Being Jewish in Hawaii

Book Review-Radical Equations by Robert Spiller

27 Jun 2012 7 Comments

by Being Jewish in Hawaii in Book of the Week Tags: Radical Equations, Robert Spiller

When I got a notification from Robert Spiller introducing himself and asking me to read and review his book, I was flattered. It never occurred to me that anybody would want me to write about them or their books. Of course I said yes.

Even though his book is not set in Hawaii, nor does it have anything to do with being Jewish, I found a few connections. The main character is a teacher. I used to be a teacher. Even though she might have been a math teacher and I an English teacher, my father was a math teacher in the last years of his life. Connection enough for me. I also really like the title.

I knew I was busy, so I said that I would write the review some time in June. I had no idea how busy I would be. Due to the advent of summer and my children not being in school which translates to them being in constant need to be driven somewhere, I did not do a whole lot of reading. It is hard to read in the car.

True to my word, I did finish the book and am writing the review. I’m sorry it took so long.

I enjoyed reading Radical Equations by Robert Spiller, when I finally had the time. It has an upbeat, kind of punchy tone and I like the fast pace of the prose.

It is set in Colorado Springs and I wonder if readers from that area feel as connected to his references to the natural beauty of the area as I do when I read books that are set in Hawaii. It certainly made me want to go there and visit.

What I learned while reading this book is that I am not really a big fan of mysteries. That does not mean I didn’t enjoy reading the book, but I found myself more engaged by the characters, than the plot.

I really like Bonnie Pinkwater, the main character. Her impetuous nature moves the action forward as her self-proclaimed “imp of the perverse” leads her to push the envelope as she interacts with the other characters.

What I like best about Ms. Pinkwater is that she is a great teacher. My favorite segments, by far, are set in the classroom. I like her teaching style!

The end of the book is action packed and very exciting. All the dangling pieces of the plot and subtle clues add up very nicely. I thought I had it all figured out and I was definitely surprised that I had missed a few hints and the solution turned out to be much different from what I expected.

Mahalo to Robert Spiller for sharing his book with me.

P.S. I just made the connection that this book is set in Colorado Springs and they are literally under fire right now. I don’t know if that is where Robert Spiller lives, but I will be thinking of him and others and maybe Bonnie as we pray for their relief and safety.

Put your feet up for a minute

20 Jun 2012 Leave a comment

by Being Jewish in Hawaii in Hawaii, Mothers and Daughters, Word of the Day

We went to get our nails done the other day. I thought it would be a nice treat for my girls to start off the summer. Of course I couldn’t help reminding them that I never had a manicure, let alone a pedicure until I was in my 20’s, had graduated from college and had a job. I left out the part that the opportunity had never arisen in my suburban Southern California childhood or adolescence. I’m pretty sure I would have jumped on it in a flash if it had.

I’ve noticed that every time I do go to one of our local nail shops lately that there is a man in one of the big spa chairs along the wall enjoying a pedicure. I don’t blame them. This is not just a girl thing. They can skip the polish and the sparkles and stick to the cleaning and massage. It is a pleasure to be groomed.

My younger girl noticed their presence as well. That’s when she coined a new phrase: “A manly-pedi.” I thought it was so great that I had to share it here. I think that one of these shops should put it as a special item on their list of services along with the mani pedi combo.

Remembering my mother on Memorial Day Weekend

27 May 2012 5 Comments

by Being Jewish in Hawaii in Family, Hawaii, Mothers and Daughters, Relationships, Rites of Passage, Traditions Tags: Lantern Floating Ceremony, Searider Productions, Temple Emanu-El Honolulu, Waianae High School

Today I am thinking of my mother, Gloria P. Gershun, who died suddenly two years ago today. I think about her every day, today is just a little bit more out loud. I miss her very much.

Two days before she died, she had lunch with her friends and went shopping for a purse at Nordstrom. She was only sick for two days and very alive and kicking every single one before that.

On Thursday, I went to the Searider Productions Awards Banquet at Wai’anae High School and presented a scholarship in both my parent’s memory to a wonderful young man, Mr. Michael Gooch.

