Connecting on Shabbas

The Jews Secret Weapon is 

Shabbat. It brings out a feeling of Connectedness  and Community — 

Where we learn hummus tastes better when eaten with other people. Spending time with your family and friends is not an option it’s a way of life. You’ll see animated discussions amongst friends, grandparents with their grandkids, lovers all sharing little moments. 

It's a big deal spending Christmas or Thanksgiving with their family but it can often be a forced affair. When you see this every weekend from Friday-Saturday it provides clarity into the spirit of the Jewish People.

Friends and family  are engaging and connecting  - face to face - not for any other reason but to share a Shabbas meal.

A reminder that no one is alone and all problems can be shared. 

Jews have a deep bond of connectedness  - within 60 seconds you will find a common friend or relative with deep roots and a strong emotional connection.

.

There is a deep cultural sense of wanting to help others not for the sake of gaining something but to make sure a friend can prosper. 

It is this fundamental element of the culture that is an incredible strength

The number of times someone has introduced me to a friend of theirs because they know they might find meeting useful.

 Just helping someone without expectation because their success is just as important as yours - makes me proud to be A part of the tribe! 

It's hard to get good help these days

@rglover702

By RICHARD GLOVER

It's hard to get good help these days, particularly around the home, but many young Sydneysiders have come up with an ingenious solution. They have a middle-aged couple who they allow to live-in.

  "It works perfectly," said Phil, a 22-year-old man, interviewed for this article. "They are on-hand to do all the practical work around the house – cooking, cleaning, gardening and so forth – but have each other for company. The pair I have are really quite sweet together."

     Phil's middle-aged couple live in the main bedroom of the house and have full rights to come and go as they please. "As long as all the work is done, and the place is neat, I really don't care what they do. I give them complete freedom."

    In most cases, the arrangement has been in place for as long as anyone can remember. "They've been around since I was born", said Marco, 32, another young householder, "Come to think of it, the two of them brought me home from the hospital. On occasion, I've even left the house for a couple of years, but, when I return, they are still here, and everything is in working order. I love the way I can walk out knowing that everything will be taken care of."

    In most cases the middle-aged couple do all the shopping, most of the cleaning and pay all the bills – including electricity, gas, council rates and sometimes even the cost of the internet.

    Says Tim, a 21-year-old from Concord, "I have some friends who don't have an middle-aged couple living in their house and frankly it's hard for me to know how they cope. I mean who pays the bills? Who handles the dirty dishes and stuff? What do they eat when it's dinner time? It really has me beat."

     Of course, like all domestic arrangements, there are occasional problems. Amy, a 28-year-old from Menai, says the only negative is the way her own middle-aged couple sometimes behave as if they own the place.

    "Of course," she says, "technically speaking they do. They bought it when I was five years old. But that's no excuse for them roaming around the property at will, especially when I have friends over."

     Amy enjoys watching edgy comedies such as Girls, Broad City and Inside Amy Schumer with a group of what she calls "gal pals". "I'm open-minded, and so are my friends, but there are shows which are just not appropriate for an middle-aged couple. It makes us self-conscious to have the two of them in the room, especially when they laugh at the jokes."

  Amy paints a disturbing picture of herself gathered with a few friends in the home's kitchen/living room. "It will be 8 or 9 o'clock at night and the two oldies will come out three or four times – opening and closing the fridge, trying to find their reading glasses, getting a glass of water, sometimes even making conversation with my friends."

    Amy groans with embarrassment. "I think people should treat their middle-aged couple with respect, but respect is a two-way street. They have a perfectly nice front bedroom in which they are free to spend their evenings."

    Tim, 23, from Bondi, agrees it's not always plain sailing. "No really, my two are great – except when they say that I treat the place like a hotel. I always reply: 'well, helloooo, if you think you're running a hotel, you'll need to try a bit harder with the thread count on the sheets. And where's my room service?'"

     Dig a little deeper, though, and there's a real affection among many of these young people towards their live-in help.

