Pesach query

I find that I get a lot of random Jewish questions over Facebook, of all places, mostly from people I haven't seen in years but who know that I'm a rabbi.  So I figure I'd share the most recent one, purely   in case anyone else was interested.  It's from a college acquaintance.

Q:

"I just read on Wikipedia that Jewish scholars concede that Exodus probably never happened, not even as the basic history without the supernatural elements. Would say this is true of rabbis as you know them?"

A:

"Hi X,
I think it's a toss-up among Reform rabbis, and a definite no among Conservative and Orthodox. I personally would agree - I think the structure of Exodus was created by authors looking to build tribal identity among a disparate people. By forming a common source story it helped unite them. The interesting part though is when you get into defining holiness - for many if not most Reform Jews I'd say, the historical truth of the Bible doesn't matter as much as the symbolic truth. So we/I can admit it never happened, but that doesn't take away from how the text has contributed to the identity formation of the Jewish people down the centuries."

At long last... seder

We had a small, intimate crowd of six adults and four kids.  Seder was picnic-style on the floor.  Here mom tells the story of the exodus from Egypt.

Enthralled in the retelling.

Ari truly getting into the spirit of things: reclining on his cat bed pillow and eating carrot hors d'oeuvres!

Me explaining.... something.

Jonathan helps Xander make his matzah pizza dinner. 

The next day, a happy Bubby and her grandkids.

Our newest toy addition

Jonathan and I thought long and hard over what to get Ari for his birthday.  We wanted something that he could play with alongside his brother, that wouldn't inspire jealousy, that would be different than anything we already owned, and that wouldn't make noise.  And we found it!  Behold the SANDBOX.

Xander jumps right in while Ari is a little wary.

The moment that Ari decides to go for it.

Helping each other build.

Close-up of their creation.  Construction vehicles ahoy!

Adding just a pinch more sand.

So that you can truly appreciate the scale of their endeavor. :)

Ari turned 2! And we celebrated like mad.

Party prep: decorating the play structure while Jonathan cleans in the background.

Showing off his final creation.

Rousing game of duck-duck goose.

I think the adults ran more than the kids!

Enjoying the kiddos.

Smiles.

Joys of the ball tunnel.

Cars cake for our Cars-obsessed boy!

I made this picture my new Facebook profile.  The best response was from my friend Krista from Home Birth Circle: "On behalf of all your Cincinnati friends shivering under our March snowstorm, I glare at you in your sunny backyard party. ;) "

Driving the day away.

Giving away balloons at the very end.

Auntie Lois brought her new puppy Abby, the sweetest little dog ever.  Here she and Simcha explore each other and say hi.  

After everybody left and the kids woke up from nap, Jonathan and I gave Ari his present.  Here I am standing outside, waiting to open the door for the big reveal.  Xander is inside, with his image reflected on the glass door.  He's so excited to go out he's jumping up and down.  What is this wondrous gift?  You shall have to WAIT until tomorrow's blog post!

Reason #45627492 I love the kids' school

This card came in the mail a week or so before Ari's birthday:

Book reviews

I highly recommend My Father's Gardens, by Karen Levy.  I picked it up originally because the author is from around here and is coming to temple to talk about it in a few weeks, but I soon forgot why I was reading it, and just gobbled up every page.  It's a memoir of the author's transitory life.  Her parents constantly moved back and forth from Israel to CA, often spending one year or two or three in one country, then moving back.  It's a tale of belonging, of language, of deciding who to be and where.  I obviously related a little bit, but would have read even had I never been to Israel; it's beautifully evocative and makes the sounds, smells, and visual aspects of both Israel and CA come alive.  Plus, her family dynamics are fascinating.

The Good Dream, on the other hand, by Donna VanLiere was only okay.  The writing was nice but I think it was the plot itself that I couldn't swallow.  A woman in her 30s in 1950s Tennessee is considered an old maid and has to constantly defend herself against town criticism and trying to be set up.  Concurrently, a small boy is being horridly abused up in the hills.  Their paths cross when he steals food from her garden, and as she attempts to uncover his story and adopt him, long-held secrets in the town come to light.  I admit I probably don't like it that much because I don't fully understand what it was like to be in the pre-civil rights South.  But oy, one woman lets herself be abused for years and everyone knows it because she had to keep up appearances; another woman runs off with a certified rapist rather than tell her dad she got pregnant; the main character keeps defending all the idiots who try to undermine her, and with a few exceptions, the men are alcoholics and small-minded.  Was the South really this way?  Was any small town this way?  It makes me glad to live in 2013, let me tell you that much.

Not a book review, but a review nonetheless - Cars is incredible for kids my age, but I actually found Cars 2 disappointing for my boys.  Cars is a coming-of-age story, all about friendship and learning not to be selfish.  I hadn't realized that the sequel was put out five years after the first, and the filmmakers were going for the same kids, just grown up.  Hence the sequel is a kid James Bond movie, a spy film where there is a definite enemy and every character has to be avoid being killed by gunfire.  It was a good film, don't get me wrong - but for the 11 year old set, not the 4 year old set.  I was shocked that both were rated G, when one had no violence and the other was stuffed with it!  Doesn't make much sense to me.  But obviously I'm not the target audience.

Anyway, family, now you have something to read while I'm off to sort pictures!

What a week

The past week has seen:

- Mom visiting
- Ari's birthday party
- My sister's birthday
- Seder and matzah galore
- Accompanying Xander on his first field trip to an elderly folk's home
- Going to Lois and Mike's in the mountains
- The return of Simcha the cat, who has now left his outdoor cat status to lounge at home
- Me reading more books on my vacation

There are literally hundreds of pictures piled up of most of these events.  I'm sorting through them, albeit slowly.  Keep checking back for updates.