Path to Passover :: Doing it all

Today I pulled out my notebook of Passovers past. I've been sticking my to-do lists in this binder since about 2005. As I page through, I see my journey as I have learned how to get my home ready for Passover.

One of the things that I learned a few years ago not to go overboard. It stressed me out trying to spring clean my house. I finally found a teaching that said you don't have to clean the entire house, just the areas food generally goes. I breathed a huge sigh of relief after that. I don't have to clean the whole house, just mostly the kitchen. I can do that. I started small. Now, if it works for you to deep clean the entire house, go for it, I am amazed and awed by those who do.

But I cannot do it all. So I tackle some, and I do what I can do. As hard as I try, there is still a crumb somewhere. I'm pretty sure I won't ever be able to do a perfect job of cleaning. That is where grace steps in. And I'm really thankful for that!

Shabbat Thought :: Parasha Tazria

Each week in the Synagogue, a different portion of scripture is studied.  The Torah (Old Testament) is broken into portions which are read over the course of a year.  At the end of the year, it starts over again so the Bible is read annually. 

This week's Parasha is Tazria from Leviticus 12:1-13:59.

In a world without doctors, it seems the priests got to play the part in determining what was clean or unclean. As I read this Parasha, I keep noticing how yucky (yes. that's the technical term) it must have been those 5000 years ago. Blood to sacrifice, splattered everywhere, blood after childbirth, leprosy, disease, killing animals for dinner...the world then was full of lots of ick. Or perhaps our world now is just concerned about being clean.

I can get away without touching blood in the course of my daily life, and so can most of us, most days. But when you read this scripture, I think that it must have really been a bloody mess!

No matter how you look at it, the rules of Torah were, and pretty much are, a good thing. Caring about what was clean or unclean was likely a gift that God gave the Jewish people for their survival. In a world where disease was often attributed to evil spirits of one sort or another, this text seems to point to disease as something more along the lines of what we consider it to be in this day and age. 

Separating out contagious diseases, aside from protecting the people, allowed Yeshua to show His might. Why would someone touch a leper? Someone with the power of God would not need to worry, because God can overcome all and make all clean.

Also, sometimes verses just make me laugh. Leviticus 13:40-41, "Now if a man loses the hair of his head, he is bald; he is clean. If his head becomes bald at the front and sides, he is bald on the forehead; he is clean." The passage then talks about types of balding that are unclean. But for some reason, I found that bit funny!

Leviticus is full of lists of rules that are easy to skim through. I guess I can connect to this type of passage more than I thought I could. 

What are your Shabbat Thoughts?

Five Minute Friday :: Mighty

I'm joining Lisa-Jo Baker for her Five Minute Friday.  Her rules:

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking. 2. Link back here and invite others to join in. 3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community.

The word today is mighty. GO.

Word association activities come to mind today. Mighty Mouse. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. A Mighty Fortress is our God. God is Almighty.

Then I look at the word, "mighty" and think I just wrote that so many times that it looks wrong, but there's no squiggly red line underneath, so it must be fine. Might looks like it's part of mighty. It is. In one definition. Might, power, strength. With all her might, she held back tears as the boys in her classroom teased her. But then I might or might not. Now my love of words and their meanings comes to the surface. How is the word mighty related to the word might? How is a word that means strength and power connected to a word that means pretty much the opposite? 

And STOP.

Egads. My five minutes is up. I'm going to have to go look in my dictionary, because now I'm curious.

Ok. According to my Concise Oxford Dictionary of Engish Etymology (which I got in High School, and is falling apart), Might means, "quality of being able, power, strength....hence Mighty." It then refers us back to "may" as in "Mother may I? Yes you may." or "Might I have a bit of earth?"

Flipping to "may" reveals that, although the use is obsolete, the conjugation of "may" is indeed related to "mighty."  "may (past tense) might - be strong; be able; be allowed....The primary sense was 'have power'...hence maybe". 

