Jeff Klepper's Blog: February 2012

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Poems for a Tu Bishvat Seder

Our friends came over for an impromptu Tu Bishvat Seder last night. They brought the fruit (thanks Barbara and Brian!) And I brought my offering in words (isn't that how we Jews do it?)

I always forget which fruits you eat when, and how much white or red wine to drink, so I dashed off a poem about the Four Worlds of Creation that you can use for next year's seder. Chag same'ach!

Poems for a Tu Bishvat Seder

In Asiya where we begin

Our fruit must have protective skin

That you'll remove and toss away

The rest is yours to eat, ok?

Included here are nuts as well

Like almonds, with an outer shell

Or nuts like coco and brazil

Crack them open, eat your fill

The wine (juice) we drink is only white, cool and crisp, like winter's light.

For Yetzirah we now provide

Fruits that have a pit inside

So take a bite, the taste is sweet

The pit, of course, you'd never eat

On plums and peaches, olives too

That nature formed for me and you

On mangos, apricots and dates

We say "borei p'ri ha'eitz"

Add a drop of red and sing, as winter slowly turns to spring.

Beriyah is level three

So pick an apple from the tree

Creation gives us all we need

These fruits have tiny little seeds...

Grapes and berries, when they're tasted

Are complete, so nothing's wasted

Also kiwis, figs and pears,

Pass around the plate and share!

The wine (juice) we drink is white and red, a taste of summer in your head.

The highest level, Atzilut

Is spiritual, we need no fruit

And after drinking wine (juice) that's red

We smell a fragrant spice instead.

So take a walk, enjoy the breeze

Say, "Happy Birthday" to the trees.

Thanking God for all we've got

Is (in a nutshell) Tu Bishvat!

The tree picture at the top is uncredited - if it's yours let me know so I can thank you.

The sunset photo was taken by me from the balcony of the Samuels' home in Ein Hod in 2008.

(You can see the single hardy tree that made it through a forest fire.)

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Debbie Friedman: Under the Stars & Over the Rainbow (1991)

On July 13, 1991 Debbie headlined an outdoor concert at camp to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute in Oconomowoc, WI. A limited edition VHS tape of concert highlights is the source of these performances, posted here with the camp’s permission.

As Debbie sang, she was distracted by the buzzing and biting of “dive bomber” mosquitoes, and also by a small plane that flew overhead with a banner bearing a humorous message for camp Director Jerry Kaye. Hundreds of campers, staff, alumni and fans welcomed Debbie as a celebrity and sang her songs enthusiastically, yet at times she seemed ill at ease, even as she launched into bits of silliness. Beginning the chords of “Kumi Lach” she seemed to be overcome with emotion, perhaps having to do with returning to the place where she had written that song, and so many others, some twenty years earlier.

She was, of course, still learning to cope with the physical limitations of her illness and may not have been feeling great that day. But I wonder, as she looked out at the crowd, if she was being moved by the power of that place, and the realization that more than a few of those singing her songs were the children of her contemporaries, a new generation. I hope she knew how much this new generation, raised on her "Aleph Bet Song" loved and looked up to her.

That night Debbie sang as sweetly as I have ever heard her, offering stunning renditions of “Shelter of Peace," and “The Rainbow Blessing,” and making a point to introduce her Bubbe as she began a very spirited "Miriam's Song." She ended with all the musicians who had played during the evening (yours truly among them) joining her to sing a new song, “The Angels’ Blessing."

Kumi Lach