Purim Postscript

We make fairly simple mishloach manot. And, though in theory I do limit everyone to 2-3 friends, in practice we still end up with around 20 deliveries.

Here is what I learned from this year:

A. Buy supplies the week after Tu B'Shvat, including:

1. paper plates (to make hamentaschen mishloach manot)
2. funky candies (so that the kids are giving something they would like to get)
3. popcorn kernels ('cause everyone loves popcorn and it's a great filler)
4. fruit (to pretend that we are giving something healthy)
5. plastic bags & ribbon (if necessary -- these are supplies we usually have on hand)

B. Decorate the plates and staple them into the hamentaschen shape on Ta'anit Esther (the day before Purim, two days before Shusan Purim).

C. On Ta'anit Esther, make a list of to whom we want to deliver mishloach manot and figure out the delivery route.

D. Either print out or have kids make cards saying "Purim Sameach from _______" on Ta'anit Esther. NOTE: DO NOT pre-address the mishloach manot! Since all the mishloach manot are the same, it just makes it complicated to keep track of which mishloach manot goes to whom.

E. Make popcorn, and bag, it on Ta'nit Esther or, latest, on Purim.

F. Prepare the mishloach manot on Purim. (prepare at least 5-10 extras)

G. When possible, do tag-team deliveries. This year, we dropped off each kid at a different house, then picked them up in reverse order on the way back. This method only works when you have several deliveries in close proximaty, and have to return from the same direction as you came. Still, it definitely saves some time.


Every year, I think how cool it would be to give something thematic or practical. I would love to be put together enough to distribute fresh salad and mini-lasagnas.

Who knows, perhaps if I manage to follow these guidelines, and prepare in advance, I will substitute healthy, nutricious ingredients on my pre-Purim shopping list. Though I suspect that my kids will still want to deliver "fun" (read: unhealthy) mishloach manot to their friends. After all, as I noted above, they only want to give what they would be happy to get!



Please daven (or send happy, healing thoughts) for RivkA bat Teirtzel.

With love and optimism,
RivkA

Purim -- The Final Chapter

I have a post that comes before this one chronologically. However, since it is primarily about my daughter, I want to get her approval before posting.

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After Megillah reading at my daughter's school, we raced home to prepare mishloach manot (food baskets that are delivered to friends).

In past years, we did a lot of the prep work the day before (on Purim day, as opposed to on Shushan Purim). This year, on Purim day, I took one of my kids to a specialist (everything is fine -- it was just an opporunity to make the appointment without the kid needing to miss school).

So we were even less organized than normal, which is quite a feat, since we are not that organized to begin with!

I was anxious to get everything ready, because we were on a tight schedule. Moshe noted that I seemed a little stressed and suggested that I try to relax a bit more. As if on cue, my eldest daughter announced "Ima, it is so much fun preparing mishloach manot with you!!" (sometimes, if you are very lucky, your kids say exactly the right thing, when you need to hear it the most!!)

Friends started knocking on our door before we were ready! Had we had our mishloach manot ready, we could have given them on the spot, saving ourselves a few stops when we finally went out to deliver....

We were under pressure, because we were invited to a brit (brit milah -- ceremony welcoming a newborn Jewish boy into the Jewish community), and we really wanted to arrive on time.

We had only delivered about a third of our mishloach manot when I had to inform the kids that we would not have time to deliver all of the mishloach manot we had prepared.

At that point, my youngest piped up, challenging, "Whose brit is this anyway?" Clearly, attending the brit of someone she did not know did not interest her.

I tentatively offered the children another option. "Would you like to deliver more mishloach manot by foot and then join IS and her family for Purim Seudah?" (the festive Purim meal)

As one, the children vehemently responded, "Yes!"

When I had discussed this option with IS, she was certain that the children would rather be with us. I was not nearly as sure. Perhaps my instincts were correct, or perhaps it was just that important for my kids to deliver their mishloach manot. Either way, they were happy to walk around together and to have their seudah with their friends.

Even with the greatest of intentions, they could not deliver all the mishloach manot. So, later, when we picked them up, we delivered most of the remaining mishloach manot. (better late, than never...)

We still have a few that never made it to their destination. That happens to us almost every year.... *sigh* One year, I will be more organized!! (b'li neder!!)

Maybe tomorrow I will post this year's maskanot (the lessons I learned).

In any case, at the end of the day, we all had a wonderful Purim.

As they say in the Holy Language:

!היה טוב, וטוב שהיה

Haya tov, v'tov she'haya! (literally: "it was good, and it is good that it was," meaning: it was good while it lasted, but I am glad it is over!!)



Please daven (or send happy, healing thoughts) for RivkA bat Teirtzel.

With love and optimism,
RivkA

Purim -- Megillah Reading -- Part III

Each year, I get a little smarter.

I stayed home on Purim night, and went to bed at a reasonable hour, so I woke up well on Purim morning.

On Purim morning, not only do I have to arrive on time for Megillah reading, but I also have to help everyone with their costumes. This year, I had it pretty easy. I just had to make up A's face (white face, contrasted with very RED lips).

