Pesach Part 1

I'm busier than ever these days, especially with the inevitable Pesach cleaning. I'm also insanely jealous. Why?

Well, I'm making Pesach- the seders, the cooking, the cleaning- you name it, I'm doing it. And throughout the last couple of weeks, the common refrain from the young couples in the neighborhood has been something like this.

Me: How are you doing?
Neighbor: I'm busy packing. Gosh, it takes a long time.
Me: Really? Going to the US for Yom Tov?
Neighbor: Yes, and you wouldn't believe how much work it is. Packing, then taking a __ hour flight- it's just too much. You're so lucky you get to stay here.
Me: _______

If they think a 15 hour flight is hard, even with several children, try making Pesach anytime.
But anyway, enough with the griping. (Sorry! It's practically Erev Pesach! Hard to remain cheerful.)
Good news is that I get the amazing experience of being here in Israel for Pesach. Last year I got the pleasure of hosting a 2nd Seder, even though we had already moved here permenantly, and so I got to take pictures, relax, and enjoy the Seder in an entirely different way than I normally do. This year I plan to do the same, with even more guests.

It's a totally different feeling to know that you aren't obligated to start measuring your matzah out- and instead, you can just focus on the meaning of the Seder, the Divrei Torah, the essence of real freedom. I think it would be fun to continue hosting a second Seder, for fun, even when I don't have guests from America.

And now, for your viewing enjoyment, a short clip from the Robotics team in Rishon L'Tzion.



More on Pesach will be coming later. Stay tuned!

To Iron or Not To Iron

I may have made myself into a domesticate, at least in the fact that I can run a home, but there is one chore that I refuse to do. Ironing.

I detest it. It's one of those things that truly makes me feel like a homebody, who never did anything with her whole life, barefoot, and ironing in the kitchen. Talk about a stereotype.

Israelis are obsessive about their ironing. One of my friends has 5 irons, as each of her 13 children insist on having a perfectly starched and pressed shirt/skirt/pants every day, and she detests ironing almost as much as I do. She's of the opinion that if they want it badly enough, they'll do it themselves.

I've tried. I buy Mr. NMF no-iron-needed shirts, I try to hand wash and hang to dry, but the inevitable task of ironing sometimes comes up. If I was spoiled rotten, I would just send it to the cleaners to be pressed, but I don't have the money to spend so heedlessly.

When one gets married, sometimes household chores don't come easily. Cooking for a family, ironing, laundry for a family, dishes; they all fall into my hands. I don't mind, I was single enough that I did it all for myself for a long time. Just, there were chores then that I hated, and I still detest now.

I don't know how to get over my bad opinion of ironing. But, at least I'm not alone. Most of the women I know don't iron, or iron only when forced, and then in large bunches of 20 shirts at a time. It seems that if the shirts just keep on collecting, our guilty consciences will eventually encourage us to pick up that tool and start the torture.

Anyone else have chores they hate doing? How do you deal with it?

Erev Shabbos #19- Sponja Time

Nativeborn Israelis, from what I've observed, have an obsessive habit of doing sponja every night, rain, shine, whether or not mud and dirt actually exists on their usually spotless floor.

Olim and other immigrants to Israel have not uniformly accepted that minhag (custom) as a group, but some of them can be just as intolerant of dirt as the true sabras.

I belong to the other group, one that waits until an Erev Shabbos for the whole house to get a good cleaning. My sponja stick, pail, and cloth wait patiently, while during the week my floor accumulates dust, and finally, on Erev Shabbos, a sponja is performed.

Everyone has their own method of doing sponja.

Some pour water all over the floor, and then using the stick, 'sweep' it all up into the conviently located sponja hole in the bathroom. Some use a cloth, and by dipping it into the bucket to get it clean each time, it's almost like a mop. Some tie the cloth onto the stick and swish that around the floor, hoping to get the streaks gone at a later time.

And then there is the debate about what cleanser to actually use. Economica, Polywax, there are endless choices of each. Some prefer the kind that makes the floor too slippery to even walk on, while others prefer the ones that make the floor so shiny that you can see yourself in it.

As to who actually does the cleaning? Sometimes the mother of the house, sometimes the children, but more often than not, this back bending chore usually ends up in the father's hands. He even has a precedent- the Steipler Gaon used to do the sponja in his house.

