I’ve adapted this idea from an earlier meme called “Eight things about me.” (A meme is a cross between a chain letter and a themed blog post.) I changed the number to seven, in honor of the seven days of Sukkot (Tabernacles festival).
- My husband likes to quote the midrash where one of the nations tells God it wants to accept the Torah, so He lets them try sitting in the sukkah. The hot sun causes them to come running out. My husband never understood this midrash until making aliyah, because the sukkah in the US was always cold and often wet. In particular I remember my mother warning my to be prepared for the cold Ohio weather (she must have been checking the NY weather reports). I would packed a sweater and an extra pair of socks, which was never enough. Our current sukkah gets the southern sun, and we still suffered despite the fan and our seventh floor breeze. It’s cooled down a bit now.
- My daughter said to me, “Thank you for making aliyah.” We are so happy be be finished with our one and only three-day Yom Tov.
- Planning for holidays does get easier. I have had the same guests for the first day of Sukkot three years running. I finished cooking late Wednesday, and didn’t have much time to think about organizing the serving, sleeping, or heating up the food. But thanks to a combination of older children, familiar guests, and experience, everything ran smoothly. I even found an old list of items to bring to the sukkah, but the challah knife, salt shaker and soup ladle had already arrived in the basket.
- On the first day of the holiday I had a run-in with a woman in the shul, whose daughter hurt her hand during kedusha and began screaming hysterically just outside the entrance to the ezrat nashim (women’s section). After the mother came out, I told her that someone else took care of her daughter. Her excuses were a) she was in the middle of kedusha (solemn prayer that one is not supposed to interrupt); b) no one was disturbed by the screaming; and c) she knows her daughter’s screams and she could tell that she was okay. I guess she feels it’s not necessary to interrupt kedusha unless someone needs to go to the emergency room–it still took about ten minutes until the daughter calmed down enough for her mother to go back into the synagogue.
- My divine retribution for criticizing this mother’s neglect of her child came when my 6yo got left in shul and had to be brought home by someone else. My husband and I each thought he went home with the other.
- Today my husband went to the early minyan (prayer service) so I could hear my oldest son chant Kohelet (biblical book of Ecclesiastes) in a different shul. Here’s a halachic riddle for you: Even though I brought my own machzor (holiday prayer book), I still had to grab one of the shul’s prayer books and scramble to find the place. Why?
- Kohelet reminded me of a class I took with Rabbi Jack Bieler in his Manhattan home. I enjoyed the stimulating class, but I most remember the warm atmosphere and Mrs. Bieler offering to make latkes on Chanukah for me and my college friend after I complained about missing my mother’s version. (Now you know why I didn’t go into scholarship.)
Enjoy the rest of the holiday.
How was Alef at the recommended hour?
Chag Sameach. I’m especially looking forward to the last post.
I would like to know how you would suggest the last one *The most important strategy for saving money while raising a large, or small, family* to someone who marries young and is not the lucky recipient of trust fund money or massive support from the family/s, and how you can do it with one parent staying home with the kid/s. Is pushing off having kids the only other way? Especially in Israel where life doesn’t start till nearly the mid-20’s, after the army.
Chag Sameach!
Tamiri, I had forgotten that our car was in the garage. My husband went in the evening. As to your question, I have a few ideas.
SL–my other posts may also tie into economics.
Daniel, chag sameach!
I’d say you grabbed one that was nusach sfard, b/c you, like me, are still walking around with nusach ashkenaz.
keter yitnu l’cha…
I’d say you grabbed one that was nusach sfard, b/c you, like me, are still walking around with nusach ashkenaz.
keter yitnu l’cha…
PLEASE!!! Post about parenting teenagers!
did your son read it from a klaf?
in my experience, ashkenaz and nusach sephard say kohelet.
sephardim (and i’m pretty sure edot ha-mizrah) don’t. so you have a sephardic/edot ha-mizrah mahzor?
minhag tzarefat is to say it on shemini atzeret and in provence they didn’t say it in shul (but rather in the sukkah). although i highly doubt you use a a tzarefat or provence mahzor.
a hearty yashekoach to your son. (for those not in the know, kohelet is the longest of the Five Scrolls.)
did your son read it from a klaf?
in my experience, ashkenaz and nusach sephard say kohelet.
sephardim (and i’m pretty sure edot ha-mizrah) don’t. so you have a sephardic/edot ha-mizrah mahzor?
minhag tzarefat is to say it on shemini atzeret and in provence they didn’t say it in shul (but rather in the sukkah). although i highly doubt you use a a tzarefat or provence mahzor.
a hearty yashekoach to your son. (for those not in the know, kohelet is the longest of the Five Scrolls.)
