What Are You Living For?

The purpose of this email is to foster Shabbat conversation to die for....please print, share, and forward. 

Happy birthday shout-out to Aryeh! Live long and prosper! 

Did you enjoy the animated graphic last week? (Did you click on it?)

(Please tell me if these please you or annoy you.)

Here's a question you could use at your Shabbat table.

On my first adult trip to Israel, exploring my Jewish roots, I found myself in an intro-to-Judaism class.

The rabbi asked us, "What are you willing to die for?"

He didn't ask the question rhetorically - he put each one of us on the spot and asked us to respond.

Try asking that at the table: "What are you willing to die for?"

In our group, if I recall correctly, most people didn't have an answer. I'm pretty sure that I didn't. 

After everyone at your table has a chance to respond, here's the rabbi's follow-up question:

"Why does it matter?"

The rabbi's answer: If you know what you're willing to die for, then you know what you're living for. If you don't know what you're willing to die for, you don't know what you're living for!

Final question for the table: do you agree?

Shabbat Shalom

PS - If you're trying to do the daily mitzvah of counting the Omer, you could bookmark the daily count here.

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Counting Up or Down?

 

The purpose of this blog is to create anticipation for Shabbat table conversation....please print, share, and forward.

Happy Pesach!

For those who enjoy counting the Omer, we've created a JSLI Omer Counter to help you keep track.

Here's the link. 

(If I did it right, it will turn over to the new day's count at 8pm PDT / 11pm EDT.)

Question for your table - What does this Omer business have to do with Pesach?

Let's make it multiple choice:

A. Nothing.
B. Everything.
C. Something but I can't remember what.
D. Isn't Pesach over already? When can I have a bagel?
E. All of the above.
F. None of the above.

Chag Sameach and

Shabbat Shalom

PS - If you click on that annoying image, it will show you a new interactive Omer book for kids.

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Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?

The purpose of this blog is to increase satiety at the Shabbat table ....please print, share, and forward.

You've got one week to prepare.

Here's a prep question for your table:

Where in the Torah does it say, "This is the bread of poverty that our ancestors ate in Egypt; whoever is hungry, come and eat!"

The answer of course is that it's not in the Torah, it's in the Haggadah. 

But why does the Haggadah start with this invitation? What does it actually mean?

A few problems:

- Why would someone eat if they're not hungry? Why not just say, "Everyone come and eat!"
- By the time we're saying it, everyone is already at the table; why say "come"?
- We're actually not going to eat right now, there's a story to tell before we get to eat, so why talk about eating right now? Are we teasing everyone?

Perhaps we're just trying to get their attention? After all, it's been a year since we ate matzah. Holding it up and saying, "Come and eat" grabs my attention!

But the Haggadah was written by a master teacher some 2,000 years ago. I suspect there is additional depth to every line. 

Perhaps the call to "whoever is hungry" is didactic. I think it might be telling us: you should only come and eat if you're hungry; i.e., you should be at the Seder with a hungry spirit. You should approach Pesach with a desire to gain something, to learn something, to grow in some way.

That's who's (supposed to be) coming to dinner - hungry people.

So here's 4 pre-Pesach questions for your table:'

What are you hungry for this Pesach? What questions do you hope to get answered? What do you hope to learn? How do you hope to grow?

I'd appreciate your sharing with me your own answers, or any answers you receive.

(Suggestion - if you're running a Seder, and you want everyone to come "hungry", send them these 4 questions in advance. Let them know that you'll invite them to share their answers at the Seder.)

Shabbat Shalom

and in case I don't get this email out next week, wishing you a Happy and Holy Pesach!

PS - Speaking of hunger, click here to help actual hungry people in Israel.
PPS - If you'd like our 2022 Pesach prep kit (47 mb download), send an email.
PPPS - The Jews of Ukraine, and Jewish refugees from Ukraine, are still in great need. Click here to help.
PPPPS - Yes, the image above is clickable .

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A Mouth Speaks?

The purpose of this blog is to upgrade the chatter at the Shabbat table ....please print, share, and forward.

If you could do only one of the Pesach mitzvot (matzah, marror, 4 cups of wine, telling the story) which would you choose?

Two weeks from tonight is, of course, Pesach.

Question for your table - Why is it called that? 

Scholarly people have been debating the meaning of pesach for decades.

Mystical people have been teaching for centuries that it means peh sach - "a mouth speaks."

What does that mean?

Our holidays tend to focus on specific parts or aspects of the body:

Rosh Hashanah - ears (shofar)
Yom Kippur - negation of entire body (fasting)
Sukkot - affirmation of entire body (sukkah)
Channukah - eyes (menorah)
Purim - hands (gifts of food, gifts to the poor), ears (Megillah)

So what's Pesach's body part?

A: The mouth. It's the only holiday that has a mitzvah to eat specific foods (matzah, marror, wine) and to speak (tell the story).

Hence: peh sach - a mouth speaks.

When I was a child my grandfather showed us that the best Seder is where everyone gets to speak, where everyone gets to help tell and interpret the story.

Word to the wise - to do it well takes some planning.... get busy!

In the meantime, here's a question for your Shabbat table:

Let's ask again: If you could do only one of the Pesach mitzvot (matzah, marror, 4 cups of wine, telling the story) which would you choose?


Shabbat Shalom

PS - If you'd like our 2022 Pesach prep kit (47 mb download), send an email.
PPS The Jews of Ukraine, and Jewish refugees from Ukraine, are still in great need. Click here to help.
PPPS - Yes, the image above is clickable (as always).

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