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The Sweet Rewards of Rituals
By Sharon Duke Estroff
The change was subtle but undeniable. Carrots cut
lengthwise rather than sliced; some scattered sprigs
of rosemary. Any other day of the year, such a
discrete rift in recipe might have gone unnoticed.
But this was not any other day of the year - this
was Rosh Hashanah.
"What's up with the brisket, Grandma?" my preteen
son asked, echoing my suspicions that Bubbe's famous
brisket - the eternal pillar of my family's High
Holiday feasts - had undergone an unprecedented
facelift.
"I thought I'd try something a little different this
year," answered my mother (who had recently been
possessed by Rachael Ray of the Food Network).
"But I like the old brisket," said my younger son.
"Me, too!" agreed my daughter.
"Oh, no. Not the brisket!" added the eldest of my
grumbling foursome.
"Shh, I'm sure it's delicious," I said, trying to
mask my own disappointment in the demise of the dish
of honor.
In the predictable presence of bubbe's brisket, my
children found steady ground
Don't get me wrong. It's not that my kids and I
didn't appreciate the wonderful meal my mother had
prepared. (We did.) And it's not that the updated
version of Bubbe's famous recipe wasn't a legitimate
improvement over the original. (It was.) It's just
that it didn't matter whether Rachael Ray herself
had prepared that brisket - it wasn't about taste at
all.
In fact, prior to that particular evening, my
children had scarcely given our traditional Rosh
Hashanah brisket a second thought. It was not until
it went MIA - and was suddenly replaced with a
swankier roast - that my kids came to appreciate its
significance in their lives.
You may be wondering how I could suggest that a
brisket could have a such significant impact on
someone's life?
But it wasn't just any old brisket; it was Bubbe's
famous brisket. The same unwavering recipe that had
accompanied my family's Jewish New Year for as long
as my children could remember - for as long as I
could remember. In the predictable presence of
Bubbe's brisket on our Rosh Hashanah table, my
children found steady ground; a sturdy link between
their past, present and future; and a safety net
woven out of knowing where they have been and where
they are going.
And I'm not being melodramatic. Oodles of experts
believe that it is in the simple repetitions of life
- not in the grand black-tie affairs - that our
children find the stability and continuity they need
to thrive in an unpredictable world. That it is
ritual and tradition - not kiddie stress management
seminars or pintsized yoga classes - that builds a
vital sense of emotional security in our kids.
Of course, if you asked Tevyeh the Milkman of
Fiddler on the Roof fame, the power of tradition is
not breaking news. Yet, in our rocket-paced,
technology-based, achievement-driven, media-ridden
society, the presence of family rituals in our
children's lives may be more integral to their
emotional well-being than ever before.
This article helps us to understand the meaning of
our traditions. At this time of the year the Jewish
religion is steeped in tradition and rituals that
many of us do not completely understand. This is our
opportunity to establish traditions that our
children will carry on. This heritage of family
traditions is as much a part of Jewish life as the
liturgy. Think back do you remember family
traditions that you really enjoyed? Revise them if
they have been lost or establish them if need be.
Just as we reread the Torah over and over again the
only way to learn something well is to do it over
and over again.
L’Shanah tova,
May you and yours be inscribed
for a year of health and happiness.
October Calendar
Our
October calendar this year reflects the many
holidays that are during the week. Yom Kippur the
Day of Atonement falls on a Thursday, October 9th.
Sukkot the harvest holiday where we build a Sukkah
is on Tuesday, October 14th. Simchat
Torah is Tuesday, October 21st, that day
we celebrate ending the reading of the Torah to be
begin again. We will close on these days to allow
the holidays to be observed. Each of these will be
only a one day closing except for Yom Kippur where
also closed early the day before to allow for
preparation for the holiday. On Wednesday, October 8th
there will be no afternoon program and we will close
at 12:45..
There is still one more closing day on Friday,
October 17th. MEA gives the teachers the
opportunity to acquire the developmental hours they
need. The classes are the 16th and 17th
but we will just close one day because so many
Tuesdays and Thursdays have already been missed. By
closing Friday it helps to balance the number of
days in the Monday, Wednesday, and Friday groups.
Then we are set with a regular program until
Thanksgiving.
Sukkot
Sukkot is a festival. We are
celebrating the blessings of the harvest and the
other goods things that
God
has bestowed upon us. When we celebrate we always
like friends and family to join us. It is a mitzvah
to eat in the Sukkah. We try to have each class
have a snack or lunch in the Sukkah. Weather will
be the determining factor. On Wednesday, October 15th
the Rabbis will lead us on a visit to the Sukkah.
Parents please join us for this event. We will walk
to the Sukkah where we will learn about the lulav
and etrog. The children will bring a decoration
they have made to hang in the Sukkah. We will do
this at
9:30 am,
so please come.
Dates to Remember
October
1 Happy Birthday Paige T.
8 Erev
of Yom Kippur (close at 12:45) no afternoon program
9 Yom
Kippur (closed all day) no classes
10 Happy
Birthday Ava
10 Tot
Shabbat 6:30 pm
14
Sukkot (closed all day)
no classes
15
Sukkah visit 9:30 am
please join us
21
Simchat Torah (closed all day)
24 Happy
Birthday Isaiah
28 Happy Birthday Sonja |
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