A Lovely Suprise

     I did not manage to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving parade on tv today, but I saw a posting on facebook  of the dreidel float spinning in front of Macy's toward the end of the parade.  I wish I could have seen it there live. Now I know that moshiach truly is on the way.

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Happy Second Night of Hanukkah

Happy second night of Hanukkah!

Happy Thanksgiving and Hanukkah

     Happy Thanksgiving and Hanukkah! Its so fun to say. I don't especially like people combining the two holidays and calling it Thanksgivingkah, although its a step above Christmasakah since Thanksgiving is a secular holiday. 

      I am thankful to be living in the United States. I am grateful for the freedoms we have here that we do't even realize we are so fortunate to have. I am grateful to live in a country where I can openly celebrate Jewish holidays.

The Jewish Museum New York | Light My Fire: A Hanukkah App

The Jewish Museum New York | Light My Fire: A Hanukkah App    The Jewish Museum in New York has created the cutest app for iPhone and android. Its a Hanukkah app. You can choose a menorah which is a replica of a menorah from the museum. You can read about where this menorah is from. You can choose a location for the menorah to be lit and then you can virtually light the menorah on your phone. They even have the brachot listed on the app. Its  just adorable.

Happy First Night of Hanukkah

Happy first light and night of Hanukkah. Though I don't mind Thanksgiving sharing the spotlight with Hanukkah, I'm glad that Hanukkah gets to have the first night on its own. 

Uncertainty

      To live is to live in uncertainty. Everything that seems certain one minute can turn uncertain the next minute. All we know for certain is the present and that is only if we are truly self aware. To live with confidence is to live knowing that only Hashem knows what is going to happen  and to have faith that everything in life will be for the best.
      Easier said than done....

Chagall

      Living in the age of the internet is amazing. When you go to a  museum you can download a free app for the audio tour . You almost don't  have to go to the museum because there are thumbnails of the exhibit in the audio. Then again  nothing compares to experiencing  actual paintings.
      Yesterday I went to the Jewish Museum in New York city to see the Chagall exhibit. His more Jewish oriented works were there. Marc Chagall nee Moshe Segal was born in Belarus in 1887 . He later lived in France and due to World War II ended up in the United States. This exhibit has paintings he made in the 1920's to 1940's . Through his paintings he expressed his fear of impending doom on Europe's Jews in that time period. When one looks at a Chagall painting one really has to stand back and take it all in because there is so much imagery on every inch.
       There is one dark spot in the exhibit. Chagall had a strange interest in Jesus and liked to use Jesus imagery in his paintings to use him as a symbol of Jews. I realize that when one studies art there is a lot of Christian art involved, but it disturbs me that a Jewish artist who  escaped Europe during the holocaust would be so intrigued by  it and used it in his artwork. I am not sure if I can recommend this exhibit with a full heart because of this imagery. Its just a little much for my taste. Perhaps just download the Jewish Museum Chagall exhibit app and see for yourself  if it is worthwhile.