Vegetarian Vegetable Quiche

In the wake of the three-day Rosh Hashanah weekend and bored – as we all were - by our usual yom tov fare, the Studentit graciously offered to make something “different” as a side dish for lunch on the first day of Succot.

Here’s what she came up with:

Vegetarian Vegetable Quiche with No-Roll Oil-Based Crust
The filling recipe comes from YZG’s aunt, and the crust recipe is adapted from here.
Yield: Two quiches.

Filling Ingredients

• 800 grams mixed frozen vegetables – Cooked and drained
• ½ cup water – Reserved from the vegetables
• 3 eggs
• ½ cup mayonnaise
• 1 TBSP canola oil
• 1½ TBSP flour
• Salt, pepper, and spices to taste (the original recipe calls for 2 heaping TBSP onion soup mix)

Crust Ingredients
Yields two crusts.

• 3 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 tsp sugar
• 1 cup oil
• 4 TBSP water

Directions

Prepare the two crusts: Mix half of the dry ingredients together in each of two lightly-oiled pie pans. Make wells in both centers, and add half the oil and half the water to each pan. Mix the ingredients together and form a ball in each pan. Flatten and press against the pans to form crusts. If you want to be fancy, you can flute the edges with your fingers or with a fork.

Combine the cooked vegetables, the reserved cooking water, the eggs, the mayo, the oil, the flour, and the spices in a large bowl.

Pour half the mixture into each crust. Bake the two quiches at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes (or until the crust is golden brown).

!בתאבון

National Parks: Castel Edition

Warning: The following post may exceed the recommended daily allowance for other people’s vacation pictures and videos. Proceed at your own risk.

And so, the succah is put away; the younger kids have gone back to school; and we’ve reached that elusive time of year known here in Israel as אחרי החגים (literally, “after the holidays”).

B”H we had a wonderful Succot. We spent time with family and friends and enjoyed various activities and outings – including, as promised, a repeat visit to the Circus Festival and, of course, the requisite trip to one of our beautiful country’s many national parks.

This time our destination was the Castel (aka Har Ma’oz (“Stronghold Mountain”) for the Hebraically-oriented amongst you).

Originally a Roman-era fortress known as Castellum, it was subsequently renovated by the Byzantines, who called it Castellum Belvoir and appreciated its proximity to similar fortresses in the area (such as Ein Chemed and others).

Soaring above and dominating Route 1 (the main highway leading up to Yerushalayim), the Castel was the site of a key battle during the War of Independence. Many brave men and women gave their lives during the heavy fighting.

At one point, the situation became so desperate that the Palmach company commander and his deputy famously ordered the privates to retreat – shielded by their commanders, who remained behind and continued fighting.

When the war finally ended, the newly-formed IDF dug a number of bunkers and communication trenches around the Castel, which overlooked what was then the Jordanian border.

And now, without further ado, the threatened promised pictures: (As always, please feel free to click on the pictures for a much better view.)

First, the traditional view of the price list… to show how much money we WOULD have saved, if we hadn’t allowed our National Parks membership to lapse:

Looking up at the fortress:

Inside one of the tunnels:

The view from the top:

And finally, a video showing a walk through one of the communication trenches:

חורף טוב, בריא וגשום!

Have a wonderful, healthy, and rainy winter!

________

P.S. The latest HH blog carnival is available here. Special thanks to Batya for including my Reasons 3721 and 3722 for making aliyah.

The circus is coming

Moadim l’simchah!

If you’re looking for a fun chol hamoed activity, you might want to consider going to the annual Circus Festival in Modiin.

I mean, not only is there free admission to many (but not all) of the performances, but since we enjoyed the festival last year and are thinking about going back again this year, there’s a very good chance that you may get to see the Shiputzim family – live and in person. (If you do, please be sure to come over and say hello!)

All of which is a fancy way of saying that instead of apologizing for not getting around to posting the following pictures from Succot 5774, I’m going to pretend that I deliberately CHOSE to wait an entire year to share them with you.

You, in turn, are welcome to pretend that you believe me…

As always, please feel free to click on the pictures for a much better view.

A circus performer walks on the tightrope…

…And also rides his bike

Just hangin’ around

Three performers dangle high above the crowds.

