How D'ya Like That?

The purpose of this blog is to bring the spirit of my Bubbie to your Shabbat table... Please print and share...in memory of Yehudis bas Alexander.

My dear grandmother, whose yahrzeit was remembered this week, grew up in Chicago and LA and was the last Yiddish speaker in the family.

Only she didn't call it Yiddish. She called it talking Jewish.

And did she like to talk! She wasn't a gossip - she enjoyed conversing about meaningful things: current events, history, literature, her grandchildren. But current events was her forte, and when she heard something interesting, she would exclaim,

"How d'ya like that!"

She and my grandfather eloped to Reno. They had to, she told me, because her parents didn't approve of Charlie – his family wasn't good enough. It was middle-class Ukrainian Jews looking down on lower-class Ukrainian Jews. Or maybe it was upper-middle looking down on middle, I don't know. The point is, there was great disdain and disapproval.

Yet somehow my grandmother absorbed 0.0% of that attitude. She didn't disdain anyone (other than Yassar Arafat). She had a good heart and intuitively saw the humanity in everyone she met. Taking her on any errand was always a long ordeal because she would find any excuse to stop and talk to anyone. She might pass a perfect stranger on the sidewalk and ask them the time (while looking at her watch, mumbling something about it not keeping good time) and before the hapless lady or fellow knew what had happened, she had pried out of her or him their entire family history, their personal taste in politics, prose and clothes, and of course reciprocated about herself. All the while, she would be repeatedly touching their elbow. 

I wonder how my bubbie would deal with today's 2-meter rule. I am guessing it wouldn't faze her at all, she'd talk all the same, just at a distance. Not sure how she'd manage without the elbow.

To honor her mamalashon, I taught my kids to call her Bubbie, and she liked that.

(Maybe the next step will be for us all to learn Yiddish?)

Here's to you, Bubbie! We miss you and assume you're getting the personal story of each and every angel you meet.

Question for your table: Who's the friendliest person you know? What's their secret?

Shabbat Shalom.

 

PS - Click on the image above to discover a related treat to lighten your quarantine or comfort your social-distancing.

PPS - Shopping on Amazon? Please use https://smile.amazon.com and Amazon will donate a % of the sale to the non-profit of your choice (such as Jewish Spiritual Literacy), at no extra cost to you. Why not?

 

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Who's Going Up?

The purpose of this blog is to bring a little "aliya" to the Shabbat table... Please print and share...

A troubling realization dawned on me yesterday.

We are in an historic moment in so many ways. But there is present detail that I hadn't noticed. I wonder how many people have noticed?

A bit of background, and then the reveal, and then the question.

Ever since I turned 18, I've always made sure my passport was up-to-date. Even when I had absolutely no plans to travel, I've always liked the idea that I could, in a moments notice, get on a plane and go almost anywhere.

Today this is still true. (I don't mind wearing a mask on the plane.)

With one exception.

For the first time in my life, I am not able to get on a plane in a moment's notice and go to the Land of Israel.

Anyone without a current visa (student/work/etc) is being denied entry.

This came up because I have two daughters who are both hoping to move to Israel in late summer (one to live, the other to study). It is currently unknown when they will be allowed in. Makes it tricky to plan!

The short-term outlook remains 0% certain due to the recent rise in cases. The current trend is not good.

This is also true of you - just about anyone reading this. Unless you have a current Israeli passport or visa, you are barred from the Holy Land - for the first time since 1948.

Here's your question for the table: How do you feel about that?

 

Shabbat Shalom.

 

PS - Click on the image above for a related summer book that I'm betting you've never read.

PPS - Shopping on Amazon? Please use https://smile.amazon.com and Amazon will donate a % of the sale to the non-profit of your choice (such as Jewish Spiritual Literacy), at no extra cost to you. Why not?

 

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Does Tribalism Matter?

The purpose of this blog is to add some color to the Shabbat table... Please print and share...

The idea of judging someone by their skin color, consciously or subconsciously, is so wrong that it would be comic if it were not so tragic.

This is obvious to anyone immersed in Torah (or Dr. Seuss).

