These long, rainy days have us wondering when it will ever stop. And the moment it does, we run outside to enjoy the brief hours of dry weather before the next onslaught.

Certainly we’re grateful for the break from California’s long years of drought. But still, some days it feels like we should build a new Noah’s Ark in our backyard and start collecting animals two by two!

With all this extra indoor time I’m spending this rainy season, I decided to do a little investigating into traditional Jewish thought about rain.

Did you know that the popular Israeli folk dance “Mayim Mayim” was written in 1937 by Emanuel Pugashov Amiran using lines from the Book of Isaiah, chapter 12 verse 3, [3] “With joy you shall draw water from the springs of salvation”? (1)

Mayim Mayim
Ushavtem mayim b’sason mimainei hayeshua
Mayim mayim mayim mayim, hey, mayim b’sason
Mayim mayim mayim mayim, hey, mayim b’sason
Hey, hey, hey, hey

Hey, hey, I bet you didn’t know that!

Biblical Israel was a pretty dry place and so there are ancient prayers and historic tales relating to rain or lack thereof.

You’ll find some rainmaking advice in the Torah in Leviticus:
“If you walk in My statutes, and keep My commandments, and do them; then I will give your rains in their season, and the land will yield its produce, and the trees of the field will yield fruit.” (Leviticus 26:3-4)
Followed by:
“But if you will not listen unto Me, and will not do all these commandments… and I will make your heaven as iron.” (Leviticus 26:15…19)

As an agricultural society, praying for rain is integral to religious practice during the winter season. From the end of Shmini Atzeret in the fall to the reawakening of Spring at Passover, the following extra words are added to the traditional Amidah morning prayer: “And give dew and rain for a blessing.”

There’s even a wonderful Hasidic tale about Honi the Circle Maker who brought rain to the drought stricken people of Israel.

Apparently, rainmaking skills ran in the family for there’s a later story about the grandson of Honi who also was called on to bring rain to his community. The delightful, instructional tale can be found in this story about Abba Chilkiah on Chabad.org.

Lastly, a little reminder from a Midrash from Genesis about why rain is important and we should love every last (and seemingly everlasting) drop of rain:

B’reshit Rabbah 13:3
“Three things are of equal importance: earth, humans and rain…each word (in Hebrew) has three letters to teach us that without earth, there is no rain, and without rain, the earth cannot endure, and without either, humanity cannot exist.” (4)

So, next time the rains start falling, don’t complain. Instead, grab a partner or two and do a little Jewish rain dance “Mayim Mayim.”

Raised in a deeply Jewish home, I knew the basics of Jewish practice.  However, as with many boomers, during my college years, my Jewish practice faded to Hanukkah latke parties and not much else.

Post college, my observance continued to lapse… until I became pregnant. That life change made me realize I wanted to raise our family Jewishly.  Except after years without regular practice, I didn’t know where to start! My husband was willing but his Jewish knowledge was even more fragmentary than mine.

So, I checked the local bookstore for introductory guides (these being pre-internet days) and found a book called, comfortingly, To Be A Jew by Hayim Halevy Donin.

This volume became a dog-eared resource over the years providing an overall guide to holidays, prayers, practices and rituals that would help us create a Jewish home.  It became our “bible” of Jewish observance. Even today, this stained and tattered book is still my go to resource.

Over the years, we’ve certainly collected and read other books that helped deepen and amplify the meaning of holidays.  We bought Haggadot for Passover and found children’s books that deepened our children’s Jewish connection.

As the people of the book, Jews have always turned to words and pages to help light the way of our lives. As we all prepare for Hanukkah gift-giving this year, I thought it would be fun to crowd source favorite or treasured Jewish books that your family enjoys or that were meaningful to you at some point in your life to inspire others’ holiday giving.

I invite you to share a book or three with us. Why was it meaningful to you?  Who recommended it to you? Sometimes, it may be the referrer that made all the difference as you’ll see from two of my three recommendations below.

Jacob the Baker by Noah benShea.  This gentle retelling of Hassidic tales by a simple baker offers ancient wisdom for our modern age.  This book was recommended by Rabbi Stan Levy of Bnai Horin in Los Angeles who taught the Jewish spirituality classes that enriched our young family and our learning when we lived there.