The audience

See here for details about this year’s festival.

!מועדים לשמחה

Reasons #3721 and #3722 for making aliyah

Warning: The following post may exceed the recommended daily allowance for overt “I-made-aliyah-and-therefore-I’m-so-great” smugness. Proceed at your own risk.

In a hopeless attempt at making it up to you for the long weeks months years that I’ve been shamelessly neglecting this blog, I present not one but TWO (count ‘em! two!) reasons for making aliyah.

The first is fairly prosaic; the second approaches the sublime.

1) Reason #3721 for making aliyah

9:26 PM – Israel time – Motzai Yom Kippur 5775.

At that exact moment, our dear friends and family back in the States were nearing the end of the Yom Kippur Musaf service with visions of, well, just about anything edible, really, dancing in their heads, as Hamlet-like, they were mentally running through their options. (“To go home or NOT to go home during the break – THAT is the question…”)

Meanwhile, half a world away, here in TRLEOOB (=the real life equivalent of our blog), we had not only returned from shul after Maariv, made havdalah, enjoyed a delicious break-fast meal (potato soup and lasagna, thank you for asking), and put up our beautiful succah by that time, but we had even managed to post photographic evidence of said completed succah on the extended Shiputzim family’s WhatsApp group – thereby confirming our victory in the highly-competitive “Who Can Get Their Succah Up First” competition.

2) Reason #3722 for making aliyah

One word: Shmitah.

B”H, this is the third shmitah year since we made aliyah, which means that once again, we have the truly incredible privilege of partaking of peyrot shviit (shmitah produce).

For example, last night’s supper included this:

A package of otzar beit din lettuce from Otzar HaAretz

A close-up of the Otzar HaAretz label

Our custom-decorated shmitah receptacle

“וְהָיְתָה שַׁבַּת הָאָרֶץ לָכֶם לְאָכְלָה לְךָ וּלְעַבְדְּךָ וְלַאֲמָתֶךָ וְלִשְׂכִירְךָ וּלְתוֹשָׁבְךָ הַגָּרִים עִמָּךְ. וְלִבְהֶמְתְּךָ וְלַחַיָּה אֲשֶׁר בְּאַרְצֶךָ תִּהְיֶה כָל תְּבוּאָתָהּ לֶאֱכֹל.”

“And the Shabbat of the land shall be yours to eat, for you and for your servant and for your maidservant, and for your hired worker and for your resident who live with you. And for your animal and for the beast that is in your land: all its produce shall be to eat.”
(Vayikra 25:6-7)

Port of call

Warning: The following post may exceed the recommended daily allowance for other people’s vacation pictures. Proceed at your own risk.

Think of it as an amendment to the original rule.

You see, according to the highly-acclaimed Our Shiputzim General Theory of Pesach Cleaning, now is the time for Stage II:

“Talking and blogging about cleaning in lieu of doing anything constructive.”

But seeing as this stage is essentially all about avoidance and denial, I would posit that an even better way to accomplish this goal is to ignore Pesach preparations altogether and, instead, to turn one’s attention to possible chol hamo’ed activities.

With that in mind – and with your permission, of course – I’d like to recommend a visit to the Ashdod port.

In principle, the Ashdod port meets the stringent criteria for “Ideal Late Summer Outings” – seeing as the tour is both free and air-conditioned. (Additional free and air-conditioned activities include the Bank of Israel in Yerushalayim and the Nesher Cement Factory in Ramle.)

But during most of the year, the Ashdod port is only open to schools and other large groups. However, during chol hamo’ed, families are welcome. [Note: Advance reservations are required.]

We were there on Succot (as you can see, it took me a while to get around to writing this post…), but I believe that the Pesach tours work the same way.

Seeing as there were no small children in our own group, we were very glad that kids under nine years old were not allowed (this rule is strictly enforced), because it meant that the tour was geared for adults and older kids.

The tour lasted about 1½ hours and was divided into two parts: a tour of the visitors center (where they have a few exhibits about the port’s history and operations, a couple of interesting audio-visual presentations, and several educational games) and a fascinating bus ride around the port itself.

IMHO, it is the latter that makes the Ashdod port well-worth the trip.

