TT - It's Purim!

So what is Purim anyway?

1. Purim (Hebrew: פורים "lots", related to Akkadian pūru) is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people of the ancient Persian Empire from Haman's plot to annihilate them, as recorded in the Biblical Book of Esther (Megillat Esther). According to the story, Haman cast lots to determine the day upon which to exterminate the Jews. (Thanks Wikipedia, I couldn't have said it better myself. So I didn't.)

And now for some help from Judaism 101 (no reason to reinvent the wheel here, is there?):

2. Purim is one of the most joyous and fun holidays on the Jewish calendar. It commemorates a time when the Jewish people living in Persia were saved from extermination.

3. The heroes of the story are Esther, a beautiful young Jewish woman living in Persia, and her cousin Mordecai, who raised her as if she were his daughter. Esther was taken to the house of Ahasuerus, King of Persia, to become part of his harem. King Ahasuerus loved Esther more than his other women and made Esther queen, but the king did not know that Esther was a Jew, because Mordecai told her not to reveal her identity. Children learn the Purim story in school each year. Even my 4 year old daughter, who was very busy dressing up for the holiday as Cinderella, can tell you about Esther, Mordecai, Ahaseurus and the rest of the crew.

4. The villain of the story is Haman, an arrogant, egotistical advisor to the king. Haman hated Mordecai because Mordecai refused to bow down to Haman, so Haman plotted to destroy the Jewish people. In a speech that is all too familiar to Jews, Haman told the king, "There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your realm. Their laws are different from those of every other people's, and they do not observe the king's laws; therefore it is not befitting the king to tolerate them." Esther 3:8. The king gave the fate of the Jewish people to Haman, to do as he pleased to them. Haman planned to exterminate all of the Jews.

5. Mordecai persuaded Esther to speak to the king on behalf of the Jewish people. This was a dangerous thing for Esther to do, because anyone who came into the king's presence without being summoned could be put to death, and she had not been summoned. Esther fasted for three days to prepare herself, then went into the king. He welcomed her. Later, she told him of Haman's plot against her people. The Jewish people were saved, and Haman was hanged on the gallows that had been prepared for Mordecai.

Back to me again for the modern secular Israeli take on things:

6. Purim today bears a striking resemblance to an American Halloween. While the holiday is rooted in religious tradition, the costumes look remarkably like Anytown, USA (among secular Israelis that is, the more religious segments of society often prefer traditional biblical costumes or costumes from the story of Purim). This year my 7 year old is dressed as a boxer, complete with satin "Champ" robe while my daughter is Cinderella (oh my aching feminist sensibilities...). Itai's friends are dressed as soccer players, cartoon characters, wizards, you name it. In Maya's class the girls were mainly princesses - Cinderella, Snow White, a damsel in distress, Minnie Mouse and others and among the boys Peter Pan and Bob the Builder were in the lead when I left.

7. It is traditional to bring baskets of sweets to friends and neighbors. These baskets are known as mishloach manot in Hebrew or shalach manos in homes with a Yiddish/Eastern European tradition. For school-age children, this means preparing a basket filled with various chocolates and candy, a small toy (usually a noisemaker) and a few hamantaschen. The baskets are then "raffled" off in the classroom, with each kid bringing home someone else's basket.

8. Hamantaschen ("Haman's Hat"), and called "Haman's Ears" in Hebrew, are the Purim cookie. They are 3-sided, with various types of filling inside. Traditional fillings in North America are jelly or poppyseed. Here in Israel dates are more popular, and of course chocolate-filled is usually the children's filling of choice. You can find a recipe for hamantaschen here. You can find a wheat-free, gluten-free version here, towards the bottom of the page.

9. The primary commandment related to Purim is to hear the reading of the book of Esther. To "blot out the name of Haman" people boo, hiss, stamp their feet and rattle groggers (noisemakers) whenever the name of Haman is mentioned in the reading.

10. Purim is celebrated on the 14th day of the Jewish month of Adar, which is usually in February or March. The 13th of Adar is the day that Haman chose for the extermination of the Jews, and the day that the Jews fought to save their lives. The next day, the 14th, celebrates the survival of the Jewish people.

11. In cities that were walled in the time of Joshua, Purim is celebrated on the 15th of the month, because the book of Esther says that in Shushan (a walled city), deliverance from the massacre was not complete until the next day. The 15th is referred to as Shushan Purim.

