Group 7-day waking average?

SueEK said:
Hope you are going to give us a running commentary on what happens during Passover, so interesting hearing of what people do, if you don’t mind that is x
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Pesach is the festival which celebrates the freeing of the Israelites by Pharaoh.

So it’s the one with Moses and the ten plagues, followed by a speedy exit from Egypt and through a neatly divided Red Sea etc.

There’s huge dietary restrictions (because what Jewish festival doesn’t have them!) all related to fermentation and bread rising. Basically if anything is capable of fermentation then for Ashkenazi Jews it’s forbidden. Slightly different traditions apply for Sephardic Jews.
Basically this is the “matzo” festival. One the first two nights (last night and tonight) there’s a service which is wrapped around a dinner designed to remember being freed from slavery.
Easter is always around the same time as Pesach but as the Jewish calendar is lunar it doesn’t always match exactly but the Last Supper was a Pesach Seder meal.
If you’re really religious then it’s quite possible that you have a totally spare kitchen with this that are only used during Pesach as it avoids contamination with forbidden foods. My folks switch out all of their cutlery, crockery, cooking utensils and only use kosher for Pesach foods. I’m not that fussed and have never done that.
Things I like about Pesach:
That is a huge, slightly chaotic, family gathering (i think the largest the folks have ever hosted at their house was for 46 of us - all around one long table) and it’s a integral to the Seder service to drink 4 glasses of wine!

There’s a ceremonial plate in the middle of the Seder table, the Seder plate. It is usually round, usually has indents in it which are named for specific items which are either used during the Seder service or are to act as reminders of the slavery or the freedom. One is an egg. Yup a plain hard boiled egg. Still in the shell. And burnt on an open flame.
The egg symbolises renewal, the circle of life etc, and it’s burnt to recall the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem.
There’s a (if you can get it) lamb shank bone. Bitter herb (traditionally horseradish), green leaf (lettuce works fine), charoset (mix of apple, walnut, dates, red wine to resemble the mortar the slaves were forced to use in Egypt when they built stuff for pharaoh).

Egg also, by tradition, is the first thing eaten in the meal itself. Hard boiled. In a bowl. With salt water.
Sounds revolting but it’s really rather special! And it’s only eaten at Pesach so it’s full of memories and I guess that’s partly the point of it as the festival is all about remembering as well as renewal. Egg = reversal. Salt water = tears.
 
10am BBC1 this morning there’s a special edition of Saturday Kitchen looking at Pesach foods and traditions.
 
5.0 for me today. 🙂
Its lashing down outside, so back to bed with my Sunday cryptic crossword.

Dez
 
Morning

Exciting news, Bruce was looking at his emails last night and came across an email from the council in his junk folder that came on Wednesday! Our application is live and we can now bid on properties! There's only 1 available in our town at the moment in the next block to where I currently am and not too keen on it, we have been made aware that upstairs from my grandad's old house will soon be available too though so think we're going to hang off just now and just keep checking what's available regularly

Anyway its a crappy 9.8 for me today

Another call to Abbott on the cards for tomorrow, applied a fresh sensor last night and activated it, 2 minutes later it was hanging off! Not a happy bunny about it!
xx
 
Thought I’d share this story my grandpa used to tell...

It's Passover 1945, thousands of Jews, including their own relatives, were being sent to their deaths daily. Yaakov Friedman, me and Rabbi Yekusiel Halberstam (the Klausenburger Rebbe) had the bravery and presence of mind to secure matzah for the Seder. Here's my personal account.

The war was nearing its end. The relentless droning of American aircraft filled the German skies, followed by the whistling hail of bombs that pounded the Mühldorf railway complex into rubble.

Spared of destruction were the nearby forced labour camps where we toiled under the harshest conditions. We, prisoners, celebrated this mighty display of Allied destruction, but the anxiety of our German overseers ran high. The railway was vital to the war efforts, and orders were issued to repair the damage immediately. The Germans decided to send a group of 12 Jewish slaves to begin the cleanup.

I knew the work would be excruciating, but I hoped that perhaps I would find some food amidst the rubble. I volunteered to go. We arrived at a scene of utter devastation. Freight cars lay on their sides, smoke rising from gaping holes. Stretches of railing were ripped off the ground and tossed aside in twisted heaps.

I managed to disappear between the rows of trains that were still upright. It took a while, but I eventually found a boxcar loaded with wheat in burlap sacks. Wheat! And so close to Pesach! G‑d had granted us a good start, but how could I possibly smuggle the wheat into the camp?

I didn't have much time, and I needed a way to bring in as much wheat as possible without the guards knowing. Lugging the sacks through the main gates didn’t even occur to me; the wheat would be confiscated, and I would be shot without a second thought.

I rummaged around some more and discovered two pairs of trousers. I put them on and cinched the bottoms around my ankles with some rope. I was then able to pour a small quantity of wheat into the space between the two pairs of trousers. Once my legs were filled with as much wheat as I dared carry, I began the long walk back to the camp. I was thus able to smuggle in a fairly large amount of wheat.

We had wheat, but now what?

An old mill was procured from somewhere. We ground the wheat in the dark of night, and using a clean piece of cloth, sifted the flour from grit.

Next, we needed fuel for a fire.

During one stint in the field, I asked everyone to find a stick and carry it back to the camp. The branches were conspicuous and caught the attention of a German guard. He motioned me over.

“Why is everyone with a stick?” “What difference does it make? People want to walk around with a stick,” I answered.