At one point, we found ourselves parked right next to a large ship, and we got to watch as the ship’s cargo was first unloaded and then reloaded.

Before I show you the threatened promised photos, I should explain that due to security concerns, visitors are only permitted to take pictures from outside the port’s perimeter, from inside the visitors center, or from a nearby scenic overlook known as Givat Yonah (literally, Jonah’s Hill – supposedly the burial site of Yonah HaNavi).

As always, please feel free to click on the pictures for a much better view:

The entrance to the port

A view from inside the visitor center

A view of the manmade breakwater from Givat Yonah

Two ships (as seen from Givat Yonah)

Cranes loading and unloading shipping containers (as seen from Givat Yonah)

Shipping containers (as seen from Givat Yonah)

In short, we all (yes, including the teenagers!) really enjoyed our visit to the Ashdod port. The tour guide was extremely knowledgeable; getting to watch the port in action was quite thrilling; and we learned a lot.

I don’t know if it’s too late to make reservations for Pesach, but if not, I highly recommend that you do.

Have you ever been to the Ashdod port?

Beep, beep

It seems that I owe you an apology.

I mean, here you are, waiting on tenterhooks for nearly a week to find out what time we finished putting up our succah on Motzai Yom Kippur, and yet I STILL haven’t said a word on the subject.

The thing is that I’ve been embarrassed.

After all, most years – thanks to the combined efforts of the amazing Shiputzim kids as well as various and sundry honorary members of the family, who graciously stick around after Yom Kippur and lend a hand – the work is done by 9:00 PM.

This year, however, our succah wasn’t up until… well, until 10:00 PM. {hangs head in shame}

But the truth is that it’s not our fault.

No, in this case, the blame goes to the country’s legislative and executive powers-that-be.

You see, not content with making both of last week’s fasts that much more difficult, these illustrious politicians also felt the need to mess with the annual “Who Can Get Their Succah Up First” competition.

Apparently, they hoped that by waiting to change the clocks until October, they would somehow burnish their cosmopolitan, citizens-of-the-world reputations.

One can easily picture the scene.

Channeling their inner Wile E. Coyote, they gleefully rub their collective hands and then gingerly open a large crate labeled:

“Acme Kit for Enacting Insufficiently-Thought-Out Laws.
Guaranteed to have unintended consequences, or your money back!”

Because not ones to let past experience get in the way of future expectations, they’re certain that THIS time they’ve finally figured out a way to nab the Road Runner and “prove” that we’re just like any other country on the planet.

“Now the world will finally love us!” they exult as they give each other high-fives. “After all, we’re going to put our clocks back on the very. same. day. AS GREECE…”

!שבת שלום ומועדים לשמחה

May you and your families have a wonderful and joyous Succot!

P.S. Have you seen our succah on wheels? If you missed it, here are some exterior and interior views.

Myths and Facts

Warning: The following post may exceed the recommended daily allowance for opinion pieces by bloggers who have absolutely no business writing about controversial topics and who should stick to things like Heblish. Proceed at your own risk.

Featured prominently in the recent elections and apparently the main focus of the current coalition negotiations, universal conscription - aka “sharing the burden” – is now a hot topic here in Israel.

As I have mentioned several times, YZG and I are the very proud parents of a hesder yeshiva student/soldier, and thus, you won’t be surprised to hear that I firmly believe that hesder is the ideal answer to this issue.

However, I respect the fact that other people see things differently, but nevertheless, I think that there are two fundamental principles that we all can agree upon:

1. For various reasons, the status quo is untenable and unsustainable (both in the long term and in the short term).
2. Trying to modify the status quo through coercion (religious OR secular) will only backfire.

Yet, unfortunately, many political and communal leaders – including those who should know better – refuse to acknowledge one or both of these principles and have even resorted to what can only be described as misrepresentations, slander, and outright lies.

Here, then, is my humble attempt at setting the record straight:

IDF Myths and Facts

The following is based on the experiences of the CTO and his friends.

MYTH: The IDF has it in for religious soldiers.
FACT: Not only does the army go out of its way to make sure that religious soldiers are given sufficient time to daven three times a day and to bench after every meal, but consider the following true stories: (I know each of the soldiers involved personally.)

