Whishing you all Shanà Tovà!

The Jewish new year is not just a time to renew our resolve to lose another fifteen pounds. Rather, it’s the time when our fate stands in the balance as G‑d reviews our past year and decides whether or not to renew our lease on His planet. As such, Jewish greetings for this time of year (the Jewish New Year is in the fall) reflect our prayers for a good, sweet year up ahead.
The catch-all greeting you can use for the entire season is “Shanah tovah” (שנה טובה), which means “Good year.” The word “u’metuka” (ומתוקה), and sweet, is sometimes appended to the end.

SHANA' TOVA'

High Holidays observances reminder 

Rosh Hashanah is the birthday of the universe, the day G‑d created Adam and Eve, and it’s celebrated as the head of the Jewish year. It begins at sundown on the eve of Tishrei 1 (Sept. 20, 2017) and ends after nightfall on Tishrei 2 (Sept. 22, 2017).

http://www.aish.com/

 

Gifts for Rosh Hashana, colorful pomegranate

There is a common practice to eat a pomegranate on Rosh Hashanah, as its abundant seeds symbolize our hopes that we will come before G‑d with abundant merits.Of course, the pomegranates we have today generally have a bitter, pungent taste. It appears that in Baghdad, where the Ben Ish Chai lived, they had sweet pomegranates. In any event, in light of the custom to refrain from bitter foods on Rosh Hashanah, it would seem proper to dip the pomegranate in sugar to at least diminish its pungency

Small clay pomegranates - hand painted

 Create colorful pomegranates made with  air dry clay. 

You need:
Air dry clay
Acrylic paint
Transparent gloss spray

There are many different varieties of pomegranate. All varieties love the heat, as much as you can give them, but some varieties have a higher tolerance to cold temperatures than others. So, before you purchase and plant pomegranate plants in your landscape or garden, make sure the varieties you choose will stand up to the average low temperatures your area experiences during winter. In general, winter low temperatures should be above 7 degrees F for the cold hard varieties, and above 12 degrees F for the frost sensitive varieties.
Here's a breakdown of what you need to know...

Pomegranates: Old Age Remedy for Todays Diseases (Food and Beverage Consumption and Health)

Clay Apples festive decor

Today we are sharing how I made some easy and cute apples to be used as hanging ornaments or just gifts on Rosh haShanà. They are easy and quick to make, and can be done with a group of children. Adults will enjoy making these as well.

APPLES 

The supplies to make these are:
Air Drying Modeling Material
Acrylic Paints, Paint brush
Deco Art Glue, Sealer,Finish in Gloss
Twine
The process is fairly simple.
Model some clay into an apple, help yourself with a paper model, let it sit a few minutes then cut out the apple shape. While the clay is drying but still moist, cut the hole on the top of each apple. Let the apples dry.
Brush off any dust, and paint. Add a final coat of Sealer to give the apples some shine and protection, but that is optional.
I hope that you are inspired to go. Thanks for stopping by.

Decorative clay fish and pomegranate

There is a tradition at Rosh Hashanah to eat symbolic foods (simanim) meant to help ensure a good new year. This list blends both Ashkenazic (Eastern European) and Sephardic (Mediterranean) traditions and includes recipe suggestions for integrating symbolic foods Fish, too, can be a delicious and symbolic addition to the two-day holiday.
Fish symbolize fertility, prosperity and abundance.
The rimon, or pomegranate, is special for many reasons. It is one of the Seven Species of Israel and has traditionally been used as a "new fruit" for the Shehechiyanu blessing (celebrating new and unusual experiences) on Rosh Hashanah. But there's another link between pomegranates and the Jewish New Year just as the fruits are full of seeds, we hope we'll be similarly full of merits in the coming year.
We decided to make some hanging clay fish and pomegranate 

Air Dry Clay Fish and Pomegranate Decor 

Material:

-Air Dry Clay
-Wax paper
-Rolling pin
-Acrylic paint
-Twine
How to make air dry clay  decor:
First, line your work space with wax paper. I flattened a large chunk of air dry clay on top of it, and then covered it with an additional piece of wax paper to keep it from sticking.  After you cut out the shapes, if you have uneven areas or sharp edges, put your finger in a little bit of water and lightly smooth it over the surface of the clay. The clay must dry for 24-48 hours. It helps to flip it over halfway so that it dries all the way through.
Once dry, decor and paint your fish and pomegranate.

 

Seder Moed: Rosh Hashana/Yoma/Succah: 003

 





Pébéo air dry clay- 1,5 kg

Pinecone apple craft for Rosh HaShanà

I know that a pinecone craft may sound more of a winter activity but there is so much more you can turn a pinecone into: owls or…apples.It’s just a matter of color and leaf  and you can easily have an apple instead of a pinecone. If you want a yellow apple the only thing to change is the color.
                              Pinecone Apple Craft

Materials: pinecones, paint, hot glue, green felt pieces.
1: Gather a few pinecones. If you can’t find any pine trees near your house.
2: Paint your pinecones. We used red paint but yellow or green will also work.
3: Cut out tiny leaves from green felt or paper.
5: Glue the leaves to the sticks.