Summer in a corner

Summer fields flowers

Working with stones for Tisha b'Av

The Three Weeks is an annual mourning period that falls out in the summer. This is when we mourn the destruction of the Holy Temple and our launch into a still-ongoing exile.
The period begins on the 17th of the Hebrew month of Tammuz, a fast day that marks the day when the walls of Jerusalem were breached by the Romans in 69 CE. It reaches its climax and concludes with the fast of the 9th of Av, the date when both Holy Temples were set aflame. This is the saddest day of the Jewish calendar, and it is also the date that many other tragedies befell our people .
The Kotel is called the Wailing Wall because of all the tears that Jews have shed over the centuries in front of this holy place. Tears of prayer, pain, hope and joy. There has been so much crying at the Wall that some say the stones themselves look like they are crying...

 

Again some working with stones such as building and creatingspaces during the month of Av,  to keep in mind the stones of the Temple, the stones that can rebuilt, the stones of the Kotel.

Tisha B’Av That Falls on Shabbat or Sunday

In Solomon’s Temple, there were two places reserved for the Holy Ark: One in the Chamber of the Holy of Holies, and one hidden deep beneath that chamber. There are two places to find G‑d’s presence in all its glory. 
One is in the most holy of chambers, beyond the place of light and heavenly incense. There G‑d Himself could be found by the most perfect of mortals on the most sublime day of the year. 
Today, we cannot enter that place. But there is another place, beyond catacombs and convoluted mazes, deep within the bowels of the earth—and yet always accessible to those who will make the journey. 
There, those whose faces are charred with the ashes of failure, their hands bloody from scraping through dirt and stone, their clothes torn from falling again and again, and their hearts ripped by bitter tears—there, in that subterranean darkness, they are blinded by the light of the hidden things of G‑d . . . 
. . . until that Presence will shine for all of us, forever.
Likkutei Sichot, vol. 26, pp. 156ff

Today's handmade kippah - 2

Today kippah is handmade knitted crochet, 100% colored cotton, size 10/15cm.

Black and white.

Black - blue - white

A kippah, kippa, kipoh, kip,(כִּפָּה‎‎ or כִּיפָּה; plural: kippot כִּפוֹת or כִּיפּוֹת; meaning "dome"), Yarmulke (the Yiddish term - from Yiddish: יאַרמולקע‎, from Aramaic ya'ar malka (יאר מלכא), fear (reverence) of the king i.e. G.d), or koppel (Yiddish) is a brimless cap, usually made of cloth, worn by Jews to fulfill the customary requirement held by orthodox halachic authorities that the head be covered at all times. It is usually worn by men and, less frequently, by women (in Conservative and Reform communities) at all times. Most synagogues and Jewish funeral services keep a ready supply of kippot for the temporary use of visitors who have not brought a kippah.

High Holydays ... going looking around

Fishes to color

Fishes drawings to color during summer, will be ready for being a beautifull Rosh ha Shana craft and decoration.

Working with stones

The Three Weeks is an annual mourning period that falls out in the summer. This is when we mourn the destruction of the Holy Temple and our launch into a still-ongoing exile.
The period begins on the 17th of the Hebrew month of Tammuz, a fast day that marks the day when the walls of Jerusalem were breached by the Romans in 69 CE.
It reaches its climax and concludes with the fast of the 9th of Av

Working with stones such as building and writing during the beginning of the month od Av,  it reminds of the stones of the Temple,of the stones to rebuilt IT, of the stones of the Kotel.

Summer Cards

 

 Our summer break - SUMMER CARDS

Old year Israel themed caledar frame

 

Easy way to upcycle your old jewish calendar: Israel images themed frame

Today's handmade kippah

Today kippah is handmade knitted crochet, 100% organic cotton, size 10/15cm.

Beije and white.

A kippah, kippa, kipoh, kip,(כִּפָּה‎‎ or כִּיפָּה; plural: kippot כִּפוֹת or כִּיפּוֹת; meaning "dome"), Yarmulke (the Yiddish term - from Yiddish: יאַרמולקע‎, from Aramaic ya'ar malka (יאר מלכא), fear (reverence) of the king i.e. G.d), or koppel (Yiddish) is a brimless cap, usually made of cloth, worn by Jews to fulfill the customary requirement held by orthodox halachic authorities that the head be covered at all times. It is usually worn by men and, less frequently, by women (in Conservative and Reform communities) at all times. Most synagogues and Jewish funeral services keep a ready supply of kippot for the temporary use of visitors who have not brought a kippah.

Jars for flowers and wheat - Shavuot Decorations.

Aseret ha-Devarim mobile for Shavuot

In the Torah, the so known as the Ten Commandements they are called Aseret ha-Devarim.  In rabbinical texts, they are referred to as Aseret ha-Dibrot. The words d'varim and dibrot come from the Hebrew root Dalet-Beit-Reish, meaning word, speak or thing; thus, the phrase is accurately translated as the Ten Sayings, the Ten Statements, the Ten Declarations, the Ten Words or even the Ten Things, but not as the Ten Commandments, which would be Aseret ha-Mitzvot. 
Judaism teaches that the first tablet, containing the first five declarations, identifies duties regarding our relationship with G-d, while the second tablet, containing the last five declarations, identifies duties regarding our relationship with other people.  

Pop sticks Ten Words mobile

 

Shavuot table decoration - Crochet decorated placemats

Shavuot decorations - crochet flowers

For years, I never made the connection between the customary Shavuot decorations of flowers and any deeper feeling these decorations were supposed to engender.
As an agricultural holiday, Shavuot has always been linked to plant life. In particular, the baskets used to transport first fruits to the Temple were adorned with flowers and leaves. According to another explanation for the decorative scheme, the greens recall Sinai itself. The fact that the Israelites were warned not to allow their livestock to graze near the mountain (Shemot 19:12-13) indicates there was a grassy oasis at its base. The greens serve as vibrant reminders that Torah is “a tree of life to those who hold fast to it” (Proverbs 3:18).

The Omer - Shavuot, Hag ha'Bikkurim

An omer is a unit of measure. On the second day of Passover, in the days of the Temple, an omer of barley was cut down and brought to the Temple as an offering. This grain offering was referred to as the Omer. 

 

Lag b'Omer bonfire

Lag BaOmer, the 33rd day of the Omer count (this year, May 26, 2016) is a festive day on the Jewish calendar. It is celebrated with outings (on which the children traditionally play with bows and arrows), bonfires, and other joyous events. Many visit the resting place (in Meron, northern Israel) of the great sage and mystic Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, the anniversary of whose passing is on this day.
t is traditional to light bonfires on Lag BaOmer eve. These commemorate the immense light that Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai introduced into the world via his mystical teachings. This was especially true on the day of his passing, Lag BaOmer, when he revealed to his disciples secrets of the Torah whose profundity and intensity the world had yet to experience. 
Lag b'Omer this year bonfire craft diorama...