12. Purim calls for celebrants to eat, drink and be merry. According to the Talmud, a person is required to drink until he cannot tell the difference between "cursed be Haman" and "blessed be Mordecai," though opinions differ as to exactly how drunk that is. No one is supposed to become so drunk that he might violate other commandments or get seriously ill, and alcoholics or others who might suffer serious harm from alcohol are exempt from the obligation. (I suspect this commandment is more widely obeyed in the religious sector. Other than a few raucous Purim parties I attended during my misspent youth I've never been to an event where the adults get plastered, or for that matter even really drink. Israelis on the whole are not big drinkers at all.)

13. Purim begins at sunset on Thursday March 20 this year, and ends at sundown on Friday.

A very happy Purim to all who are celebrating.

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Purim 2010, and other miscellany

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A few quick snapshots. Today was the day schoolchildren across Israel have been waiting for - the day they dress up in costumes (we had Harry Potter and a fairy, in case it wasn't obvious), mishloach manot (gift baskets) full of hamentaschen and other candy treats in hand ready to trade with their classmates to celebrate the holiday of Purim.

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The actual holiday is on Sunday (and Monday, sort of), which means a three-day weekend and lots of holiday activities, conveniently scheduled for the week my husband is away for 8 days. (Did I mention it's storming and supposed to continue to do so for at least the next four days? You do the math. I'll be busy checking movie listings for tomorrow.)

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In non-Purim news, I won the most wonderfully soft and pampering spa cloths from Purplume during the OWOH giveaway - she packaged them up so beautifully with a little fabric mini lei (look at the photo on her blog - it's adorable) AND a delightful booklet called Blissful Bathtimes - Therapies for Rejuvenating Mind and Body. With Jay out of town and me flying solo all week they couldn't have arrived at a better time, either, I'll definitely be needing all the bliss and rejuvenation I can find. (Normally I'd be showing you my own photo of these goodies but Purim and the storm (really bad light) conspired against me - it was all I could manage to grab the few snaps of the kids you see above. )

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In less happy and infinitely more infuriating news, Facebook is at it again - encouraging the sexualization of women's bodies while forbidding innocent photos of babies being nourished the way nature intended. Where the hell are our priorities as a society?

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And with that it's time to get my own priorities in order and close the computer - the USA-Finland Men's Hockey Semifinals game is about to begin - Go USA!

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Purim 2007 Wrapup

Another Purim has now come and gone. For those who don't know, Purim is a Jewish holiday celebrating the Jews' escape from destruction at the hands of the evil Haman, advisor to King Ahaseurus of Persia. It is a joyous holiday, whose main duty is to eat, drink, be merry and wear silly costumes. The children look forward to it for months, it's like the Israeli child's version of Halloween. They dress up in costumes and exchange Mishloach Manot - gift packages containing traditional hamentaschen cookies, various candies, and of course noisemakers (to blot out the sound of Haman's name). It's all a bit of a three-ring circus at times.

We managed to keep our holiday fairly low-key this year. Both children had class parties on Friday, which they attended with great glee (Itai as the High King Peter from the Narnia Chronicles and Maya as "something cute that Maya will be willing to wear", and yes, she does always wear her crown backwards on her head) and from which they returned loaded higher than a kite on sugar. We then spent a glorious spring Saturday walking (us), rollerblading (Itai) and tricycle riding (Maya) on the Tel Aviv boardwalk, followed by lunch in a favorite seaside pub and a quick stint at playing in the sand until it got too cold. Sunday both children were off for the holiday. I avoided the huge "happenings" (chasing Maya around them is still no fun) and we opted to meet up with all our playgroup buddies instead, a rarity these days with all the children's ridiculously complicated schedules. Today Itai had a big party at "camp". Maya was off so she and I enjoyed a rare Mom and Maya day. I took her to the kiddie salon for a haircut and then out to lunch, which we followed with an oh so glamorous trip to the supermarket. The supermarket was actually fairly painless, thanks to the Milkie (chocolate pudding) that she clutched in her hand the entire time, just waiting for the moment she could get home and dive into it's chocolately whipped creamy goodness. (It's amazing what a small bribe incentive can do...)