When we say I might, then, we use the word that does indeed mean power. When you look at the history of the word, you essentially are saying that you have the power or ability to do something. "I might write a blog post" should be more certain that we intend that statement to be. Modern English has transformed a word that implies power into a word that implies weakness!

Fascinating.  What do you think?

Thanks for stopping by! I appreciate you reading, and I appreciate loving comments. Oh! And if you have a chance, will you swing by this week's Shabbat devotional?

Path to Passover :: Pantry Challenge

One of my favorite blogs is Life as Mom. She helps me understand ways to successfully manage a kitchen with many kids. She has more kids than I do! I love her pantry challenges. See how much you can eat out of  your pantry without buying much new foods. Every time she runs one, I think, "Wow, if only that challenge happened the month before Passover, now THAT would be something for my kitchen!"

So that's what I'm doing. This week for me, I start to think about what needs to be done to eliminate chametz (foods with leaven in them) from my kitchen. Sounds perfect for a pantry challenge.

The scripture says, "Seven days there shall be no leaven found in your houses; for whoever eats what is leavened, that person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is an alien or a native of the land. You shall not eat anything leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.’” (Ex. 12:19-20)

This week I'm going to go through my pantry and make plans for the bread, flour, grains, pasta, etc that's in there. I'll also clean out the freezer and fridge and use up things in there, too.

What's in your pantry?

Path to Passover :: Not Perfect

This is about the time of year where I'm simultaneously planning and freaking out. Keeping Passover isn't something I grew up with, so my traditions have been developed over the last 15 years or so. So I'm not an expert.

And there's lots of resources, recipes, and directions out there on how to get ready for Passover from people who know what they're talking about.

Despite this, Passover is probably my favorite Jewish holiday. The center of celebration is in the home. It's in the searching for leaven, and cleaning it out. The mundane becomes holy. Our daily chores become a work of sanctification. Spring cleaning becomes more than just spring cleaning. It becomes a spiritual discipline.

Having said that, my work is always far from perfect. The first thing I do, even before I make lists of things to clean is to modify my current routines. Once the spring hits, I start thinking of the things I can start to do to make things easier on myself when it gets to the final push. I'm working to keep things clean and not let it get too dirty. So that when I go to wipe down the counters the week of Passover, I don't have to scrape down the counters. I'll just wipe and go.

Oh, and my first favorite resource for how to get ready is here, Kosher on a Budget. Her lists and how-tos for getting ready for Passover helped me a ton last year!

Let's get ready for Passover!

Five Minute Friday :: Joy

I'm joining Lisa-Jo Baker for her Five Minute Friday.  Her rules:

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking. 2. Link back here and invite others to join in. 3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community.

The word today is joy. GO.

I sit in the pizza place listening to a daddy on a lunch date with his young daughter. She's maybe three or four by the way it sounds. What joy to hear the conversations a daddy can have with his little one.  I, on the other hand, have a lunchdate with myself. Isn't that a nice treat now and again?

I went to Woolesy Hall today with my fifth grader's band. They played on the stage with New Haven school music departments with T. S. Monk. What a joy it was to hear these children play in such an amazing music hall? I felt honor that that I could tag along as a chaperone!

I find it easy to discover joy in the little things, in the amazing acoustics in an old hall to the friendly service at the pizza place. I remember last time I was here, eating pizza with all my kids, keeping them quiet while they waited for their dinner. That was a different type of joy. This is the quiet , being alone among people type of joy I have today. And I appreciate both types.


And STOP.

Thanks for stopping by. I love these Five Minute Fridays, they give me a groove for my writing. Any suggestions on how to get a groove for writing?

Path to Passover: Take stock

I was excited when I looked at my calendar this morning, and up popped my Passover reminder that I wrote to myself as Passover ended last year. 

As soon as Purim ends, I like to start thinking about getting ready for Passover. In these weeks leading up to it, I'll be writing about some of the things I've done to get ready for the season.

What do you do to get ready for Passover? Please share in the comments!