Therefore, the struggle against racism suggests the following philosophical (theological?) question for your table:

Why would God make a world of races (i.e., groups of people who look so different from one another)?

I actually wrote about this topic about eight years ago in this space (which got me flagged by google as an offensive site and ineligible for their Google Ads program).

Here's what I wrote (with a few revisions):

You may have heard of Michele Norris, former host of NPR's "All things Considered" (currently writing for the Washington Post). As you can see from this image, she is a black woman.... ? Well, that's how I heard her describe herself once. But she looks whiter than I do.

Norris was for a time a major talking-head on the subject of race. Commenting on the Trayvon Martin shooting, she said:

"I've learned that all over the world, they may not call it racism, maybe it's bias, maybe it's tribalism."

My first question for your table: Do you agree with Norris? Is tribalism the same as racism?

It's a broad question, and maybe it will help to ask a more personal question.

Personal question 1 - What does the phrase "being Jewish" mean to you?

Some might say that being Jewish means that you are always a potential target for someone.

Not a random target; a premeditated, cold-blooded target.

For instance, when Norris said that, one of the current events that she was presumably aware of was the March, 2012 assassination in Toulouse (here is a photo of 3 of the victims with their now-widowed wife/mother).

Others may say that being Jewish means reaching out to anyone in need.

Norris has an online project cleverly called "The Race Card" - the idea is to invite the public to submit 6-word statements about race. Here's the link.

Personal question 2: What 6 words would you submit?

Here are mine:

Racism is false, but tribalism true.

OK, back to our original question: Is tribalism the same as racism?

Shabbat Shalom.

 

PS - Yes, the image above is always clickable.

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Have Blessing, Will Travel?

The purpose of this blog is to turn the Shabbat table into a journey... Please print and share...
In memory of my grandparents, Sima bas Mordechai Yaakov & Eliezer ben Zelig, whose yahrzeits are last night and tonight, respectively.

I'm assuming that no one who read last week's Galactic Torah Shavuot message made it to synagogue or any kind of celebration on the holiday?

A few days earlier, here in Baltimore, we had been given the green light to hold backyard services. On every block or so, neighbors started to get to know each other again. This neighborliness was, has been, quite a silver lining for me personally.

Yet one of the highlights of every Jewish holiday - including Shavuot - is the "Birchat Cohanim" at the climax of the morning service. This is where any cohanim present in the minyan go to the front, face the congregation, put a tallit over their heads and hands, and slowly chant the ancient blessings:

[May] God bless you, and guard you –
יְבָרֶכְךָ ׳הוה, וְיִשְׁמְרֶךָ
(Yevhārēkh-khā Adhōnāy veyishmerēkhā ...)

[May] God make His face shine unto you, and be gracious to you –
יָאֵר ׳הוה פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ, וִיחֻנֶּךָּ
("Yāʾēr Adhōnāy pānāw ēlekhā viḥunnékkā ...)

[May] God lift His face to you, and give to you peace –
יִשָּׂא ׳הוה פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ, וְיָשֵׂם לְךָ שָׁלוֹם
("Yissā Adhōnāy pānāw ēlekhā veyāsēm lekhā shālōm.")

Problem: we had no cohanim present.

This probably never happened to you, but did you ever have one of those moments where you space out a bit during the service? Due to it being a backyard with trees and sheds and other obstacles, and due to the personal distancing, and due to being slightly nearsighted and not wearing my glasses - I wasn't particularly paying attention to all the happenings around the yard.

But then suddenly the chazzan gave the familiar signal to alert everyone that we were about to have the Birchat Cohanim.

How was this possible?

Only after these two cohanim completed the beracha did it become clear.

At the conclusion of the hauntingly beautiful ancient melody, I opened my eyes and saw one motion to the other in the direction of the next backyard minyan down the street. They were mercenary cohanim! Like superheroes, they swept in, cleaned up, and flew out to rescue the next minyan in distress.

Gotta love being part of the Jewish People!

Shabbat Shalom


PS - Shopping on Amazon? Please use https://smile.amazon.com and Amazon will donate a % of the sale to the non-profit of your choice (such as Jewish Spiritual Literacy), at no extra cost to you. Why not? 

 

 
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