• Soldier A’s unit was based down south, on the border, on Yom Kippur. Due to the extreme heat, not drinking would definitely lead to severe dehydration within a relatively short amount of time, and therefore, according to Jewish law, the soldiers were required to drink. However, each soldier carried a small army-issued vial in his pocket to ensure that he drink less than a “shiur” of water at a time. (CYLOR for details.)
• Soldier B spent Yom Kippur on a remote, secluded base. On Erev Yom Kippur, the army provided a bus to take the religious soldiers to the nearest town – so that they could immerse in the mikvah.
• Soldier C reports that before Succot, the army built a beautiful, large succah on his base. Not only was there plenty of room for everyone to eat in the succah, but there was also room for sleeping. The army even provided the soldiers with cots! Also, there were more than enough sets of Arba Minim to go around, and before Hoshanah Rabah, the army gave each soldier an additional set of aravot.
• Soldier D participated in an advanced training course, which involved numerous written tests on the material covered. However, during chol hamoed, the tests were given on the computer.

Note that in all four cases, the soldiers didn’t request any considerations. The army simply granted them automatically.

***

MYTH: The IDF has no interest in making allowances for chareidi soldiers and their stringencies.
FACT: Already today, the food on a surprising number of bases is “mehadrin,” and the army has made it quite clear that it is prepared to increase that number if/when there is a demand.

Also, quietly and without fanfare, the army has been preparing for an influx of chareidim. For instance, male soldiers (including hesdernikim with low medical profiles) are being assigned to some of the positions traditionally filled by women (such as interviewing new recruits, training, etc.). The idea behind this move is to ensure that chareidi soldiers won’t have to compromise on their principles of strict gender segregation.

***

MYTH: Yeshivot hesder can’t be compared to “real” [sic] yeshivas.
FACT: By any objective standard – e.g. the level of learning; the students’ skills, dedication, commitment, knowledge, and love of Torah learning; and the caliber, stature, and reputation of the roshei yeshiva and ram”im – the hesder yeshivas rank among Israel’s top yeshivot.

***

MYTH: The IDF is working to disband the hesder units.
FACT: The IDF’s top brass clearly consider the hesdernikim to be some of the army’s best and most motivated soldiers and recognize that the vast majority of hesdernikim volunteer for combat units and are among the first to show up for reserve duty.

Moreover, the IDF is slowly opening up additional branches of the military (e.g. the navy) to hesder soldiers.

***

MYTH: The IDF has enough soldiers and therefore doesn’t need the chareidim.
FACT: Even a layman can understand that a bigger army is a stronger army.

But even if one accepts the premise that there’s no room in the IDF for more than a specific number of soldiers, a larger draft pool will result in a higher-quality army. (After all, the army will have the luxury of choosing the best possible soldiers.)

Also, a surplus of soldiers can mean shortened military service and less reserve duty for everyone.

***

MYTH: Soldiers tend to become less observant/religious while in the army.
FACT: The opposite is true for hesder soldiers.

Since the yeshivot prepare them - religiously, spiritually, halachically, mentally, emotionally, and psychologically - for their upcoming military service, hesdernikim know what they’re getting into and are acutely aware of the fact that they’re fighting for Am Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael according to Torat Yisrael.

Also, the yeshivot stay in touch with their beloved chayalim throughout their military service - via weekly newsletters, phone calls, and even personal visits from the yeshiva’s rabbis to the army bases.

***

Your thoughts?
(Please keep it civil. Thanks!)

Chol Hamoed at the Museum

It’s Chol Hamoed Pesach, and you know what that means, right?

Yes, that’s right! It means that it’s once again time for me to bore you to tears with our family vacation photos! Yay!

But for a change, this post won’t include any national park pictures (although I can’t promise that they won’t appear here on the blog later this week IY”H).

The thing was that yesterday’s warmer temperatures seemed to call for an indoor attraction, and Yerushalayim’s Israel Museum fit the bill.

Although it’s been nearly two years since the museum’s renovations were completed, we hadn’t been there since it reopened, and so when a Shiputzim daughter asked if we could go this week, YZG and I were happy to oblige.

