Did they also do the cup for Miriam?
Plain, prepared horseradish is harder to find than (usually insufferably insipid) horseradish sauce. Some stores don’t carry it at all, and others put it in odd places. I’ve resorted to grating my own a few times. (I’m not Jewish, by the way. I just really like horseradish. I’ve been known to eat spoonfuls right out of the jar. )
Broomstick, horseradish would almost have to improve gefilte fish. I have my doubts about it improving it enough to actually eat, though. Fishes aside, I’m glad to hear that you’re getting on well. 
I don’t recall. My basic grasp of passover and the seder plate was fairly sketchy to begin with; barely enough to know that oranges weren’t traditional.
It wasn’t traditional, but it’s becoming so.
One interesting thing about Passover is that there is something like a 1500-2000 year written history of it so it’s possible to track some of the changes over time. Also regional changes - the Jews of various areas do have variations in their traditions regarding Passover, from specific food recipes to little details to whether or not the kids are supposed to be stealing that half-matzo from earlier in the evening (most groups yes, but the Chabad no, because they don’t want to encourage bad habits in the kids).
We had an orange and a Miriam cup in the table this evening.
No stealing the afikomen? Even this shabbas goy knows about that tradition. Interesting . . .
I want to say that none of the people dissing gefilte fish have tasted my grandmother’s which was divine. With white horseradish. There was a small grocer in our neighborhood of West Philly who would bring out a hand-cranked horseradish grinder this time of year and sell ground horseradish.
One year–I was probably 11 or 12, I actually helped my g’mother make the fish. We walked up to the fishmonger on 60th St. in West Philly, probably around Walnut and she picked a nice looking fish out of the live carp tank. The monger killed it with a club, then cleaned it and filleted it and ground the meat–twice I recall–in a meat grinder. He then packed up the ground fish, along with the bones, skin, and head. We went to her house and she started a broth, using the bones, head, carrots, onions,… Meantime, she added fine matzoh meal, salt, pepper, ? tp the ground flesh and mixed it thoroughly. She then cut up the skin and started stuffing pieces of it. She also somehow pulled out hunks of bone and stuffed them, along with stuffing the head. The rest she just made balls of, put it all into the broth and cooked it very slowly. Sorry, I don’t know all the ingredients, but you could probably find them online.
And here we are at another transition between months.
I have found that my knowledge of Judaism is spotty. That may seem odd to some here considering how often I’ve answered questions about Judaism here on the Dope, but while I have some “book knowledge” I lack knowledge of most of the holidays and the experience of the culture and religion.
I mentioned this to the facilitator of the “loneliness group” who had a conversation with me about it with some very pertinent questions. I’d like to get more in touch with the culture although I’m ambiguous about just how Jewish I am. As it turns out, that IS ambiguous - there is some question as to whether or not my mother completed conversion before my birth, so I might be more Jewish than I thought. It’s not something that can be really resolved as the generation of folks who could provide an answer are gone now. Although it doesn’t matter for the most part because I’m “Jewish enough” outside of doing things like reading the Torah in the synagogue, which is not something I’m interested in anyway.
I did mention I have some interest in studying Hebrew. I’m not expecting fluency (as it is outside the Indo-European language family I expect it would be harder than, say, picking up Spanish) but I’d like to be able to pronounce blessings coherently when sitting down to eat with Jewish folk and I find languages interesting anyway. The only thing I’ve picked up over the years is badly pronounced (phonetically) barukh atah Adonai, Eloheinu, which is no surprise since just about every prayer and blessing starts with that, mazeltov, and l’chaim (I blame that one on too many viewings of Fiddler on the Roof) Apparently the local conservative synagogue has language lessons for interested adults which I may be looking into.
But, mostly, I’d like more direct experience of the culture. Apparently, word got out because I was invited (as in “ask for this day off work because you are coming” and my “adopted Jewish mother” paid my attendance fee) to the Israel Solidarity Day, which is a compressed version of the Yom HaZikaron/Yom Ha’atzmaut holiday. Also a bit late, as the official holiday was April 18-19 this year but the Jewish Federation public celebrations seem to be consistently off the official dates, probably to allow for “official” observations in the synagogues and families to be on the actual dates.
For those not in the know (which, until last week, included me) in American terms this is like Memorial Day followed immediately by the Fourth of July Independence Day. As this was a community memorial/celebration there were also aspects of school presentations to get the kids involved.
While I enjoyed myself, I still didn’t feel entirely a part of things. One difference between myself and many there was that I simply do not identify Israel as my country. Clearly, for the most observant Jews and even for many more secular, Israel has an enormous cultural and spiritual status which I simply do not feel. Which OK, I know, and I’m certain I’m not the only American of Jewish descent who feels like that, and of course those of us who don’t feel attached to Israel are probably not going to mention it in the middle of a public celebration of Israel’s memorial/independence days.
After thinking about these things off and on the best way I sum things up is thusly:
When I speak of Jewish things I say “The Jews,THEY do this and THEY do that”. I would like to get to a point where I am comfortable saying “The Jews, WE do this and WE do that”. Not because I want to convert to Orthodoxy or follow the religion, but because I’d like to be more conversant with half my ethnic heritage.
Today’s mitzvah was telling the member of the Jewish Federation who oversees their food pantry that my employer supports giving back to the community and maybe she should ask for a donation…? I told her how to get the process started, so maybe that’s my contribution to tikkun olam today (in the sense of making the world at large better, not so much religious observance).
Hmmm… it’s been awhile.
Still going to the lunches when I can. Went yesterday after an absence of several months due to work schedule and the lunch schedule changing. Warmly welcomed back.
And I was introduced to the concept of an “ugly Hanukkah sweater”…
OMFG, the ugly faux Christmas/Hanukkah sweater in the 2nd row :eek:.
