Tag: Purim

We Are All Connected…For Better or For Worse

Friends

Today was a surreal day.

It was my mother’s 12th Yahrzeit (anniversary of death on the Jewish calendar). It was also Purim, one of the most joyous and fun days in Judaism. But that juxtaposition wasn’t what made today surreal.

On a Yahrzeit, it is traditional to attend a prayer service in order to recite the Kaddish prayer at each of the three services on that day. Last night, I was at the congregation where I am the rabbi and was able to say Kaddish. This morning, I was at the synagogue down the street where I was also able to say Kaddish. The problem was finding a place to go this afternoon. Most places hold afternoon services later–precisely at the time when I am working at the gym. The rabbi at the congregation where I went this morning (whose wife was a participant in a youth group trip to Israel and Poland that I led over 30 years ago) spoke to another rabbi who mentioned that there would be a service at 2:05 pm at a small synagogue in the basement of someone’s home about a mile away. Are you following this? I got there and what a crowd! I was able to say Kaddish which was the main thing.

As I was about to leave, a man came up to me and asked me for directions to a store nearby. I looked right at him and said “you’re….” and before I could finish he said his last name. I introduced myself and his face lit up. He was the rabbi at the Orthodox synagogue in Toledo at the same time I was the rabbi at the Conservative synagogue in Toledo. We had worked in the same community for five years but hadn’t seen each other in well over fifteen years. We filled each other in briefly on what was going on in our lives and it was great to catch up.

He reflected on how appropriate this was for Purim. The story of Purim is based on the Book of Esther. This is a book that is filled with disparate plot lines that seem random at first but which ultimately all come together. Without just one of the plot twists, the story would not work and–according to the Book of Esther–the Jews of Shushan would have been slaughtered. His point was that what sometimes seems random may actually be part of God’s plan.

This was a good point. He had moved to Israel many years ago but moved back to the US. He and his wife live in the Chicago area where they usually spend holidays but they decided (in the midst of Coronavirus) to drive to Cleveland to be with their daughter and her family. I didn’t know they were in the US. He didn’t know I was in Cleveland. And we both ended up at the same prayer service; consider that in Cleveland every day there are literally dozens of places to pray. Under normal circumstances, I would have prayed on my own, but because it was my mother’s Yahrzeit, I had to find a service to go to. How did we end up at the same place, and why did he approach me to ask for directions?

We are all connected. Even when we think life is random, little signs can show us that there is order, or we may even sense God’s actions in our world. That connection made my day. It was great to see an old friend.

This happened on the same day that my daughter was informed that her classes after spring break will all be done via computer in order to avoid Coronavirus contact. We found out yesterday that it has spread to Ohio, and to the county in which I live, and to individuals in the Jewish community. Organizations are closing. The JCC has cancelled some events. People are “self-quarantining.”

This was all inevitable. How could it not spread? We are all connected. For better or for worse.

I only hope that the current health crisis will not be as dire as has been predicted. I pray that it is only a “close call” that will help us be better prepared in the future. Most fervently I hope that despite our inability to literally connect physically (shaking hands, etc.), we will not forget that at a most basic level we are connected to each other in many positive ways. Those connections are a gift from God.

Today was surreal. Connected spiritually and disconnected physically. I look forward to the day when we can truly be connected in every way.

Stay healthy!

C’mon, Get Happy!

Pharrell Williams #1

This Shabbat we will announce the new month of Adar.  As the expression goes:  “when Adar begins, our joy increases.”  This month contains the holiday of Purim, arguably the most fun (and frivolous) holiday on the Jewish calendar; its celebration is a kind of mash-up between Mardi Gras, Halloween, and New Year’s Eve…all based on the Book of Esther.

Our tradition tells us to be happy, but it’s not like we can just flip a switch when the month begins and suddenly find our mood improved.  Making ourselves happier involves effort and practice, but it is something that most of us are capable of accomplishing.  A recent article on www.cnn.com discusses this topic along with the research showing that being happy can actually help us live longer!  Here is the link: https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/30/health/happiness-live-longer-wellness/index.html.  It turns out that we can concentrate on certain behaviors that can lead us to be happier, which has a kind of snowball effect.

Judaism gives us many opportunities to find joy–more than just on Purim.  The blessings and prayers we recite help us to focus on the many good things in our lives; they help us to recognize the beauty and wonder of our world.  The Sabbath and holidays also have elements of celebration, allowing us to transcend the often-depressing reality of most of our days.  Adar is an opportunity for us to re-focus on joy.  It is not a one-time shot, but rather an ongoing practice that cannot only make us happy, but also give us more time to enjoy that happiness.

Intermittent Fasting

Today we will skip “Recipe Wednesday” because it is the Fast of Esther; this fast day runs from sunrise to sunset and commemorates the fast that Esther and the Jewish People undertook before her meeting with King Achashverosh.

There has been a lot written about fasting over the last few years, and much of it is promising. Research indicates that intermittent fasting (not a complete fast, but fasting for parts of the day or parts of a week) may not only help with weight loss, but lower insulin levels in diabetics and pre-diabetics. T

I have been following my own form of intermittent fasting for several years now. Once dinner is over–whenever that is–I stop eating. Before I put this “rule” in place, I used to graze all night long to the tune of hundreds of calories. My eating does not take place 24/7 but is now limited to certain times of the day. Note that others have their own systems. I know of some folks who eat from 7-9 am, 12-1 pm and then from 5-8 pm; there is no snacking between those periods.

