What's To Do?

ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM
EDITOR

f you are looking for a sweet
treat to help celebrate Rosh
Chodesh,

6.)Turn on oven to 375
degrees.

my

(though a few make it a point
ou probably have
not
to eat or drink, as a sign of
heard about the
repentance, the day before
blue moon and
Rosh Chodesh).
Moon River and the
In ancient times, Jews re-
man in the moon, but do you
frained
from business ventures
know about the new moon?
and celebrated with a festive
Unlike the sun-governed
meal.
Gregorian calendar (the one by
One of the most interesting
which most people in the
aspects
of the occasion is that it
world determine the date,
is specifically a woman's
month and year), the Jewish
holiday — in honor of
calendar is based on the cycles
the Israelites who
of the moon. And while
opted not to
the start of October or
give up their
April may not be a
jewelry for the mak-
cause for excite-
ing of the golden
ment, Rosh
calf. So while
Chodesh, the
If you
moms are permit-
start of a new
would like to
ted to do some
Jewish month,
find out about
light work on Rosh
certainly is —
Rosh Chodesh
Chodesh, they
especially for
groups throughout
should not be
women.
the country, or
cleaning windows
The
start your own,
or scrubbing floors
Jewish
contact the Rosh
or defrosting the
months are
Chodesh Exchange,
freezer. No, my
Nisan, Iyar,
based in Brookline,
friends, that's
Sivan, Tammuz,
Mass.
mans work, come
Av, Elul, Tishrei,
The number is
this day.
Cheshvan, Kislev,
(617) 629-2071.
For this reason, in
Tevet, Shevat,
recent years, women's
Adar and, during the
Rosh
Chodesh
groups have be-
leap year, Adar II. Rosh
gun to spring up around the
Chodesh, literally "the head of
country. Often, they meet for
the month," can include any
the holiday to study and pray.
number of activities. Some
congregations mark the occa-
sion with a special service and
prayers (often said outside, un-
der the moon). Because it's in-
cluded in the Torah as a
festival, Rosh Chodesh usually
means the postponement of fu-
nerals, and fasting is forbidden

consider making moon-shaped
cookies. Here's one recipe to
trY.

• 1 114 Cups butter
• 112 cup softened
margarine,
112 cup povvdefed'-
"tvq,
ar
teaspoon v
• 112
• dash salt

Directions:

,

1.)Combine butter and vanil-
la.
2.)Add powdered sugar, stir-
ring until the mixture is
creamy and yellow. (You can
do this in a mixing bowl or by
hand,)

3.) In a separate bowl, com-
bine flour and salt.

4.)Slowly add flour to butter
mixture (be forewarned: This
will require a strong arm!).
5.) Cover dough and refriger-
ate for 1 hour.

s everybody knows
(or ought to know),
moms are some of the
hardest-working people
around.
They work in the house and
out of the house. They tell bed-
time stories and perform open-
heart surgery, fix delicious
hamburgers and serve as syna-
gogue administrators. No won-
der moms need to put their

A

7.) Remove dough from re-
frigerator and start thinking
creatively. You can use a
cookie cutter to design
moons in the dough, or
shape your
own by
hand. Maybe
you'll want to
make a man sit-
ting in your moon.
Or perhaps an astro-
naut? Space aliens? You
also can decorate with col-
ored sugar (do this before the
cookies bake), or make your
own multicolored frostings by
adding a few drops of food
coloring to white (to be ap-
plied after the cookies are
done).

8.) Place your creations
(which all should be about
the same thickness) on an un-
greased cookie sheet. Cookies
should be at least several
inches apart as they will
spread.
9.) Bake from 5-8 minutes,
until edges begin to brown.

feet up at the end of the day.
A good project for fathers
and children is to make a
booklet with "I will help ... "
coupons. Some ideas: "I will
help make dinner," "I will help
clean the windows" and "I
will help mop the floor." Each
person signs his coupon,
which Mom can use on any
Rosh Chodesh.

O C TO B E R 1 9 9 6

Starry,
Starry Night I