Oh, and Itai left the house this morning dressed in an Indian costume (no pictures unfortunately, Jay forgot to take any). This is how he came home. I'd say he had fun...

Purim 2009

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Happy Purim!

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Visit Wordless Wednesday to see what other people aren't saying.

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Purim, Tel Aviv Style

Last Saturday we took advantage of the beautiful weather to go for a walk along the beach in Tel Aviv. The water was filled with kite surfers zipping back and forth, and sometimes straight up -

And of course it was Purim weekend, a time when you need to expect the unexpected, so...

You didn't know that Superman was a kite surfer, did you?

Visit Wordless Wednesday to see what other people aren't saying this week, and Wordful Wednesday to see what they are. Oh, and with a quick albeit belated backtrack to Ruby Tuesday 2 as well. Better late than never. At least it's red.

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Real life is interfering with my blogging

I'm swamped this week. Don't worry, it's not all work, we've got a lot of fun stuff going on too (including the fact that my son is turning NINE on Saturday - unbelievable. How could he possibly be nine already?) but lots of work and lots of play is keeping Robin away from her blog.

Here, go make these in the meantime. We did yesterday (it's nearly Purim again you know) when Itai hosted four other classmates for a "host home" event and judging by the fact that not a single one was left for me I'd say they were a hit.

Back soon.

*swoosh*

(that was the sound of me dashing off on my next set of errands to run)
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Fiesta Dress - The Second Generation

My daughter Maya modeling Purim Costume #2 - a Flamenco Dancer
- and she's wearing the dress my grandparents gave ME 35 years ago!

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Visit Wordless Wednesday to see what else people aren't saying this week.

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Dad, Can I Play Soccer On Your Phone?

The eternal optimism and limitless persistence of a child has to be one of the most powerful forces in the universe. Case in point:

My husband's mobile phone came with a FIFA soccer game. My 7 year old lives to play this game, so much so that we had to institute a house rule - when his father comes home from work at night he is not allowed to ask to play until after he's at least said hello. (You can guess how Jay's entrance now sounds each night - "hi dad, can I play soccer on your phone?")

Last night as we were getting the kids into the car to drive home from a Purim party my son asked my husband (all together now) whether he could play soccer on his phone. Jay told him no, and that besides, the phone was buried in the trunk and inaccessible.

Five minutes later he asked again, knowing that a) he'd already been told no, and b) the phone wasn't even there. When I asked him, he told me that his father had already refused, and when asked where the phone was he knew it was in the trunk. So really, other than to nag for the sake of nagging, what was the point in asking? He knew that his request could not possibly be granted, but something compelled him to keep trying anyway.

If more adults managed to hold on to that persistence and optimism I suspect the world would be a very different place. Not necessarily less annoying, but probably more productive.

Purim 2008

Visit Wordless Wednesday to see what everyone else isn't saying.

Don't feel much like writing today

This week is not shaping up to be a great one so far. We're going through a bit of a backslide with Maya right now, and unfortunately it's come smack dab in the middle of all sorts of periodic evaluations, themselves a source of major stress and frustration - for Maya especially, but for us as well. Things could be better. Just for a bit of added fun I just got a call from her preschool, the director wants a meeting to discuss her behavior, which could be better to say the least. The one constant in all of this used to be that Maya's behavior in school, while symptomatic of the social and emotional difficulties she's having, was never problematic for others. Now that too has changed and I find myself cringing as I enter the door each afternoon, waiting for that day's bad news. Her beloved teacher left to have a baby a month ago and since then Maya's been acting out , aggressively. We're seeing more of it at home too, leaving me feeling frustrated and incompetent. When you combine my own feelings of inadequacy and my guilt and sadness that I can't seem to make things better for my daughter with the already horribly patronizing attitude of the school's director you get a fairly high probability that this meeting is going to be a difficult one. It's on Thursday evening, and I am really not looking forward to it.

How can this beautiful golden child, the one who danced around the house for hours at the sheer joy of having received her heart's desire - a Cinderella costume for Purim - be the same one who shrieks and snarls like a wild animal, to the point of being actually physically unable to speak, when you tell her it's time to get out of bed in the morning?

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I know these downswings happen and that an upswing will eventually follow, perhaps even soon, and I know that we are moving closer to a more optimistic diagnosis, but knowing that doesn't really make coping with the bad days any easier.