The attached article from Harvard was published last year and gives a pretty clear summary of the latest findings, as well as what exactly intermittent fasting (IF) is. As I mentioned above, there is more than one model for IF. Do some research and see if this is something that you might want to try yourself.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/intermittent-fasting-surprising-update-2018062914156

In the meantime, wishing those of you who are fasting a Tzom Kal, an easy fast…and a Happy Purim!

Tonight’s Purim Workout

This is the workout that I did this evening. It is based on the Book of Esther, and is annotated to explain the rationale behind each exercise from the story of Purim.

Try it out! It was a very schvitzy experience for all of us.

Purim Workout I – Hamantaschen Buster

Rabbi Michael Ungar

50 minute workout

Tabata:  40 seconds work, 20 seconds rest; each superset completed twice, followed by 90-second rest.  Total of six rounds of supersets (plus warm-up and cool-down)

Equipment needed:  mats, dumbbells, medicine ball, kettle bell

Achashverosh’s party – to reflect the party we stretched and danced for 1 minute to Hebrew Workout music from Spotify. King Achashverosh threw a party at which he asked his queen, Vashti, to dance. She refused so she was banished and the king searched for a new queen.

Warm-up:   Stretch & Dance

Beauty pageant – Not exactly politically-correct, but the king held a pageant to find a new queen. He chose Esther who (unbeknownst to him) was Jewish. The lunges represent the walk down the runway that pageant competitors do; Warrior 3 is like talent competition; floor hip abductions are because Esther managed to get a “leg up” on the competition.

Walking lunges with dumbbells

Warrior 3 (lean forward, balance on one leg, arms forward)

Floor Hip Abductions (on side, raise upper leg – each side 20 seconds)

Mordechai discovers the plot while sitting at the gate – Mordechai overhears a plot to kill the king and reports it to the authorities; he is not rewarded, but his deeds are recorded in the king’s records. Sit-ups because the plot had have caused Mordechai to sit up; single-arm side bends because it looks like you are listening in when you do these; the Russian twist because…well…so many twists to the story.

Sit-ups

Dumbbell Side bends (one arm with dumbbell, other at ear)

Russian twists with weighted ball or kettlebell

Mordechai won’t bow to Haman – Haman, the king’s vizier was a power-hungry guy and no friend to the Jews. He had quite an ego and demanded that everyone bow down to him. The bent-over dumbbell rows represent those who did bow down; the upright rows or presses represent the Jews who would not bow down; the supermans because Mordechai was a super guy!!

Bent-over Dumbbell Rows

Upright Rows or Dumbbell Overhead Presses

Supermans

Haman plans to kill the Jews – Haman was so incensed by Mordechai’s and the Jews’ refusal to bow to him that he convinced the king to allow him to kill all the Jews with the excuse that they were different and not loyal to the ruler. Lots (in Hebrew, Purim) were drawn to determine the day it would happen. To represent his evil plot, this is the most evil superset in the workout; no one was killed in the workout, but it was close!

Burpees

Kettlebell swings

Push-ups

Esther intercedes – Mordechai knew the only way to save the Jews was to have Esther speak to her husband, the King. This would involve her revealing her true identity. It was a gamble, but Mordechai convinced Esther to do it. Her fear and ambivalence are reflected in shrugs; the front raises represent the king raising his scepter (a sign of his allowing her to speak); the hammer curls represent the strength Esther needed to confront the king and challenge Haman.

Dumbbell shrugs

Dumbbell Front Raises

Bicep Hammer Curls

The Jews are victorious – The king could not rescind the decree to have the Jews killed, but allowed the Jews to defend themselves. This prevented their being destroyed; Haman and his sons were hanged and the Jews were, once again, victorious. The squats represent our enemies who were reduced to squat; we crushed our enemies; and the tricep kickbacks? A reminder of the three-cornered hat worn by Haman that is the basis for the three-cornered Hamantaschen pastry we eat on the holiday.

Dumbbell Squats

Dumbbell Skull Crushers

Tricep Kickbacks

The Celebration – After a tough workout, there is no better way to celebrate than to cool down and stretch it out. And that is a workout based on the Book of Esther and the Purim Story!

Stretches

Recipe Wednesday: Healthy Hamantaschen? You bet!

I don’t know about you, but I am powerless against Hamantaschen. It may be my Hungarian Jewish background, but I cannot resist pastries and Hamantaschen are worthy rivals.

Imagine my pleasure/surprise when I found a recipe for Healthy Hamantaschen! I wouldn’t post it here unless I baked it up and tried it myself. I will tell you that the first bite tasted a little out of the ordinary, but several others have said they are actually good. I’ve already eaten more than I care to admit.

The recipe comes from http://www.nowaythatshealthy.com. Here is the link: http://nowaythatshealthy.com/2014/03/healthy-whole-wheat-hamantashen.html.

What makes these healthy are the following substitutions: coconut oil for butter, whole wheat flour for regular all-purpose flour, and honey for sugar.

I prepared them with almond extract (you can also use vanilla extract too), and you can taste it–fine with me! I used whole wheat pastry flour instead of regular whole wheat flour which made the dough a little crumblier than it should have been (due to lower gluten content). I also used a regular jar of store-bought raspberry jam. You can use whatever type of filling you’d like. My step-daughter suggested Nutella!

I will definitely be making this recipe next week for Mishloach Manot. I know they’re still not totally healthy, but it I’ll feel a little less guilty as I celebrate Purim.