entered September and school started. But the cool never came. Temperatures remained in the high 90s right up until last Monday the 6th September. And then we woke up to this.

It was the worst sand storm in the history of Israel and since records began in the Middle East. We've had sand storms before of course but this one has lasted six days! The first day the sky was brown. You could feel the gritty sand in your teeth. I coudn't see the building opposite.

Jerusalem had pollution levels at 173 times higher than averge. People were walking around in surgical masks. The old and infirm, pregnant ladies, babies, and those with heart or lung conditions were advised to stay indoors. Schools were instructed to keep the children inside all day. We were warned not to do any physical activity outdoors.

Depite keeping the windows shut everyone's homes were covered in layers of sand on every surface. My hair felt sandy when I came home from taking DD to school.

The weather stayed at a suffocating 37C (99F) during the day and going down to a pathetic 28 at night (though even that drop in temperature didn't help as we had to keep the windows shut). No wind W.H.A.T.S.O.E.V.E.R. and humidity constantly way above 50%.

I let DD stay home from school on Stupid Friday this week. We don't have air conditioning at home, just fans, and we were just heat exhausted. Her class had a bit of a New Year celebration - we had cold showers and then sat in our wet towels eating ice-cream. I think that was a fitting celebration under the circumstances.

As the days progressed the sky turned from brown to yellow and then to white. Finally this evening I fancied I could see some faint blue in the sky. I could finally see the buildings on the mountains opposite.  The trees are brown from the sand, all the cars are the same desert colour, and my balcony is the new beach. We need a good rain but the first downpour is going to be raining mud.

The paper says this tonight.

We are still being advised not to 'play' outside but temperatures are forecast to be a mild and managable 30C (86F) for the rest of the week. Cool enough to go to the pool on Wednesday I hope.

Tomorrow night is Rosh Hashana. We are supposed to go into the festival in clean white clothes, having cleaned our houses, our minds, and our hearts. This might happen if I get my act together tomorrow. It is supposed to be a new beginning, a fresh new start. It better had be.

Shana Tova to everyone for a happy, healthy and successful year. xxxx

Tuesday Tidbits 24: Shana Tova

At the school ceremony for Rosh Hashana. (It's a white shirt day for special days)

1
I bought a load of cheap sweets and chocolates at the new supermarket as they were such good value. However DD only gets sweets on Shabbat (Friday night/Saturday) so I put most of them away to ration out over the weeks. Last weekend we went to stay with friends who have twins.

On Friday before we left:
DD: Can I have some smarties?
Me: No
DD: I'm taking some. I am....
Me: I said, 'no.'
DD: I'm going to get some....
Me: If you take any sweets there'll be trouble.
DD: What will happen if I take some?
Me: I'll take all the sweets I bought this week and give them to the twins.
DD (with hands on her hips): Well THAT would be a waste of money, wouldn't it?


2
After three weeks at school and every morning being a struggle to separate with 'just one more cuddle,' and 'just one more kiss,' etc. And every morning I leave the classroom as the teacher is waiting to begin the lesson. (I'm not the last parent to leave btw and other children are sometimes in tears.) This morning as the bell went...

DD: Bye bye Mummy you can go now. (One kiss and a cuddle and that was it, I left.)

Shana Tova to everyone for a very healthy, happy, and successful new year. xxx

Ode To Autumn In A Hot Country

It's like a cool shower after a day toiling in the fields. Like a comfortable bed after a camping holiday. Like flicking off your party shoes after a night of dancing. In a word - relief.

I'm talking about the Autumn after a Summer that's been sizzling hot since May. I know that September doesn't automatically mean instantly cooler weather but there is a subtle psychology that says it does feel cooler. The nights are noticeably so and the days are drawing in. There are clouds in the sky (although no rain as yet) and gentle breezes. Sleeveless top and dresses are not quite enough in the mornings and late afternoons. There is change in the air.

