A Little Chicken Soup for the Mensch's Soul

In the Jewish folk tradition chicken soup is considered to be an all restorative medicine capable of healing everything from a headache to a fever. In the tradition of the great books full of stories of hope and optimism, I present to you some good old fashioned Jewish humor... found in one of the most unlikely of places: an episode of "The Simpsons". The episode in question can be found here . While viewing this... don't expect something light and hopeful; rather, go in expecting to laugh your tushy off! It is rather off color and the really funny stuff is in Hebrew... BUT this might mean that we are coming to the mainstream. Well, I would say that Jews and Jewish culture have always been (in my lifetime) in the mainstream; however, this is something else.

Shabbat Shalom, and Enjoy!

This is the Blog of Affliction

As this past Monday evening marked the beginning of the Hag HaMatzot or the "Festival of the Matzah"! That's right Passover time is upon us! An entire week of eating gluten free or matzah based products is well underway. (On a side note, my girlfriend loves this holiday as she is a celiac and cannot properly digest wheat gluten all year round, so the rest of the Jewish community is forced to eat in a similar manner to her normally. Also, this is the only time of the year that she can stock up on yummy kosher meat products such as chicken nuggets.) Any-who, my first few days of the holiday were more hectic than usual as I was busy busy busy with so many things!

Let's have a run down of my week, shall we?

Monday

As the holiday did not start until sun down on Monday, I was able to go to classes that day. There is a marked difference between ability and action. I was actually unable to go to classes on Monday as I was needed at home to pack up my room. No, I am not moving... BUT there are many repairs that need to be done after my room was, rather rudely, invaded by the snow this past winter. Thankfully the insurance is helping us out and the repairs have begun this week... BUT I needed to pack up everything so the repairmen could empty out my room in preparation for the repairs. Accordingly, I went home instead of going to class. That is not before I went to be a mashgiach (kashrut supervisor) for Hillel. I woke up very early in the morning in order to be in the kitchen to help the cook make food for Passover (which was a running theme this week, so it seems).

I immediately went home after my shift in the kitchen and began to pack up my room. My mother was in the kitchen at home making yummy Passover foods such as, Brisket and Kugel in preparation for our seder that night. Father came home and we packed up our food and we went to Rhona's, our family friend, house for the first seder. The seder was anything but conventional and the group was eclectic... but a good time was had by all. There was chopped liver, chicken, brisket, kugel, "red sea" soup (chicken-matzah ball soup with red peppers in it), gravlox, and probably much more... It was quite a feast to be sure. Instead of the traditional singing fare, there were parodies of show-tunes that featured Passover content. While I did miss some of the more traditional songs, I was having a rollicking good time singing these parodies with all those assembled.

It was very late by the time that I got back to campus... and I had to wake up early the next morning so I could masgiach again!

Tuesday

I awoke rather early this past Tuesday morning, around 7am So I could ready myself and acquire a key to the old Hillel building that we were cooking in. I managed to find said Key and I spent the day from 9am until 4:30 working on supervising the food prep at Hillel. The cook-lady was a great help and good company. Tanya truly is a sweetheart.

After my day of running around and making sure that everything remained "kosh", I attempted to return to my room for a quick nap. This was ultimately unsuccessful as I engaged in conversation with my residents for a good portion of that time... I then made my way over to the new Hillel Building to prep the room for the second Seder, which I was leading! That seder began at 8pm and I think it went really well. I took my time to explain all of the symbolism present in the seder. We sang a bit, did some tableau's of each of the scenes in the seders, and ate some yummy foods. Of course, I made a point to read aloud the piece about Matzah being the "bread of affliction" to the crowd as my Brooklynese Zayda always does. I got a kick out of it... but I don't think anyone else did. I also made a point to challenge everyone there to think about what they are personally slaves to in their lives... as the text of the Haggadah states that "we WERE slaves". But is that really true? I got some answers, but it was more of a thought provoking piece. Alas, I did not finish at Hillel until 11:30 at night, then I needed to relax for a bit in order to unwind from the day. BUT I had to wake up again to assist with cooking again!