I like the “Spinner, Spinner, Kosher Dinner”
Mine’s not on that page.
This part of your post speaks to me directly. I am ethnically a Jew.
My family name predates the 12 tribes of Israel by 1900 Years.
Yet about four years ago I was baptized into the Episcopal church.
So ethnically I am and have always been a Jew. When I’m in adult classes at church I’m very aware of how I posed such statements as " Jews do this".
It never bothers me when people in an adult education class regard me as the Jew in class. Most of them are cradle Episcopalians and have no idea of the culture history or mind set aside from in a very vague and detached manner.
The more time you spend living the Jewish experience and learning about the culture and ways of living the more comfortable you will be speaking in the first-person when you say " This is what Jews do. "
Have a lot of respect for the honesty you are bringing to your posts in this thread.
This is very personal stuff to discuss.
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I come here to speak of a friend I helped to bury yesterday.
I met Sylvia when I first went to the “Adult Friendship Club” lunch. She spotted the newbie instantly, and I no doubt looked like a poor lost waif as I was still reeling from the death of my husband. She said hello, introduced herself and a half dozen other people, and insisted I sit beside her. She is the one who welcomed me into the community (mainly by getting there ahead of anyone else - she was not shy). She was elderly then, using a cane, and over time that became a walker.
Briefly, she was in a nursing home but that turned into a nightmare, then covid hit. Her family and the community were able to “jailbreak” her and bring her home and give her the 24/7 care she needed there, although it was very hard, as it always is.
On Monday she passed away. I wish I could have said peacefully, in her sleep, but it was not so kind. No, it was not covid. One of the pains of this pandemic is that I could not visit her in person. Yes, there are rapid tests but they are not perfect and none of us wanted to take the risk. Visitors were very limited, but I sent cards and conveyed my thoughts and wishes to her. Now, she is out of pain, and at peace.
In accordance with Jewish custom the funeral and burial came soon after. It happened that I was off work yesterday and could attend and help lay her to rest. There were tears and laughter and sighs, then we went to the cemetery, she was lowered into the earth, and we took turns with the shovel (I hear some places it’s just “handfuls” of earth. Nope, here in northwest Indiana it’s a wheelbarrow of dirt and garden spades).
As it happens, Tuesday is also the day our grief group meets, which she had also been a part of (she’d outlived two husbands) so there was more reminiscing.
Experiencing both sadness and relief this morning. And yes, her memory is a blessing.
I’m sorry for your loss. That was a beautiful tribute and she was clearly a wonderful person.
We use large shovels for the dirt for the Jewish funerals that I’ve attended in California by the way.
And here I am again…
As I am currently on medical leave from work and recovering from surgery I have time on my hands. The docs have given me leave to drive myself around but I still have limitations on various activities.
Well, heck, I’d been thinking off and on about attending synagogue services (something which I had not, in fact, ever done before) and this looked like a good time. So I dropped in to Friday evening services at the local Reform Synagogue. (Actually, I started a couple weeks before the surgery, in August, but then had to take time out for a couple weeks).
The High Holidays seemed interesting, but given the price tag ($200) and my recent expenses, along with reduced income (short term disability only pays part of what I am accustomed to receiving) the price tag was prohibitive. No problem, says the rabbi, come anyway, be our guest, no charge, we’ll have a ticket for you at the registration desk.
So I have been able to attended Rosh Hashanah services.
I have found that while there is much discussion of G-d in the services it’s by and large a pretty abstract G-d. Mostly, I’m enjoying being part of something and socializing with people. Except for the lady today who kept trying to keep me on track with the Hebrew in the prayer book (not going to happen - I can identify a few letters a few words but that’s it) but hey, no one else seemed to care if I mumbled a lot, got lost, and sometimes just sat/stood and listened.
(Somewhere along the line I picked up Hine Ma Tov with not just words but the melody, I think at a school Christmas Winter Holiday thing with that thrown in to make it “inclusive”, and I think I can do the first line of the Shema at this point given that it’s always a part of services, not very long, and three of its words I did know before, but those are the only bits I have any confidence in at all)
Am planning to attend Kol Nidire and Yom Kippur, which I’m assuming will have a slightly different tone and much less shofar. Is Yom Kippur service supposed to be an all day affair, more or less? I suppose I can ask on Friday. But feel free to enlighten me if you know more than I do (not hard at this point) or have suggestions.
I do find the bit where the Torah is paraded around and everyone gets to touch it (or, mostly, touch it with the prayer book), and the bit where the Torah is raised and the person holding it says (badly paraphrased Hebrew) “This is the law given to Moses by G-d” to be more moving than I expected. Then again, if there was ever anything holy in my mother’s world it was the written word so maybe I get that from her.
Yes, I know it’s been nearly two years since the last update, but it seemed this thread was the place for it.
That’s the whole point. Enjoy!
(People who want a less abstract God are over there…at the Orthodox synsgogue.)
… and today the Conservative/Orthodox people issued me an invitation for Kol Nidre and Yom Kippur.
They also asked why I wasn’t on the list for to community Rosh Hashana dinner and I said that my budget was pinched and paying to cost was a bit rough right now. Two of the matriarchs went off on their canes in search of the woman organizing that, muttering something about me coming anyway…
An embarrassment of riches when it comes to invitations. I think they might like me over there.
My sister in New York State is moving soon to be closer to her kids so she’s going through her current home. She came across some of our dad’s old papers and among them was the document welcoming my mom into the Jewish faith on 23 Iyar 5716. Which was some number of years before my birth.
So… apparently I am no longer (or never was) a Schrodinger Jew. I am actually Jewish from birth.
My sister also found the document with all our Hebrew names, which we thought lost.
It may not matter to anyone else, but on a certain level my name and identity was restored to me today.