Just Another Few Hours, One Megillah Reading and One Bread-Meal of Purim Left

There are times when our two day Purim marathon can get a bit tedious and this year is one of the worst. 

Today is Shushan Purim, celebrated wherever there were city walls of the right sort at the right time and in places where there may have been the right walls at the right time.  And in the "may have been places," we must celebrate both days, regular Purim and Shushan Purim.  That's not so terrible most years, but this year Shushan Purim is Friday and Friday is stressful Shabbat preparation day.  So I'm all stressed out.  My husband is in Jerusalem for work, so I have a lot on my plate, and it isn't a yummy salad.

I'll post my long Purim post post-Purim.  Here's a video I took yesterday of neighbors celebrating.

Enjoy!

Fancy Coffee From Rami Levi?

If you're not a coffee drinker, then you may want to skip this or just share the link with those who do love their coffee.

It's in the news that Rami Levi wants to start marketing those fancy coffeemakers that make one cup at a time with a pre-measured "pod," of ground coffee beans to make  a cup of coffee.  I'm familiar with those machines.  I've been served that type of coffee by relatives in the states, and last summer we stayed at a hotel that had those machines in the rooms, so we could make ourselves coffee.

The little pre-packed "pods" were kosher, with certification, so I was able to drink the coffee from them.  All I needed to buy was some milk and disposable coffee cups. It's a very easy way to prepare delicious coffee, but it gets expensive if you drink a lot of coffee.  Since I drink the equivalent of 3-4 cups each morning, it did get annoying to have to make each cup separately.  But if you're trying to cut down on coffee, having one of these makes it easier.  One of the reasons they haven't taken off in Israel is the fact that fewer Israelis live alone than people in America, for instance.  We have larger families and rarely make "just one cup" of coffee.  We socialize at home.

Granted, using these coffee makers for a good cup of coffee costs much less money than buying a cup of coffee of that quality out. And it's a very no fuss way to make the coffee.  There's almost no cleaning, since you just throw out the used container and don't have to fuss with the dirty coffee grinds.

Considering Rami Levi's track record, he may be right.

Something Pretty For Purim

Here are some of the Mishloach Manot, Purim food gifts, we'll be giving this year.  Actually, there isn't much to them, but the wrapping gives it an extra sparkle.  Inside there are a small homemade/baked challah roll and some candy.  We can't afford anything fancy or expensive.  The containers didn't cost anything.  Of course, I won't be offended if people just pass the candy to other recipients until it gets to someone who is allowed it.  I do recommend eating the challah, even as a snack with some sweet butter.  I also made a giant batch of vegetable soup.  Some neighbors will be getting a jar of it with a challah.

Maybe I'll bake cakes for tomorrow's Purim.  We have two here in Shiloh.

Yemenite for "The Night"

In all honesty, it was for a whole night, just a short while.

I'm one of those Purim "killjoys" who hates and condemns the festive noise during the reading of Megillat (Scroll of) Esther.  I find it physically painful and it totally prevents me from following the reading.  And we're supposed to read/follow it.

I usually go to private home readings, but this year I couldn't find one.  Our community's rabbi had made a proclamation that we should all go to "main" readings in the synagogues, at least on the first night, for the sake of unity.  Some of the homes I've been going to announced that they would honor the rabbi's request.  I was stuck and didn't feel like making phone calls.

For the past few years I'd heard that the Yemenite minyan, which is actually in our shul's building, reads the Megilat Esther very quietly.  It's not acceptable to make noise.  I was a bit nervous about going, not G-d forbid for any social/cultural reason, because I wasn't sure I'd be able to follow the traditional Yemenite accent.  I've heard the Megilla sufficient times, 30x4 since we're in Shiloh and more than twenty beforehand, so that the different chanting tune shouldn't be a problem. 

The Yemenite minyan is pretty small, and many Yemenite families take their children to the other more "festive" readings.  They made room for all of us (I wasn't the only Ashkenaz fleeing the banging and cap guns)  and even expanded the women's section.  I wasn't the only Ashkenazic woman who became Yemenite for the night.