On Friday, my family went to Kabbalat Shabbat services at Temple Emanu-El in Honolulu and said kaddish.

Tomorrow Rabbi Schaktman is participating in the Lantern Floating Ceremony on Sunday at Ala Moana Beach Park where he will be floating a lantern on behalf of our congregation which will carry a yahrzeit list. I have added both of my parents’ names. It is a beautiful ceremony and a deeply moving way to remember our loss.

Tonight we have invited a few friends and neighbors over for a barbecue that has nothing directly to do with my mom. We always have a party on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend and after thinking about it a bit, I decided that just because it is the anniversary of her death does not mean we have to be sad on purpose. She certainly would not want us to change our plans.

I lit the yahrzeit candle this morning when I got up. Somehow the twinkling flame brings the feel of her presence just a bit us closer to us on this day. I wouldn’t want her to miss the party.

May her memory be a blessing and inspiration to us all.

I would like to share the bio that my youngest sister, boo, wrote about my mom.

Gloria Polsky Gershun, b. August 28, 1929, d. May 27, 2010
Gloria Polsky grew up in the small town of Marfa, Texas with her parents Blanche and Walter Polsky and her younger sister, Barbara. She graduated from high school in Omaha, NE at the age of 16 and received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Iowa in 1952. She met Theodore Leonard Gershun at her best friend’s wedding in November of 1947 and Gloria and Ted were married on June 20, 1948.

Gloria and Ted moved to Southern California in 1961. They lived there for nearly 30 years, where Gloria kept their household, volunteered with many community and school activities, and raised three daughters — Martha, Elizabeth (Betsy) (boo), and Lorraine (Lorrie) — in a happy, suburban Jewish home filled with books, food, friends, laughter, an orange player piano, and a ceramic lion’s head which lived in a birdcage. When the girls grew older, Gloria returned to school, pursuing her lifelong love of books by earning a Masters in Library Science from California State University at Fullerton in 1975. She re-entered the work force, first as a school librarian and then as a public school administrator for nearly 15 years.

When Ted passed away in 1990, Gloria retired and moved to Kansas City, where she made many good friends and built a full and satisfying life as an active participant in the Jewish community, a committed volunteer, and an avid shopper. In 2004 Gloria met Aaron Rabinovitz, who became her second life partner until her death in 2010. She is remembered for her optimistic approach to life; her lifelong willingness to try new things; her generosity to her community, family, and friends; her deep commitment to sharing her love of books; and her unfailing ability to find the right outfit for every occasion and the right gift for every person.

Airing our dirty laundry

15 May 2012 14 Comments

by Being Jewish in Hawaii in Family, Hawaii, Kvetching, Relationships Tags: Dalai Lama, Halala ukulele, ho'oponopono, kukakuka, Mana Magazine, Pacific Basin Communications, religion, The Kālaimoku Group

Being Jewish in Hawaii is not very fun right now. In fact, on some levels, it kind of stinks.

Our congregation is going through a terrible time. Meshugas. We are fighting about the Rabbi. Shame on us. Ahana kōkō lele –or should I say “Halala ukulele?” Much of the behavior has been quite childish.

Our Temple Board has voted 8:5 to recommend not renewing his contract. They have called upon the congregation to vote on the matter and they have not provided any reasonable or substantial information as to why we should follow their suggestion. They just want us to vote.

I hear this kind of situation is not unusual. Many congregations are afflicted with similar woes. That does not make it okay.

My family is upset. That’s kind of the reason I haven’t posted on this blog for a few weeks. I have been distracted.

We have a wonderful relationship with our Rabbi and are agitated that we even have to address this issue.

He married me and my husband almost five years ago, bringing us together as a family.

Our teenager studied for and became a Bat Mitzvah with him. She is devastated at the prospect of going to shul without him. During Erev Shabbat services last week she whispered the announcement in my ear that if he goes….she is not coming back to Temple.

Our younger girl is currently in the midst of the Bat Mitzvah process. She asked to study with him and enjoys their weekly sessions.