Anyway you do it, this chore is part of Erev Shabbos.

When I finish setting my table, and finally get the chance to look at my sparkling floor, I feel truly like the Shaboos Queen has entered my home.

Gut Shabbos everyone!

Spring Cleaning

Alright, halfway done. There, I said it. I know there is about a week till Pesach- but B"H- well on schedule, even with NBD being extremely cute and charming. What can I do? I have to stop and play with her sometimes, I just have to.

So, I decided to play devil's advocate with myself. Why am I cleaning so much?

What makes me decide to Pesach clean every book in the house even though we probably won't read more than 2 of them over Yom Tov?

What causes me to reorganize closets, and shuffle drawers?

I mean, if it was up to a guy- they would say- well, it has to be more than a kezayis, and it has to be edible by a dog, and if it is less than a kezayis we only worry about it if it comes to the table...so.....there, I'm finished, in less than a day.

It seems that Pesach has become a time for me, as well as other women and girls, to obsessively clean, far more than necessary.

I must have hit the roof when I heard, "Well, you could actually use a soup that you cooked before Pesach with your chametz pots on Pesach. Because the little chametz on your pot is batel before Pesach."

I always thought that my countertop had to be left for 24 hours, kashered 3 times with boiling water, and then covered. Now I hear, "Well, if you're going to cover it after all that, then what's
the point?"

So why in heaven's name did Jewish women throughout history obsessively clean?

I think it stems from an old story. There was this Rav, who asked his wife why she was scrubbing the walls and the floors. After all, we don't really eat on our walls, so the possibility of there being more than a kezayis of chametz on the walls is almost nil.
She answered, "If the cleaning was left up to you, we'd have chametz in our house on Pesach."

We clean because we know, that if we clean far more than necessary, the chance of there being chametz in our houses goes down to nil. If we just cleaned what's needed, the risk of finding that pretzel during bedikas chametz, or not finding it at all, goes up astronomically.

So, we clean. We clean and clean, we spring clean and regular clean and Mr. Clean all in one.

So pass me the bleach, okay? Thanks.

EDIT: How do y'all like the new look? Comment please!

Erev Shabbos #13- Pesach Prep

It's Erev Shabbos again, and I'm starting to do more than just think about Pesach. I mean, I did start cleaning already- basic, nothing major, but now on Erev Shabbos, it comes to a head.

As I wrote my shopping list, I thought- well, only one package of pearl barley, as Pesach is coming. Oh, and why buy more of 'that', for I'll just need to get rid of it before Pesach. Oh and make sure to get 'this' before this week, because next week, our store will be Pesachdik already.

Pesach requires advance planning. Oh, and this is the last week I can have guests before Pesach- as the cleaning ensues with a vengeance next week.

So, my Erev Shabbos this week is connected with Pesach. But, that's okay.

I will take the time, now that the clock's changed, to enjoy a later Shabbos, to have more time to prepare, to relax, to get myself into the Shabbos atmosphere before Shabbos.

Because next week- the fury ensues- so I need all the relaxation time that I can get!

Gut Shabbos everyone!

The Countdown Commences

The 'P' word. Yes, I know BOSD, fear of the name increases fear of the thing itself, according to Professor Albus Dumbledore, at least. But, it makes me feel better, 'kay?

This year will be my first year doing it by myself. I'm an only girl, so at home, I did it as well, just, together with my mother. Now, I'm on my own. And, with a little one to boot. So, I'm allowed to be scared of it, okay?

Here goes. Deep breath, "Pesach." Rosh Chodesh is in 2 weeks, that means Pesach is in a little less than a month. And my countdown commences. 3 bedrooms to do. Kitchen to clean and kasher. Pesach stuff to unload. Cooking to start. Help my neighbor with her house. And somehow, do this all before Seder night. Can I start freaking out now, or would it be preferable to wait till later?

I know, tackle it a bit at a time. But according to this article on MII, I'm already behind. Yikes.
I prefer not to think about it, and then panic later.

ProfK describes the syndrome and it's consequences. Ima on the Bima is actually excited for cleaning.

How do you handle Pesach Panic?
Edit: I totally subscribe to Mrs. S's version of Pesach cleaning system!