As a Driven Leaf by Milton Steinberg. This powerful novel of the Talmudic sages in Roman times captures the tug between being Jewishly observant but also part of the contemporary culture. It feels vividly contemporary to life today. My first copy was lent to me by Rabbi Daniel Gordis, when were young colleagues at the University of Judaism (now American Jewish University) in Los Angeles.

The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman. This brilliant re-imagining of life at Masada in ancient times made our 2014 visit to Israel and this desert plateau deeply real. In every crannied rock high above the Negev, we could imagine the lives of rebel Jews on a barricaded plateau holding out against the Roman invaders in 70 C.E.

Now it’s YOUR TURN to share.  What Jewish books do you treasure and why? What books shaped your Jewish life or that of your family? What’s your favorite Jewish book to give as a gift?

And if anyone knows a children’s book that’s perfect for a little Jewish grandchild in an intermarried family, please let me know!

On Sunday, July 17, we opened the floodgates to our new Oasis Play Space on the Jessica Lynn Saal Town Square. After months of planning and construction (and curiosity), our unique and amazing Oasis was opened to the community.

The Play Space, which has been featured in J. The Jewish News Weekly of Northern California, was designed by Scientific Art Studio. The Oasis welcomes families to a creative space that is infused with Jewish spirit and also meant for everyone to enjoy.

Hidden Meanings:

Several elements of the Oasis have Jewish significance and also reflect our history as desert wanderers.

Tent of Abraham and Sarah: Adults and children alike can find refuge under the shaded, sturdy tent. The tent holds special meaning as the Jewish patriarch and matriarch Abraham and Sarah always welcomed guests and strangers to their tents, making them feel at home.

Giant Pomegranate: The interactive pomegranate stimulates imaginative play for children ages six months to two years, but it has a deeper Jewish meaning, too. Pomegranates, a Mediterranean fruit, are considered auspicious for their numerous seeds. Jewish legend says that pomegranates contain 613 seeds, the same number as the Torah commandments. The pomegranate symbol is found throughout our campus from the mezzuzot on our doors to the pomegranate color on some of our buildings.

Water Cave: An oasis is known for being a haven of water in an otherwise dry landscape. Californians are, unfortunately, no strangers to water shortages so this cave was designed to conserve water. When little ones crawl inside the cave, they see water cascading on the plexiglass panel above their heads.

Giant Pottery and Archaeo-Climber: Jewish civilization stretches back thousands of years, which means Israeli archaeologists often find artifacts from the past. The giant pottery and archaeo-climber were designed to capture the excitement of finding bits of our ancient heritage.

Climbable Papyrus Reeds: Reeds have a place in Jewish lore from the crossing of the Sea of Reeds to Moses’ cradle being found in the reeds by Pharaoh’s daughter.  Children are encouraged to explore the reeds, stepping from tree to tree (or sometimes climbing them!).

Community Reviews:

Beyond its hidden meanings, the most important thing about the Oasis is that it’s fun to play in and explore. But don’t take our word for it. Here are a few reviews from Opening Day.

J-Camper Sam: “I really like it because of the climbing and the slides. I also went through the tunnel.”

Madhu B., mother of a toddler and seven-year-old: “I was happy to see there is a section for small kids, too.”

Rosalind K: “It is fabulous! My great-grandchildren are having a fabulous time.”

The Oasis was made possible through contributions to our ongoing capital campaign and through generous support from the Koret Foundation.

Our dream of a bustling, joyful and multi-generational Jessica Lynn Saal Town Square is now fully realized as families, residents and first time visitors mingle, play and make new connections at our Oasis.  Not just on opening day but on every day since.

Come and play!

Editors Note: We have several delightful Passover stories coming up. Today, we’ll start with a Passover memory. We hope you’ll share some of your Passover memories, too. Your comments are always welcome!

Passover desserts are famously leaden. Without leavening, you are basically eating sweetened bricks. Or pasty (nasty) egg white meringues. Or dense, sticky macaroons.

But it wasn’t always so—at least not when we celebrated Passover at my Bubbe’s house. My grandmother made a sponge cake that was as light as angel food cake, as bright as orange cake and as rich as jelly roll cake. It was worth suffering through a week of matzah to inhale the airy crumbs of her signature Passover dessert.

