The True Story of Nonna

Karen Fisman is the author of Nonna's Hanukkah Surprise. Below, she shares the story of the Nonna who inspired her interfaith Hanukkah story.

You can get Nonna's Hanukkah Surprise, as well as Kar-Ben's annual Hanukkah deal, 8 Books for $8, on the Kar-Ben website.

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In a couple of weeks time, I will be travelling to the remote Canadian city of Sault Ste Marie to do a reading of Nonna's Hanukkah Surprise. Sault Ste Marie, or the Soo as it is affectionately known, has a large population of second generation immigrant families. There are lots of Finns and Italians, but very few Jews. So why, you may be wondering, would I be travelling there to do a Hanukkah reading?

Well, if a book could have a birthplace, Nonna's Hanukkah Surprise would have been born in the Soo. That was where I first met Nonna, and it was also where I learned about the joy of sharing holiday traditions with non-Jewish family.

Nonna was Italian and Catholic. She had emigrated from Calabria to the Soo in the 1950's, settling in that bitterly cold city with its beautiful stark surroundings and a steel mill that provided jobs to new immigrants. When I met Nonna, she was in her seventies, and as the Italian immigrant community stuck together, I was one of the first Jews that she had ever met.

I still remember that first meeting: Nonna hugging me tight, then shepherding me to the kitchen where everyone was gathered. I was peppered with questions about my family and what I did. The topic of my Jewish identity went untouched, but when dinner was served, Nonna took me aside to share that, especially for me, she'd made her meatballs without pork that day. Several years later our son was born, and the issues became larger than pork in the meatballs. We had decided to raise our kids as Jews and Nonna struggled to understand how this would impact her grandchild. When she came to visit the new baby, she brought him a gift, a Magen David and a cross, hanging together on a gold chain as in her mind, her grandchild was both Jewish and Christian. My husband gently explained that this was not the case. There would be no baptism, but there would be a bris. Her grandchild would be raised as a Jew.

We'll never know what internal struggle Nonna might have had with our decision. We only experienced her full-on effort to understand and be a part of our Jewish lives. She visited us during the holidays, paying close attention at the Passover seders, and witnessing (though not participating in) our Yom Kippur fasts. We would visit her at Christmas, bringing along first one child and then two, excluding ourselves from church services, but enjoying the holiday feasts and family time.

As our kids got older, we started packing a Hanukkah bag for our Christmas visits, whether the holidays coincided or not. Our kids delighted in teaching Nonna and the cousins to play dreidl, using chocolate gelt as currency. In subsequent years, the Hanukkah bag grew as our kids contributed their ideas. We schlepped Hanukkah decorations, menorah, beeswax candles and Hanukkah stories along. We also bought Nonna a food processor to expedite our latke making, as latkes had become a staple of the holiday feasts. It was a wonderful way of sharing our celebration as Nonna and the cousins were sharing theirs.

Nonna passed away some years ago. Reflecting on the sweet memories of our holiday visits, I wrote Nonna's Hanukkah Surprise, about an inter-faith family's holiday celebration. The story is about little Rachel, who brings Hanukkah to her non-Jewish Nonna's house. When things happen to go awry, it's Nonna (of course) who steps up to save the day.

So now, I imagine, you can understand why I will be travelling to the Soo with my family and our Hanukkah bag to do a Hanukkah reading. The reading will be hosted by the church that Nonna used to belong to. Churchgoers will be at the event along with members of the Soo's Jewish community. And I will be sharing Nonna's Hanukkah Surprise and its message of love and acceptance with all of them.

Happy Hanukkah to all!

Celebrating and Sharing this Sukkot

By Rebecca Goldsteen

Find Shanghai Sukkah and more great Sukkot titles at the Kar-Ben website.

The Jewish people are unique in many ways, including the ways in which we celebrate our holidays. Instead of just remembering the past, our customs remind us to look to the future and many of our holiday rituals lend themselves to being reinterpreted for the age in which we live. On Sukkot, for example, we build a sukkah in which we eat and, weather permitting (I’m from Minnesota!), sleep. Not only does this remind us of the huts in which the Jews lived as they wandered in the desert for 40 years, but it also reminds us to appreciate the natural world – the weather, the harvest, the outdoors.