Y, my daughter, also wanted me to check her reading, as she practiced one last time. She read well. We were ready to go.

We arrived, right on time, at my daughter's school. There was even parking! (YAY!)

My daughter was reading the second half of tet (the ninth chapter), which is all the way at the end. It did not occur to me that this would give my daughter ample time to develop stage fright.

Of course, she had chosen to sit with her friends (instead of her boring old mother...), so I had no clue. (Actually, she was sitting with her madrichot (youth group counselors) who came to hear her read, and she was being a gracious hostess)

The other girls read well; one or two read particularly well. I was confident that Y would read at least as well.

I did not realize just how nervous she was until she started reading.

My daughter, who read so loudly and clearly at her Bat Mitzvah, read soooooo q-u-i-e-t-l-y. I was worried that people would not hear her. Thankfully, though the auditorium was packed, everyone could hear every word.

Y read her reading flawlessly. All the repetitions and the work at home paid off.

I was so proud of her!!

As soon as the reading was over, I told her what a good job she did!! She smiled so sweetly.

Then I mentioned that she did not read as loudly as she had when she practiced at home and I wondered if she was nervous.

She looked at me, her eyes wide and serious. "I was shaking!" she admitted.

Probably, nobody else could tell. But I knew how wonderfully she was capable of projecting her voice. I had heard her practicing.

Y justified her nervousness, quite matter-of-factly, as she explained that she spent almost a full year learning for her Bat Mitzvah parsha (portion) and only one week learning her Megillah reading.

I missed the opportunity to emphasize that she might have started preparing in earnest a little bit earlier. But I did not want to be too critical. Even if she had started preparing earlier, she only had about two and a half week's notice, and she had never even learned Megillah trope (cantillations). I wanted her to feel good about what she accomplished.

She really did an amazing job!

Later, one of my friends told me that Y's voice was sounded trained. My friend, who does not know my daughter well, said that when she heard the beautiful voice, she looked up and, only then, recognized my daughter.

Years ago, Y's choir teacher told me that Y has a very beautiful and distinctive voice.

I do not know much about voices, but I love listening to her sing.

I am so happy that she is using her voice for the good of her community.

I might just have to go hear her again next year....




Please daven (or send happy, healing thoughts) for RivkA bat Teirtzel.

With love and optimism,
RivkA

Purim -- Megillah Reading

Women! Come one, come all!!

I am hosting a women's Megillah reading at my home on Tuesday night. (We live in Jerusalem, so we celebrate Purim on Shushan Purim, one day later.)

This is the third year that I am organizing a women's reading in my neighborhood, Homat Shmuel, but the FIRST year that I am hosting it in my home.

My home is not neat and orderly (to put it mildly), so I was embarrassed to host. But the woman, who hosted in the past, can't host this year. And, since this is really my baby, I decided that it really made the most sense to host it in my home.

So, with the help of a friend, we placed an announcement in Al Homotaich, a local weekly magazine.

In shul (synagogue), this past Shabbat, I invited everyone I thought might be interested! Many had already seen the invitation in Al Homotaich. I hope I created enough of a buzz....

We have the privilege, for the third year in a row, to have my friend, TS, read for us. She is an amazing reader, exacting in both nikud (pronunciation) and ta'amei hamikra (cantillations), and she also does voices! How fun is that?!


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Originally, as some of the long-term blog readers know, I wanted to organize an additional morning reading. I would have broken up the reading by chapters and I would have read a chapter as well.

Just as I was starting to plan the morning reading, my eldest daughter announced that she was reading half of tet (the 9th chapter) in her school on Purim morning!

"But you don't know how to read Megillah!" I responded, confused as to how she could volunteer for something she does not know how to do.

My daughter smiled sweetly at me and asked "Can you teach me?"

In two weeks?!?

How could I say 'no'?

She already knows how to read Torah, and she is quite musical, so it was just a matter of helping her learn a new melody.

With more than a little help from TS, my daughter is ready to read on Purim morning.

I am so proud.

At first, I deliberated about what to do on Purim morning. It did not help that my daughter kept telling me that I did not have to come to her reading.

"I know I do not have to come," I reassured her, "but don't you want me to come?"

To my chagrin, my daughter was perfectly fine with me doing my own thing at home.

But I really could not imagine missing the first time she reads Megillah.

So, despite her cavalier attitude, I decided that this year I am going to hear her read Megillah at her school.

Hopefully, next year, I will organize a morning reading in my home.

Though, who knows what surprises might wait around the corner....

PURIM SAMEACH!!



Please daven (or send happy, healing thoughts) for RivkA bat Teirtzel.

With love and optimism,
RivkA

Chemo Day -- Sunday is Tuesday

This week, Sunday was Tuesday.

(Remember the classic Carvel ice cream commercial: Wednesday is Sunday?)

So, why the switch to chemo on Sunday?

