Holocaust Remembrance Day

Holocaust Remembrance Day, first recognized in 1951, was April 28, Monday this year. I wasn’t originally planning on posting about this day of commemoration, but I found a quote by a previous prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints named President Gordon B. Hinckley that I felt inspired to share. He passed away in 2008 and was known for his ability to speak from his heart, and always with a positive twist.

“The Lord never said that there would not be troubles. Our people have known afflictions of every sort as those who have opposed this work have come upon them. But faith has shown through all their sorrows. This work has consistently moved forward and has never taken a backward step since its inception. … Ours is a mission of faith.” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1995, 94–95; or Ensign, Nov. 1995, 71–72).

This quote is not in reference to the Holocaust but I believe it communicates a simple message: Bad things happen, Satan is against good, but if you are standing on the right side, Heavenly Father will defend you. Not if you are perfect, but if you’re trying your best to be on His side. It’s a difficult and often scary world we live in, but it is also a world full of hope and opportunities for betterment because God is full of love and is involved intimately in each of our lives. Sources:

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/yomhashoah.html

Purim

“Purim is the nearest thing Judaism has to a carnival.” –Herman Wouk, This is My God, 81

What is Purim? Purim, celebrated this year on March 16, is a holiday that celebrates Esther, the Jewish Queen who freed her people from the evil plot of Haman, an adviser to the Persian king, who plotted to have all the Jews destroyed. This victory is celebrated with riotously. Children reenact the story of Esther, food is eaten, wine is drunk and music is played. My favorite tradition, though, that I read about is an interactive reading of the Book of Esther in the synagogue wherein children can chime in with boos and cheers accordingly as the rabbi reads the story from the Bible (Wouk, pg.81-84).

Scripture. Esther is an impressive and courageous person. When, fearing she will be killed for approaching the king, she expresses her concern to her cousin, Mordecai, he states: “Who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14). Esther was placed in this position for a reason, to give the Jews a chance to exercise their faith and to free them from an evil plot that was ultimately Satan’s plan to make the Jew’s suffer. I believe that we are all in our current situations in life for a reason but the difficult part can be asking why we are here and what are we supposed to have the courage to do at this point in our lives. But great victories come from asking great questions.

My celebration. For Purim I made hamantaschen, which is a popular triangular shaped pastry made on this holiday, with my friend, Jami. The dough of hamantaschen has orange juice and orange peel in it giving it a special flavor. As I found while perusing different recipes, the sky is the limit when it comes to finding a fruit filling for your pastry. We used blueberry pie filling. The following image is not my own, but similar to the ones that we made.

I also watched a short video by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints that illustrates Esther’s difficult decision to have courage and faith in God:

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2011-03-30-for-such-a-time-as-this?lang=eng

Happy Purim!

Sources: Wouk, Herman. (1987). This is My God. Little, Brown & Company: Boston. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Traditional-Hamantaschen-13706

Tu Bishvat

“… that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.” –Isaiah 61:3

History: My first celebration! Tu Bishvat, also known as the New Year of the Trees, or Israeli Arbor Day, is a minor Jewish holiday that was celebrated this year on January 16th. Tu Bishvat, written about in the Mishna (a book on Jewish Law from the second century), was a day when produce could be collected for taxes from the trees. Produce could only be collected for taxes from the trees once trees were four years old. The first harvest from each tree was also brought to the temple and was called the “first fruits” offering. After the Temple of Herod was destroyed, the Jews continued to celebrate this holiday in one respect by eating a special seder, or meal, on this day that consists of seven fruits mentioned in the Old Testament: barley, figs, pomegranate, grapes, wheat, dates, and olives. In 1948, when Israel’s dream of statehood was finally realized, this holiday celebration became a national custom celebrating spring, the rebirth of Israel, and the beautification of the land. Now, it is customary to eat the special seder, recite blessings, and, of course, plant trees.

Scriptures: I love trees and as I started to think about instances of trees being used as symbols in the scriptures, I was overwhelmed! Also, in the Mormon Church, families are very important, and symbol of ancestors being your roots and descendants being your branches is a common metaphor. What all of these stories seem to have in common, though, is that trees are a strong and sturdy plant, and that is how God wants us to be, strong in our faith, ourselves, our families and in our determination to become like Him. One of my favorite passages in the Book of Mormon talks about how acquiring faith is like planting a seed:

“Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.” (Alma 32:28)

My celebration: Finally, the thing I decided to do for this holiday is to plant a tree, of course! I wanted to plant something native and with the help of my friend and neighbor, I planted two Texas Grapefruit seeds. Since both of these are from seed, it will be awhile before I see anything, but someday, there will be two new trees in the world and that brings me a lot of happiness. Happy Tu Bishvat!

Sources: Hirsh, Jody (2001). Tastes of Jewish Tradition. Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center: Milkwaukee. http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Holidays/Winter_Holidays/Tu_B_shevat/tu_b_shevat.html http://www.religionnews.com/2014/01/21/photo-slideshow-jewish-youth-celebrate-new-year-trees/

http://www.hebcal.com/holidays/2013-2014

Welcome to my year...

"And ye shall be my people, and I will be your God." -Jeremiah 30:22

Shalom! When I was working on my undergraduate degree at Brigham Young University-Provo, I took an Intro to Judaism class as part of my religion credit requirements and it was one of the most interesting classes I ever took. My teacher was fantastic and I developed a great interest in the Old Testament, the faithful and resilient Jews, and their fascinating religion. Last fall, I decided that it would be fun to spend the year of 2014 doing something to celebrate each of the Jewish holidays in order to learn more about each one and relate it to my own membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormonism)and the Book of Mormon, a book we believe to be a companion to the Bible and another testament of Jesus Christ. I hope you will enjoy reading and celebrating along with me.

Since I am not Jewish, I used the following website as a reference for my list of holidays to celebrate. I was surprised by how many there were, so I chose to do all of the major and most of the minor holidays: http://www.hebcal.com/holidays/2013-2014. Also, the Jewish New Year was in September 2013, but I did not find that out in time, so I’m going to start celebrating holidays in January. Last, in my descriptions, I used information I believe to be accurate, but please feel free to comment, correct, or ask questions. L’shanah tovah! (To a good year).