Because not only is admission free for kids under 18 throughout chol hamoed, but the Israel Museum is somehow able to pull off that rarest of feats:

You see, it’s very interesting and has much to offer for visitors both young and old. (In particular, the Judaica collections, the interiors of the old shuls, the wedding gowns, and the Holyland model are some of the Shiputzim family’s favorite things to see.)

However – and here’s the amazing part – at the same time, like any museum, it, by definition, raises the KQ (the all-important Kvetching Quotient) to astronomical levels. And as I’ve noted elsewhere, there’s nothing that YZG and I enjoy more than some good, old-fashioned, adolescent grumbling… </sarcasm>

And now, without further ado, here are the promised photos…

Assorted archeological finds:

A succah from late 19th century Germany:

The interior of an Italian shul from 1700:

BTW, a somewhat similar 18th century Italian Aron Kodesh can be seen in Beit Knesset Renanim, Heichal Shlomo’s on-site shul.

And of course the famous Holyland model of Yerushalayim from the time of the Second Beit HaMikdash, which is now located near the Shrine of the Book:

As always, please feel free to click on the pictures for a closer view.

What are your favorite parts of the Israel Museum?

Freshly Baked Friday: Chocolate Chocolate Chip Bars Edition

"בג' במרחשוון שואלין את הגשמים. רבן גמליאל אומר - בשבעה בו, ט"ו יום אחר החג, כדי שיגיע אחרון שבישראל לנהר פרת." (משנה – תענית א:ג)

"אמר ר' אלעזר - הלכה כרבן גמליאל." (גמרא - תענית י.)

“On 3 MarCheshvan, we [begin] requesting rain. Rabban Gamliel says: On the seventh [of the month], 15 days after the festival [i.e. Succot], in order that the last one in Israel can reach the Euphrates River.” (Mishnah – Taanit 1:3)

“R’ Elazar said: The halachah is like Rabban Gamliel.” (BT Taanit 10a)

B”H, much of Israel is enjoying rain tonight, the 7th of MarCheshvan, which is when Israelis begin reciting “V’Tain Tal U’Matar L’Vrachah” in the Amidah.

And as the Our Shiputzim Baking Staff (aka the tza’ir bakers, in the vernacular) can tell you, a rainy Friday is the perfect time to prepare a quick, easy, and yummy dessert for Shabbat:

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Bars

(Adapted from the recipe on the back of a bag of “Gold Medal” flour)

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup canola oil
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 2¼ cups flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 package chocolate chips

Glaze

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1-2 TBSP water

Directions

Beat oil, sugars, and vanilla. Beat in eggs. Add flour, cocoa, and baking soda. Mix in chocolate chips.

Spread dough in a baking-paper-lined rimmed cookie sheet (AKA a jelly roll pan). Bake at 375 degrees for 20-22 minutes or until set. Cut into bars immediately, and let cool in pan.

Prepare glaze, and drizzle over the bars in the pan.

Enjoy!

 !שבת שלום ומבורך

___________

P.S. Our Shiputzim is now on Facebook. Check out www.facebook.com/OurShiputzim, and be sure to like the page.

National Parks: Beit Guvrin Edition

Warning: The following post may exceed the recommended daily allowance for other people’s vacation pictures. Proceed at your own risk.

Think of it as the antidote to our Neot Kedumim trip.

Because unlike the Neot Kedumim trip, our second chol hamo’ed tiyul on Succot was planned well in advance, began first thing in the morning, and – most of all – involved a national park.

Located not too far from Beit Shemesh, the Beit Guvrin-Mareishah National Park contains numerous man-made, limestone caves and includes the ancient cities of Mareishah (see Yehoshua 15:44) and Beit Guvrin (from the time of the Second Beit HaMikdash and the Bar Kochva Revolt).

And now, without further ado, the aforementioned pictures:

First, the requisite shot of the price list, in order to show how much money we saved as a result of our National Parks Authority membership:

Next, the entrance to one of the caves:

The sign says that the narrow, one-way, 20-meter-long tunnel leads to the columbarium and that flashlights are recommended.

An underground olive oil press:

Interior of one of the caves:

An opening to another cave:

A view of the “Bell Cave”:

As always, feel free to click on any of the pictures for a closer look.