It’s not just about a contract, it is about relationships. I am being asked to consider severing a very important personal and family relationship because other people are mad about something and won’t even talk about it with me.

This is like a bad divorce where the adults are fighting and taking sides and don’t even consider how the potential loss affects the kids.

It wasn’t until I was reading the debut issue of Mana Magazine this morning that I wanted to write this blog post.

Mana is “published by a jointly owned subsidiary of The Kālaimoku Group and Pacific Basin Communications.” According to an article in Hawaii Reporter, co-publisher John Aeto said, “We hope to inspire serious exchange, sharing contrasting opinions and ideas on the hard-hitting topics such as governance, education, health, income and more.”

Let’s learn from the Hawaiians. We live in Hawaii. I enjoy the unique and wonderful choice of being Jewish in Hawaii and I won’t let it be spoiled.

“Mana” in the Hawaiian language means power or authority, sometimes spiritual or divine power. I think that our Temple’s mana needs some reorganization.

The magazine mentions kukakuka-talk story and discussion. Yes. We need that.

An article that covered the recent visit from the Dalai Lama deeply moved me. We should take a step back and learn from his message. “He spread his message of compassion, trust and human oneness, and absorbed the intricacies of the meaning of aloha.”

Exactly–the meaning of aloha. How about Shaloha?

He is quoted in the article, “Century of peace does not mean there are no longer any problems among humanity. Problems will be there, even increasing. So, the only way to deal with the problem? Not through violence, not through using force, but through logic, through reason, on the basis of mutual respect, dialogue. This should be the century of dialogue.”

How can I teach my children about peace when they can’t even find it at the Synagogue?

Hawaiian culture engages in the practice of Ho’oponopono – reconciliation and forgiveness. That’s what we need.

And we need a lot of practice.

Hawaii Calls–to me, every day

27 Apr 2012 Leave a comment

by Being Jewish in Hawaii in Hawaii, Traditions Tags: Hawaii Calls, Hawaiian Lullabye, Island Pacific Academy, May Day

I spent the morning at Island Pacific Academy’s annual May Day celebration watching the entire student body and staff of this small West Oahu private school’s junior kindergarten through twelfth grades come together in celebration of the Hawaiian culture through song and dance.

It makes sense. We live in Hawaii. We should celebrate the culture of the place in which we live. Island Pacific Academy does.

It is my favorite event every year. The fresh air, the hot sun, the colors, the music, the flowers, the children, the spirit.

I can’t help but mention the women who make this happen: Momi Kuahiwinui, Ruthe Babas, Veronique Braithwaite and Laura Gabriel (and some of their husbands who are a big help too). They are a silver lining in an already bright sky.

This year’s theme “Hawaii Calls” with the hapa haole songs of the first half of the 20th century was particularly refreshing. The opening song “Hawaiian Lullaby” gave me chicken skin as the children and staff surrounding me sang of the exact reasons that Hawaii calls to me every day. What a pleasure to feel that call today from these children.

Did I mention that a live band including Miss Momi’s husband played the music and all of the singing was performed by Mrs. Babas, Ms. Braithwaite and Miss Momi’s daughter Makana? Amazing.

Mahalo Nui Loa to the staff, students and families of Island Pacific Academy for a glorious morning in celebration.

As much as I would like to post photos of all the beautiful children, I will respect their privacy on the World Wide Web and only post photos of the staff.

Counting my blessings

17 Apr 2012 7 Comments

by Being Jewish in Hawaii in Hawaii, Kvell Tags: Kamehameha Song Contest, Kids Hurt Too Hawaii, Kukui Center, rainbow, Turtle Bay Resort

Among the wonderful blessing of simply living in Hawaii is that there are a lot of rainbows. It gives me even more joy that there is a special blessing in Hebrew just for the rainbow. I love it that I get to combine the two on a regular basis.

I have gotten into the habit of snapping a photo of them with my iPhone. Here are few of my recent favorites.

I saw this rainbow on Sunday evening when I was leaving the Kukui Center after a Kids Hurt Too Hawaii Board of Directors meeting.

