One of the wonderful trade offs for working hard as a designer is the wonderful people I meet from different parts of the world. Sharing a meal around a newly acquired dining table rings warm thoughts. One memorable time was when my NY clients have a Chanukah party just for me! They knew I was fascinated to learn the Jewish roots to this holiday.
This year I am having them over to kick off the celebration and enjoy family time where we can see similarities of our “faith”.
This is my first time to make potato latkes, last year I bought them. I know the grease will fly and laughter will abound. I love new kitchen episodes. Who will clean up the mess? The homemade applesauce a breeze and the sour cream no sweat, I am beginning to feel like a Jewish momma. The chicken is in the pot. The smells of garlic, invade the air. We will have great boost to our immune system.
Not being Jewish I found it interesting to learn how this custom originated. This originally started as a Sephardic tradition where there was an abundance of cheese however the Russians and Europeans had an abundance of potatoes. Thus potato latkes, a delightful substitute. I heard it said that this holiday Judith saved her city by cleverly feeding wine and cheese to the enemy. We have a lot to learn from this as we look for opportunities to bless others at this time. We can trick the enemy of our soul by feeding our thoughts with good things.
I am working on my heart now as I have several situations where contracts are not being paid. (The failing housing market I want to make sure I am keeping my heart right and eating the sweet food and not allowing a sour taste to poison my heart.
One of the parallels for me at this time as a Christian Zionist is to see the similarities between the Maccabees and where we are today. This is a time the righteous should not be silent. We must stand up and be counted for our “beliefs” and ideals we believe in that promote righteous. It is not a time to sacrifice our beliefs in a G-d we trust and cower down to “popular” opinion. The Maccabees stood up and were not politically correct at a time when everyone wanted to retreat. There is a price to be paid to stand tall in the face of tottering moral decay. As a designer, I have often gone against “popular” opinion of a client’s friend on a design decision that I knew was wrong.
Let us celebrate our differences and embrace our Faith in what we do share in common. We believe in the one true G-d as mentioned in the Shama. May we embrace this prayer daily as we go into the days ahead knowing that we have stood for righteousness and triumphed over evil.
Let’s laugh, and love not just the next eight days but prepare our homes to celebrate inner JOY. As we linger around the meal let our conversation be sweet. Let us at this season speak kind words and hear the kind echoes.
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