Schools go back and, therefore, parents go back to work properly. Routine is restored and bedtimes enforced once again. Proper clothes are beginning to emerge, with even a layer or two. Shoes instead of sandals. School uniforms instead of shorts. A general smartening up occurs.

There's an energy. Personal energy as it becomes comfortable to walk more without the incessant heat that was June, July and August. Even cleaning your house is easier and more worthwhile as it seems to stay tidier for longer when the holidays end. There is work to do and schedules to stick to so no time for constantly stopping by the fridge for something to nosh.

I colour my hair and pluck my eyebrows - when was the last time I did that? It feels good and I get into the grooming groove. How about a facial scrub, a deep cleanse, some toner, and a bit of makeup now that the tan is beginning to fade? All these lotions and potions are somewhere in the back of the bathroom cabinet from before the Summer surrender to sweat, sand and frizzy hair.

I look at the parched (that means dead) flowers and plants on my balcony that were neglected in the heat and think about planting anew for the next season. I have seeds and sprouting potatoes ready. I start googling about growing vegetables on a small balcony. I'm thinking about soups and stews all of a sudden. And suppers that warm and fill rather than grabbing a yogurt and some grapes. Now that spending time in the kitchen is bearable again, my culinary ideas are getting more ambitious.

It's a natural build up to Rosh Hashana (the Jewish New Year). Invitations are given and menus planned. There is a desire for everything to be physically clean as well as spiritually prepared. It's a new beginning, a new start, a new leaf, a breath of fresh air, expectation, hope, ambition, inspiration, and motivation. It's Autumn.

The Chinese Bamboo, a story of inspiration and motivation.

Rosh Hashana Direct Line

We've arrived! I hope you enjoyed the countdown and thank you for bearing with me till the end. Rosh Hashana starts tonight. If you're looking for a direct line click on the video clip below.

*siddur = prayerbook
*Shana Tova Umetuka = Have a good and sweet  year.

Shana Tova!




No more tomorrow, we're celebrating the New Year! See you later in the week.

Rosh Hashana Countdown #1

For the number one spot I couldn't resist re-posting my all time favourite. The one I wrote about last year. Enjoy and, as always...

Shana Tova!






Come back tomorrow for a direct line to God.

Rosh Hashana Countdown #2

Another group of hip-hop Torah scholars, in NYC this time.

Shana Tova!


 

 Don't forget to come back for more tomorrow!

Rosh Hashana Countdown #3

This one just came out. It's the same place that produced #8 on the countdown. I never knew these guys had so much fun in their yeshivot (study houses). Love this one.


Shana Tova!


 


 Don't forget to come back for more tomorrow!

Rosh Hashana Countdown #4

So how do the French do it? Here's how they sing and dance Shana Tova in Paris...

Chana Tova! (And thank you Steph for showing me this one.)




Don't forget to come back tomorrow for more!

Rosh Hashana Countdown #5

Tekiyah is the call to listen to the blowing of the shofar (ram's horn) on Rosh Hashana.

Wake up Don't you hear it calling you Arise and live your life anew Tekiyah
Wake up See the flaws inside your soul Nurture them till you are whole Tekiyah
This is the calling This is the time to make things right This is the warning With the day of judgement now in sight
Wake up Purge the grudges from your heart Try to make a brand new start Tekiyah
Wake up Give the world all you can give Love each moment that you live Tekiyah
This is the warning This is the time to make things right This is the calling With the day of judgement now in sight
Wake up Take the time to make amends Open up and start again Tekiyah
Wake up From your sorrow you are torn On this day you are reborn Tekiyah
This is the calling This is the time to make things right This is the warning With the day of judgement now in sight

By Eliana Light
Category:Music
License:Creative Commons Attribution license (reuse allowed)


 

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Rosh Hashana Countdown #6

Not in a million years...not in my house...uh uh....N -E-V-E-R!!!

Shana Tova!




Don't forget to come back tomorrow for some more!