This rainbow graced our presence last month when I was waiting on the top-level of the parking lot at the Neal Blaisdell Center to go to the Kamehameha Schools 92nd Annual Song Contest–and our first.

This is the double rainbow I saw outside our hotel room window in December when we were at Turtle Bay Resort celebrating our fourth wedding anniversary.

I can’t help but count in my blessings the opportunity to count these blessings every day.

It’s Aloha Friday and Shabbat Shalom

14 Apr 2012 2 Comments

by Being Jewish in Hawaii in Family, Food, Hawaii, Holiday Tags: Aloha Friday, Kimo Kahoano, Shabbat dinner

When I heard about the concept of Aloha Friday soon after I moved to Hawaii over twenty years ago I said to myself, “You gotta love a place that has a special name for the end of the work week and the beginning of the weekend.”

I was even more enamored of my new home when I hear Kimo Kahoano’s song, that celebrates the idea of “No work ’til Monday.”

It wasn’t until recently that I made a connection between Aloha Friday and Shabbat. No wonder I had such an immediate affinity for the concept. It fits right in with my Jewish upbringing for Friday to be the beginning of a time for rest.

Local people in Hawaii wear Aloha attire to work on Friday. Jews dress up and often wear white to celebrate Shabbat. Hawaiian food is often on the menu for Aloha Friday. We come together for a special meal on Friday for Erev Shabbat. I have found a way to manage to do both: Hawaiian food for Shabbat dinner. Why not?

Tonight we had an Aloha Friday Shabbat meal. I bought lau lau and poke at Costco.

I made rice and we had a few other things on the side. I skipped the lomi salmon due to the ironic fact that I don’t like salmon in any shape or form-massaged, steamed, smoked or raw.

We lit the Shabbat candles, said the kiddush and a motzi and ate our dinner.

Shabbat Shalom and Happy Aloha Friday—no work ’til Monday.

Second night and we are ready to rock

08 Apr 2012 8 Comments

by Being Jewish in Hawaii in Family, Food, Holiday, Traditions Tags: Passover, seder

My husband and I set the table this afternoon for our second night Seder. When we finished I realized that we were both wearing our bathing suits. He was still in his board shorts from his morning surf session and I had just returned from the neighborhood pool after swimming some laps. “Now that is being Jewish in Hawaii I thought.”

Chag Sameach to all with aloha from our Seder table to yours.

Why should this year be different from all other years?

06 Apr 2012 5 Comments

by Being Jewish in Hawaii in Food, Hawaii, Holiday Tags: brisket, Good Friday, Hawaii State Department of Education, horseradish, mince meat, Passover, Pez, Safeway Kapolei, Six13 Jewish Acapella, Temple Emanu-El, The New Yorker, Times Market

Because Good Friday and the first night of Passover fall on the same date.

It has always been a complaint of mine that Good Friday is a state holiday in Hawaii. It seems odd to me.

When I taught at Wai’anae High School as an employee of the Hawaii State Department of Education I did not complain. I was always willing to take a day off, even if it isn’t my holiday.

When I enrolled my kids in a private school that promotes itself as non-sectarian and that administration continued to schedule Good Friday as a school holiday year after year, I began to get a bit ferkrimpt (that’s Yiddish for annoyed).

A few years ago somebody told me that the legislature has it off to prepare for Easter. Huh? Prepare? What do they have to do? Could they possibly be spending an entire day dying eggs in pretty colors? or putting together baskets of candy? or do they have to catch up on their sleep so they can make it to an Easter sunrise service a few days later?

Forgive me if this sounds sacrilegious, but from my perspective there is not a lot of formal observance of Good Friday. Easter Sunday is already a non work day and most of the people I know are pretty pagan about their rituals.

Which brings me to my next point. Good Friday and the first night of Passover are on the same date this year–today. Yet few in this wonderful state of aloha have the slightest notion that Jews in the islands, and around the world, are preparing for one of most important holidays in our heritage.

Why can’t it be a state holiday for us too? We actually have a lot of preparing to do.