We had flour and we had fuel. We were ready to bake matzah.

One night just before Passover, we set about baking matzah. Near the barrack door stood a prisoner, standing guard with fearful eyes.

We lit a fire under a metal can which functioned as our oven, and the Matzah baking—under Nazi noses—began. The Rebbe, Reb Yaakov, and I mixed the flour and kneaded the dough. We worked quickly, not only because of the strict 18-minute limit but also because of the ever-present danger of being caught. We ended up with 20 small matzahs.

On Pesach eve, after returning from work, our small group sat down for the Seder. The hardships of the Holocaust and daily camp life melted away as we experienced the Biblical redemption from Egypt. We each ate a bite-sized piece of matzah. The taste of tears mingled with the matzah crumbs in our mouths.

We could not sit leisurely and recite the Haggadah, but in those moments, we each prayed, more fervently than ever before or ever since, the words that still ring in my ears: “Next year in Jerusalem.”

Am Yisrael chai.
 
A little too much wine last night and clocks going forward so I was late getting up. But a pleasing 5.3.
 
And an 8.5 for me this morning. Which I’ll take considering yesterday involved:
Wine
Dates
Wine
Potatoes
Wine
Pudding
Wine
 
Morning all a satisfying 5.8 after my second jab yesterday. Feeling fine so far. Absolutely rotten weather, heavy rain and very gusty winds. Nice quiet lazy day beckons I think. Have a good day. 🙂

@ColinUK what a wonderful but heartbreaking tale. I’d like to think the world had moved on since then but unfortunately I’m not so certain it has. :( Enjoy your celebrations, even though I don’t suppose there will be 46 of you this year....again. Fingers crossed for next year.🙂
 
@ColinUK Aha was that your obligatory four glasses of wine? So interesting Colin, thank you, the explanation was great and what a sad but uplifting story from your grandfather. We don’t know the half of it do we and sadly have no concept of how easy life really is these days, despite this dreadful pandemic. I hope you were able to ‘share’ your celebration via Zoom with other members of your family, I found it fascinating xx
 
ColinUK said:
10am BBC1 this morning there’s a special edition of Saturday Kitchen looking at Pesach foods and traditions.
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Thanks for the heads-up @ColinUK. I should think I’ll be ravenous by lunchtime!

Morning good peeps. :D Another 4.1 for me. That’s three in a row.😳

Had a v nice day yesterday - thanks for the good wishes, folks. My mum was full of beans.😛

It’s a bit wet n blustery here. Looking fwd to next week’s heatwave.😎
 
@Bloden My mum was full of beans.
So glad you had a lovely time with your mum x
 
Another, auto assisted, 5.2
Late start that isn’t really, just up at normal time.

I feel rediculously satisfied as we cleaned, and dusted, our house top to bottom yesterday. It was when I moved something and saw how deep the dust was that I decided it had to be done. It took us both over 5 hours!!

Thanks for sharing your grandad’s account of his childhood @ColinUK
Glad that your Mum is good @Bloden

Cool today here. Enjoy whatever you choose to do.
 
eggyg said:
Morning all a satisfying 5.8 after my second jab yesterday. Feeling fine so far. Absolutely rotten weather, heavy rain and very gusty winds. Nice quiet lazy day beckons I think. Have a good day. 🙂

@ColinUK what a wonderful but heartbreaking tale. I’d like to think the world had moved on since then but unfortunately I’m not so certain it has. :( Enjoy your celebrations, even though I don’t suppose there will be 46 of you this year....again. Fingers crossed for next year.🙂
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Those days where we regularly had numbers into the 30s have long since past. It’s now done to regularly 14 with an occasional extra 6.
Mum does everything as theirs is the only house which can comfortably host everyone for a sit down meal.
She’s 79 now and you’d have thought my sister in law would have at least offered once in the 27 years since she joined the family to host at their house. Or even offer to bring food. Or help in the kitchen. But you’d be wrong.

Mum’s acknowledged that if she doesn’t do it then nobody will and that’s bittersweet I’m sure. She loves it but it’s exhausting.
I tend to take the day off and help out as much as I can, and usually stay over so I can help the next day get the table back to normal size and pack the extra crockery and stuff away.
 
SueEK said:
@ColinUK Aha was that your obligatory four glasses of wine? So interesting Colin, thank you, the explanation was great and what a sad but uplifting story from your grandfather. We don’t know the half of it do we and sadly have no concept of how easy life really is these days, despite this dreadful pandemic. I hope you were able to ‘share’ your celebration via Zoom with other members of your family, I found it fascinating xx
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Trust me when I say the four obligatory glasses of wine are more than enough!

According to customer the glasses, or rather cups as they’re stemless, have to be a certain minimum size and you have to drink more than half of the first, second and fourth. The third you have to drain. And I’ve never ever seen anyone get even the slightest bit tipsy at a Seder service which is quite remarkable considering hardly anyone drinks.
 
SB2015 said:
Another, auto assisted, 5.2
Late start that isn’t really, just up at normal time.

I feel rediculously satisfied as we cleaned, and dusted, our house top to bottom yesterday. It was when I moved something and saw how deep the dust was that I decided it had to be done. It took us both over 5 hours!!

Thanks for sharing your grandad’s account of his childhood @ColinUK
Glad that your Mum is good @Bloden

Cool today here. Enjoy whatever you choose to do.
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A HS is a HS by any route!

So congrats!!
 
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