Absolutely Random Post

In which I carry on about absolutely random things in a stream-of-consciousness style.

I have just finished reading posts from a forum which is full of animus. I realize that people will be themselves, only more so, on the Internet. However, are we all really so touchy over supposed slights against virtual friends? The hatefulness I just wasted time perusing was enough to depress anyone, much less those who were fully involved in tearing each other down. Perhaps Thumper's mother had the right idea after all:

If you can't say something nice, don't say nothin' at all. ~Bambi

And yes, in the interest of full disclosure, I do have those days myself. That's when I enjoy my Shabbat more than usual. It's a chance to clear my head, focus on something beyond my small world, and come back renewed and refreshed.

Moving on, don't you hate when you have ideas for posts, and once you get online you realize you've completely forgotten them? I had several posts over the past week which I was working on developing in my mind...and now I don't have even the ghostly wisps of those thoughts left to discuss. So frustrating!

On Sunday I had the opportunity to meet a fellow convert friend for coffee and a walk around town, which I thoroughly enjoyed. We have both been reading through Telushkin's Jewish Literacy, and with the situations in our families being similar, it was wonderful to be able to discuss things from the book with each other. By the end of our walk, we had to laugh at how often we were saying, "oh, well Telushkin said this about..." or "I think it was in Telushkin where there was this quote..." We decided we've become "Telushkinites:" all we know about Judaism we learned from Telushkin. Of course, not seriously, but I have been debating buying a copy of the book to have as a reference. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it. We both agreed that Telushkin is highly readable and relateable. Considering the size of the book, and the fact that I plan to tackle "Biblical Literacy" sometime in the near future, I'm very thankful for that!

My friend brought up an interesting point while we were talking. He and my husband knew each other in school, and he is aware of my husband's dislike for my desire to convert to Judaism. He asked me whether my husband might be concerned that if I converted, I might decide that a Christian husband was not right for me any longer, and look for a "good Jewish boy" to marry instead.

Although I appreciate his concern, I doubt that my husband has that particular difficulty in mind when he stands so firmly against my conversion. I think that although he doesn't practice his faith, he still holds strongly to it, and would like me to do the same. I've written before about my concerns for my children and what conversion would mean for them; I believe that's a strong concern of my husband's as well.

After sharing this with my friend, he made the suggestion that I consider not converting, but attending shul as a Gentile. This doesn't sit well with me, because it feels like unfinished business. I'm not sure what exactly is pushing me toward taking that final step in becoming a member of the Tribe, which may be the topic for another post! (Ah, and here we find the secret to proper posting procedure...when a topic for a post comes to mind, WRITE IT DOWN! Or in this case, post it down.)

On a final, random note, I must go fix dinner. My children are hungry and fomenting revolt, starting with tearing up my freshly made bed.

Ah HAH! I knew there was something funny with the matzo...

I was just ambling my way through the J-blogosphere today when I found a post from Jack about The Great Matzah Shortage of 2008. Maybe this is some explanation of why I could not for the life of me find matzah l'Pesach.

LOS ANGELES — To the lengthening list of comestible problems befalling our nation, add this: a matzo shortage.

From coast to coast, a shortfall of the unleavened flat cracker bread eaten by Jews during the eight days of Passover has sent shoppers scurrying from store to store in search of it. On Monday, Allison Mnookin circled the aisles of her local Whole Foods store in San Mateo, Calif., three times. There was no matzo to be found.

“Being out of matzo is like being out of milk,” Ms. Mnookin said. So it was on to Safeway. Nothing. Fearing that the box of stale matzo remaining in her pantry from last year would not cut it, she drove nearly 15 miles to Menlo Park.

Hypothesis: If the shortage had been on gefilte fish, complaints would have been far fewer.
"The reasons behind the matzo shortage range from manufacturing problems, decisions by some stores not to carry the product this Passover and vague talk of a possible work stoppage.