Growing up, I knew that the end of Yom Kippur meant that Sukkot was coming. My brothers and I helped my dad build the sukkah, which usually involved my dad doing all the real building, with my brothers helping hold things up, and me trying to figure out how to tie fruit onto strings without it falling off the sukkah roof, still a struggle for me after 20 years. We brought home sukkah decorations we made in day school and did our best to make our sukkah as beautiful as possible. With the arrival of Sukkot, we took turns saying the blessings and shaking the lulav and etrog. We ate delicious dinners of fruits and vegetables, kugel, and kreplach. If it wasn’t too cold outside, we would put on our warmest pajamas, take our sleeping bags and pillows, and camp out in our sukkah telling stories into the night.

Like Marcus in the book “Shanghai Sukkah,”who wonders how he will celebrate Sukkot in his new home in Shanghai,  I wondered how I would celebrate Sukkot  when I started school at the University of Illinois three years ago. Fortunately, my school has a wonderful Chabad, Hillel, and JET (Jewish Education Team), each with its own sukkah. In fact, Chabad even sets up a sukkah outside my freshman dorm (many Jewish freshmen tend to live in this dorm) and brings a portable sukkah along with a lulav and etrog to the quad. Each of these organizations welcomes students and other visitors to eat dinner and socialize in their sukkot.

Understanding the importance of celebrating Jewish holidays begins at a young age. I have many friends who identify strongly as Jews, but don’t know the first thing about the holiday of Sukkot. They’re familiar with Hanukkah and Passover and Shabbat, but if their family didn’t celebrate Sukkot, they didn’t have the chance to learn about this very wonderful holiday. It’s important to understand our traditions and I feel lucky that I grew up in a home infused with Jewish celebration.  One friend of mine at college, once told me that she wants to know more about Judaism but is afraid to go to any of the Jewish organizations on campus because she doesn’t feel that she is “Jewish enough.” I told her that it’s never too late to learn new things about Jewish life, and that all these campus organizations are eager to welcome students just like her. The first step to embracing Judaism is to overcome the fear of thinking that you don’t know enough. None of us know everything so we’re all somewhere on the knowledge continuum!

In “Shanghai Sukkah,” when Marcus’ family flees the Holocaust, moving to Shanghai from Berlin, he befriends a Chinese boy named Liang. These two share their respective Sukkot and Moon Festival customs with each other, and Liang surprises Marcus by decorating Marcus’ sukkah with Chinese lanterns. And Marcus attends Liang’s Moon Festival celebration.

Like Marcus, I try my best to share with my peers --both Jewish and non-Jewish—my love of  Judaism.  I have convinced many of my Jewish friends to come celebrate the Jewish holidays with me on campus when they would likely have been more comfortable not participating. They always say they’re glad they came and that the celebrations make them appreciate being Jewish.

Education is never a bad thing. As we see in “Shanghai Sukkah,” the better we understand – and share -- our own customs and traditions, the more meaningful they become.  Chag sameach!

Rebecca Goldsteen , a student at the University of Illinois, was Kar-Ben’s summer intern.

Israel at Home and in the Classroom

Yom Ha'atzma'ut is Israel's Independence Day. On May 14, 1948, or, on the Jewish calendar, the 5th of Iyar in 5708, David Ben Gurion declared the establishment of the state of Israel. From that day on, the 5th of Iyar became a national holiday. Today, Yom Ha'atzma'ut is celebrated by Jewish people around the world. Israel gives the Jewish people

Some activities are perfect for Yom Ha'atzma'ut. Others are ideal for homes or classrooms that want to deepen children's connection to and love of Israel all year round.

Create a Mizrach
In many Jewish homes, a mizrach hangs on the easternmost wall as a reminder of Israel and the direction in which it lies. This is a wonderful visual for children that encourages them to think about Israel year-round. In this fun and colorful craft, children can create their own mizrach for their home (or classroom) using glue and colorful sand. Click here for directions.

From the Jewish National Fund.

Make Israeli Flag T-Shirts
Using plain white shirts, fabric paint, and cut-out sponges, children can make their very own Israeli flag shirts to wear for Yom Ha'atzma'ut festivities or on any other day of the year! Click here for directions.

