Jewish Six Room Poetry

Shalom Shiraniks!

We just finished our weekly Zoom class, and you each created a "six room" poem about a Jewish moment, event, holiday, or other memory in your life.  To review (and for those of you reading this who weren't able to participate in class this week), here is a brief how-to:

On a piece of paper, create six squares by making one line down the middle and two across.  Then, starting with the top left corner, label each as follows:


IMAGE                   LIGHT



SOUNDS               FOODS/TASTES/SMELLS




FEELINGS/METAPHOR           JEWISH WORDS/PHRASES


Then:
In the Image box, describe the event in as much detail as you can (sentences not required)
In the Light box, describe what the light or colors are like in your event
In the Sounds box, describe what you heard
In the Foods/Tastes/Smells box, add a list of foods or tastes and smells
In the "Feelings/Metaphor" box, either write how you felt at or about the event, or write a metaphor or simile comparing the event to something else
Finally, in the last box, write down any words or phrases in Hebrew or Yiddish that might be associated with that event.

Then, after all of your "rooms" are full, take everything you have written and create a poem out of it, either listing all of your phrases in order or mixing them up, or even repeating one or two.  It's entirely up to you. Be creative!  Once you have finished your poem, add it to the comments below so we can all read it by next week's class.  Shalom!

Yom Haatzma-what??

Shalom Shiraniks!

We are in the middle of what many Jews call the "Israeli High Holy Days."  On Tuesday, it was Yom Hashoah, when we commemorated the Six Million lives lost in the Holocaust.



Then, Yom HaZikaron, Israeli Memorial Day, begins at sundown next Monday night, and ends on Tuesday night.  This year, everyone will be inside, but normally, during this time, Israelis remember the soldiers who fought and died for their country.  For about two minutes, in the middle of the day, sirens go off all over the country, and every Israeli stops what they are doing, even driving, and stands in a show of solidarity and respect to commemorate the lives lost.

Then, at sundown on Tuesday, Israelis will switch into celebratory mode, for it will become Yom HaAtzmaut, or Israeli Independence Day.  Normally, throughout Israel, there would be parties that night, and picnics at the beach or in parks the next day, culminating with fireworks.  It is a festive atmosphere, very much like 4th of July here in the United States.  Here, Jews still celebrate Yom HaAtzmaut by wearing blue and white and having our own family and synagogue celebrations.    

However, this year, the parties will be at home, there will be no big gatherings, and each of us, both here and in Israel, will be commemorating and celebrating these holidays in "quarantine mode." Sure, it will be different, but we can all still find ways to participate.  

How will you and your family celebrate?  

Why is This Passover Different From All Other Passovers?

Shalom Shiraniks!

I hope that all of you are having a wonderful Passover week, and that you all had a chance to participate in some or all of the activities associated with this holiday, despite "hunkering down" at home.  It sure was strange for me not to have the 30 or so members of my Jew Crew (as we call our havurah) at my house for the first night of Passover.  We didn't even have a Zoom seder, and frankly, I was feeling pretty down.  For over 20 years, I have hosted Passover, spending days prepping and cooking, moving furniture and bringing in tables, setting the seder plates and planning the activities for the night.  (Mr. Bloom says I "go a little nuts" over Pesach, but he enjoys it too!)  During the seder, we all thought it was funny that here we were, thanking God for surviving one plague while we were sheltering in place to survive another one!  But this too shall pass and life will resume again.  In the meantime, though, the mere fact that we are staying home to keep others safe is a mitzvah!

Preparing to join a second night "Zoom seder" yesterday, it occurred to me that one of the best things about being Jewish is that we have a "home based" religion.  Really!  We don't need to go anywhere to "be" or "do" our Jewishness (except going to JQuest, of course!).  For example, while it is traditional to pray with your community in a synagogue, it is not required.  Also, our holidays are all centered around activities in the home. Lighting the Shabbat candles, having a Passover or Tu Bishvat seder, building and enjoying time in the sukkah are all examples of ways in which we are commanded to celebrate the big events in the Jewish annual calendar.  So, in light of the fact that we are "stuck" at home, we can be joyful about Judaism's built-in "homey-ness" (is that a word?).

God commands us to celebrate with family, to appreciate all that we have and to enjoy the natural world around us.  What better time to complete all of these mitzvot than when we are "commanded" by events in the secular world to shelter-in-place?  Because of the holiday, we were not able to see each other on our weekly JQuest meeting, however next week we will return to discuss and share our own homegrown Passover stories.  In the meantime, stay busy, stay connected and stay safe.

Chag Pesach Sameach!!

PS:  Next week, we will be sharing some music together, so between now and then, try to find something that you can bring to the class to play music on!  (Hint:  if you don't have an instrument, you can find a household item that can be used as an instrument!)

Passover Scavenger Hunt!

Shalom Shiraniks!

In today's Shira online Zoom meeting, you will be asked to conduct a "Passover Scavenger Hunt."  I will give you five minutes to find as many of the following items around the house as you can, then either bring them back to "class", or take a photo of them with your phone to share with us when you return to the meeting.

Here are your tasks:

1. When Moses was a baby,  he was placed in the River Nile in a little basket made of reeds.  His mother, Yocheved, had to use what nature provided her to create a safe vessel for her child until he was taken in by Pharaoh's daughter.

YOUR TASK:  Find a useful item that is made from something from nature (not metal).

2. Moses used a staff of wood to convey God's power to Pharaoh and the Egyptians.  


YOUR TASK:  Find an item that represents the power of God.

3.  The Ten Plagues devastated Egypt.

YOUR TASK:  Find something that you, or someone in your family might consider a "plague."

4. When the Israelites fled Egypt, they had to leave in such a hurry that they did not have time for their bread to rise.  

YOUR TASK:  Find a food item that you would take with you if you had to suddenly leave your home.

5.  When they were faced with the frightening task of escaping Egypt by going through the Sea of Reeds, the Israelites were strengthened by Miriam, Moses' sister, as she played her timbrel and sang, rejoicing on the other side. 

YOUR TASK:  Find something that you can make joyful music with.