    Tina, 39, seems particularly fond of the male half of her couple: "Occasionally I have to remind the old bloke about the state of the garden – especially if I'm having guests over – but most of the time he's a real self-starter. And what a loveable old dear. The middle-aged lady pretty much supervises herself. She's great. Sometimes I think she has even higher standards than myself!"

    So what's in it for the middle-aged couples? I attempted to interview several for this article, but kept getting the brush-off. "Love to speak," said one, "but I'm just too busy cleaning up after last night.  Amy had some friends over to watch the DVD of Broad City. Don't tell her, but Leo and I are catching up on it today. It's wickedly funny and actually a little bit sexy."

    I could tell the woman couldn't wait to get off the phone.

    "Maybe," she said, "we could talk once the kids leave home – sometime around January 2026? In the meantime, I don't want to keep Leo waiting."

  She hung up, with what I took to be a lascivious giggle.

   I suppose that is the thing with these middle-aged couples. Sure they have a busy household to run, and all the expenses to cover. Just occasionally, though, they do get the house to themselves.

Twitter @rglover702

Good yomtov

Have a great yomtov 

Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention to arrive safely and in a well preserved body - but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly worn out and totally used up - proclaiming  WOW , WHAT A RIDE!!!!

Verbrening Oct 2013 at 777 !!

Funniest elevator prank ever - viral

Intelevator Intelligent Voice Activated Elevator - Funny Prank 

Tanya's banana bread

• 
  2-3 over ripe bananas – smashed
• 2 cups almond meal
• 1/2 cup LSA mix/ground flaxseeds/chia seeds
• 1/4 cup psyllium husk- for fibre hit ( recipe will work without it)
• 3 eggs – free range or organic
• 1/4 cup almond milk (or milk of your choice)
• 2 tsp coconut butter- melted
• 1-2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla (if you have it – ok if you don’t)
• 2 tbsp. stevia/raw honey/maple syrup
• 1/4 cup walnuts – crushed/blended
• 3-4 dates chopped (optional)
• 1 tsp baking soda ( bicarb soda)

Method:

Preheat your oven to 160 degrees Celsius.  Combine the smashed bananas, stevia/honey/maple syrup, coconut butter, cinnamon, vanilla, eggs, milk, dates and baking soda.  Mix them all together either by hand with a spoon or in a food processor/blender.  Add the almond meal, LSA mix/ground flaxseeds/chia seeds, psyllium husk and walnuts, and mix well.  Lightly oil a loaf tin with some coconut butter, then coat liberally with some extra almond meal to prevent it from sticking.  Spoon the batter into the tin ( I then put a 1/2 slice of banana on top of the mixture) and then bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour (insert a skewer into the middle to check, the skewer should come out dry).  Cover the top of the tin with foil if the bread is over-browning.  Once it is cooked, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool in the tin.  Once it has cooled, turn the tin upside down, and remove the loaf.  Slice the loaf into 12 slices.  If kept covered in the fridge, it will keep up to 1 week.  If you are not planning on having it all within 1 week, wrap up individually and put it in the freezer.

Sent from my iPhone

The wisdom of the ages.

A female CNN journalist heard about a very old Jewish man who had been

going to the Western Wall to pray, twice a day, every day, for a long,
long time.

So she went to check it out. She went to the Western Wall and there he
was, walking slowly up to the holy site.

She watched him pray and after about 45 minutes, when he turned to
leave, using a cane and moving very slowly, she approached him for an interview.

• "Pardon me, sir, I'm Rebecca Smith from CNN. What's your name?
• "Morris Feinberg," he replied.
• "Sir, how long have you been coming to the Western Wall and praying?"
• "For about 60 years."
• "60 years! That's amazing! What do you pray for?"
• "I pray for peace between the Christians, Jews and the Muslims."
• "I pray for all the wars and all the hatred to stop."
• "I pray for all our children to grow up safely as responsible adults
• and to love their fellow man."
• "I pray that politicians tell us the truth and put the interests of
• the people ahead of their own interests."
• And finally "I pray that everyone will be happy".
• "How do you feel after doing this for 60 years?"
• Like I'm talking to a fucking wall"