The secret to the magic of her cake was 13 eggs. Yes, a baker’s dozen! This is not cake for the faint-hearted (or the cholesterol challenged) but if you make it, you will never see Passover desserts the same way again.

If I exaggerate, it’s just that my Passover Sponge Cake memory is as rich as Proust’s paean to his sweet madeleines.

My reverie on sponge cake returns me to my Brooklyn childhood days when the amazing Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus came to town each spring. One year, when I was about five and my sister was seven, my Bubbe and Zayde took us to the circus during Passover. In our young lives, we had never seen such wondrous sights as dancing elephants and prancing horses with princesses pirouetting atop. We’d never thrilled to trapeze artists flying through the air with the greatest of ease or clapped to the comedy of a cluster of clowns collapsing into a compact car. We were mesmerized.  And while we watched these astounding feats, we didn’t eat the boxes of Cracker Jacks or bags of peanuts hawked by ringside vendors. No, my grandparents were strictly Orthodox and so we ate only strictly Kosher L’Pesach. Instead, as we sat spellbound throughout the afternoon, we munched on Bubbe’s lighter-than-air sponge cake.

Circuses and Bubbe’s sponge cake are inextricably linked in my sense memories. I confess that I never made Bubbe’s sponge cake when I grew up but one of my sisters did.  And she was prescient enough to ask my grandmother to dictate the recipe.

And now, I bequeath it to you. I can promise you a revelatory dessert experience… but not a circus! That’s my Passover dessert memory.  I invite you to create yours.

Bubbe’s Passover Sponge Cake

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups of matzo cake meal

1 tablespoon potato starch

13 eggs, separated

1 glass seltzer (about 10 oz)

juice and rind of 1 lemon

3 1/2 cups sugar

juice of 1 orange (approx. 2 oz)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350

Beat egg whites, seltzer and sugar until light and fluffy.  Combine lemon, orange and yolks in a separate dish. Add cake meal to egg yolk mixture. Fold eggs whites into cake meal & yolk mixture. Don’t over-process or cake will fall.

Put into floured and greased cake pans.

Put into oven.

For first 20 minutes,  keep oven door slightly ajar using a folded paper. Remove and bake for another 40 minutes or until knife comes out clean.

What could be better than exploring Charlie’s chocolate factory or visiting Gepetto’s workshop? We think it was our trip to Scientific Art Studios (SAS) where the OFJCC’s Oasis Playground is being fabricated.

In January, the OFJCC senior management team visited SAS at their Richmond workshop to see the progress on our Oasis and we all became kids for a few hours!

SAS’s huge complex feels like a movie backlot with crafting sheds housing both current work as well as hulking replicas of projects for past clients like the Monterey Aquarium, San Francisco Zoo and AT&T Park.

We saw scale models of our intimate “tent of Abraham,” watched the tipping tunnels of our Rube Goldberg-y “water wall,” saw and touched their ongoing experiments in fabricating exciting—but safe—slides and other enticing play features. We watched SAS artisans and craftspeople at work, testing colors, materials and textures all with the goal of building us a visually and physically exciting children’s wonderland that adults will enjoy, too.

Coming to the OFJCC June 2016!

More than 750 people gathered at the OFJCC on November 22 for an extraordinary conference on the future of Israel, its relationship with American Jewry and the relevance of Zionism today.

Presented in collaboration with Haaretz newspaper, Zionism 3.0 brought outstanding journalists, political thinkers and members of Israel’s Knesset to the OFJCC for eight hours of thoughtful discussions in keynotes, panels and breakout sessions. Among the dozens of speakers were: The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg, MK Deputy Foreign Minister Tzippi Hotovely, MK Zouheir Bahloul, The Wall Street Journal’s Bret Stephens and Haaretz Editor-in-Chief Aluf Benn.

Reflecting on the event, OFJCC Board President Susan Saal said: “We proved without a doubt that we are vital to the entire Jewish community, that we convene the most important conversations, and that we attract the most knowledgeable, most influential writers, thinkers and politicians to help us learn and think and grow as a community together.”

Speakers and participants ranged from the far left to the far right; the commonality was a love of Israel. We even had a moment of “civil disobedience” from a few “non-Israel lovers” who briefly interrupted but did not detract from a day dedicated to civil conversation and open dialogue.