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Oh, and Itai is home sick with a fever too. The fun just never stops around here.

The Writers Island prompt for this week was "empower". I wanted to write about how the lactation consulting and support work I do empowers both mothers and babies, but right now I feel so utterly unempowered myself that I just don't have it in me. I'll be sitting this one out.

Tomorrow, tomorrow...

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Your dad will be back, tomorrow, it's only a day night awaaaaaaaayyyy.

It has been a long eight days (feels like nine) for all of us, not least of which Jay, but unless anything unexpected happens (tfoo tfoo tfoo, throwing salt over my shoulder, etc.) by the time I open my eyes tomorrow morning he should be lying right there in the bed next to me.

Halleluyah.

He's due to land at 4:30am and should be home by about 5:30. The kids have promised to stay quiet when they wake up to let him sleep (bwahahahaha) but eventually their boisterous spirits (and the inevitable noise of a too-loud tv) will prevail and joy will reign throughout the land because Daddy is home at last!

Our birthday muffins are made (daddy doesn't really like cake, especially not first thing in the morning), a very unusual birthday gift has been selected by Itai, combined with a card nearly its equal selected by Maya, and much celebrating will be done. (Jay was away for his actual birthday, which fell on Purim this year so a double-whammy not having him home) and the kids are quite anxious to make up for it. I'm quite anxious to see his reaction to his birthday gift - photos will definitely follow.

Now all I have to do is finish getting Maya into bed, fold four loads of laundry, and do the dishes before I can fall into bed myself.
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Hamentaschen (updated with link to recipe)

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Click to enlarge

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* Hamenstaschen are the three-cornered cookies traditionally eaten on the Jewish holiday of Purim, occuring on 11 March this year. And yes, I did notice that Maya was sneaking tastes of chocolate filling every chance she got.

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Update: You asked (in comments), and you shall receive: I've posted the recipe here.
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Visit Wordless Wednesday to see what everyone else isn't saying this week.

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Tap tap tap... Is this thing on?

So, uhh, ummm... How exactly does one come back from having forgotten to blog for 3.5 months? It wasn't even a conscious decision, it just sort of happened, and then the longer I was away the harder it was to come back.

Everything's fine, I was just crazy busy with work and I guess I sort of lost my blogging mojo. Let's try again and see if it comes back. I'm game if you are. Assuming of course that there's anyone still out there after all this time. Is there? Are you?

So where have I been? Well, there was a trip to Provence with my husband way back in April. It was wonderful, everything a trip to France should be despite the fairly lousy weather. One of our hosts told us we're not crazy for thinking that it rains in Europe every single Passover/Easter week - it really does. Sort of the way it always rains on Purim here in Israel. Still, you really can't go far wrong in France, whatever the weather. Don't you agree?

Les Baux de Provence

Cassis Harbor

Van Gogh's Courtyard in St Remy

Goat cheese for sale at the Cassis weekly market

After France there was the usual flurry of spring - getting out into nature, our annual trip to the folk festival, the beach, the pool, and so much more, but I'll save some of those for another post.

Right now we're in the midst of the annual end of year insanity - an elementary school graduation, end of the year sports events, all the birthday parties for all of the kids with summer birthdays - you name it, it's probably happening. It's all good, but more than a little exhausting to keep sorted. It's a good thing I've only got two kids and two adults to keep track of - any more and someone would be leaving the house without their underwear for sure.

So that's me in a nutshell, with a few photos thrown in for fun. What have you all been up to these past few months?

Grease Is The Word (a/k/a Shameless Mommy Brag)

Itai's after-school program celebrated Purim by putting on their own very unique version of Grease last night. The songs were in English (probably a good thing, since I think some of the kids, and many of the parents, would have passed out if they understood the words - "look at me I'm Sandra Dee, lousy with virginity" as a prime example) but the (Hebrew) dialogue was all about social inclusion, acceptance and the breaking down of gender stereotypes. Very wholesome and a great message for the kids to take away.


Putting all that aside though, I was there as a mom not a social critic, and was just bursting with pride watching my Kenicky greasin' it up there on the stage. He's the one in the blue t-shirt right in front (thank goodness, because as one of the tallest kids there he spent the rest of the show in the back row, making it impossible to take any decent pictures). Enjoy, and I dare you to try not to sing along ;-).

