Actually we didn’t exchange presents tonight but we did start a new tradition of eating Chinese dinner. Since it’s Chanukah fried food is the order of the day, and Chinese seemed like a good candidate. So we took all the children, including KD and her friend S, to the Chinese buffet, which unfortunately was terrible. [...]
We are having a lovely Chanukah so far. I love the holidays, spending time together, stepping outside the mundane, day to day goings on of life.
Now it’s gone. Not to mention much, much later than when I started the original, so I’ll just forgo the rewrite and skip straight to the mitzvah part.
Today’s Mitzvah: It always amazes me that people will take time out of their already packed weeks to teach religious school. Those who are willing to give up [...]
Had a very interesting discussion tonight on mitzvot at shul. We talked primaily of tzedakah, often translated charity, and gemilut chasadim, or acts of loving kindness. Part of the dicussion concerened the levels of tzedakah, with the second highest being where both the giver and the reciever are unknown to each other.
In that vien I [...]
Sukkot is a really exciting holiday. During Sukkot we are commanded to dwell in booths, much as the Israelites did while wandering in the desert after the Exodus. There are numerous ritual aspects to the holiday but building and decorating the actual Sukkah is obviously the centerpiece.
Given we have such a large family we [...]
This weekend Jc and the girls got the yard cleaned up and put the sukkah frame together. The process was much easier than last year when sukkah frame had to be cut, stained and drilled prior to constructions. Our sukkah is a monster, twelve by sixteen feet, we are a big family after all!
Here are a [...]
May you be sealed for a good year in the Book of Life!
Before Sukkot we went to the library to find some books about the holiday. When we returned home SA and I looked at the books. One was a story of preschoolers getting ready for Sukkot called “It’s Sukkah Time!” Seth spent some time studying the front cover, noting that one little boy had a toy [...]