My weekends are often spent catching up on sleep, running errands and socializing with friends. This weekend, I decided to change it up a bit.

Shabbat Shalom

Following a wonderful Shabbat pot luck dinner with friends, I woke up early and headed up north to cottage country.  I was thrilled to be among great friends, the peace of the wilderness and it was an added bonus that we celebrated Tu Bishvat together. On Shabbat we ate 15 species of fruit and grains that had different levels of edibility (edible skin, edible pit, inedible skin, inedible pit) which acts as a metaphor for different personality types and we blessed  four cups of wine representative of the seasons.      I was inaccessible via phone, there was no Facebook activity and we were treated with 20+ centimetres of snow.  While I often complain that I have chosen to settle in such a climate, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to wear snowpants, sled down the driveway and catch snowflakes on my tongue. It helped that I was among young children and toddlers.

Showered with snow

Seasons are important. They force us into different clothing, they encourage us to participate in exciting activities and they help instill an appreciation for our surroundings and our religious observances and celebrations.

I have been thoroughly impressed with the global efforts to aid Haiti.  Celebrities, radio and television personalities, various institutions and children have banded together towards one common goal.  On television, billboards, through social networking sites and in subway stations I am seeing exceptions relief efforts.

As a supporter of Israel, I was very proud to learn that Israel’s humanitarian efforts in Haiti are sophisticated and critical.  The following is a glimpse of the Israeli field hospital in Port Au Prince:

Israel in Haiti

What frustrates me is the response from anti-Zionists claiming that the Israeli intention for this work is an attempt to ‘distract the world from their daily ethnic cleansing of Palestinians’ as Stephanie Guttman writes in this article. While some comments to her article imply that this was written as a parody, that Israel can never do anything with the proper intention, there are many points in her writing that portray the Israeli army in a negative light that the average reader may not understand her angle.  In any event, I am proud of the Israeli mission to Haiti and I am hopeful that the positive publicity will outweigh the negative.

My desk at work and the workspace around me has gotten out of control.  My colleagues and I have clearly become complacent about the environment in which we work.  The piles of paper, the empty boxes and the office supplies strewn about became commonplace.  While I like to pride myself on being an organized person, I had regressed.  This afternoon, with some inspiration and motivation, we worked together to tidy and reorganize our office by shifting furniture, throwing things out and storing items not immediately needed. Within moments, our space was less cluttered and had a fresh, new look.

Mussar teaches us that our environment is like having someone else at the table.  In other words, I would never invite guests into my home if it were a mess. I would want it to be a reflection of who I am.  Maybe my space morphed into a mess because I don’t ever conduct meetings at my desk, but that should not have been an excuse. The environment didn’t create itself, I created it.  If I internalize what Mussar teaches us, then I will always be cognizant of my environment. Now it’s just maintaining that attitude.

I made my way to the gym tonight for a 6:30 spin class.  Due to the popularity of this instructor, it is necessary to arrive at least 30 minutes before the class starts to get a bike.  Following the rush hour commute, the parking procedure and the slow elevator (that I curse every time I work out), I arrived close to 6:00 and rushed to get organized and up to the change room. I was relieved to get a bike and for next 90 minutes I focused on my workout. The instructor tells me that it’s all about setting an intent for the class.

Following a good sweat and a few moments in the sauna I made my way down to my car. I was shocked to find my trunk unlocked and open. I had been in automatic and popped my trunk as I do daily when I get home. Not such a big deal if my snow scraper and rollerblades were the only items in there, but my computer, a few files and my wallet were all accessible.  I held my breath, opened the truck and I was SO relieved to discover that everything was there.  (I think I may have even thanked God)

I took this moment to contemplate what could have happened.  Had my personal belongings been stolen, I likely would have blamed the dishonest thieves who attend that gym and I would have been on the defensive everytime I went back even though it was my wrongdoing.  While the outcome of the situation could have been much different, I speculated losing control of the situation and my behaviours. It certainly was a Mussar moment.  For more on Mussar (Jewish Ethics), check out the All About Me section of RachaelsCentre.org.

All About Me

I seem to be suffering from Blogger’s block.  When I consulted the Internet on this topic, I was instructed:

1) Not to panic

2) Be honest

3) Blog about something I have never blogged about

So, here it goes. It’s a cold and gloomy Monday afternoon and I’m sitting down to blog.  I’m quite calm about blogging because it comes pretty naturally to me but to be honest, I really don’t have much on my mind. Perhaps that’s because I was on vacation for 2 weeks and I’m just getting back into the grind that is my life.  I have never blogged about blogger’s block before so I think I have just created a blog post and I followed all 3 of the recommended criteria.  Thank you Internet!

