This just in...

For those of you just tuning in... :)  No, I don't have any pressing details to announce with all of the Chanukah preparations going on around here...  I do think we've firmed up the 'where' in the equation, but I won't feel too much relief from the stress without firming up the photographer and DJ.  I am getting closer though.  I have a lot of unique 'half-baked' ideas that need some more direction.  I'd love to see more pictures of other people's events - specifically their decorations, centerpieces, and other logistical touches...  Stay tuned - you know there's more coming!

guilty

My work on the Shabbat Shalom Facebook page has provided me with a lot of valuable information on our daughter's Torah portion for her Bat Mitzvah.  Turns out that today was the day her portion was read in synagogue.  Jackpot.  It felt a lot like spying, but I am happy we went to services today; obviously we had a nice opportunity for prayer.  We also had a rare opportunity to glimpse into the future and hear her Torah portion, as well as the Rabbi's commentary.  Like I said, I feel a bit guilty, but I think we have G-d on our side.  :)

a real education

I started a Facebook fan page called Shabbat Shalom that was intended to help me on my own rediscovery of Judaism, along with a Twitter page too.  I planned to post local candle lighting times, Havdalah times, and the name of the weekly Torah portion.  The page now has over one hundred fans!  I'm very proud of that, along with the fact that the page has grown to include daily Jewish History facts, links to educational blogs, current events, and so much more!  I've found and shared many different sites and even videos that explain the various Torah portions.  Some of these links are simple and family friendly, even for those with little to no Jewish education or background.  Other summaries are detailed and lengthy for those who want to dig deeper.  Before this year I might have been able to name 2 or 3 Torah portions.  Now that number is a lot higher, and more importantly, I can even remember a few of them!  Explaining what I've learned to friends and family becomes something I can actually do, and we can relate to!  Watching the videos with our kids, and even using them in the Kindergarten religious school class I co-teach, has been a priceless learning experience for all of us!  I guess we're all on the road to preparing for the big mitzvah!  Thankfully, we're enjoying the journey.  Now if we could only get something checked off the party-planning list!  :)

Why not?!

How about a bowling Bat Mitzvah bash?!
300ShadyGrove 

Facilities, Catering, and Kashrut - Oy vey!

I feel like I'm totally backpedaling on the most urgent question of all - WHERE?!  Hotel?  Restaurant?  Synagogue?  Kosher?  Elsewhere?  I feel like almost all of our choices are places that our daughter has never even been to!  She's definitely not going to be very comfortable with that...  If we could figure this question out and get something checked off the list, that would be great.

Wow - I had no idea - Secular Judaism

Judaism without God, rules, or rituals...  Interesting article.
jta.org 

Literally or figuratively?!

So I took a little gander at the English translation of the Torah portion our daughter was assigned to learn and sing in front of the congregation (in Hebrew) to become a Bat Mitzvah.  *GASP*  How are we going to simply gloss over the literal meaning of some of these completely inappropriate and outdated concepts?!  For example, kidnapping, rape, justifiable murder by pelting with stones, marrying your dead husband's brother to insure the family name is carried on, stoning your own son to death because he is rebellious & disobedient, and cutting off the hand of the woman who grabs a man's private parts to break up a fight between her husband and his brother.  Oh sure, there are some great messages in this particular section of the Bible.  One exceptionally timeless message is that "finder's" is not "keeper's"; you should always try to return something you've found that does not belong to you.  After all, I am by no means an expert in religion or the Torah.  This section of the Bible contains 74 of the 613 laws or "mitzvot" G-d commanded to us.  I certainly do not understand them all, or what they should mean to me and my family.  However, I do know that our daughter is expected to learn to sing the Hebrew text of these 74 laws dictated in this portion of the Old Testament as it is written in the Torah.  I have conflicted feelings about burdening her with some of the inappropriate information it contains.  Does that make me a hypocrite?  I don't know.  I do know that there is a lot to be learned from the positive messages that this parsha contains though, so I suppose we'll try to put our focus on that.  I wonder how other parents have handled some of the age inappropriate texts their children have been challenged with.  This past Shabbat a set of twins tackled parashat Vayishlach for their Bar and Bat Mitzvot, which contains a powerful story of rape and revenge; I appreciated that our Rabbi said straight up that it is difficult, challenging, and sad to have to revisit such a tragic story year in and year out, but that we do it and hopefully learn from it.  Please feel free to comment here and share your experiences so that our family and others can learn too.
Here's a summary of the story:
http://bit.ly/6R3JYS 
and here's a detailed translation:
http://bit.ly/5zCpjY