Here are the proud star and his even prouder mom after the show. Try to ignore the horrible picture quality - my current camera really bites the big one indoors at night but getting a good picture of the two of us together is rare enough that I decided to share it anyway. Thankfully my spiffy digital SLR is arriving in just two more weeks!

Dear Robin, 24 December 2007

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24 December 2007

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Dear Robin,

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I know you're having a bad day today. A really, really bad day. I know it's one of a long series of bad days, of self-doubt and recrimination and questioning. Days of wondering if there is in fact any light at the end of your tunnel or if it just keeps going on forever, never getting any brighter. I know you're afraid of the challenges Maya faces, the challenges that you face as her mother. Afraid for her. I know about the worries for her future, the fears. I know. I know that cold tentacle of fear that is slowly strangling you.

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I wish I had a way to reach back to you. To reassure you. To let you know that the road ahead is long, and I won't fool you, it's got its own twists and turns and it isn't an easy path, not for you and especially not for Maya, but that just a year later things will already look very different from how they appear today, with every sign that things will just keep getting better and better.

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Maya will spend the next year working her ass off. She will have speech therapy, and occupational therapy (that one is a story for another day), and weekly sessions with a developmental psychologist, and she will attend a special communications kindergarten where she will be in a class of just eleven children and where she will also receive twice weekly speech therapy (in addition to the weekly afternoon session she already has), occupational therapy, and art therapy. She will learn songs from the music teacher and sports from the gym teacher. She'll have a wonderful classroom teacher and aide. All of these people, and you and Jay, will help her break free from her shell and struggle, hard, to become the Maya still hidden deep inside right now.

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This is Maya today, just 14.5 months later, mugging for the camera as she bakes chocolate chip cookies with her dad. She's quite a ham your Maya. She loves to perform - she sings, she dances, she poses for endless photos. Heck, she begs to have her picture taken. She was moved to the very front row for her recital because she did her routine so beautifully. She goes skipping off to visit the neighbors when she wants a little treat (yes, the neighbor is still giving your children way too much chocolate, but at least she's learned to make them ask you if it's okay first, and you know she does it out of love), she makes up games and plays pretend, she loves princesses and fairies. She befriends other children in the playground and goes off to have adventures with them, yesterday she was even leading them on a hunt for an imaginary treasure box buried in the sand. This from the girl the experts just told you might never achieve symbolic play or be interested in other children.

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She comes home from school each day with stories of what she's done, actual real stories. She even tattles on other children who've misbehaved and has learned to tell children who are bothering her "you don't bug me - I'm not paying any attention to you!" and then to get up and walk away. She draws pictures and makes cards for her friends, which she writes herself (with a grownup helping with the spelling). She talks, and she listens. And if she wants something she can't have she's (eventually, she's still five after all) willing to bend or negotiate to reach a compromise.
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She's extraordinary your Miss Mouse. It's been only a year, but in all honesty if she didn't still look like the same golden imp she was before you wouldn't recognize her. She's incredible. She glows. She's comfortable in her own skin now, and happy, and it shows. She's completely changed, it's like she's a different child. It's like she's the child she was meant to be, the one that was hidden inside all this time looking for a way out. The child who spent Independence Day cowering in a corner didn't even flinch at all the firecrackers that kept going off outside in the runup to Purim, though she did say that she preferred the pretty colors of fireworks to the empty noise of firecrackers. Specifically she prefers the gold colored fireworks.

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Some things still won't come as easily to her as they would to another child, some other things may never come easily, but she is learning and growing and changing each day.

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And look closely - she's even wearing a blue shirt, one that she picked out herself (because yes, I actually dared take her shopping - at a crowded outdoor night market!). The girl who wore pink every single day for nearly two years is wearing a blue shirt today.

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Hang in there Robin. It's going to be a long, hard ride, and it isn't over yet, but the view out my window is glorious.
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Love,
Robin, March 2009
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I haven't scribbled for months, but this one finally woke up my long dormant writing muse. Who knows, perhaps she'll stick around for a while. I hope so, she's been missed.
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For a completely different take on this prompt, here is the post I did back in August 2007 for the Sunday Scribblings prompt "Dear Diary".
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