This weekend I did not do anything out of the normal–grabbed some drinks with a few friends, hung out with the family and just relaxed. That is what I do every weekend, but what made this weekend more “Jewish” than others started on Shabbat. Here is why.
Friday
Each Friday I light my Shabbos candles, nothing exciting or real religious, I just light two candles and say the blessing. Then if I am really feeling spiritual I say the Kiddush, sometimes over a nice glass of wine and sometimes over clear liquid over ice, if you get what I mean.
Anyway… my candles had been lit for an hour when one of my girlfriends arrived with her friends to have a quick cocktail at my place before we ventured out onto the streets of Cleveland.
One of the girls (not Jewish) whom I had just met that evening said “Did you get those at TJ Maxx?,” referring to my Shabbos candles and candle holders.
I replied back, “Yes I did,” and as I said that I realized that one of the candles had gone out. I looked to my Jewish friend and said, “The Shabbos candle went out. Oh Crap!”
Here is the Jewhumorous part:
The girl who asked if I got these at TJ Maxx, chimed in very seriously and said,
But you said you got those at TJ Maxx, what is Shabbos?”
The Jewish part of the group laughed until our stomachs ached then had to explain what Shabbat was.
Saturday
My mother and I went out for brunch and were yapping up a storm like a couple of Yentas. I explained to her that I found out why my father had a dairy intolerance after a friend in the medical field told me a quick fact about the Ashkenazis.
We aren’t too sure of my father’s genealogy. It could be a mixture of both Ashkenazi and Sephardic, but that is a whole other story.
So, we’re yappin’ away about gosh only knows what and my lovely mother looks at me and goes,
It makes sense now, you know, the dairy problem, your dad is SeFARTic, after all.”
Sunday
There is nothing more in this world that I love more than a bag of Bamba filled with chocolate creme. To my luck, as I was searching for Luna bars in the University Heights Target store, I looked up on the shelf and before my eyes, a light was shining down (G-d is really watching over us or at least our tummys). There it was, on the top shelf above the Manischewitz Matzo Ball soup mix…
a bag of the holy tasting, mouth watering, Israeli snack, Bamba!
Duh, I bought them, and duh, as soon as the clerk scanned them, I opened them. They were not filled with chocolate but were the regular ones, the peanut flavored Bamba. They tasted just as good. Gosh, do I miss the Holy Land!
akaplan@jstylemagazine.com
