January 6, 2017 – Sarasota, FL Sharing buttery raisin Publix challah, Ravens Wood Cabernet Sauvignon (2012) and Trader Joe’s Russian River Valley Pinot Noir (2014) red wine, Israeli decorative Shabbat candles, and a delicious homemade meal with the salad from our garden on a clothed table with colorful bright Shabbat iconic dishes, and fresh backyard […]
Read MoreDay: January 8, 2017
Shabbat Playlist #26 – 2016 Out…
December 30, 2016 – Sarasota, FL The last Shabbat of 2016 marks the halfway mark of Shabbat Playlist blogging. It is merely a means to document memories as moments can be so fleeting and overshadowed by the mundane. Our Shabbat pause commenced with some good cooking together with Erin, Gabe (Erin’s boyfriend), and Sal (a […]
Read MoreShabbat Playlist #25 – We slept through it.
December 23, 2016 Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz….
Read MoreShabbat Playlist #24 – Weinberger Style
December 16, 2016 – Sarasota, FL The good news for the Weinberger family about following the commandment that states “observe the sabbath” is that it doesn’t come with too many guidelines. While the obvious props set the stage for the entrance of the weekly pause, the adventures of the observance vary in great detail from […]
Read MoreShabbat Playlist #23 – Awkward Conversations
December 9, 2016 – Sarasota, FL Jews are definitely divided regarding Israel and the recent American election. It seems that most of the congregants at our Temple did not vote for DT, but those who did stand out in the crowd and press those of us who did not. Point in case…Steve, my husband, engaged […]
Read MoreShabbat Playlist #22 – Shabbat Surprises
December 2, 2016 – Sarasota, FL When our son, Jake, was an impressionable adolescent, we hired a mentor, Eli Weiss, for him. Eli was not the perfect young teenager. He was mischievous, edgy, competitive, and not exactly compliant. When thinking about mentors, this should not be the guy you hire, but he was exactly the […]
Read MoreShabbat Playlist #21 – Back to Temple
November 25, 2016 – Sarasota, FL The holiday of Thanksgiving is so confusing to me because the story we learn in school represents a kind of peace type treaty between Pilgrims and Indians. If you dive into the authentic history of Thanksgiving, you will be quite disappointed by the story as it becomes a bloody […]
Read MoreShabbat Playlist #20 – Guys & Dolls
November 18, 2016 – Sarasota, FL “Remember[ing] the Sabbath day,” the fourth commandment if you are Jewish as there are 613 to try to accomplish over a lifetime – a very lofty endeavor, can have many interpretations. As Temple Emanu-El members on this Sabbath eve, it can mean celebrating Shabbat Alive – “an exhilarating musical […]
Read MoreShabbat Playlist #19 – Unsettled
November 11, 2016 – Sarasota, FL Like every year, Veteran’s Day falls on November 11, but this year was very different as the 2016 presidential election had just concluded on the eve of November 8, the remembrance of Kristallnacht, i.e., the official commencement of the Holocaust, in Germany in 1938. Steve and I, like many […]
Read MoreShabbat Playlist #18 – From the End to the Beginning and Back Again
November 4, 2016 A favorite service to attend at Temple Emanuel is Simchat Torah – the time we finish reading the last story in Deuteronomy and commence the first story in Genesis. Whether one believes in G-d or not, the celebration is joyous. We document it by rolling out the Torah from end to end […]
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