Admittedly, some things have changed since I moved to Hawaii over 20 years ago. Local grocery stores such as Safeway and Times Market carry traditional Passover foods such as Matzah and gefiltah fish, even in Kapolei.

I no longer have to order it months in advance at Temple Emanu-El to have it shipped in for us.

When I went to Kapolei Safeway the other day to purchase matzah I was pleasantly surprised. They have come a long way.

Of course the Easter merchandise bombards you as soon as you walk in the door and I did have to walk around a bit before I could find the Jewish food section. But it was there. And it was decently stocked. Just as are we Jews on the island of Oahu.

They are set up for Jews all year round which is kind of nice since we are not just seasonal residents. I noticed that they sell Yahrzeit candles which means I don’t have to order them on eBay from now on.

I can’t quite figure out why they have included mince meat and Thomas the Tank Pez in this section. If anybody has any insight into this choice, please let me know. But I have decided not to complain, it seems fairly harmless.

I’ve been enjoying all of the Facebook posts from friends and family near and far about their Passover preparation. The brisket is cooking at my sister’s house. A local Jewish woman is looking for fresh horseradish and another woman in Honolulu posted that her house smells like Passover–yum.

It makes me feel like a part of a larger Jewish community.

What many people don’t realize, is that it takes days to prepare a Passover seder meal that tastes like Bubbe used to make. We should get a day off too.

Our Rabbi posted a fun article on the Temple Emanu-El Facebook page that was published in the New Yorker that I thought was hilarious. Here is the link.

And while I don’t always enjoy the You Tube videos people post, I really like this one that Lisa Block, my Temple Beth Ohr Hebrew School classmate who lives in California, shared.

And here is the Passover greeting from my friend Beverly who lives in South Africa.

While the State of Hawaii might not realize that our holiday is important too and that many of its local community are celebrating a holiday other than Easter, perhaps the enticing smell of the chicken soup simmering on my stove on this Good Friday and first night of Passover and all of the Facebook posts from Jews around the world might influence just a bit.

We always have room at our seder table for one more guest.

A zissin Pesach to all and Shabbat Shalom.

Book Review: The Phantom Tollbooth

03 Apr 2012 2 Comments

by Being Jewish in Hawaii in Book of the Week, Family, Hawaii, Mothers and Daughters Tags: doldrums, Gloria P. Gershun, Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City, Jules Feiffer, Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth

Please forgive my absence and interruption of the new weekly blog features so soon after they began. I was away for two wonderful weeks of vacation with my family and embraced the art of relaxation.

We had a great time and I am happy to be back and blogging ahead.

Perhaps it was coincidence when I started a weekly book review that at the same time my sister was co-hosting a book event in the Kansas City Jewish Community in memory of my mother Gloria P. Gershun who started the Jewish Book Fair in that area many years ago. But I think not.

Divine intervention? intention? Or maybe it is my mother’s influence ever in our hearts and spirits.

I certainly did not see a connection on the timing when I began, but I do now. Among other things, my mom was a librarian, a children’s librarian. My sisters and I grew up with books as an integral part of our daily lives. All three of us love to read. We had a mini library in our house when we were growing up–these days they call them book shelves!

No wonder my sister and I were doing book stuff at the same time.

Hers was more directly related to my mom, of course. Thus I have decided to share the book that they featured at the event last month: The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster and illustrated by Jules Feiffer.

While it does not have a Hawaii connection, the author is Jewish (which I did not know until recently) and I LOVED this book as a child. I still have my copy from way back when that my younger girl enjoyed reading a few years ago.

And now I have a copy signed by the author thanks to my sister (and the author). Mahalo.

This is less of a review and more of a recommend. Perhaps my favorite places that the characters Milo and Tock visit are the Doldrums and Dictionopolis, especially the Doldrums. To this day I can feel the images and mood that Juster creates just by the mention of the word Doldrums.

You are never too old to read The Phantom Tollbooth. Perhaps on the 50th anniversary of its debut is a perfect time. And if you want to borrow a copy, if you promise to be very careful with it, I might lend you one of mine.