“It seemed like the whole region had a problem getting it in,” said Jason Hodges, a supervisor in the grocery department at a Whole Foods in Miami. A person who answered the phone at a ShopRite in Philadelphia said stores there were sold out, as was the Food Emporium in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., in Westchester County.

“We heard there was a strike or something,” said the Food Emporium manager, Frantz Baptiste. “The first shipment we had was a month ago, and we never got another one.”

Phone calls and e-mail messages to the largest suppliers of unleavened bread products, Streit’s, Manischewitz and Yehuda, brought no response on Monday, possibly because executives were off for Passover, which began Saturday night.

But Manischewitz officials have said that problems with a new state-of-the-art oven in its only New Jersey plant caused it to scrap this Passover’s supply of Tam Tam crackers, its little six-sided matzo morsels, as well as some less popular matzo varieties.

Trader Joe’s stores opted not to sell Passover matzo this year, as did some Costco stores. “It’s not a huge item for us,” said a Costco spokesman, Bob Nelson."

The problem seemed especially acute in the San Francisco Bay Area. In Palo Alto, Amy Kawadler said she had been told there was no matzo at the Mollie Stone’s Market, which carries a wide selection of kosher food, but she noticed a lone box making its way down a checkout conveyor.

When she inquired about it, the customer “grabbed it and pressed it against his chest and said, ‘This is my matzo,’ ” Ms. Kawadler said. He directed her to the section where one last box, of onion poppy matzo, remained, resting on the back of a bottom shelf. “I ran with my hands in the air, pumping the box in my hand saying, ‘I got the last box of matzo!’ ” Ms. Kawadler said. “It was the talk of our seder.”

New York Times

אבלות

ברוך אתה ה' א‑לוהינו מלך העולם, דיין האמת.

"Blessed are You, LORD, our God, King of the universe, the True Judge."


My aunt passed away this morning after a long illness.

So craving some chametz right now...

Oh, what I wouldn't give for a nice golden brown roll...or a slice of deep-dish pizza...or a nice pound cake!

Yes, I'm trying to avoid the chametz for Passover. We're on day two, and I'm munching on matzo and daydreaming of springier, crustier, flakier, and softer bread foods. ~sigh~ Even though I'm empathizing with those ancient predecessors, I'd really rather be enjoying my usual foods.

Speaking of matzo, we had a nice matzo ball soup from scratch last night, and I'm thinking of trying out a matzo-lasagna recipe (Matzanga?) that I saw last week. Yum, matza layered with tomato and cheeses! That actually sounds pretty tasty. ;)

Where has all the matzoh gone?

Ah, the joys (and oys) of living Jewishly in a small Southern town. I began a search for matzoh a week or two ago, with the start of the Passover sale fliers for the local chain groceries. I knew several simply wouldn't have them...our local Walmart, for instance, used to have a very small amount of shelf space devoted to Manischevitz products, but no more! My mother had an "authentic" Passover seder many years ago, and another chain grocery carried all the necessary ingredients. We had a delicious matzo ball soup, and even hid the afikomen! On thinking about it, though, I doubt she checked to be sure the matzoh was kosher for Passover.

Either way, that store has stopped carrying "ethnic" products as well, beyond the usual Hispanic/Latino offerings. The one store I have happily found which does carry specifically kosher products (Manischevitz, again, for the most part, but who's complaining?), had Hebrew National hotdogs, but no matzoh. I was only able to hold matzoh in my hands after traveling almost an hour away, and still the Streit's egg-and-something-or-other matzoh wasn't kosher for Passover.

What is a girl to do? My husband suggested home-made matzoh. Sadly, it may be a choice of that (quite possibly either under-done or un-Kosher), or an empty space on the seder plate come Erev Pesach.

On Conversion and Children

I'm sure every parent has looked down into their child's face as a sleeping infant and wanted for them the best, the least difficult, the most perfect life. I've read more than one article which was based on the premise that babies bring a spiritual reawakening into the home along with their first breath. I can't say that my spiritual reawakening was instantaneous, but there's nothing like the miracle of new life to make someone want to bless the heavens. If this new life ushers in a more devout mindset, a desire to pass this faith to the next generation, all the better. Children are remarkably open to whatever their parents tell them in their early years. Whether that sticks or not is up for questioning, but in the beginning even the Tooth Fairy is real, and G-d is in His heaven looking down on the world, tugging on His long, grey beard as He surveys His creation.