I must admit that I didn't follow the reading at all, certainly less than 50%.  It certainly would improve if I adopted going to their reading every year.  And we could hear the noise, a bit muffled, from the reading in our shul.  I was very happy not to have been in my regular seat.  I wouldn't have survived.

It's nice to have choice.

Chag Purim Sameach!

Books Are Waiting... A Book Review, "Destiny's Call"

Two types of books are waiting.  I have the books I've promised to review and the books cooking in my head.

One of those I must review and have already read is Destiny's Call by Ben-Tzion Spitz.  I read the book on a Shabbat afternoon a couple of weeks ago.  It's a quick-reading book, actually designed as food for thought about the weekly Parshot Shavua, Torah Portions of the Week from the first book of the Torah, Chumash, Bible, Bereishit.

Destiny's Call brings to life scenes, stories and characters from the Book of Genesis. In captivating fictional short stories, Destiny's Call gives a glimpse of the struggles of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs, the birth and conflicts of the Tribes of Israel, and a deeper exploration of some of the colorful characters depicted in the Bible. Destiny's Call relies heavily on biblical and archeological sources. The book includes questions for discussion, detailed hand-drawn maps of the ancient world, recreated genealogical records and timeline, an index of biblical references, and a glossary of biblical terms. Ben-Tzion Spitz is the author of the Torah Shorts blog (at ben-tzion.com), where he has published dozens of biblical fiction stories and biblical analysis based on ancient, medieval and contemporary sources. Spitz has been exploring and researching biblical stories and archeological findings for over two decades. He is also the creator and lecturer of the Biblical Fiction series in Jerusalem, Israel.

Simply put, it's Spitz's midrashim, commentary on the Bible, based on traditional sources and his imagination.  It's easy reading, recommended as "young adult."  For English-speakers, I guess that means junior high, even a gift for Bar/Bat Mitzvah.  It would be a gift they could immediately appreciate, not one of those books to be stored on the shelf for a decade or two. 

Destiny's Call by Ben-Tzion Spitz is also a good book for those who are not very familiar with traditional Jewish commentary and sources, because there are explanations.

For ESL or EFL students, it's more on a high school level.  And for those non-English speaking/reading adults who wish to improve their English and don't want secular books and articles, it's an enjoyable and interesting book to read.  Destiny's Call is recommended and would make a great Afikomen or any other sort of present.

One of the books that has been rattling around in my head, and very partially written on the computer, is my own little story on Biblical Shiloh.  Having read Spitz's book, the characters in mine have gotten louder.

Taking Off The Wraps, Good Timing

At work, Yafiz, Sha'ar Binyamin, we have been preparing for the spring Holiday collection.  G-d has been cooperating in helping us sell out the winter clearance sale clothes by giving us a nice full wet winter.  Last night we began moving all of the remaining winter clothes into the outer part of the store. The spring/summer/Holiday apparel is all waiting tagged/priced etc in boxes.

And today the sun is shining for a change.  We can use some more rain, but we can also use a few days of sun.

From my vantage point here in the den, the sky looks solid blue. That's very energizing for us, for me.  I have a laundry in the machine and another planned.  I'll be able to hang the wash out in the sun.

So, if any of you live in the area, you'll have a real treat if you come into the store.  Ask for me.  Maybe I'll be working when you come to shop.

Debut Havel Havelim at A Soldier's Mother

The very talented Paula, who writes about what it's like to be the mother of IDF soldiers has taken on a new challenge, hosting Havel Havelim.  And like all of her projects, it's top notch.  Read the various posts, comment and share.

Enjoy and have a great week!

PS Here's the information about all the jblog carnivals.

