Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Christmas for a rabbi

December 25th happened to be a Friday this year.

And what do Jews do on Christmas?  We go to the only restaurants and entertainment that are open... Chinese food and a movie.

The temple held a community-builder that night after services - we brought in Chinese food and showed The Princess Bride.  

I was half-afraid no one would come, but we had over 60 people!

That was more than enough to storm the castle, indeed. :)

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Mr. Ari

Aggh!  Too soon, too soon!






After completing a puzzle with a friend at school

Sunday, December 27, 2015

Interesting book

I just led a discussion for our temple book club, on a book called The Faith Club: A Muslim, A Christian, A Jew - Three Women Search for Understanding, by Ranya Idliby, Suzanne Oliver, and Priscilla Warner.

It was a wonderful book for its purpose, as it really got everyone talking.  The part that my group focused on was very much a reflection of the groups' makeup: we didn't focus on prayer, or family, or antisemitism in conversation between the Jewish and Christian women, but rather, on the interactions on Israel between the Muslim and the Jew.

The three authors were very candid and bare their souls, I admire them for writing it.  They even discuss the macro questions, such as, are they atypical examples of people of these religions?  Are they typical?  How can they believe fully in their own faith when they learn and come to respect so much about others'?

I'd recommend the book, but go into it with your eyes open, and be ready to confront your own inner prejudices and stereotypes.  Also, don't put it down just because you may not like what a person says!

(I admit, I did just that with the sequel to Outlander - the author made so many choices different than what I wanted for the characters, I got annoyed and returned it to Barnes and Noble.  But I didn't want to do that with a biography/true story!)

Saturday, December 26, 2015

Growing pains, Star Wars, and the festival of lights

The day started off not so fun - with a doctor's appointment for Ari.  He's been complaining a lot in the evenings about pain in his legs, and waking up in the middle of the night crying.  And while I was 99% sure it was growing pains, I'm still a neurotic Jewish mother enough (and I know someone whose child was diagnosed with leukemia from those very symptoms), so we took him in.

My concern was short-lived.  It's growing pains.  His blood is "perfect," according to the doctor.  He showed us some stretching exercises to do with Ari before bed, and talked to Ari about growing so fast that the bones can't keep up.  "Some kids barely notice it, others are miserable," he said.  Since I only have one older kid to compare to, I figured, better safe than sorry!

Ari had wanted pancakes, so after we played in the day (and the older boys saw the titled movie with Jonathan), we made breakfast for dinner and had pancakes and eggs. Ironically we had finished our Bisquick and the only mix left was the kosher for Pesach Manischevitz mix... not my first choice, but add in enough milk and put enough syrup on top, and it's all good.

As it was Christmas Eve, we went out in search of neighborhoods with pretty lights, and oooh, it was fun!  Driving around, looking at the lights (we even went to a 3-mile stretch of lights with a paid entrance)... two out of three kids had conked out by the time we got home.

All in all, a reassuring and relaxing day.

Thursday, December 24, 2015

Star Wars VII is AMAZING.

We went to see it opening night. Of course.




And then, a few days later, our friends Matt and Erin came over, visiting from north Florida.  Matt and I were chevruta (study) partners as students in Cincinnati.  He hadn't seen the movie, so we went with him.  Because one, hey, you gotta support your friends.  And two, it really is THAT good.  Jonathan and I thought back and realized that he hasn't seen a movie twice in theatres since Ghostbusters.  Me, I'm almost embarrassed to say, the last time I went twice was when I was 16, for Titanic!

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Thank you, Nicole and Joe!

The tower of presents is a Ghirardelli Tower, according to the box.  According to my family, it is a delicious wonderland of chocolate items.  Only the packet of white mocha coffee survives, as the rest has all been inhaled.  Thank you, thank you!

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Hanukkah at temple

Playing dreidel at religious school





Latke feast at preschool.





Being serenaded with "I Have a Little Dreidel" at the Latke Vodka event after the Hanukkah Shabbat service