Trilcat–coorect, only my machzor is nusach sefarad and that shul is ashkenaz (if you paid careful attention to my blog you would know that we follow chasidic minhagim LOL, see Pesach posts).
Ari, yes, he read from a klaf (scroll). He said it was like reading Vayakhel-Pekudei without taking a break. He did it last year also, and he’s wondering why he only noticed the two mistakes in the klaf now.
Trilcat–coorect, only my machzor is nusach sefarad and that shul is ashkenaz (if you paid careful attention to my blog you would know that we follow chasidic minhagim LOL, see Pesach posts).
Ari, yes, he read from a klaf (scroll). He said it was like reading Vayakhel-Pekudei without taking a break. He did it last year also, and he’s wondering why he only noticed the two mistakes in the klaf now.
“my machzor is nusach sefarad”
does it have ruth and shir ha-shirim? i know i’ve definately heard these in nusach sephard shuls, though i can’t remember for sure about kohelet.
“he read from a klaf (scroll).”
wow. shep naches.
“He said it was like reading Vayakhel-Pekudei without taking a break.”
i feel that way with esther. i can’t imagine doing kohelet. (i’ve done it, but with a sefer. big deal.)
“He did it last year also, and he’s wondering why he only noticed the two mistakes in the klaf now.”
one of my worst leining gaffes is when i accidentally skipped an entire page while reading kohelet. it took a few minutes for someone (not the rabbi or hazzan, who were sitting right there) to run up and tell me to go back. i’m still not sure if no one was paying attention, or if they were but felt relieved i skipped a page.
מועדים לשמחה
“my machzor is nusach sefarad”
does it have ruth and shir ha-shirim? i know i’ve definately heard these in nusach sephard shuls, though i can’t remember for sure about kohelet.
“he read from a klaf (scroll).”
wow. shep naches.
“He said it was like reading Vayakhel-Pekudei without taking a break.”
i feel that way with esther. i can’t imagine doing kohelet. (i’ve done it, but with a sefer. big deal.)
“He did it last year also, and he’s wondering why he only noticed the two mistakes in the klaf now.”
one of my worst leining gaffes is when i accidentally skipped an entire page while reading kohelet. it took a few minutes for someone (not the rabbi or hazzan, who were sitting right there) to run up and tell me to go back. i’m still not sure if no one was paying attention, or if they were but felt relieved i skipped a page.
מועדים לשמחה
LOL about skipping a page.
The machzor has Kohelet; in nusach sefarad they read all the megilot. I needed the siddur for kedusha, like Trilcat said.
LOL about skipping a page.
The machzor has Kohelet; in nusach sefarad they read all the megilot. I needed the siddur for kedusha, like Trilcat said.
oh. you threw me off by first writing about your son and kohelet.
do you sing מנוחה ושמחה אור ליהודים at the shabbat table?
oh. you threw me off by first writing about your son and kohelet.
do you sing מנוחה ושמחה אור ליהודים at the shabbat table?
I, too, LOVE the one-day chag as opposed to the 3-day. Love it, love it, love it.
“she knows her daughter’s screams and she could tell that she was okay.”
Say WHAT? This woman is unreal! So it’s OK to let her go on screaming in shul, as long as she knows the girl is OK?
I, too, LOVE the one-day chag as opposed to the 3-day. Love it, love it, love it.
“she knows her daughter’s screams and she could tell that she was okay.”
Say WHAT? This woman is unreal! So it’s OK to let her go on screaming in shul, as long as she knows the girl is OK?
Ari, Are you talking about the tune or the zemer itself? We sing it; I’ve never seen a siddur or bentscher without it.
RR–It was bizarre that she would not react to her daughter’s screaming, period.
Ari, Are you talking about the tune or the zemer itself? We sing it; I’ve never seen a siddur or bentscher without it.
RR–It was bizarre that she would not react to her daughter’s screaming, period.
“We sing it; I’ve never seen a siddur or bentscher without it.”
i was curious if it is nusach sefard siddurim because of the line that states נשמת כל חי וגם נעריצך as being particular to the shabbat liturgy.
“We sing it; I’ve never seen a siddur or bentscher without it.”
i was curious if it is nusach sefard siddurim because of the line that states נשמת כל חי וגם נעריצך as being particular to the shabbat liturgy.
Well, in shacharit nusach sefarad has “nakdishach ve-naaritzach” (Transliteration of Ari’s Hebrew for those who can’t read it is nishmat kol hai ve-gam naaritzach. The discussion is about differences in the liturgy between descendants of chassidic Jews and the standard ashkenazic prayerbook. )
Well, in shacharit nusach sefarad has “nakdishach ve-naaritzach” (Transliteration of Ari’s Hebrew for those who can’t read it is nishmat kol hai ve-gam naaritzach. The discussion is about differences in the liturgy between descendants of chassidic Jews and the standard ashkenazic prayerbook. )
“in shacharit nusach sefarad has “nakdishach ve-naaritzach”
yes, but don’t you say this every day (and not just on shabbat)?
and what is your son doing in an ashkenaz shul in any case? be careful, or he will end up like me (lo alayikh) and estranged from his nusach sefard roots.
