How Our Religion Is Kept Alive By The Cooks In Our Families

 Nadene Goldfoot                                                      

      In older days when families were not broken up by war or work, they gathered together for holidays like Passover to celebrate.  This is the norm when all were orthodox before Reform and Conservative were created.   

 G-d was certainly far-thinking when he designed our holidays and had us develop certain foods to feed our families in regards to the holidays we were to celebrate.  People have a natural inclination to want to eat when sitting down together.  We expect something to have at meetings and at holiday events.  Food draws us together, not the subject spoken of, though we know that is the highlight of the calling-together of the tribe.                                               

     A Reform Judaism family Passover Seder feeling their Special Haggadah (book at each plate like a textbook for Passover (Pesach)  played a big part.  And the following is from this Reform member:  These Seders were deeply cherished by my grandparents. My grandfather seemed to define the passing of time during the year not by the 12-month calendar, but by the number of months until his entire family would be together again. For my grandfather, seders were among the highlight of his year. He delighted in the preparation for each seder. Of the many events in advance of the first seder, my grandfather was perhaps most excited that I would be reciting the Four Questions, a responsibility that remained with me for many years until the next child in the family joined our Seder table. I recall rehearsing the Four Questions as a young child at my grandparents' home, reading from my braille Haggadah as my mother helped me to learn the proper recitation. As I worked to master the Four Questions, I remember taking care to do so only in a private room, as my young self did not want to reveal my recitation abilities to others until the first Seder. My grandfather was even more excited than I was for the occasion and checked with me frequently in the days leading up to the first Seder to inquire as to how my learning was progressing. After I recited the Four Questions from my braille Haggadah, my grandfather would boast of this accomplishment for many days thereafter, just as he shared other highlights of his grandchildren's Seder participation with any and all who would listen.

    Communal seder returning in Pittsburgh in 2022 At synagogues and spaces throughout the area, groups plan holiday celebrations;  

We are on the edge of the End of Times, and Passover is still being observed all over this planet---where there is a cook to prepare and invite family members and friends to their seder.  The organization of Chabad does a group seder  for Jews without a family cook that is the leader of their family line.  They must charge a fee for the dinner in order to put this on, which can be a set-back for some of the people in  need of it.  Israel has organizations putting on large seders to meet the needs of those disencumbered family groups gathering together.                                                          

     One Jewish-Robison Home-most likely filled up, Will Medicaid be  part of its future?  

Still and all, there are seniors today in many assisted living homes who are Jewish and alone there without a family.  I foresee this happening in the next generation even more so.  One Jewish such home can be overwhelmed with Jewish seniors that must search elsewhere for assistance in order to continue living, and at holiday time, they may be lucky to be able to get a small box of matzos from a supermarket and that is their Passover remembrance.  

                                      Passover Seder at Kibbutz Ashdot Yaacov, Israel 

When a family runs out of the main chef who organized and feeds the family and has that very large table where all sit, or similar accomodations, all are doomed to slowly fall away from this wonderful custom of our people.  I don't think we women have ever been aware of our importance of continuing customs.  These are days when married couples are sharing duties, and the man of the house might be the head chef and need to be familiar with cooking and baking for all our holidays, or the woman may have to step in and be a help-mate here.  

        1980 Passover at Kibbutz Ein Dor, Israel :  This year our Seders are being held on a significantly smaller scale, but we will come back strong!   Chag sameach!

It makes me wonder how the USA services of Army, Navy, Marines ever took care of Jews in service at these times.  Chabad must be kept very busy helping those people if they can't get back home for the holidays.  

                    Kibbutz Naan does it up for Passover, with 1,300 guests and a show

Harvest dances at Kibbutz Naan's Seder (photo credit: Courtesy Raaya Ben-Avraham)  Organizers are calling it the largest Seder in the world. The meal is hosted at Kibbutz Naan near Rehovot, where some 1,300 people will gather to fress on chopped liver and stuffed chicken while reading from the Haggadah and performing skits and songs. “It’s like a show,” said Raaya Ben Avraham, a kibbutz member who puts together the annual event. “We’ve had our own Haggadah for many years that includes our own songs about the kibbutz, about farming. The kids and teens put on dances and shows. It’s a major event for us.”