Since Chanukah began, I have managed to celebrate with different friends, family in real time and face to face on each night.

You see, my entire family lives elsewhere and I just NEEDED to be included in their Chanukah candle lighting this year.  So, I coordinated with my sister and we met on Skype just in time. An added bonus that we were also celebrating Shabbat!  

While my sister-in-law couldn’t get over the fact that we communicating like the Jetsons did, we all recited the brachot and sang Ha’nerot Halalu.  Truly a moment.

Yesterday, I celebrated the second night of Chanukah with over 200 Russian-Israeli Jews in Thornhill at their community celebration.  The ‘setlist’ of the show included such favourites as Tumbalalaika and a traditional Russian dance dedicated to all of the Babuskas and Dedushkas in attendance. A whole new experience with such a familiar feel.

And tonight, after a couple hours of peeling, grating and frying, I have consumed my annual quota of latkes.  Classic potato latkes, with options of sour cream, maple syrup and applesauce as toppings.  The 3 adult attendees at this evening’s feast each had their own favourite topping and the child enjoyed the applesauce best. Mostly without the latke.  So, I created a quiz to get feedback from our readers out there.

CLICK the link to take the quiz!

http://www.quibblo.com/quiz/biNYFNU/The-Perfect-Potato-Latke

HAPPY CHANUKAH TO ALL!

While the term Shepping Nachas is typically reserved for the 55+ crowd, I shepped.  Yesterday was my very best friends’ daughter’s Chanukah concert at daycare. Her first public performance, the actions to which she boldly practiced at home, in restaurants and in class.  The children were dressed in colourful smocks and dreidel crowns but remained lined up ‘backstage’.  Camcorders, iPhones and digital cameras were ready! As the children entered (my ‘niece’ leading the way to the carpet), marching to the beat of a Chanukah classic, they were stunned. All stunned.  There were far too many adults in the room, clapping and bopping for the toddlers to be comfortable. Over the sobs, whines and screeches, the classroom teachers and audience members contributed to the freilach feeling of celebration. All this little girl wanted was her mommy.

It was really remarkable to look around the room and watch people spanning in age from 18 months to experienced grandparents, Jews from Russia, Israel, Winnipeg and Toronto, all celebrating as a community.  The parents and teachers who instill this value and meaning into the lives of these little ones are really the individuals I’m shepping nachas from.

Below are a few of the highlights:

Leading the way...

Front and Centre!

Teacher's Pet

Check out a couple of the great videos that are found online in the spirit of Chanukah:

This past week, my hectic schedule got to me. I’ve been having trouble falling asleep and waking up in the morning in addition to losing my cool a little more frequently than I should. On Monday,  I received a notice that a package was waiting for me at the post office, but because of my late hours, I wasn’t able to pick it up until this morning.  I had been waiting for some important documents that I was anxious to review, so in anticipation of reading them, I speculated, projected and stressed myself out!  I was creating tsouris for myself.

Yesterday morning, I woke up just in time for the post office to open and I was confused that my package was in fact a box not an envelope as I was expecting.  I looked at the return address and it was from my mother. A care package of trinkets and items that she had noticed were missing from my apartment.  Only an amazing mother would have intuition that I’ve been feeling overwhelmed and stressed as of late.

In the words of my new favourite Klezmer/Jazz musician Paul Shapiro, “If tsouris were a dollar, I’d be a millionaire”!  Needless to say, I’m taking a mental health day tomorrow…

Last weekend I traveled to Boston for my cousin’s wedding. From my research I discovered that Boston is a beautiful walking city and in the fall it has even been described as “heaven on earth”. In addition to exploring the natural beauty, I was looking forward to discovering Jewish Boston.  While we have the Bathurst Street strip in Toronto, I was excited to engage in something new.

This is what I found:

Only in America!

Again...Only in America!

Only in Jewish America!

The Brookline neighbourhood in Boston proved to be rich in Jewish culture and I thoroughly enjoyed my adventure. In addition to the sites and sounds of Jewish life, particularly on a Friday afternoon. This was my favourite:

Bubkes!

So, in sum, Boston had what to offer AND it lived up to its beautiful reputation…

Minus the power lines...