Friends of ours, JS & MM, just had a baby boy. The brit was Tuesday and I didn't want to miss it! (Their daughter, H, is one of my swimming students, JS is in my book club, and I've known MM pretty much since I made Aliyah, and JS since she did)

At first, my doctor didn't want me to move chemo to Sunday. He was worried about my blood counts and suggested that I move my chemo-day to Thursday. But if I moved chemo to Thursday then I would be a zombie on Purim, which would be a total bummer! (I planned to dress up as something much more fun!)

I haven't had a problem with blood counts yet, so I asked my doctor to let me try for Sunday. He agreed. YAY!

What a gift!!!

Not only were my blood counts fine, but there were added advantages that I hadn't even realized.

True, I was REALLY TIRED on Monday. I had to really push myself to teach swimming. Thank God, the lessons were great! So I felt better after than before! I came home, had dinner with my family, and even managed to go out to a community event for women. (Then I came home and collapsed! No wonder I didn't post that night...)

I was REALLY TIRED on Tuesday too. After the brit, I came home and collapsed! I slept for FOUR hours solid! I pulled myself out of my slumber to take care of my kids for a few hours. Then I fell back asleep. I woke again, had dinner with my kids, then headed off to bed. STOP! GO BACK! Can't go to bed before helping the kids put together Mishloah Manot (typically, gift baskets filled with candy and junk-food) for school -- Everyone brings one, then they draw lots and give away Mishloach Manot to one kid and get Mishloach Manot from another. Y was still putting the finishing touches on her Mishloah Manot, when I had to go lie down. As soon as I gave my kids what they needed, I fell into bed. I was already drifting off to sleep when, one by one, the kids came in to check that I would be available to help in the morning. Every year, I wake up early to help the kids get in their costumes. When Y came in, she asked for the Purim make-up, so that she could do the make-up for herself and her sister. What an angel!! I made sure that she knew it was OK to wake me if they need me.

They didn't. But I woke up anyway and got to see everyone in all their glory. A was an angel, all dressed in white, with wings and a crown of white and silver. MD was an alien Shabak (secret service) agent. Y also got dressed up this year. She chose to be Jasmine (from Disney's Aladdin movie), dressed in turquoise, replete with satiny turquoise harem pants and headband. (and a much more modest top). They all looked great! I got to take pictures of A, but then Moshe herded the kids out. They had to go right away, or they would get stuck in the Homat Shmuel morning back-up (the only time of the day that there is traffic getting out of the neighborhood). So I wasn't able to get pictures of Y & MD. I'll get them on Purim!

I was still tired on Wednesday (today), but not as tired as before. I looked forward to a short, early-afternoon nap to boost my energy, but I lost the nap, due to a mix-up that was really a carry-over from the night before. The kids had told me that school was finishing early today, but I was so tired that the information didn't register. Well, I spent my nap-time trying to make sure that everyone got home all right. They did, but it took about an hour to work out all the kinks. Oh well.

Parental Pride Moment: Y was acutely aware that I was missing my nap trying to arrange for her to get home and still spend the afternoon with her friend. She thanked me for all my efforts and for giving up my nap for her. Wow! Who needs a nap when you have kids like that?!

Anyway, the bottom line is that even though I was so tired all week, I will have energy for Purim!!

What a bonus!!

I really love Purim! (I know, I say that about every holiday, but it's true!!)

I love getting dressed up! I love seeing everyone's costumes! (especially the clever, self-made ones) And I love the festive spirit that pervades EVERYWHERE!! There are costumed kids walking along the streets, riding the buses, and playing in the parks! There are costumed grown-ups working at their jobs and walking along the streets! There is so much candy that I just give up and let my kids bounce off the walls! This is the quintessential kids' holiday! And I love it!! (OK, I admit it. I'm just a kid walking around in a grown-up body. See, I'm in costume every day and no one knows it!)

Anyway, if it weren't for the brit, and my desire not to miss out on a simcha, I wouldn't have moved chemo, and I would be tired for all of Purim.

Now, since I had chemo on Sunday, I should be OK by Thursday night and fine for Shabbat and Sunday.

For all you non-Jerusalemites: this year Shushan Purim falls on Shabbat which creates this funky concept called "Purim Meshulash" which spreads the Purim celebrations out for THREE days! Add to this that Israelis start celebrating Purim two days early, and we end up celebrating Purim for almost a week! Yet another good reason to move to Israel!

This Purim, for the second year running, I am organizing a women's Megillah reading in Homat Shmuel. I had hoped to read also, but I am still hoarse, so I don't think I'm going to be reading this year. (This will be the first or second time that I haven't read in 20years! I can't remember now if I managed to read the year I got cancer.) It's a real bummer to have this sore throat thing. Anyway, even though it's good for women from my neighborhood to see someone "local" reading, we are so lucky to have my friend TS read -- she is really an awesome ba'alat korei (reader), very exacting in both nikud (punctuation) and trop (musical notations) and she does voices as well. It doesn't get better than that!

Purim Sameach!!!


Please daven (or send happy, healing thoughts) for RivkA bat Teirtzel.

With love and optimism,
RivkA