Artist of the Week: Mezuzah

Rebecca
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

This week it's Rebecca's turn to be Artist of the Week.

This picture is from a while back. She was home sick with her brother and was so cute cuddled up in bed I had to take a picture. It was just a touch of bronchitis, so apart from the cough she didn't seem at all ill, but she wasn't cleared for school. We just kept things on the quiet side and in no time at all she was back to school, both religious (aka Hebrew or Sunday school) and secular.

She has been going to Sunday school, since Kindergarten. It's the third go around (you could even say fourth as well because of the whole twin thing) for our family so we pretty much know what to expect for each grade when it's Max and Rebecca's turn. Once a year there is special event called Gesher when the parents are requested to attend to school. There is a discussion group during the first have with the Rabbi, then students and parents come together with some sort of craft. During the third grade Gesher the students got to make their own mezuzah.

mezuzah
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

This year the students got to use modeling clay with a variety of colors. Previously they have made them from small cardboard tubes or regular white clay.

Rebecca, being the girlie girl that she is, went for the pinkish white and fuchsia. She carefully molded it around a wooden cloths-peg and made the top and bottom nail holes. Once she was done constructing the holder it was taken back to the kitchen to be baked.

It turned out rather well and, miracle of miracles, survived the ride home. All that was left for us to do was insert the blessings and affix it to her doorway. She was delighted when I finally did my half of the job yesterday.

Shanah Tovah, Matey!

Pirate dachs
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Today makes the start of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. So I would like to wish all a sweet new year.

But wait, there's more!

Saturday also marks the official Talk Like a Pirate Day, an odd confluence of events to be sure. So to celebrate Capt. Long John and his scurvy mate Dirty Dell got out their pirate duds and are on the lookout for a sweet new year. They recommend Jewschool for some good ideas to bring out your inner Jewish pirate.

Shana Tova Umetukah! Arrrgh!

Done, Done and Done

My biggest accomplishment yesterday was addressing and mailing the last batch of invites to Jake's Bar Mitzvah.

I divided them up into three groups:

Classmates at Hebrew school (22)
Friends and Family (41)
Congregation (41)

It looks like a huge number, but we expect only half will come. Most of the girls in Jake's class probably won't be coming. As for the boys, well our temple is located a bit far afield and the average West Ender really doesn't like going outside of West End (a shockingly good description of the West End), much less Richmond. Hebrew school is conducted in the West End and most of the kids are from around there. As for friends and family, a few of the invites were simply courtesy invitations. My 90+ year old Aunt is not schelping down from Boston and my brother will be a groomsman at a friends wedding.

I also faxed off the hotel contracts, touched base with the caterer and got the ball rolling with the flowers. Kippots have been ordered, Jake has a new blazer and the rest seems to be coming together. I just have to clean the house, ugh.

It's A Hoot

We are deep in the process of getting Jake ready for his Bar Mitzvah, so it was with a great deal enjoyment I read an article from our Rabbi about a group of women in their 90's celebrate their Bat Mitzvahs.

It's from the New York Times and you can find it here.

My favorite quote is:

“Most people in their 90s, they just eat their three meals a day and are happy to be alive,” Rabbi Kutner said. “I think this shows that at any age you can set a challenge and meet it.”

A challenge, perhaps, but not all the women see it quite that way. “My first thought was boy, what a hoot!” said Millie Danziger Fromet, 90.

They sound like a fun group of gals and a force to be reckoned with. As Ms. Agin said “You’re doggone right we’re feisty.”

Tour The Temples

cover
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

On Sunday the first and second grades at Hebrew school got to go on a special field trip sponsored by the Richmond Council for Jewish Education and the Jewish Community Federation of Richmond. All first and second grade the children currently enrolled in a Richmond area Hebrew school were invited to tour the local synagogues.

Since there are seven different synagogues, the tour was broken down into two parts. This year the children will visit all the "Or" (plus either Chabad or Kol Emes) and next year it will be the "Beth" tour. A really nice aspect of the division is that both tours run the gamut of Reform, Conservative and Orthodox.

I volunteered to tag along because of the whole enzyme issue with Max and it looked like fun. I have never been to most of the synagogues on the tour.

Or Ami
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

It was a dreary day, but Rebecca was still able to smile, Max so much. We started out at Or Ami, just located south of the James (everything in Richmond is gauged by the James River). The Rabbi was warm and friendly. He started off by asking who was from which congregation and made the same comment about Beth Ahabah's name that I've been making for years. Namely, it translates to "House of Love" and really the only way to say it in English is with a Barry White intonation. Already I like the guy. He then did a very brief presentation about Or Ami and pointed out the features of the building.

We then opened our booklets and started matching up the pictures with their correct synagogues. If you click on the brochure up above you'll see what I mean (you need to go to the photo set or just page through my photo stream). Then it was back onto the buses for the rest of the tour.

Or Atid
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Next up was Or Atid where we have actually been before. The sanctuary is rather unique, it is a separate structure from the main building with striking walls of glass.You can see it from the road as you drive by and it has inspired all sorts of stories in our family. Jake noticed the high roof and announced that his imaginary friend (he was about four at the time) Mr. Giraffe attended services there. Mr. Giraffe, Mrs. Giraffe and all of their children enjoyed going there because it was one of the very few shuls with a ceiling high enough to accommodate them. So I guess we could say that we knew giraffes were kosher long before the big announcement last June.

Any way I wish I had gotten a picture of the exterior, (Yay Google maps!) but alas we were running late. I was just able to snap a few inside before we got herded back onto the bus. It was a long ride to our next stop and we had a snack passed out while we filled in books.

Young Israel
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Our last stop of the day was Young Israel, Congregation Kol Emes. Being a seriously orthodox congregation, our group was split by gender. All of the males went to the main seating area of the sanctuary while the females went to the small walled off area off to the side. The rabbi after a bit entered and explained that the sexes were separated so that it was easier to concentrate on Torah and in a way creating a special place to pray.

It was quite a change for the majority of the kids there (mine included).

We learned about Tefillin and the Rabbi demonstrated how he donned his prayer shawl and then the tefillin. It was a fascinating experience for me, I have had very little exposure to the world of the very Orthodox. I did have my camera, but I decided that it would not be appropriate for me to take pictures inside the building.

Then it was back to the JCC and home.