Havel Havelim-To host either contact me or check out our facebook page
Jan. 22 Havel Havelim by Isramom. Jan. 29 HH Beneath the Wings. Feb. 5 HH Israel Situation. Feb. 12 HH Esser Agaroth Feb. 19 HH, To Kiss a Mezuzah
Feb. 26 Bima Ima
March 5 A Soldier's Mother
March 11 Ya'aqov send to  esseragaroth@gmail.com

Kosher Cooking Carnival-To host contact me
Sh'vat Kosher Cooking Carnival is at This American Bite. Adar KCC at Cooking Outside the Box. Submit your links to for Adar at me-ander send to me.

JPIX-To host contact blog@leoraw.com
March 12 at Ilana-Davita click http://www.leoraw.com/blog/jpix/

For The First Time Ever!! See The Pictures To Prove It

All of the "guides to being a perfect Jewish house-frau" include getting the Shabbat table set before lighting candles.  I have something to confess.  That's something in my forty-plus years of marriage, I've never managed to do. I remember, as a young mother, looking in total confusion at neighbors' diningroom table on a Thursday,already set for Friday night.  It made no sense to me.  Setting the table was always something I did when my husband was in shul.

In recent years, the diningroom table has become our eating and computer table.  The laptop, which I'm using right now, sits on it from soon after Shabbat until a short while before Shabbat.  So, there's no way it can be set for the leil Shabbat, Friday night meal, even Friday afternoon.

But somehow, even though it's still winter, and Shabbat comes in pretty early, and we were unexpectedly expecting guests, I found myself with enough time before candle-lighting to set the table, just after my husband stored the computer in one of the spare bedrooms.

I quickly set the table and took pictures!  This is how the table looks.  And when the young couple who were our guests popped in on the way to shul to drop off the wine and challah, the table was waiting, looking very impressive, nu?

Easy Come Easy Go Snow...

As quickly as the snow fell, it began to melt and rain rained.  Compare these pictures to the snowy ones photographed just a short time before from my dry and warmer (than outside) house.

Though many of us in Israel, at least in Shiloh where I live, admit that the rain has been inconveniencing us at times, we have no complaints.  We recognize that rain is very important, crucial to life and thank G-d for every drop.

Watch this beautiful paean to the rain.  You don't need to understand Hebrew; it's pictures and music.  Winter is when all the low areas are supposed to flood, just like you see in the various photos.

It's Snowing in Shiloh, March 2, 2012, The 8th of Adar, 5772

Let's start with the still pictures and then the video for extra proof:

May everyone have a safe and healthy and peaceful Shabbat.

Still Wondering...

I guess you know that I always go around armed with my camera.  It's in my oversized Coach "fanny pack."  That full  "pouch" I wear gives me the silhouette of a fat or pregnant woman.  Only on Shabbat do people see what I really look like... But that's not the story I'm telling, sorry.

A few weeks ago while walking in Jerusalem to Matan, I spied this clothing on the side of the road, and it got me wondering.  What was it doing there? So, as usual, I just whipped out my camera, so I could post it and let you try to imagine a story...

They look like pajama bottoms, so what are they doing there?  Click comment and send in your guess, thanks.

You Can Always Talk About The Weather...

And you can always blog about it, too.
Westbankmama blogged about it today, making a competition to see which Israeli location will top its average rainfall first.

Average rainfall is too low, because it averages in drought years, so if we keep having above average rainfall, the bar will be raised and the new average will be higher than the present low one.  That would be very good.

As you probably know, I work in Yafiz, the clothing chain of Rami Levi, and everyday people come in desperate for winter clothes and boots.  Whatever they had been wearing has worn out, or the kids grew out of the clothes/boots/shoes. 

This year we're having a full winter, thank G-d.

Would you believe that the following picture was taken mid-day?

It does look dark.   I took both photos from inside the shoe store.

It's Raining And Storming

No snow here, but the rain is cold.  It's windy and it's still dark outside.  Yes, I'm already up.  There had been snow alerts, and last night someone on facebook said her daughter reported snow where she studies, but not here.  It depends on how high the mountain.  For Israel, we're high but not high enough so far.  We've had snow, many times.

