Happy 18th Birthday Annabelle!

18 years ago today, July 23,1999, Dan and I drove to the hospital in the morning for a scheduled planned C-Section. We talked about what we'd name our baby and even though some relatives thought the name Annabelle was out of date, we decided that our baby girl would get that name.

I was in terrible pain (didn't know it, but I was in danger since my uterus was about to burst...told that by my doctor later). The planned C-section didn't go as planned and I had to be put to sleep, but after a difficult operation, all was well, and Annabelle Deborah Schneider-Farris was BORN! ....

Oh...by the way...I taught skating (in hockey skates since my feet wouldn't fit into my figure skates) until the day before she was born!

Happy Birthday to my youngest child Annabelle! I love you! You've grown up to be a confident and independent young lady and I know your future will be bright and full of amazing and wonderful adventures!

Wonderful New Friends - A Holocaust Survivor

We made some really wonderful friends in Sun Valley.

Here we are smiling with Golda and Aime Avniel who have been married for 60 years.

Aime is a Holocaust survivor who as a child hid and ran. After the Holocaust he went to Palestine and was reunited with his mother at the age of 15. All his other family members were killed in Auschwitz.

He and Golda met in Palestine (now Israel) and have known one another for 70 years!

An Amazing-Cool Encounter! 7-21-17

This was one of those amazing-cool encounters!

Sy and Reva Alban sat at the same table as me and my dad at Temple Israel in Long Beach's Tu B'shevat seder last spring. Sy knew my dad's Uncle Irving Schneider and other Schneiders in Long Beach including my granda Max Schneider and my dad's uncle Dave Schneider and my dad's first cousin Mark Schneider which was very cool.

Anyway...at the Friday 7-21-17, at the Shabbat service for the Wood River Jewish Community in Sun Valley,Idaho, I recognized Sy and Reva and we all thought it was quite amazing that we were all in Sun Valley, Idaho at the same time! The world has to be small!

Boker Tov: Good Morning!

I listen to this song almost every morning when I get dressed!

Boker Tov means good morning in Hebrew. I especially like the part about the birds singing and the sun rising and the part about being glad I'm alive.

Listen to this if you can!

 

Shabbat HaNefesh - Cantor Hass Back! 6-17-17

When I can't be physically at Temple Israel, it is so awesome that I can watch online! I love Cantor Hass and Shabbat HaNefesh!  She's been on maternity leave and it is good to have her back!

  Online Video Delivery

Holy Ground by Craig Taubman

"Holy Ground" Lyrics

Craig Taubman

Verse:
Every second, every minute, every hour, every day
Everything, every one, every place, every way
Where you walk, where you stand, where you love, where you pray
All of life is holy ground

Verse:

Every he, every she, everyone, every who
It's in her, it's in them, it's in me, and it's in you
In the bitter, in the sweet, in the calm, in the storm
All of life is holy ground

Chorus:
So walk as if it's holy ground
Breathe as if it's all around
Talk and make a holy sound
Take your shoes off; you're on holy ground

Verse:
When you hurt, when you heal, when you laugh, when you pray
When you hold and when you keep, when you give it away
Every second, every minute, every hour, every day
All of life is holy ground

Chorus:

So walk as if it's holy ground
Breathe as if it's all around
Talk and make a holy sound
Take your shoes off; you're on holy ground

Bridge:
We are one journey, one story, one tapestry we weave
One people, one glory, one legacy we leave

Verse:
Every second, every minute, every hour, every day
Everything, every one, every place, every way
Where you walk, where you stand, where you love and where you pray
All of life is holy ground
Can you feel the holy ground
Take your shoes off you're on holy ground

Thoughts After 5-2-17 Torah Study at Temple Shalom

I really like going to Torah studies.  One reason is that Jewish learning involves discussion.  It is just so fun!  It is just so much more interesting than listening to a speaker.  The interaction involved in Jewish study seems to be almost addicting!  I love it.

Yesterdays Torah study at Temple Shalom was wonderful since there was just so much discussion, questioning, and sharing.  What also made it extra special was that my dad and daughter Annabelle were there.  We sat together side by side and learned together.  Someone suggested that we take a "selfie" of us studying together and I'm sorry we didn't do that.

Rabbi Glazer talked about how passing Jewish tradition and teachings from generation to generation is so important   We all realized that as we studied together!

We talked how Moses had been told by God that Joshua would now lead the Jewish people.  We talked about how leadership in many instances is passed on to the next generation or from an older leader to a younger leader.  We talked about how leaders become strong and courageious as they learn under leaders.  I shared about my favorite movie Prince of Egypt, and how I saw that in that wonderful cartoon movie.

We also talked about how Jewish people seem to feel like family even when they are strangers!  We talked about how our children became to love Jewish tradition even when they were pre-schoolers. We talked about how even secular Jews and those with no religious education seem to keep that "Jewish spark" inside of them and eventually want to learn about their heritage and religion.

I left in such a great mood and I also realized that there is truly no place like "home."