the jewish new year was celebrated a few days ago. some thoughts on it, sarees, and other things as we got into the mood.…
Browsing Tag
jewish festival
more than 3,300 years ago it is believed, god gave the torah to the jewish people on mount sinai. shavuot celebrates this deeply spiritual moment, with prayer, joy, gratitude, the reading of the commandments, and of course, food. in this case, food with dairy is customary. every year, just before shavuot, which is celebrated in may/june, my husband reminds me we must have lots of nice dairy dishes and desserts at home. clearly thoughts of buckets of ice cream, cheese,…
Mythology and More
why the hanukkah story reminds me of madhusudan’s magic pot
Posted on December 13, 2017
actually, there’s no magic involved. both are stories of faith. perhaps the sort of faith that brings miracle. i heard one when i was a child, the other after i got married. as my husband, who is jewish, finished telling me why eight oil lamps are lit on hanukkah, i thought of a tiny pot of yogurt and the tale of madhusudan’s bhar. “bhar” means earthenware pot in bengali, and the sound of “r” at the end is more like…
“you start building the sukka the day after yom kippur,” my husband said. we used to live in a house those days and there was a perfect spot by the koi pond, with wooden beams creating a sort of roof above and brickwork on the floor, for the sukka. sukkot, which is the plural of sukka, is a joyous festival of thanksgiving and more celebrated by jews across the world. sukka means a simple hut. after the exodus from egypt…