Rain doesn't make such pretty pictures, at least at first glance.  But without the rain, we'll all die. 

This year's oranges and other citrus fruits are the most delicious we've had for years.  That's because our first rains were on time.  "On time" in our part of  he world means about a week after Simchat Torah, early fall.  And it rained more than once early in the season.  Without rain, the fruit is dry and bitter.  Artificial irrigation just doesn't make the same sort of flavor, juiciness.

I don't mind posting old snow pictures.  I just don't feel like being snowed in.  It's no fun in an "empty nest."

"Mixed snow and rain"  is the forecast for Shabbat.  The roads will be dangerous the next few days, because near Ofra and Beit El it will be icy and slushy.  I was in an accident around there a few years ago.  Thank G-d we weren't hurt.

Stay safe.

There's No "One Way" To Make Hamentaschen

Pre-internet, when I'd want to check a recipe, I'd take down a bunch of cookbooks, check for what I wanted in the indexes and then compare the various recipes.  Now you can quickly do it on google.  The multitude and variety of recipes for the same basic food gave me the confidence to be creative in cooking and baking.  If the experts didn't agree on how to make a chocolate cake, sometimes even offering very different versions in one cookbook, that means that there's no "one way."  My version is just as authentic/legitimate than anybody else's.

So if you'd like some more suggestions on how to make Hamenatschen, those triangular-shaped filled cookies many Jews eat on Purim, then check out Miriam's post which includes eight very unique and different hamantashen recipes.

Finally, I Did It!

I've had lots of "firsts" recently, and one of them was praying in the Ezrat Nashim, Women's Section of the Synagogue in the Jerusalem Central Bus Station.  I was pleased to see another woman already deep in her prayers when I walked in.

The wall separating the men's a women's section is just short the ceiling, so if you're looking for a synagogue to say Kaddish, The Prayer for Mourners, you can hear the men.  Whoever is in charge has made an effort to make it "useful" and "comfortable," providing a table, chairs and the right books for prayers.

A man did open the door and looked surprised to see us.  Maybe it's because he wanted to put something in this box, for geniza.

Slaying Dragons! Getting Back Into The "Black"

I'm trying to improve our financial situation.  Of course, as you know, there are two things that I must do:

• make/earn more money
• spend less

Making more money would be nice, but I've been a failure at marketing myself in the big earning way.  I still haven't hit it big as a diet coach, and blogging doesn't pay much, actually nothing. Even Yafiz pays more.  I don't have the physical and emotional energy to teach classes.  I'm still working on "my book" or two of them, but one must eat in the interim, and there's never any guarantee that they'll ever get published and make money.

I really can't cut down much more on personal expenses.  Food and my studies are all I spend on myself.  I've finally started taking care of trying to get my Israeli "old age pension."  That should almost double my contribution to the family budget.

Going over our expenses, I discovered that an outrageously high amount of money was going to our internet provider, Netvision.  Everyone said that it's really hard to switch. They use all sorts of excuses and legal weapons to keep us paying.  This afternoon, after sending my husband to babysit for the grandkids, I made "the call."

In the me vs Netvision, I've achieved a minor victory. First of all, I called, which was quite an emotional hurdle. The clerks were nice, all 15 or so, as they passed me like a hot potato. Finally I got someone who stayed with the job. She discovered, after I gave her all sorts of "codes" and proof that I have the right to talk business, that we're paying a fortune for two new accounts.

That made no sense to me.  Why should we have new accounts?  We're two "post-middle-aged" bloggers who just want some internet to keep us connected to the world.  The clerk agreed.  She said that she'd cancel those new accounts and investigate how we got them by "listening to the recording of the sale."  She promised to solve the mystery within 72 hours.

Then I went off to join my husband babysitting.

And then when I got back home, we had Internet, but....

...no more Netvision mail.

As long as the internet continues, and the monthly expenditure drops, I can live with that, because both my husband and I use gmail, too. Of course, I still don't know what the new price will be. 