From InfoBarrel.com

Decorate with an Israeli Wind Sock
This is a fun twist on making an Israeli flag. This page also has a number of other interesting activities for Yom Ha'atzma'ut, including making an Israeli lantern. Click here for directions.

From Hebrew Podcasts.




Snacks in Blue and White!

Celebrate Israel with a selection of snacks that emulate the colors of the Israeli flag! Bake a vanilla cake and ice it with vanilla frosting and blueberries, keep it simple and healthy with vanilla yogurt and blueberries, or get creative and invent your own blue and white snacks!

Speaking of Snacks . . .
You can also prepare a selection of traditional Israeli snacks and foods, such as hummus, schnitzel, and falafel. Help children connect with Israel by engaging their sense of taste!

Blue and White Painted Planters
In the United States, Yom Ha'atzma'ut aligns with the beginning of spring. Celebrate these two events together, and create a lasting reminder of Israel, with these painted flowerpots. Click here for directions.

From ReformJudaism.org.

Israel, All Year Long
Some classrooms may prefer to incorporate Israel into their classroom all year long to really develop their students' understanding of and connection to the country. Some ideas include building your very own Western Wall using brown paper lunch sacks, teaching students the Israeli national anthem and other traditional Israeli songs as part of a song-a-week or song-a-month program, decorating your classroom with photos of Israel, and inviting special visitors to the classroom to share their experiences traveling or living in Israel.

And, of course, read a good book!
Explore the Holy Land with Kar-Ben! Travel around Israel while learning the importance of the land through these engaging books. The Kar-Ben website has an entire section dedicated to books about Israel - from books that show preschoolers celebrating Yom Ha'atzma'ut to Grover and his friends cleaning up a playground. Click here to see the full selection!

You can also see a special trailer for a new Fall 2014 book about a true event in the life of Golda Meir, Israel's first female Prime Minister! Goldie Takes a Stand: Golda Meir's First Crusade is available beginning June 1!

Celebrating Shabbat with Author Tracy Newman

In this week's guest blog post, Tracy Newman, author of Shabbat is Coming! talks about preparing for Shabbat and developing traditions with her family.

Find Shabbat is Coming! on the Kar-Ben website.

 

Shabbat is Coming:

On Fridays, my family knows that something is special is coming.

“Is today Shabbat?” my little one asks, a smile on her face.

“Yes, Shabbat begins tonight,” I answer.

“Yay!” She cheers and does a happy dance.

And so we prepare. We buy flowers for the kitchen table. I cook their favorite dinner (chicken cutlets—just like my grandmother used to make). The kids add candles to the candle sticks, fill the Kiddush cup and lay a fresh, sweet challah on the challah board.

In my home, our celebrations aren’t fancy, and the kids are sometimes restless and tired by sunset, but we do make an effort to mark the start of Shabbat as a special occasion. We honor our heritage and feel proud to continue the traditions of the Jewish people.

As the sky grows dark, we:

Light candles and say blessings.

Drink the fruit of the vine (in our case, lots and lots of grape juice).

Say a blessing for the children and give them an extra kiss on the forehead, and

Break off pieces of sweet and delicious challah for each member of our family to eat.

But we also tailor our celebration to fit our unique family, namely a mother who can’t seem to bake a light and airy challah. My home-baked challah is braided with love and filled with a mother’s goodness, but it is also uncomfortably doorstop-like.

I have taken challah-baking class, twice, to learn the art of making fluffy challah. I have tested the temperature of the water on my wrist to see if it will activate the yeast. I have warmed the dough in an oven to help it rise. I have tried recipes in Jewish cookbooks, off the internet, handed out at my children’s camp.

And, still, no matter what, my challahs remain leaden.

So, to save their mother the disappointment that comes from taking a hockey puck out of the oven, and to save my family the chipped teeth that come from eating their mother’s challah, we have adopted a different tradition.

We enjoy the challah from our local bakery. Sweet, braided, light and fluffy. Like no challah I could ever bake.

For your family, I encourage you to explore your own traditions to create a meaningful Shabbat. It is this sense that I hope to convey in Shabbat Is Coming.

No matter how your family chooses to celebrate this joyous day, I hope that you savor the anticipation of preparing for Shabbat every week. May you and your children have fun reading about and celebrating this day.

Shabbat Shalom!

Learn more about Tracy and her books on her website, tracynewmanbooks.com