The Christmas Season

So the dining hall at school played Christmas music non-stop for the last few weeks of the semester.

I get that we live in a Christian society, and I really don't mind.  Allow me the freedom to light my Hannukah candles in peace, and we're good to go.  But I remember repeating to a friend (I think it was a Jewish friend; I hope it wasn't a Christian friend), "If I hear 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer one more time, I'm going to punch something, preferably Rudolph."

You see, my problem wasn't with Christmas, or even Christmas music in public settings such as dining halls.  My problem was that for every three to four times I heard "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (and that's just that particular song!) I heard something like "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" maybe once.  Maybe.

Again, we live in a Christian society.  Christmas is about the birth of Jesus, and is a religious holiday.  In my opinion (and this is the opinion of someone who is thoroughly Jewish, so maybe it doesn't count for much), if you're going to play Christmas music, please, please play the religious songs that have  meaning and depth.

I am so over "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," but if you surprised me with "Hark the Herald Angels Sing," or something similar (sorry don't know all the carols), I could be happy.

Please play your religious songs.

Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year.

Dressing for the Sabbath

Dressing for the Sabbath (usually with some music that is Jewish, Hebrew, spiritual or some combination from those categories playing in the background) just might be my favorite moment of the week.  When I dress for the Sabbath, I dress to impress.  My aim is really to please God, but/and I do that by dressing my fanciest.  I wear:

• A fancy skirt.  My winter fancy skirts are a straight, long, black velour and a flared, caramel-colored suede.
• A fancy blouse.  My winter fancy blouses are a pink lacy tank top with matching shrug, a silky blue button-down patterned with birds' nests, and a plain purple top and purple cardigan with gold buttons.
• A ladies' tallit katan.
• Tights to match the top.
• Perfume.
• A big (think hat-size) kippah.  My three big kippot are a wine-colored embroidered velvet, a similarly colored silk embroidered with pink and blue flowers, and a purple and white embroidered with multi-colored birds and flowers.
• Jewelry.

This is my dress-to-impress master plan, so to speak, and I never tire of thinking up variations and combinations that I haven't used before, or not in a long time, and implementing them.  I can only hope that God appreciates my efforts.

Kristallnacht

Kristallnacht.

The Night of Broken Glass.

November 9th, 1938.

Considered by many to be the start of the Holocaust.

Kristallnacht was a pogrom carried out by the SA, SS, and related forces against the Jews of Germany and German-occupied lands 67 years ago.  For the first time, Jews were arrested just for being Jewish, and sent to concentration camps, where many died.  Others were released only after they promised to emigrate and transferred their property to Aryans.

And...that is all I have to say.  Just felt I should mark the day somehow.

And...DONE!

Well, I have officially finished my Hannukah gift to myself, my purple flowered tallit katan! Now we wait till Hannukah...Hannukah starts on a Sunday night this year.

And here is a picture, for all who are interested:

"OCD" and the Making of a Tallit Katan

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT ACTUALLY HAVE OCD.  I WOULD NEVER CLAIM TO HAVE A DISORDER WITH WHICH I WAS NOT ACTUALLY DIAGNOSED, HENCE THE QUOTATION MARKS IN THE TITLE.  MOVING RIGHT ALONG...

Yesterday I began tying the sacred fringes on my purple flowered tallit katan.  Very quickly, a problem occurred: I thought I had tied an invalid knot! I laid the project aside and checked with my father today.  Turns out any double knot is valid.

I also had the following thoughts:

1. Judaism is made for the obsessive-compulsive.
2. I am not going to enjoy this project if I let myself be too obsessive-compulsive.
3. I refuse to not enjoy this project, which, after all, is my Hannukah gift.

So there you go.  I will enjoy this project, even if it means--and it does--letting go of familiar thought processes.

MAJOR MILESTONE

I have finished all the sewing on my tallit katan.  I draped it over my bed for pictures; I don't want to actually put it on--certainly not under my shirt--until I'm ready to wear it properly, with the blessing and everything.  Here are pictures:

Next project: tie the holy fringes, known as tzitziot (singular: tzitzit).  I see no reason to rush; Hannukah's not until December, and that's when I want this ready by.  I think I will tie one corner per day.  Yes, that seems like a good plan.  And now, back to my homework.

MORE BREAKING NEWS

I have finally finished hemming the beged (body; literally "garment") of my homemade tallit katan! This was the longest, most arduous step.  Next up is cutting and hemming the head-hole, then cutting and whip-stitching the holes for the holy fringes, and finally tying those fringes (on which I need to do a bit of "how-to" research).

And here is a photo of that properly hemmed beged.  Do note the sharp, pointed corners.