Jewish Musings, Shabbat, 11/25-26

[gazelle18]

Hi everyone, and good Shabbos to all. 

I love how shabbat falls one day after Thanksgiving, reminding me each year that we are fortunate to live in America , where we can practice our Judaism freely. May it always be so.

I hope everyone had a good day yesterday, and a good week this week. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, what is one thing that happened this week that you are grateful for?


I am so grateful that i was able to celebrate thanksgiving with all 6 of my precious grandchildren! I realize how incredibly lucky I am to have such adorable grandkids, and I enjoyed every minute of my time with them.

reminder: Louise is leading next week. 

[lee058]

Good morning everybody. Hope you are all well. Something that just happened that I am grateful for: I found out that I could sign up for promotional codes at Amazon via email to save money on orders! All you have to do is go to their Help section, click that you want Chat, and tell the representative that you want to be on their mailing list for the promo codes. Today, I am going to get $10. off a book order. I am looking forward to saving more in the future! I hope this is useful to everybody in our thread who orders from Amazon.

I am also grateful that H is making soup from the turkey carcass, and that DS and I will be able to have some for lunch (after I pick DS up from work at 12). I love turkey soup and haven't had it for a long time.

I am grateful that I am not waiting in a long line at a store looking for bargains, even it is Black Friday.

I am grateful that Thanksgiving was mostly peaceful. There were some conflicts, but they were resolved. I'm grateful for that, too.

I'll be back later. Have a peaceful day, Lee

[hollygail]

I have a general question. And please let me be clear: this is an inquiry, NOT a criticism, not aimed against anyone, least of all you, Lynne.

I've seen "good shabbos" (and "good shabbes") numerous times, used by I don't know how many people. In this expression, the first word is English, the second, Yiddish. My grandfather, whose first language was Yiddish, always said both words in Yiddish. Take the English word "put" and change the initial consonant to the hard "g" and you get "gut shabbos (shabbes)" (that is, as long as you retain the vowel sound from the English word "put" and don't change it to the vowel sound of the English word "putt." I've also seen "goot shabbes/shabbos" and realize the vowel is the same one as in the English words "book, cook, crook, look, nook, rook, took."). Why do people say "good" (where the final sound is voiced, as opposed to the voiceless final vowel in Yiddish)? "Shabbat Shalom" offers the peace of Shabbat (or shabbos or shabbes), and it's the closest equivalent of the Yiddish expression.

Anyone know? Have any idea? I've never been able to figure this one out. (And please let me reiterate: my tongue is NOT in my cheek, nor is my intention to come down on anyone. Honest)

[peachymom1]

Holly, I think it's folk etymology coming into play, that is, since "gut" sounds so much like "good," we replace the foreign word with one from our own language that sounds like it. (For those of you non-linguists, other examples of folk etymology that you might be familiar with are "dandelion" for the French "dent de lion" or "crayfish" for "crevisse." Children do this all the time when they're learning to talk, so you hear things like "sparrow grass" for asparagus.) I think it's as simple as that.

I always say "Shabbat shalom," which we retain in its full Hebrew form, simply because I didn't grow up hearing or speaking Yiddish, but since I was a teenager, I've studied Hebrew and speak it pretty well. So it's more comfortable and natural to me.

I am grateful that I get yesterday and today off as paid holidays, and I am especially grateful that we are able to host our bff's birthday Shabbat dinner tonight. He has been a loyal and wonderful friend for 36 years, and he's a blessing from God.

I'm off to make a pitcher of iced tea, then to the butcher for tonight's chicken. If I don't get back here today, everyone have a wonderful day! Shabbat shalom!

[happysavta]

Thanksgiving lunch at our house was very nice. I stuck to Lynne's suggestion of 1 serving of just the foods I particularly I liked, which are the kugels. I cooked/baked 17 different foods, so I had a lot of fun. I only cook when it's a holiday gathering, so I always experiment with new recipes. That's my version of fun, though by the end, my legs ache from standing. I don't make a wreck out of the kitchen; I wash and put away as I go along, so at the end, the sink and counters are always clear, though the floor is dirty.

And Lynne, we used your question, "How has your life improved, or gotten better, over the past year?" around the table and it was more interesting and thought provoking. Thank you again!

So, like Lynne, we had grandkids at the table, ages 1 to 7. I set the table with apple-cinnamon scented candles which filled the room with a great aroma, and these cute pilgrim dolls that I found at a garage sale, a wicker basket cornucopia filled with fall leaves, a ceramic Pilgrim costumed family where Father in a black hat is holding a pumpkin, Mother in her white bonnet carries a basket of apples, daughter in her aproned dress has an armful of stalks of corn, and red-haired little son is kneeling, hugging his turkey.

Our 4 year old twins each brought me a preschool craft for the table as well. It was a potato with a cut-out of a turkey head inserted at one end. Then the children had stuck toothpicks with colored ceramic tips all around the sides and back to look like turkey feathers. I've worked in preschool classes, and I could imagine them making it. I was absolutely charmed and kvelling over their little gift.

Our adult children get along well, as do their spouses, which is probably the greatest of the Thanksgiving blessings!

Shabbat Shalom oo'mevorach.