Shabbat HaGadol=Kos G'dolah?

Shabbat HaGadol is this week, the last Shabbat before the holiday of Pesach. I turned to the Haftarah of Shabbat Hagadol to see if the reading from the prophets could help to inspire me. I noticed that the prophet of Elijah is mentioned at the end of the haftarah. He slips in just at the end, encouraging people to change their ways for the better, just like many other prophets.

After the Jewish people are described as people who have forgotten the ways of the Torah, Elijah is mentioned:

" Lo, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before the coming of the awesome, fearful day of the Lord. ²⁴ He shall reconcile parents with children and children with their parents, so that, when I come, I do not strike the whole land with utter destruction.

Lo, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before
the coming of the awesome, fearful day of the Lord."

I think that it is fitting to be thinking about Elijah as the holiday of Pesach is coming because we are all supposed to welcome Elijah into our homes during THE night of the seder (note: I said the night, as in one night of the seder, GO ISRAEL where they only have one seder. Totally the only one needed..). Elijah has always been a mysterious prophet and one with a bit of a gentle side to him. I think that maybe because of this gentle side, in this haftarah, Elijah is comforting and dealing with parents and children. For me, this brings up a memory of sederim in my childhood when we would open the door for Elijah to come. Then, we would all watch Elijah's cup to see if the wine would go down.

I think that this custom is a wonderful one because it encourages us all to open our doors, not only to Elijah at the end of the seder, but also to those who need a place to eat and drink, like at the beginning of the seder. So, please take a message from Elijah to change and to keep your door a little more open to those who need it.

For this week's cocktail, I propose a drink that is kosher-for-Pesach-friendly, just in case you finished off your hametz-alcoholic beverages! It is also reminiscent of Elijah's cup:

Wine-Sangria-Spritzer:

-for very tasty results, prepare the drink at least 4 hours before serving

-pour one bottle of wine into a pitcher (preferably red, but white works too)

(to support my brother Josh's favourite area of Israel: try to buy wine from the Negev region, but other wine works too)

-slice half of an orange and half of an apple and put the slices in the pitcher

-add about 1 cup or more of lemon-lime flavoured seltzer right before serving

AJWS Global Hunger Shabbat

This Shabbat, we are starting a whole new book, Vayikra. We are also starting to see a change in the seasons. Here in New York, from winter to spring. From what I hear from my friends and family in Israel, from winter to summer! :) This past week (actually yesterday), we moved on to a new month, Nissan. There a lot of changes that are happening, and more which are about to be happen, including a certain upcoming holiday, which will present a challenge to certain bloggers....

During this time of natural transitions, it is also a time to think about how we can help to bring about positive change for others. AJWS has organized a Global Hunger Solidarity Shabbat this coming Shabbat, which you can check out on their website.

One of their suggestions for how to commemorate global hunger shabbat is to consider having an empty plate at your Shabbat table to symbolize the empty tables around the world. I would encourage those of you who would like to embrace this custom to consider also featuring an empty glass. This custom would also work if you do not want to buy more ingredients that are not kosher for Pesach....

I read a number of personal stories mentioned on their website, including this one about Amy Diop:

http://ajws.org/hunger/ghs/global-hunger-shabbat_solidarityplate-readings.pdf

Amy Diop, a participant in GREEN Senegal’s farming program, says:

“I was born in this village and have a responsibility to contribute to its development by bringing in income and helping to break the exodus of the young people to the cities. GREEN Senegal has helped me to get some money through the sale of my products. I can now give my family at least three different foods a day.”

We stand in solidarity with communities experiencing hunger in Colombia The Sinu River in Northern Colombia has supported the lives of indigenous peoples for generations. But the construction of a huge megaproject—the Urra Dam—shattered this fragile ecosystem. The dam was built in 2000 by a consortium of foreign companies and supported by wealthy landowners. The project flooded over 7,400 hectares of indigenous-occupied land, engulfing crops, homes and sacred sites, and displacing over 2,800 people. The impact was devastating. The

local fish population, unable to swim up river to spawn, died out, eliminating the primary source of local protein. Severe flooding and drought caused by the river’s new course impeded traditional farming methods. As a result, tens of thousands of people were at risk of starvation.

In honour of this inspiring story of the work that is being done in Colombia, I thought that the Colombia cocktail would be appropriate to drink this week, unless you are going to take on the empty glass custom. This drink is supposed to resemble the Colombian flag, so try to prepare the drink according to the directions.

Ingredients:

• 2 parts vodka
• 1 part blue Curaçao
• 1 part grenadine
• 1 part lemon juice
• 6 parts orange juice

Preparation:

Shake the vodka and citrus juices in a mixer, then strain into the glass. Slide the grenadine down one side of the glass, where it will sink to the bottom. Slide the curacao down the other side, to lie between the vodka and grenadine, and serve before the layers have a chance to mix.

Vayakhel-Pekudei, Shabbat HaChodesh

There are a lot of choices this week of what to discuss: double-parsha and Shabbat HaChodesh. This week, I decided to go with Parsha Pekudei. In the parsha, the building of the mishkan, the temporary and portable Temple, is further discussed. I am not such a mishkan person, as many of you already know. However, when I was reading my great-uncle Avi's book, I was reminded of the fact that there was a cloud that hovered over the mishkan.

Rabbi Avraham Kelman continues to explain: "The parasha concludes, 'the cloud was on the Mishkan'/'le'einei kol beis Yisrael', before the eyes of all the house of Israel throughout their journeys. The Shechina (Divine Presence) hovered over the Mishkan for the sake of the house of Israel."

I like the idea of a cloud hovering over the mishkan and the people of Israel. This creates a comforting image that there is a presence watching and protecting them as they travel in their journey to eretz yisrael.

So, on this cloudy and rainy day in New York, I would like to propose an idea: may we all strive to be each other's clouds and may we all find the clouds in our lives which protect us and bring us comfort.

As a start: here is a good, cloudy drink:

A Vodka 7:

2	oz.	Vodka
1/2		Lime (juice of it)
		Lemon-lime soda
		Lime wedge -first, place the martini glass in the freezer for about 2-5 minutes -pour in the vodka and then the lime juice, and then the lemon-lime seltzer -stir all together to make it cloudy looking -add a lime wedge to the glass

Welcome to Parsha with a Twist!

Welcome to Parsha with a Twist!

I know that probably many of you are already "blogged-out" and have too many blogs to keep track of. I know that probably many of you are already "parsha hashavua-ed out" because you are on WAY too many e-mail listserves which send you an e-mail with a dvar torah every week. However, I have something different to offer, which I am honoured to share with you: a weekly Parsha HaShavua, but with a twist. The twist shall be a cocktail drink or party favour that relates to the Parsha Hashavua.

You may ask yourselves: what do cocktail drinks have to do with the weekly parsha?? Well, I will find a part of the parsha that I find speaks to me and inspires me to drink a certain drink.

Those of you who feel inspired by this idea and would also like to partake in this challenge for yourselves, are welcome to apply to be a guest writer on this blog. Also, those of you who live in the Manhattan area (or wherever I am that Shabbat or holiday) who would like to partake in the tasting of these cocktail drinks, are obviously welcome to do so.

Get inspired, keep reading, and get the martini glass frosted and ready to go!