!חודש טוב ושבת שלום ומבורך

Going beyond our comfort zone

The symbolism was striking.

After all, Succot is all about leaving one’s comfortable home.

And, similarly, our chol hamo’ed trip to Neot Kedumim was - in so many ways - all about leaving our natural comfort zone…

Take, for instance, the destination itself. Not only isn’t Neot Kedumim a national park, but it figures prominently on the Shiputzim teens’ list of “Places We Should Never Go Ever Again, Because We’ve Gone Every. Single. Year. Without. Fail.”

(Except that a quick calculation revealed that we hadn’t actually been there as a family in about ten years, and so the aforementioned adolescents had no choice but to temporarily suspend their moratorium on visits to Neot Kedumim...)

And then there was the way the tiyul was, er, “arranged.” (Please note that I use the term VERY loosely…)

You see, as those of you who know the extended Shiputzim family in real life are well-aware, we’re not exactly the spur-of-the-moment, impulsive types.

Instead, we’re big believers in advance planning, detailed schedules, and early arrival times (especially during chol hamo’ed).

But oddly enough, our trip to Neot Kedumim involved none of these things.

We only decided to go at the last minute; we didn’t get there until several hours after the park opened; and our largish group kept getting separated.

And yet, nevertheless, a great time was had by all.

In particular, everyone enjoyed seeing the life-sized succahs representing each of the kosher and non-kosher cases discussed in the Mishnah (Masechet Succah). For example:

A succah on a boat (KOSHER)

A succah that is less than ten t’fachim high (NOT KOSHER)

A succah with no roof (NOT KOSHER)

A succah with only two walls (NOT KOSHER)

When was the last time you visited Neot Kedumim?

__________

P.S. The latest Haveil Havalim is available here. Special thanks to the Rebbetzin’s Husband for including my ArbaMinimMaintainers post and also my post about Netanyahu’s “V’Shavu Banim L’Gvulam” speech.

The latest hiddur

Everyone has their own favorite method for ensuring that their arba minim last until the end of Succot. (What’s your preferred solution?)

For instance, YZG - who says that the key is to keep the hadassim and aravot dry – always removes them from the lulav after davening and places them in a tightly sealed bag (usually the bag from the hadassim) in the refrigerator.

This year, YZG integrated a new element into his traditional AMPS (=arba minim preservation system): As you can see, they’re simple plastic clips.

However, don’t you agree that if we thought up an original name – e.g. KosherKlips, SimplySuccot, GuardYourGreens, ArbaMinimMaintainers (please post your own ideas in the comment section) - added a catchy logo, and  got a couple of impressive-sounding hechsherim, we could easily market these clips?

We could even offer several models. The mehadrin edition would be available in white, and the mehadrin-min-hamehadrin edition would come in, well, black, of course. (Clearly, the pink version would have to go… :-))

These clips could be the greatest invention since eruv tavshilin kits…

Your thoughts?

Succot 5772

By now, most of you are probably very familiar with the Shiputzim family’s succah – whether it’s our loud and tacky bright and colorful stationary succah or our cool, cutting-edge succah on wheels.

But since every year, we make a point of not only rearranging the decorations in the former but also adding new ones, a few glimpses into this year’s succah are certainly in order.

(The advantage of having all the kids home from before Yom Kippur is that our succah was fully decorated by Sunday afternoon… :-))

As always, please feel free to click on the pictures for a closer view:

See something familiar in the second picture?

And, no, I’m not referring to this blog’s new icon. (Can you spot it?) I’m talking about something that’s connected to someone else’s blog.

Let’s zoom in for a better look:

Recognize this?

It’s a postcard with Leora's lovely watercolor of a pomegranate. (Don’t miss the rest of the paintings in her beautiful simanim series.)

Leora sweetly sent me the postcard (yes, even bloggers sometimes communicate via snail mail…) before Rosh Hashanah, and I couldn’t wait to hang it in our succah.

Thank you, Leora!

And now for my annual pre-Succot offer: If you still need aravot, please feel free to stop by TRLEOOB* until candlelighting and pick some. BA”H, we were privileged to have a bumper crop this year…

!חג שמח

May you and your families have a wonderful and joyous Succot!

_______________

*TRLEOOB=the real life equivalent of our blog