Selichot

Shalom!

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

Welcome, welcome, welcome!

That's right, I'm Rabbi Sharon, from your favorite public access television show, Who Believes? Join us, every day, at 6:00 am on WOTP-TV!

And here I am, entering the blogosphere. What a wonderful world! We are blessed with so many ways to communicate and to share our insights and miracles with each other now. I may not have my legs, but I can go all over the world in an instant!

And that, my friends, is my message to you. As we say every morning when we meet in our WOTP schmooze room, you've got to thank G-d for everything in your whole, wonderful life! If you have two good legs, thank Her for that -- if you don't, thank Her for the wheelchair. If you live in Iowa or Massachusetts, thank Her that you can marry your girlfriend (or, if you're a guy, your boyfriend) and have it recognized by the state government. If you live in New York or California, thank G-d that someday it will change for you, too -- and while you're at it, call your state legislators and give them a push already. After all, G-d needs our help, too -- tikkun olam begins at home (that's something like, "The Lord helps those who help themselves" for our Jewishly-challenged friends).

As the High Holidays approach, we'll have a lot to talk about, won't we? But for now, I'd just like to ask you to share not only the love, but this blog! Link to it, comment on it, share it with your friends, right on into November. Listen, you'll be doing them a favor -- I'm fabulous. But more important, you'll be supporting live, local theater in your community!

It's a mitzvah! And with Yom Kippur coming up, you could probably do with another one under your belt.

Shalom!

-- Rabbi Sharon