Wearing the Whole Megillah
Torah scribe Julie Seltzer, who has been writing a Torah scroll as part of an exhibition at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco, has employed those same skills to create a unique Purim costume.
See it here – the whole Megillah, or Purim story, inscribed on her clothing:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/contemporaryjewishmuseum/sets/72157623483407813/with/4427423419/
How fast can you read it?
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A Blessing on Their Furry Heads
The blogosphere loved our story about the San Diego synagogue holding its annual blessing of the animals this Sunday.
As the San Diego Union-Tribune originally reported:
Pets of all shapes and sizes — from goldfish and turtles to cats and dogs — should arrive by noon to be blessed by Rabbi Yael Ridburg.
Congregation Dor Chadash organizes the day in honor of Tu B’Shevat, the Jewish new year of the trees, which has been expanded in some communities to include appreciation for all the earth’s bounty, including its living creatures.
Here’s a scene from last year’s ceremony, pictured above in Howard Lipin’s photo for the Union-Tribune:
A rabbi’s reading from the blessing included the quip: “May their feathers always be preened and smooth and sleek.” Members responded: “May they never suffer from ick, and may their fins and scales always sparkle in the light of your sunshine.”
Nothing weird about giving a turtle a bracha, writes Rabbi Brad Hirschfield in Beliefnet:
Before people start scratching their heads, wondering where this came from, let's be clear: this custom is not some recently-concocted attempt to be relevant... In fact, the Blessing of the Animals is a centuries-old tradition dating back to the time of St. Francis of Assisi, animal-loving Saint in the Catholic Church.
The blessing of the waves, however, an interfaith event held annually in Huntington Beach, Calif., may be totally contemporary, with no roots in medieval Church tradition.
Just another case of rabbis, priests and ministers standing together in awe of divine creation.
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Pretty as a Picture
How about an even dozen of cute Jewish frat boys gracing your 2011 calendar?
That’s what Cornell Hillel will sell you for ten bucks.
Here’s Mr. January, AEPi president Matt Lerner:
And here’s Mr. November, “perfect” to take home to mom and dad:
Junior Susu Fried, president of the school’s Jewish Greek Council and incoming engagement chair for Cornell Hillel’s executive board, came up with the scheme to raise awareness of Hillel activities on campus.
Hillel printed 75 calendars and sold them all, she reports:
“A few of the Greek men we approached were hesitant at first to take part in the project because the calendar was the first of its kind, but many of the men were ecstatic about the opportunity."
Wonder if they’ll be ecstatic when the calendar shows up at their first job interview.
Susa adds that Jewish Greek men “make perfect ‘pinup’ calendar subjects because they are endearing and have the right sense of humor about themselves.”
Kudos to Susu and Co. for thinking outside the box. And to the guys for being good sports.
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Bad News Santa
How do Jewish parents tell their kids that Santa won’t be visiting them? Not this year. Not ever.
It’s a harsh message, made more difficult by the constant barrage of Christmas cheer they see on TV, on the streets, at the mall, at their friends’ homes…everywhere.
Marjorie Ingall outlines four main approaches, from telling the kinderlach that Chanukah is better (good luck with that) to caving and putting up the tree.
Whether we marry Jews or non-Jews, many of us really don’t think through exactly how we’re going to do Judaism and secularism in the great big world. But when you have a kid, you have to make the call. Not deciding isn’t a decision.
December dilemma, indeed.
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Most Delicious Chanukah Menorah
This year’s award has to go to the Jelly Belly-filled menorah lit Wednesday night at Jelly Belly headquarters in Fairfield, Calif. Each of the eight branches was filled with Jelly Bellys, which have been OU-certified since 2008. The culprit behind the venture was Rabbi Chaim Zaklos of Chabad of Solano County.
A close runner-up is the menorah carved out of ice spotted last Saturday night in Boca Raton, Florida, also sponsored by Chabad. Not as tasty, perhaps, but pretty impressive for kids not used to seeing snow.
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Lighting the way for women rabbis
During this year’s festival for freedom, four extraordinary Jewish women –the first Reform, Reconstructionist and Conservative women rabbis, along with the first Open Orthodox rabba – got together Monday in Boston to light the Chanukah candles.
At this first-ever ceremony, the four spoke of their journeys, and the barriers still remaining to full female participation in Jewish ritual life.
Sally Priesand, who became North America’s first woman rabbi when she was ordained by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati in 1972, spoke first. She said that although she did not become a bat mitzvah or grow up in a particularly observant Jewish family, her parents gave her Jewish books and “the courage to dare and to dream.”
Read more here on the Jewish Women’s Archive blog.
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NCSY’s Chanukah video
NCSY, the youth movement of the Orthodox Union, has its own Chanukah video (beware: Cheesy alert!)
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Matisyahu’s take on Chanukah
If you're not into A-capella, check out Matisyahu's Chanukah music video -- turns out the dude can skate!
(NPR also has this essay Matisyahu wrote about Chanukah music)
If you prefer old-school Chanukah music, listen to this report from WBUR-Boston with Hankus Netsky, founding member and director of the Klezmer Conservatory Band.
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‘A New Light’
A Chanukah tip from our friends at MyJewishLearning: Listen to "A New Light," a song Sarah Aroeste, Naomi Less and Chana Rothman.
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Y.U. Chanukah frenzy: Dreidel record and viral video
OK, OK, the idea of Yehsiva University coming down with a case of Chanukah fever isn't quite stop-the-presses news. Still, we figured you might enjoy some of the details.
First, this video from The Maccabeats, which has gone viral (my kids only account for 100 of the views):
And a bunch of those crazy Y.U. kids just broke the world record for group dreidel-spinning. (Don't get me started on this trend of group records.)
Oh, and while we're on the topic... there is something ridiculous about an Orthodox institution honoring the memory of the Maccabees by naming its sports teams after them.
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