COMPILED BY ELIZABETH 'APPLE
Read To Me
I
f you haven't checked out the finds at the
Midrasha, at the library of your synagogue
or temple, or even seen the new Jewish
books at your local public library, you don't
know what you're missing.
There are adventure books and fairy tales,
novels of families and immigrant children mak-
ing their way in America, and modern versions
of biblical stories.
Instead of watching TV, why not go on a
search for the most inter-
esting Jewish book you can
find? You can research this
by yourself, or invite your
parents to join you on the
quest.
After you've found something enticing, why
not read it together as a family? Set a time to
get together at night, with each person read-
ing a chapter every night.
Letter-Perfect Cookies
Charles Strauss with his son Levi in
1880.
'
.1aV:
I And Places
Tidbits from
Jewish history.
evi Strauss was born in 1829
in Bavaria, Germany. He
came with his family to the
United States, settling first
in New York, then moving west dur-
ing the gold rush.
In 1850, Strauss opened a dry-
goods store in Sacramento, Calif.
He began manufacturing pants,
made from denim, which he called
"Levis." Gold miners were the first
to buy them, then farmers, and fi-
nally the pants became popular
among the general public. Strauss
and his two brothers, along with
his brother-in-law and his four
sons, became partners and found-
ed the San Francisco-based Levi
Strauss & Co., which marketed the
pants throughout the world.
Strauss made millions with his
jeans, and also branched out in the
bank and insurance businesses,
among others. A member of Con-
gregation Emanu-El in San Fran-
cisco, he was a philanthropist who
made generous donations to Jew-
ish, Protestant and Catholic or-
phanages. fi
Strauss died in 1902.
L
A
s you begin
the new year even more excit-
preparing to head back ing, have a Shabbat picnic and
to school after the
enjoy the fall weather.
holidays, con-
Alef Bet Cookies
sider making the
\
Make Jewish learning
Shabbat closest to
sweet for the whole fami-
that day a back-to-
ly by baking Alef-Bet
school Shabbat cele-
cookies. This can be
bration.
:‘ family project. After the
Start by creating a
. cookies are baked,
special menu (see
use decorator
recipe below). During
frosting or gel
the meal, have family
tubes to write
share blessings as you
Hebrew letters
begin a new year.
and/or words on
Then learn something
the cookies.
together at the Shab-
1 2 cups flour
bat table, perhaps fo-
11 2 lb. butter
cusing on an upcoming Jewish or margarine, room tempera-
holiday or the weekly Torah ture
portion. To make the start of
2 egg yolks
-
Parsha Project
ecause of the holiday,
the coming week's
Torah portion is a dou-
ble header. On Tues-
day, Simchat Torah, we will
read the last sedra of the
Torah, VeZot HaBracha
(Deuteronomy 33:1 - 34:12).
On Shabbat, we read the first
sedra of the Torah, Bereshit
(Genesis 1:1-6:22). (On Sim-
chat Torah, the first 33 vers-
es of Bereshit also will be
read.)
All of chapter 33 in VeZot
HaBracha comprises Moshes
final address to the Jewish
people. He bestows a blessing
upon the people as a whole,
and upon each of the 12 tribes.
Chapter 34 (all of 12 verses)
is the poignant account of
Moshe's final hour, when he
climbed Mount Nebo and God
showed him the Land of Is-
B
rael. The parsha, and the
Torah, concludes with an epi-
taph to God's greatest prophet.
Bereshit is the account of
the creation of the world; the
life of Adam and Eve in the
Garden of Eden and their ex-
pulsion from the garden; the
murder of Abel by his broth-
er, Cain; the genealogy of
Adam and Eve to the 10th
generation; and the introduc-
tion of Noah. (The title of John
Steinbeck's 1952 novel East of
Eden was derived from verse
3:24).
For a project:
Because of the great mirth
and festivity in synagogues on
Simchat Torah, the parsha of
VeZot HaBracha often is not
given as much attention as the
rest of the Torah. Take time
to carefully read VeZot
HaBracha and contemplate
Good Picks
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup sugar
Cream butter and sugar un-
til light and frothy. Add all oth-
er ingredients and mix
thoroughly. Make two rolls out
of dough, about 1 1/2 inches in
diameter. Wrap in wax paper
and refrigerate overnight.
Dough must be very cold when
cut.
Slice roll to form cookies,
about 1/8" thick. Grease cook-
ie sheet. Lay out cookies, al-
lowing space between each.
Bake at 375 degrees for about
eight minutes.
Submitted by Julia Green-
blatt, program coordinator for
Jewish Experiences for Fami-
lies.
One of the best parts of autunm
is going apple picking. Nu-
merous local orchards allow
patrons the opportunity to
pick various kinds of apples,
which can be used for every-
thing from jelly to pies.
In Hebrew the word for ap-
ple is tapuach. The Bible de-
scribes the aroma of an apple
tree as similar to the fra-
grance of one's beloved, and
rabbinic literature recom-
mends sending apples to sick
friends.
One orchard in metro De-
troit to try is Spicer's, where
you can also find apple cider-
flavored
slurpees.
ve
Spicer's is located
or photo that vrot
at 10411 Clyde
#04)d, for The ,ticiet:siz, :News
1, 'at) for the Family see ion?
Rd. in Fenton,
(313) 632-
Ple se send to
a
n,
Elizabeth Ap plehaul
7692. (For a
Family Furt, el° The Jewish News,
complete
list-
27676 Franklin.Rd
ing of local or-
outhfielt3„. MI. 4*)-34.
chards,
see
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property of 'he .kut-,W.1 Aezn,
Ellyce Field's
et,
attli et tarot tw, tvi %Arnt.
Kids Catalog of
Michigan Adventures).
its intricate symbolism and
the simple, yet powerful de-
scription of Moshe's demise.
Verses 2:8-14 of Bereshit are
a description of the Garden of
Eden and the lands sur-
rounding it. Make a map of
what you think the garden
looked like. Remember to in-
clude the Tree of Knowledge,
of Good and Evil and of Life.
-