“in shacharit nusach sefarad has “nakdishach ve-naaritzach”
yes, but don’t you say this every day (and not just on shabbat)?
and what is your son doing in an ashkenaz shul in any case? be careful, or he will end up like me (lo alayikh) and estranged from his nusach sefard roots.
Last time I heard weekday kedusha regularly I was single and estranged from my hasidic roots. In Israel every first grader learns to daven from a nusach sefard siddur, so I’m not too worried, although I think they do daven ashkenaz at his yeshiva.
Last time I heard weekday kedusha regularly I was single and estranged from my hasidic roots. In Israel every first grader learns to daven from a nusach sefard siddur, so I’m not too worried, although I think they do daven ashkenaz at his yeshiva.
“In Israel every first grader learns to daven from a nusach sefard siddur”
oy! and to think that people are worried about shemitah, znius in public, kashrut standards, el al flights on shabbat, gerut, etc.
laylah/moed tov
“In Israel every first grader learns to daven from a nusach sefard siddur”
oy! and to think that people are worried about shemitah, znius in public, kashrut standards, el al flights on shabbat, gerut, etc.
laylah/moed tov
Ari, I think you’re on the wrong blog if you want to talk about those issues. I should have limited my comment to every religious zionist school.
Ari, I think you’re on the wrong blog if you want to talk about those issues. I should have limited my comment to every religious zionist school.
“In Israel every first grader learns to daven from a nusach sefard siddur”
Only ‘in town’ :). When you head out to the periphery, we do have schools that actually daven eidot ha-mizrach… at least in the last 10-15 years (once they realized it was ridiculous for schools that were 98-100% eidot ha-mizrach to have to daven nusach sefard).
We just work a bit extra at home to teach our kids ashkenaz minhangim/davening (and privately we do daven nusach ashkenaz though its probably been under 10 time in the last 10 years that we’ve been in a shul in Israel which does so)
“In Israel every first grader learns to daven from a nusach sefard siddur”
Only ‘in town’ :). When you head out to the periphery, we do have schools that actually daven eidot ha-mizrach… at least in the last 10-15 years (once they realized it was ridiculous for schools that were 98-100% eidot ha-mizrach to have to daven nusach sefard).
We just work a bit extra at home to teach our kids ashkenaz minhangim/davening (and privately we do daven nusach ashkenaz though its probably been under 10 time in the last 10 years that we’ve been in a shul in Israel which does so)
I went to school with Rabbi Bieler’s niece. What a great family.
I’m glad you got to hear your son leining the megillah. It’s great to relate via nachas, rather than only a teen/mom playing field.
Interesting about nusachim. In school, we used Ashkenaz. My own family’s minhag is Nusach Sefard, while my husband’s is lapsed, but probably was Ashkenaz. Still, I can’t help feeling more at home with Sefard.
I went to school with Rabbi Bieler’s niece. What a great family.
I’m glad you got to hear your son leining the megillah. It’s great to relate via nachas, rather than only a teen/mom playing field.
Interesting about nusachim. In school, we used Ashkenaz. My own family’s minhag is Nusach Sefard, while my husband’s is lapsed, but probably was Ashkenaz. Still, I can’t help feeling more at home with Sefard.
“I think you’re on the wrong blog . . .”
sorry. just kidding around because you gave me “mussar” once or twice about my nusach sefard estrangement
“I think you’re on the wrong blog . . .”
sorry. just kidding around because you gave me “mussar” once or twice about my nusach sefard estrangement
Shoshana, that’s interesting.
RM–we take all the positive teen/parent interactions we can get.
Ari–I meant that this is not the blog to talk about the major issues affecting klal yisrael–although how parents treat children should have a higher place on the agenda. I don’t mind the teasing.
My husband says that by your logic, no one should sing Kol Mekadesh Shevii because the author refers to an extra pasuk in kiddush that no one says. Oh wait–no one does sing it. Except for us.
Shoshana, that’s interesting.
RM–we take all the positive teen/parent interactions we can get.
Ari–I meant that this is not the blog to talk about the major issues affecting klal yisrael–although how parents treat children should have a higher place on the agenda. I don’t mind the teasing.
My husband says that by your logic, no one should sing Kol Mekadesh Shevii because the author refers to an extra pasuk in kiddush that no one says. Oh wait–no one does sing it. Except for us.