Respond in comments please- as I'm a member of the I love comments club :)

Perspectives of Laundry

I remember at the beginning of my marriage, when I first had started to keep a house, my first realization was that my laundry had now doubled. At first, I only had to do laundry for myself. Now, suddenly there were two. And, the second person might not have as many clothes as I do, so therefore, laundry had to be done more often.

Now, with the glad addition of NBD, there are now 3 people with laundry. And again, the laundry has to be done more often, with more loads. And, we host guests, and as all are familiar with, guests create more laundry- sheets, towels, and blankets.

(For all those wondering how come I can't just do one or two loads with the amount I have, the answer is: Israeli washing machine. Please G-d, maybe one day I'll be able to get a bigger one, but as of right now, 5 kilo it is.)

My neighbor with 7 children does 4 or 5 loads a day, just to keep up.
When I once walked down to speak with a great Sephardic guy who's an amazing jack of all trades, he told me that with his 9 children, his wife does 6 loads a day, minimal.

So, what's all this about laundry, and why did I deem a post worth of it?

It's all about perspectives. You see, I might think, wow, my family generates an awful amount of laundry. Are we dirty people, or are we obsessive-compulsive cleaners?

But then I remember that there are others out there with more loads, more hampers, and generally more laundry.

I might think, wow, this is a major problem in my life- I have so much dirty laundry!
(An exaggeration to be true. Mr. NMF reminds me that in the 'olden days' laundry had to be taken to the river, scrubbed on a rock or in a laundry tub, and then hung to dry. We just throw it in and 'fuhgeddaboudit'.)

I may think on certain days, wow, life is rough. Life threw me a curveball today.
But, if we use the laundry perspective, there are always others out there with more laundry than us, and more people generating more laundry. It puts things in perspective.

There should be a mathematical equation for this- I'll ask B4S to figure it out along with the
shidduch equation she's working on.

However, along with the dirty laundry comes all the good things that go with the laundry- healthy, happy people wearing clothing and living lives.

So, that's my take on life- laundry.
Excuse me, I have a load to switch to the dryer.

Erev Shabbos

Erev Shabbos in Eretz Yisroel deserves several postings- but here's the first.

It requires much more preparation in Yerushalayim than in America or other places Chutz L'Aaretz (out of Israel).

For example, almost no one works on Fridays, and the groceries all close at 1 o'clock sharp.
Therefore, oftentimes I have to do my shopping way in advance in order to be able to cook for Shabbos, or I have to sit in the supermarket for hours on Friday itself, since there are always last minute things to buy, and it seems like my entire neighborhood forgot to buy something!
If I forget something after 1 o'clock- the motto is do without, or ask one of my wonderful neighbors for help- which they are always willing to give- wonderful people, always willing to lend a hand, or oven space :)

It also feels like this Shabbos particularly is just one Shabbos after a Yom Tov- Rosh HaShana, and then Tzom Gedaliah- I feel like I've been cooking forever!

Although, I should confess- my husband and I got invited out for 3/4 meals on Rosh HaShana, but I'm cooking in advance for Succos as well- so it can get quite hectic.

Not to mention, things always tend to come up in my household- like cleaning (I admit- I dislike my household chores) , laundry, miscellaneous items, phone calls from Israel/America/friends/telemarketers/private numbers that don't show up on the caller ID.....

So, my Erev Shabbos is usually quite hectic.

But in Yerushalayim- there are wonderful things going on:

The neighborhood children all clean up the Chatzer (courtyard) in honor of Shabbos, so everything looks sparkling clean

The shul (synagogue) nearby plays the most beautiful Shabbos music to greet the Shabbos queen- wafting through my open window are such lovely songs

Everyone is cooking, cleaning, bustling around, and generally preparing for Shabbos- the entire atmosphere is so wonderful and spiritual as well, despite all the physical preparations for Shabbos.

And then, the siren blows- welcoming in a new Shabbos, a new chance to connect with my Creator, and time to spend in this holy city of Yerushalayim.

When I light my licht (candles for Shabbos) here, I'm really lighting 40 minutes before Shegiya- actual sunset- since in Yerushalayim, it changes from day to night in a split second. You can actually watch it happen- such a beautiful moment. So, lighting my candles in the daylight is wonderful as well- giving me more time to see the sun fall, see the sky decorated with such beautiful colors....Ma Rabu Maasecha Hashem- how wonderful are Your creations, Hashem!

Gut Shabbos to all!