As The Car Slowly Reversed in My Direction, I Wondered if...

Most of you just can't imagine what it's like to travel the way I do, "tremping," hitchhiking.  We don't have a car, and I do take buses when they come going in my direction, but there are times when the quickest and safest way is to trust G-d's siyata d'Shmaya, Power/Hand of G-d Transportation System.  That's what tremping actually is. 

Of course, I have to beware and not invite trouble.  The staff at Rami Levi is very helpful when it comes to finding me a ride after night shift.  One of the managers freaks out at the thought of us being "stranded" in Sha'ar Binyamin.  He tries to get us on our way, to either the Ma'avar Michmas gas station or to Ofra, as quickly as possible, so he can consider his job done.  I appreciate it.

The other night I had a ride to Ofra and waited at the corner on the main road.  I wait there, because the guard just inside the entrance can see me.  I wasn't waiting all that long when a car passed by going north, then stopped, then slowly reversed.  It didn't go as far as to when I was standing, and according to my safety norm, I didn't want to go too far from the corner.  I waited and wondered and waited, it could have been a neighbor or a terrorist, until...

Suddenly the door of the car opened, and a women stuck her head out and turned in my direction:

"What are you doing?  Come here quickly already!"

It was a neighbor, and they took me home, safe and sound, thank G-d!

The Bima Ima's "Happy Adar Havel Havelim"

This week's Havel Havelim, the Jewish blog round-up, a floating magazine of blog posts about Jewish and Israeli issues/topics is hosted by the bima ima. There's lots to read from all over, all opinions plus.

So, please give it a visit and then read as many posts as you can.  Share, of course, too.  And if you're a blogger, why don't you also send in a post.  Next week's Havel Havelim will be hosted by Paula, of the very popular A Soldier's Mother.  Mail your links to her.

And if you haven't yet taken a look the Adar Kosher Cooking Carnival is posted on Cooking Outside the Box.  For next month's edition, please send me your posts, thanks. And use the same address to volunteer to host one.

Lunch to Go! Dinner, Too, And Good for Dieters!

A few weeks ago, I realized that we had an enormous amount of matzah left over from last Passover.  The minor comfort is that it's not the much more expensive shmura matzah, just the regular one.   It comes in a box with so many inner packages, that an "empty nest" couple, like me and my husband, have no chance of finishing it all over the holiday.  It's not the price of shmura but it is money spent and if it's not eaten, it's money thrown out when we really don't have a grush/cent to spare.

I started making my husband matza brei, yes, just like during Passover.  It's very easy and filling and conforms to his diet restrictions, since he's allowed bread.

And since this week he has some evening events and no time (and money) to buy dinner, I took some chicken, sliced it and made him chicken sandwiches with sliced tomatoes. 

My weight losing menu is very different.  I take sautéed vegetables to work.  For protein I usually add a spoon of sesame paste.  It's delicious and filling.  It keeps me going for hours.

The key to keeping the weight off is to be prepared with the right foods.  It's not that I'm an "organized person."  I just adopted a routine that works.  When you're feeling satisfied, after eating a good meal, you're less tempted by things you shouldn't be eating or buying.  Believe me, I am not one of those people with strong will-power, but I found ways of conquering temptation.

It's "That" Time of The Year, Again, Food Inventory

Pre-Passover food inventory time.  The good news is that we hardly buy anything.  The bad news  is that however much we're saving, it won't be enough to cover Passover expenses.

Here's the freezer, already emptying out.  I didn't need to buy chicken this week.  I won't buy any until I've cooked all I have.

You may have noticed that I don't have manufactured "frozen food," nor do I have frozen vegetables.  Everything is natural and fresh in my house.

This is the only freezer we have.  We don't have a separate one.  This fridge's freezer is the largest I've ever had, too, and it stays colder than all of the others.  I don't have to defrost it.  Even the one it replaced needed defrosting, something some of you may not have ever even have done.  I sure don't miss that chore.

Any tips?