The tables are set for the Seder at Kibbutz Naan (Courtesy Raaya Ben-Avraham)

With 1,000 kibbutz members and their family members attending the Seder, the event takes place in the gym, which is the only space large enough to accommodate everyone. It takes about a week to set the place up, said Ben Avraham, and they also make the kitchen kosher for Passover about a week ahead of the holiday.

                                         This is handmade shmurah matzah from Israel ;  Such matzo became popular since 1948, of course, and also very special to serve here in the USA.In the USA, the history of shmurah matzah, or "guarded matzah," is marked by a shift from traditional, handmade, round matzah to mass-produced, square matzah. While machine-made, square matzah became the norm, handmade, round shmurah matzah remained a niche product, particularly prized by more observant Jewish communities.                                        

Before the mid-1800s, shmurah matzah was primarily made by hand, with bakers meticulously following specific procedures, including watching the ingredients and keeping the dough within a strict 18-minute window before baking. Despite the rise of machine-made matzah, shmurah matzah retained its significance for those who adhered to stricter interpretations of halakha, the Jewish religious law. Contemporary Shmurah Matzah:Today, handmade, round shmurah matzah continues to be produced, though it remains a specialized and often more expensive option, reflecting the dedication to traditional practices and the significance of this form of matzah for certain communities.

  In the 1880s, Dov Behr opened the first matzah factory in Cincinnati, marking a shift towards mechanized production. By the turn of the century, Dovber Manischewitz further perfected the mechanization process, making mass-produced, square matzah the standard. 

We have 8 days for Passover, 8 days of eating matzo and not leavened (made with yeast) breads.  We get rid of all our bread in the house by doing a little planning and eating it all up before this time.  The man of the house has been to check our cleaning and make sure not a drop was left in the cupboards by making a game out of the inspection by using a feather and not a dish cloth.  

A special blessing to those who cook our specialties for the holidays and gather up the family as best as you can.  Without you, our practices and belief system is surely not going to make it to the next generations.  That will be the time of the End of Our Days.  

Resource:

https://www.timesofisrael.com/the-largest-seder-in-the-world/

Remembering When the Temples Fell and Other Events

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                    

Babylonian Nebuchadnezzar

    

The 9th of Tamuz (June 26, 2015) was a date when we remember that Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian,  breached the walls of Jerusalem.  Back then the months of June and July fell under the month of Tamuz..  Some scholars have 423 BCE as the Babylonian Exile, which is what then happened, while I use  586 BCE as the date.  The 9th of Tamuz was then remembered by having it as a day of fasting.
                                                                               

4 weeks later, the Temple was destroyed and the people were exiled to Babylon. 100,000 Jews were killed during the Babylonian invasion and the rest were exiled.
                                                                   

70 years later, the 2nd Temple was built and the the 9th of Tamuz became a holiday.

500 years later, Jerusalem fell on the 17th of Tamuz.  This was before the destruction of the 2nd Temple.  The 17th of Tamuz became a fast day.  This year that date fell on the 4th of July.  
                                                     

Jerusalem fell to Titus in 70 CE. on the 9th of Av.   2,500,000 died in the war and from the resulting famine and disease. 1,000,000 were exiled to all parts of  the Roman Empire and 100,000 were sold as slaves. Aluf Bar Kokhba, fought the Romans from 132 to 135, had, then lost Jerusalem.  He lost Betar which was destroyed.  100,00 killed in the 3 year defense including Bar Kokhba.  All this happened on the 9th of Av.  Much more had happened on this date.  The latest has been the bombing of the building AMIA-the Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina which killed 86 people and wounded 300 others in 1994.  
                                                

 It is the 9th of Av that we commemorate with much sadness, the destruction of our two Temples of 586 BCE and 70 CE. This is called Tisha B'Av, and it is a very sad remembrance.   We have the 10th of Av as the Fast of Tisha B'Av. It is a day of mourning.   "As a sign of mourning it is customary to fast, refrain from bathing, wearing leather shoes, and having sexual relations."  It starts on the evening before on July 25th  (9th of Av) and goes on until July 26th (10th of Av) .  Our holidays always start the evening before the date. 

