There’s this wonderful look on someone’s face when greeted by a puppet. An instant smile. An eagerness to hear more. Some little children find puppets scary. Hopefully, they grow out of this fear.
Last year we needed entertainment for our Purim party. Puppets! I declared. Do we need to buy the puppets, I was asked. No, I will make them, I said in haste. I had no idea how to make a puppet. But I have sewing skills and determination. The first puppet I made was with orange fabric. He was a bit too scary. He was awkward. He probably won’t show up in any puppet show. Next puppet. I had some grey fabric, and I found a puppet pattern that I highly recommend. The puppet pattern is for a person puppet, but I adopted it and transformed my first one into an elephant. Mr. Peel the elephant came to life after hours of sewing. Meet Mr. Peel the grey elephant. It turns out elephants do have something to do with the Chanukah story. I think in the Book of Maccabees the elephants were defeated.
I then proceeded to create some Purim puppets: Esther, Achashverosh the king, and Haman, the ultimate bad guy. Esther came out as a sassy, middle-aged friendly character. You can see her in my illustration at the bottom of this post. Achashverosh looked like an old guy.
As a puppet, Haman does not appear as threatening as he sounds in the Purim Megilla. I hope he doesn’t scare anyone. Do endearing, friendly villains exist?
A puppet can bring a smile to a child or even a sad adult. The endearing expression, childlike appearance, and non-threatening, friendly voice can soften up many a person.
As I was new to puppet creation, it was challenging yet reward to sculpt their faces, dress the puppets, and do their hair. By the time I created Benny and Judy (see below), I had a little more experience.
Two new puppets were introduced for Chanukah: Benny the Bochur and Judy/Yehudit. The boy and girl pair can play in any future puppet show, explaining whatever topic is chosen.
On Chanukah two yeshiva bochrim of Congregation Etz Ahaim in Highland Park, New Jersey presented a puppet show starring Mr. Elephant Peel, Benny the bochur, and Judy/Yehudit. Mr. Elephant explained to the children why we play dreidel on Chanukah.
illustration of Esther the puppet
It’s fun to draw and paint a puppet. Such expression!
This was my father’s chanukiah – as he passed away in October, we had to decide whether to give away his chanukiah or to use it. We decided to keep it. The middle branch, called the Shamash (literally the helper), is broken off, and I plan to get it fixed sometime before the next Chanukah. I am hoping a jeweler can fix it. The photo above shows the candles as they were lit on the third night.
Here is the chanukiah on the last night of the holiday. You can tell it is the last night because one typically lights from left to right, and that chanukiah is going to get filled with light all the way to the very end! The other light in the photos are from our other chanukiot (or their reflections).
Thursday Challenge theme is Light (Photos of beautiful light, reflecting, shining through, colourful,…).
Radish, Kale, Parsely in watercolor by Leora Wenger, 2011
It is customary to eat foods with oil on Chanukah. However, one is not obliged to eat fried foods on Chanukah. Yes, yes, I will be serving latkes (potato pancakes) as well as sufganiyot (doughnuts, usually jelly doughnuts but we leave out the jelly). For this post, however, we will be creating salad dressing with olive oil. That way, one can fulfill the custom of eating foods with oil in a healthy manner (yes, first cold pressed olive oil, uncooked, is actually good for you). And why do we eat foods with oil on Chanukah? Because of the little vial of oil found in the Temple in the days of the Maccabees – the vial was only supposed to light the menorah for one day, but miraculously, it lasted for a whole eight days (thus, eight days of Chanukah).
So here are some salad dressing ideas:
Olive oil, raw apple cider vinegar, sea salt, turmeric, pepper and garlic powder
Olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper
Ilana-Davita’s Sweet and Tangy Dressing (balsamic vinegar, olive oil, sweet chili sauce, salt and pepper)
Rachel: crushed garlic, dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, dried oregano (if your kids don’t mind “green stuff”) and olive oil
Rachel: lemon juice, cumin, salt and pepper, and olive oil
Olive oil, honey, mustard, a little orange juice and a little vinegar, salt and pepper.
Ilana-Davita: balsamic vinegar, olive oil, soya sauce, lime juice, salt and pepper
Sandy: Cilantro or basil in the blender with vinegar and olive oil.
Get the idea? How do you dress your salad? If you comment and it fits the olive oil category, I’ll add it to the list.
Chanukah is over, but I still have photos to share. My husband’s chanukiah has a spot for the shamash, the candle helper that lights the oil wicks underneath. It was nice that the chanukiah was built with a place for a candle, but did the designer have to put the candle directly above the oil cups so every year it bends over like this? It would have made more sense to put the candle holder on the side, although it would take away from the chanukiah’s “classic” look.
Chanuka is over, until next year, but I still have photos to share! This one is of the shamash; my husband and my three children are all holding their own as they say the bracha (blessing) before lighting the candles. The shamash is the helper and does not count as one of the 8 lights of Chanuka.
Yesterday I went to a lovely party. Some child had taken a whole plate of fancy chocolate candies and had nibbled exactly one bite out of each one. My friend the hostess was not amused. She considered putting up a sign: for adults only. I said maybe the parent should eat the candy if the child wants to try. Of course, then my daughter took one bite of a chocolate covered marshmallow candy without realizing it was marshmallow, and I had no interest in eating it. What do you think?
Our rabbi, Rabbi Bassous, gave 5 reasons why the rabbis chose to celebrate the miracle of the oil on Chanukah. An alternative question might be: Why emphasize the oil instead of the military victory?
(My apologies if I restate any of his talk incorrectly).
Humility: in crushing the olive to make the oil, we learn humility. We should learn to be humble in our lives.
Permeation: Oil permeates the skin if we rub it like an ointment. Just as Joseph was involved in Egypt in a good way, so we Jews should be involved in the world around us.
Water and oil separate: water does not mix with oil. We should not mix in and dissolve in greater society. Joseph was involved in Egypt, but he retained his Judaism.
Oil floats to the top: if we are good, hardworking people, we can rise above in society.
Light unto others: the lighted oil is symbolic of being a light unto others.
If you need further explanation or elaboration, feel free to ask the comments (especially if you don’t celebrate Chanukah or if you just don’t understand one part of what he said – I’m open to questions).
Last year we needed entertainment for our Purim party. Puppets! I declared. Do we need to buy the puppets, I was asked. No, I will make them, I said in haste. I had no idea how to make a puppet. But I have sewing skills and determination. The first puppet I made was with orange fabric. He was a bit too scary. He was awkward. He probably won’t show up in any puppet show. Next puppet. I had some grey fabric, and I found a puppet pattern that I highly recommend. The puppet pattern is for a person puppet, but I adopted it and transformed my first one into an elephant. Mr. Peel the elephant came to life after hours of sewing. Meet Mr. Peel the grey elephant. It turns out elephants do have something to do with the Chanukah story. I think in the Book of Maccabees the elephants were defeated. 
