Tonight is the night for selichot, penitential prayers before Rosh haShana. Did you go out instead? Don't worry, you still have plenty of days before Yom Kippur to repent for that, too.
A few days ago, my friend and I made a big batch of kreplach for Rosh haShana. Oy, what a job, and talk about gone in sixty seconds. Anyway, folding those little amoeba-shaped treasures made me think -- and not just about making soup to put them in.
You know, kreplach are wonderful; they've always been my favorite. But there is really nothing all that special that goes into kreplach. Flour, egg, salt, a little water -- and then the filling was just some ground up leftover brisket and another egg (feel free to use vegan substitutes). That's it. But put them all together, and you get -- magic.
Maybe it's the intangible ingredients, the ones you can't put on the grocery list. The kneading and rolling (and let me tell you, that is one stiff dough). The camaraderie of doing the job with a friend. The adding of yet another year to the tradition of our doing this together. And maybe most of all the memory of my own grandmother making these treats for our family and gobbling them down with my cousins.
I suppose I could buy wonton or dumpling wrappers and make the job a whole lot easier. Maybe they would even taste better; certainly they'd look better. But they wouldn't taste "right."
The holidays are coming fast, kinderlach! Make your own new year magic happen.
And support live theater in your community!
Shalom --
Rabbi Sharon
