This Shabbat meme comes from the Homeshuling blog. A meme is a set of questions answered by a variety of bloggers.
1. Challah – home baked or bought?
Usually home-baked.
2. Favorite shabbat meal:
Chicken soup, chicken with lemon and garlic, potatoes, salad, roast vegetables, fresh techina or chumus. Bulgur with onions, sometimes. Cake for dessert. Serious deviations are met with protest.
3. Any creative shabbat rituals?
Studying a passage from the Mishnah after two of the meals. We are currently in the tractate of Yevamot about the complex rules of levirate marriage, where a man married his brother’s childless widow so that the family line could be continued. The first half of the tractate lists various scenarios, then rules on whether the brother has to marry the widow in each case. My seven-year-old Y complained, “Someone gets married, someone dies, someone is born. It’s always the same thing.”
So we were surprised when Y brought up the topic on Shavuot. He was reading the book of Ruth with my husband and came across Naomi’s question, “Do I have sons in my stomach?” My husband explained that Naomi was asking her daughters-in-law if they were hanging around with her hoping for replacements for their dead husbands.
After we cleared up the stomach issue, Y pointed out that Naomi’s baby “lo hayah be-olamo.” Even if Naomi would have a baby who grew up to marry one of her widowed daughters-in-law, the marriage wouldn’t count as a levirate marriage. Yevamot teaches that the surviving brother must be “in [the dead brother's] world,” i.e. alive at the time of the first brother’s death.
4. Shul? With or without the kids?
I usually go on the late side with my 5 and 7-year-olds.
5. Traditionally shomer shabbat? If not, what’s your definition/style?
Strictly shomer shabbat. No driving, no refrigerator lights, phones or computers, etc., from Friday before sunset until after dark on Saturday.
6. Favorite shabbat story/book
Well, my kids like to read the parsha sheets put out by the different organizations. No special Shabbat books.
7. No seventh question – time to rest.
All bloggers are invited to participate. Just leave a comment with the link at Homeshuling’s post.
Related:
The Day is Short and the Work is Long: Efficient Shabbat Preparations