Wednesday

I again awoke rather early to a luscious breakfast of cottage cheese and Kosher for Passover cereal. YUM. I then made my way over to the kitchen to assist in cooking again! There was much food left over as it would seem that we were not getting as big of a crowd as we could have. I finished my shift at 4:30 again, and I made my way back to my room and I attempted to nap.

I then had a staff meeting after the holiday...

Anyway, that's how my week started. To be honest, I am still rather sleep deprived but I am happy that we have options for Jews to be Jews on the Holidays here. I might be a little behind on my work, but I am happy.

Let's make it through the rest of the week without too much strain and may the Matzah be with you...

The Etiquette of Posting

My dear friend, a Sir Jonathan Magen (whose expertise on the subject of technology is unrivaled) has recently informed me that I have made a few fopas in my first forays into the blog-o-sphere! (For all of those interested, Jonathan's blog can be found HERE.)Firstly, I should apparently be linking to the sites of the organizations/groups that I refer to in my blog. For example, I spoke about Nativ, the year program that I participated in following my graduation from my high school, Akiba Hebrew Academy . This is apparently the appropriate format for blogging. Jonathan also aptly pointed out that I should no longer sign my blog as each entry already states that it was posted by Andy... and I happen to be this Andy. Another tip was to make the header-picture smaller, which I did, and I agree that it is now more aesthetically pleasing. He also mentioned that I should engage my comments... which I plan to do, but I can't as of right now as I don't have any. Jonathan also pointed out that there is a fantastic site called Machon Mamre where I can link to Hebrew passages. What else did he say, OH YEAH! He told me to post anything that I find that is interesting to me which sounds good I suppose. All in all I am very grateful for his tips and I look forward to employing them in the future!

Thanks be to Jonathan!

An Ambiguous Title

As I am about to lay my head down to rest for the night, I can't help but realize that I have left out a very important part of my desire to blog: Namely that I want to chronicle my experiences. While a journal would most certainly be more appropriate (and dare I say, more private) it would be more easily lost... and to be perfectly honest, there is something very sexy (for lack of a better word) in the notion of putting thoughts out there for the whole world to peruse.

As I re-read my old and technologically outdated hard-bound journals, I cannot help but realize that I have come a long way from my childhood. The past few years have been very tumultuous and yet some of the happiest times of my life. Perspective is an amazing thing and I can clearly see the path that I have traveled that has led me to the person that I am today. I have set out a path for myself that I hope will pan out.

It is ironic that I use the word "path", as the year long Israel program that I participated in after I graduated High School was called "Nativ" which translates quite appropriately as "path". I also distinctly remember the amud cover (table cover) in the chapel of our building... it had a quote from the Torah service (which in turn is taken from the book of Proverbs/Mishlei) sewn onto it it went something like this:

"Etz chayim hi lamachazikim ba,
Vetomecheha me-ushar.
Deracheha - d'rechei no-am,
Vechol netivotecha shalom…"

This piece of text roughly translates as:

"It (The Torah) is a tree of Life to those that hold tightly onto it,

and those who grasp it are enriched by it.

The Torah's ways are the ways of pleasantry,

and all of it's paths are of peace."

It would appear that this has become an unintentional D'var Teffilah (a speech expounding on a Jewish Prayer). However, I truly feel as though this is a piece of text that we can all relate to, and, more specifically, it happens to relate to the notoriously ambiguous title of my blog! *AHA* Anywho, according to this text, it is not only appropriate to live one's life through the lens of Torah, but to those who truly stand by it are enriched by utilizing the tradition this way. For, someone who grasps the Torah (and by extension Jewish practice and thought), they are meant to follow in the ways proscribed. What ways? Well the text answers that too! It would seem that the second piece is arguing that the those who follow thusly will be rewarded with a pleasant and peaceful life.

While the last part might be a stretch, this text fits nicely in what I see this blog helping me to accomplish. I have set out these past few years intending to grow Jewishly and "improve my menschlichkeit" or grow into becoming a better person. I can't say that I will ever be where I absolutely strive to be, but striving is part of the quest. As the Rabbis teach us, "In a place where there is no one to stand up for what is right, strive to do what is right". (Granted that is a liberal translation of the text.) I guess this place can help provide an outlet for me to strive to improve myself... This could be anything... I could be anything.

Well enough musings for one night!

Lilah Tov! (Good Night!)

-Andy