This raises a problem for a convert who is already a parent at that critical time. What do you tell your children? Do you open up their world to such bleak doubt? Once broken, is their trust and faith forever shattered, or will they simply follow the lead they are given?

While reading a children's book titled Many Ways, a book on the commonalities among the world's great religions, my school-aged daughter kept looking for symbols and rituals that were "English," ie, Christian. While I was drawn automatically to the Judaica, the Mogen David, the Shabbat candlelighting, the Torah scrolls, the kipa, she was drawn to the crosses, the baptisms, the choirs, the hot cross buns. When she said, "this is us, Mommy," I didn't have the heart to tell her, "No, that is you, dear. This over here is Mommy." How do you tear your family apart, setting yourself opposite that which you have taught your child, and putting your very self in opposition to hers?

My religion, a la Belief-O-Matic

1. Orthodox Judaism (100%)
2. Reform Judaism (96%)
3. Islam (95%)
4. Sikhism (91%)
5. Bahá'í Faith (89%)
6. Liberal Quakers (70%)
7. Orthodox Quaker (68%)
8. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (65%)
9. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (64%)
10. Jainism (59%)
11. Unitarian Universalism (57%)
12. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (54%)
13. Seventh Day Adventist (53%)
14. Jehovah's Witness (52%)
15. Eastern Orthodox (52%)
16. Roman Catholic (52%)
17. Neo-Pagan (51%)
18. Hinduism (48%)
19. Mahayana Buddhism (46%)
20. New Age (36%)
21. Theravada Buddhism (36%)
22. Secular Humanism (31%)
23. Scientology (30%)
24. New Thought (26%)
25. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (24%)
26. Taoism (22%)
27. Nontheist (21%)

I have taken this quiz on Beliefnet.com
more than once. After I had begun to question whether Jesus of Nazareth was "God Incarnate," I consistently had Judaism and Islam in my top 3-5. This makes sense, as I do believe in an all-powerful G-d.

Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad.

I know I'm not a Muslim because I fail the easy test: I don't believe in Muhammad as the Prophet. He may have been a discerning man who had visions, he may have been a very devout follower of G-d, but I don't believe he's the end-all, be-all in a religious sense, and while I do find common ground with many Islamic beliefs, I also take exception to some as well.

One of the funniest things I've found while taking this quiz was the legal disclaimer at the start:

Warning: Belief-O-Matic™ assumes no legal liability for the ultimate fate of your soul.

How great is that? :D

Going Kosher...slowly

As with everything else in my gradually Jewish life, going kosher is neither easy nor quick. Being raised "Southern country," ham, pork, and bacon are staples of the kitchen. Red-eye country ham, crispy fried bacon, sausage, battered pork chops...not to mention the things that are made with lard, or the meat meals that are covered in melted cheese or white sauce.

I have to admit I do enjoy seafood and ham. A cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise can really hit the spot. And of course there's my Christian husband who would throw a fit if I asked him to stop having bacon or sausage for breakfast on the weekends.

However, I can say happily that I've found many things that are kosher. In fact, today I rejoiced that my 3Muskateers bar was certified KOSHER! I nearly did a happy dance on finding that little symbol on the wrapper. :) Of course, kosher for Pesach is an entirely different animal, and I'm sure I won't be able to meet that standard this year. I will try if I can locate any kosher for Pesach items, but in a majority Christian area, and a small backwoods area at that, I doubt I'll find much available, and almost certainly not 8 days worth. ~sigh~

I am going to try to start planning kosher meals, without mentioning it to my husband, and see what comes of it. Maybe I'll be lucky enough to get to him through his stomach, since I can't get to him through his mind. ;)