Attendees attested that the event set a new standard for the OFJCC as a safe and welcoming place to engage the community in civil but frank dialogue about important—and tough—Jewish issues:

“Congratulations on what was clearly a spectacularly successful event. Outside of an AIPAC plenary or the G.A., I don’t think I’ve seen anything else like it locally.” -Dan Pine, J Weekly reporter and BDS panelist.

“Every person who spoke made reasoned and valuable points, including those I don’t agree with. Attending a breakout group to hear Amos Schocken was a magic half hour with a literary hero. All the speakers inspired me to return to Israel.”  – Julia Gilden, former New York Times writer

The event was organized under the leadership of Board Member Orli Rinat and ICC Director Ronit Jacobs with the help of a strong steering committee. The entire ICC Department—and many other OFJCC departments—also worked tirelessly to create a fantastic program and setting for the day.

This event was supported by dozens of community organizations and individual sponsors who raised the funds needed to host this event and to fly many speakers from Israel and elsewhere.

Rabbi David Booth of Kol Emeth, one of the sponsoring organizations wrote: “You turned the OFJCC into a regional center of Zionist education and civil discourse. That is truly special. I am so glad Kol Emeth sent well over 40 participants. This is such a great change for the JCC…to become a center and a place of Jewish convening around great culture and ideas.”

More About  Zionism 3.0

• Video of speakers and panels
• A great write-up in the J Weekly
• A full list of speakers and bios
• More articles on Zionism 3.0: We have  print copies of theHaaretz issue dedicated to Zionism 3.0 with contributions by most of the speakers, including our CEO Zack Bodner. If you would like a copy, please let us know.

One of the motifs of our recent Bologna stay (besides vast gluttony) was discovering the old Jewish ghetto there. We spent some our first day wandering the maze of alleys where we thought the ghetto was but, alas, found nothing. Why? Because Google sucks at navigation in medieval cities.

That night we researched the ghetto, seeking locational guidance and history from local sources. From Bologna Welcome:

“The layout of Bologna’s 16th century ghetto can still be precisely traced amid the narrow streets in the medieval heart of the city; here, a maze of alleys, covered bridges and small windows tells the story of a whole community forced to live in a specific area of the town by order of the Papal State beginning from 1556.

In Bologna, Jews lived in the ghetto until 1569, when they were expelled for the first time. In 1586, they were allowed to come back to town and lived here again until 1593, year of their final expulsion: 900 people left Bologna and no Jewish community was allowed into town for more than two centuries. ”

The ghetto was, of course, located in the shadow of the church in order to keep an eye on the Jewish community. The trouble for us is that Bologna is littered with churches!

The better clue we discovered the next day was to walk to the “fraternal twin towers” in the center of the city then head under an arch on Via Zamboni. When we found a street named Purgatorio, it was no surprise that that was where the Jews had been sequestered.

It being Saturday, the Museo Ebraico was closed. However, we learned that night was the first in a series of Jewish Jazz concerts at the Museo and we were now prepared to navigate our way back.

After dinner we wandered back to the ghetto along narrow and quiet streets. Arriving just a few minutes before start time we were amazed to see a long line waiting at the gate. About 250 people had the same as idea as us.

At nine, the gate opened to a stone courtyard and somehow we all fit. We stood near the back. Then we waited. And waited.

My claustrophobic thoughts during the wait flitted to what it must have been like being corralled in this quarter as a medieval Jew. And then I thought of the tragic Jewish ghettoes of the twentieth century … then on to more modern terrors; I wished the few police nearby had inspected our bags and persons as we filed into this crowded gallery. There were no inspections.

Finally, my thoughts drifted to the amazing human migration occurring right now in neighboring countries. The refugees from war and privation in Syria and other conflicts were walking across Hungary to Austria and Germany by the thousands. And they were welcomed! Different times for sure.

And then, suddenly the music began. Lively uptempo klezmer interpretations of Kurt Weill filled the night air with joy, creativity and life. Couples cuddled in the tight quarters, enjoying a free concert and community. The musicianship of the Gabriele Coen Quintet was engaging, adding their modern touches of tapping and funk to Weill’s classic works.

We wended our way home passing plazas filled with other night musicians. This city loves music. The ghetto Ebraico is today a place of art and culture…and still the echoes of history can be heard if you listen to the walls.

Find out more about this area here.