Ilana-Davita posted a recipe for chicken with red peppers, which I made on Friday. I grilled it and then baked it a bit in the oven right before Shabbat. Tasty, though I think next time I should add more garlic.
A disturbing post on Jews Leaving Sweden – talks about Malmo, which I read about in Caldwell’s book (see below).
Books I’m reading: I read most of the stories in The Jew of Home Depot and Other Stories by Max Apple. I would like to write a post on the story called “Stabbing an Elephant.” Can anyone guess what the story about stabbing an elephant is about? Hint: which Jewish holiday?
I started reading My Father’s Paradise: A Son’s Search for His Jewish Past in Kurdish Iraq by Ariel Sabar, a birthday present from a dear friend (thank you). It is a captivating book; Ariel Sabar tells his story and the story of his father with great flourish and engaging description.
I finished Reflections on the Revolution In Europe: Immigration, Islam, and the West by Christopher Caldwell – I highly recommend it, though the topic is a disturbing one.
Sky Watch Friday is a photo meme with photos of sunrises, sunsets, blue skies, gray skies, pink skies, dark skies, bird-filled skies and any other kind of sky posted by bloggers all over the planet.
Last week my son said he heard a bird making a strange noise. I went outside with my camera and found many birds (thanks to Michelle for identifying the birds as starlings) making noise.
The birds congregated in a pattern.
Then one bird flies off.
Now the sky is filled with birds.
Watch them taking off.
The late afternoon sun makes the wings look golden.
Spring is sprung, da grass is riz.
I wonder where dem boidies is?
Some say da boids is on der wing.
But dat’s absoid!
Da little wings is on da boid…
It is a Jewish custom before the Shabbat in which one sings Shirat HaYam (the Song of the Sea, the song about the crossing of the Reed Sea) to feed the birds. Why feed the birds? I found two explanations:
1) There is a tradition that on the first Shabbat of the Manna, not only did people go out looking for Manna, but they (wicked people, says Rashi) had previously scattered Manna around the camp in order to find it and “make a liar out of Moshe”.
Birds came by early in the morning and ate up the Manna, thus protecting the honor of Moshe, and of G-d Who had said that Manna would not fall on Shabbat. In repayment “one good turn deserves another” style, we feed the birds around this Shabbat when we read of the Manna in the weekly portion.
And here is the second:
2) We joyously sing praise to G-d for His having taken us out of Egypt and saved us from the Egyptians. Singing is the special domain of the birds. That is how they express themselves in acknowledgment of the Creator (so to speak – or so to sing). We borrowed their skill; therefore we “pay royalties” on our Song by feeding birds on (before) this Shabbat.
Since last Friday was right before Shabbat Shira, I decided that this was the perfect time finally to take the new bird feeder I bought out of the box and hang it on our garage window (with the help of my seven-year-old daughter):
After some initial difficulty with the suction cup attachments (you have to first soak the suction cups in hot water, then dry them, then rub them with your thumb, then attach them), I finally got the feeder to stay up properly. However, I don’t believe any of our neighborhood birds have been eating from it. I did see one pecking away at my compost.
I believe this bird is a chickadee (thanks, Eileen).
This is what is left of the finch feeder sock I bought one month ago:
As one of the reasons for the feeding the birds custom is to become more sensitive to the needs of the animals around us, I plan to continue to feed the birds. As Michelle of Rambling Woods has taught me, once you start feeding the birds, they expect it.
I hope to post more bird photos tomorrow for SkyWatch; one day last week, my eldest son said, Eema, there’s a bird making a strange noise outside. I went out with my camera and there many, many, many birds.
Red Skier Statue at Jiminy Peak, Berkshire Mountains, MA
This statue of a red skier and the old photos behind it are in the showcase at the Jiminy Peak Country Inn entrance. Jiminy Peak in Hancock, Massachusetts was founded in 1948 and was named after – Jiminy Cricket. There are no longer t-bars at the mountain like the one the little boy is clinging to in the old photo.
“In August 2007, Jiminy became the first private US business (and only ski resort) to invest in its own megawatt class wind turbine.” (from Wikipedia) The three wind turbines shown on a neighboring peak are newer than the original turbine; one skis right past the first turbine which is on the top of the ski mountain.
My two sons getting a lesson in parallel skiing: the ski instructor is in the green jacket, my sons are wearing bright blue and black with red striped jackets.
I didn’t have much time to blog this week, as my kids are off from school and we went on vacation to the Berkshire Mountains.
If I had more blogging time this week, I would have done a Nature Notes post about both Tu B’Shvat (the Jewish holiday of the trees) and Parshat B’Shalach, before which one is supposed to feed the birds. Here is a nice story about the Maharal, feeding birds, and teaching children.
Thanks to everyone who participated in the Describe Person Experiment. You are still most welcome to participate!
The colors of Robin’s flower and Ilana-Davita’s Swedish shed photos are similar in palette, yet the photos are so different in subject matter and in photographic style.
I really enjoyed Michelle’s videos after the rain then during the snow. She’s funny, whether she means to be so or not… listen to the goldfinch who didn’t get the January memo.
Having been born Jewish, I often find it curious why someone would convert…”There are Jewish roots in my family, on my Dad’s side,” says Rachel. <- I suppose that helps
Eva Abreu in the Home News Tribune wrote about how people use Twitter to connect and produce new business relationships. She included the example of how I connected with Kacy Campion Renna of CCW Insurance, and I wrote up a post about Eva’s newspaper story.