The Jewish people have had many tragedies fall on the 9th of Av.   It was only after 135 that the land was referred to by the Romans and others as "Palestine, which the Romans picked because it was the name of their past enemy.  Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492 on this date.  Other national calamities have occurred on this date.  In 1290, Jews were expelled from England.   Germany declared war on Russia on the 9th of Av.  Caesar had his Ides of March and we have our 9th of Av.  

 September:  This brings us to the months of Elul and Tishrei.  The 28th of Elul (September 12th) is a day now designated to let it be known who the Moshiach is, according to Rabbi Kanievsky.  It is also the end of the 50 year cycle of letting the ground of Israel lie fallow every 7th year.  The 50th year is the Jubilee year which is so special.  In the olden days of slavery, the slaves were freed on this day.  No cultivation is done in this 50th year as well.  Land, bought since the previous Jubilee, reverts to its original owner.  According to the law (halakhah, the commandments of the Jubilee year are valid only when all Jews are living in their land, each tribe in its territory.  Nevertheless, ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel observe the Sabbatical year.   This new year is will be the year 5776.  This brings to mind  the American year of 1776, the year of the USAs  birthday.  

Every 7th year,
 The nation collectively took a breather and focused on higher, more spiritual pursuits.  It's a sabbatical year.  It's a year that farmers did not plant but let the land rest-lie fallow.  Loans are to be absolved.  This year the jubilee year or 50th year converges with the 2015 last blood moon's appearance which is supposed to foretell what is to happen.  This is the year of The 17th of Elul which is September 1st of the year 5775 and 5776 then starts  with Rosh Hashanah.                                                   

  Rosh Hashanah would start on the evening of the 29th of Elul or the 13th of September and last through the 1st of Tishrei or the 14th of September and the 2nd of Tishrei or the 15th of September, for Rosh Hashanah is the 1st month of the new year.  Then we have Yom Kippur, a fast day spent in the synagogue asking for forgiveness of our sins, which is on the 9th of Tishrei or the 22nd of September and lasts until the 10th of Tishrei which is also the 1st day of Autumn.  One remembers that the war started on October 6, 1973 was the Yom Kippur war. We lost 2,600 men in that war which lasted till  October 22nd with a cease fire.
                                                                         

Succot, the time of living in little booths as the 600,000 migrated in the Exodus with Moses, is celebrated from the 15th of Tishrei (September 28th) to the 20th of Tishrei or the 3rd of October with  the 22nd of Tishrei being Shemini Atzeret and the 23rd of Tishrei being Simchat Torah.  Shemini Atzeret is the 8th day of solemn convocation, the final day or 2 days in the diaspora (outside of Israel).  This is the holiday when the  Yizkor memorial prayer is said.
                                                                             

 Simchat Torah  is most special.  it's the holiday of happiness and rejoicing from receiving the Law.  In the synagogue, the reading of the Pentateuch is completed for the year, ready to start anew again.  The rabbi has all the scrolls taken out of the aron (closet)  and they are carried around the synagogue 7 times or more, sometimes with dances which may be continued on for hours.  All male worshippers are called up for an aliyah at the time of reading from the Torah.   The last section of Deuteronomy is read by or for the Bridegroom of the Law (Hatan Torah) and is followed by the Bridegroom of Genesis (Hatan Bereshit) who reads the first verses of Genesis.  Candies are given out to the children and the bridegrooms act as hosts to the community gathered there.

Resource:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tammuz_(Hebrew_month)
http://www.aish.com/dijh/Tammuz_9.html
http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/562077/jewish/What-Is-Shemittah.htm
http://www.pray4zion.org/thecomingshemitahjubileeyear57745.html
https://www.hebcal.com/converter/
http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/946703/jewish/What-happened-on-the-Ninth-of-Av.htm
http://ohr.edu/1088
The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia