Stand up and be counted

03 May 2011 1 Comment

by Being Jewish in Hawaii in Family, Holiday Tags: , ,

When I signed up to have our family portrait taken to be included in the Temple’s 50th Anniversary Commemorative Pictorial Directory I was just doing it to be supportive. It sounded like a good idea and I wanted to be included.

I also like the idea of being a part of the Temple’s history.

I read the Rabbi’s emails and Temple newsletter article about how taking pictures for this purpose would not be irreverent on a solemn day such as Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. It made sense and I agreed, but I didn’t really think too much about it. I had already signed up.

When the article appeared in the Honolulu Star Bulletin on Saturday quoting his thoughts, my husband and I agreed that it made going to take our picture even more meaningful.

The idea of being a “statement of our people’s triumph” filled me with purpose. Our family was going to proudly affirm our lives–our Jewish lives on this day of remembrance.

I figured that if I was going to be a statement, a historical representative of a Jewish person in Hawaii in 2011 that I’d better represent well. I chose everything that I wore with care.

Not only did I want to look good, but what I wore was symbolic. The dress was colorful for our Aloha style in Hawaii. Each piece of jewelry came from somebody that I love. That way I could represent them as well.

You can’t see them in this photo I took before the session, but they are there.


Along with my wedding ring and anniversary necklace from my husband, I wore the earrings he brought back for me from a trip to Texas last year.

I wore the Hawaiian bracelet my mother gave me for my 40th birthday and the pearl ring my father gave her long before I was born.

I wore a bracelet from my mother-in-law and one from Uncle Puppy who passed away just last month.

We enjoyed the photo session. It brought us together, celebrating our family and our place in the community. The young woman from Lifetouch encouraged us to smile for the camera and was patient as we posed.

Thank you to all who organized the photo shoot and the directory. We are a proud family to be included  in what, as Rabbi Schaktman said is, “No greater tribute to those who lost their lives, and no greater repudiation of their murderers.”

Happy May Day and lei day and celebrations across Hawai’i Nei

02 May 2011 1 Comment

by Being Jewish in Hawaii in Holiday, Rites of Passage, Traditions Tags: , , ,

I am ashamed to admit that  when I drove up to the Island Pacific Academy parking lot to pick up my older daughter, who was helping set up for the May Day festivities to be held the next day and I saw how hard they were all working to make a stage and a seating area and decorate with palm leaves and plumeria flowers, I wondered to myself, “Is it worth it?”

I knew right away that I was just feeling guilty that I wasn’t out there sweating with the best of them and that  the next day would turn all of their labor into a blessing for my family and the entire IPA community at the 4th Annual May Day Celebration, Na Mo’olelo Hawai’i, The Legends of Hawaii.

Of course it was a blessing. Legendary. And a beautiful story they told.

My Jewish Hawaiian Princess joined the court, representing the island of Hawaii. Both of my girls danced. Our princess wore a hand-made lehua lei that her grandmother ordered from her brother in Hilo.

And the school came together under the clear, sunny sky, in our growing city of Kapolei, to revel in this May Day tradition of hula and song.

Even more remarkable is that the students danced to live music provided by June and Makana Kuahiwinui, Les Harris, Charlie Fukuba, and Madi Davis. IPA music teacher Ruthe Babas sang as well.

Their music was so perfect and their voices  so beautiful that I had to look several times to make sure it was not a recording. IPA Teacher Veronique Braithewaite was missed due to her  maternity leave, but they honored her with a big photo at the microphone.

I felt a bit emotional thinking that this will be my older daughter’s last May Day with IPA. She  will enter ninth grade at Kamehameha Schools next year. I tearfully remembered all of the care from Miss Momi and Mrs. Babas and then felt a little silly. We are not leaving IPA. Our younger girl will be there next year. Our blessings will grow with two programs to attend.

It  still tugged on my heart-strings, this rite of passage.

Kol Hakavod and Mahalo Nui Loa to Miss Momi and Mrs. Babas and all of the dedicated students and parents who came together to make this wonderful celebration a part of IPA’s history. Na Mo’olelo IPA.

The local newspaper finally writes a full article about local Jews!

01 May 2011 Leave a comment

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Check out this article about Yom Hashoah in the Honolulu Star Bulletin.

Wrapping up Passover

29 Apr 2011 1 Comment

by Being Jewish in Hawaii in Family, Holiday Tags: , , , , , ,

I guess the key words at this point are “Passed” and “Over,” because Passover pretty much is. I keep thinking of the phrase “Just passing through” as well.

I thought I was going to be more  emotional when we had our seder at home this year. I anticipated that the things that usually made me feel connected to my mom who lived far away in Kansas City would make her absence from this present life too far away to bear. Making her chopped liver and taking out my parents’ seder plate from my childhood seemed like it would be empty and sad.

I was wrong (you won’t hear me saying that very often!)

It was as joyful as ever. I spent days preparing each dish with love and care:  chicken soup, matzah balls, chopped liver, charoset and the rest. I pulled out my Great Aunt Tee’s china and  the other sparkling serving dishes that we only use once a year for this very special occasion. And I was happy.

While we didn’t use them, I took out the Hagaddahs that my family read when I was a kid.  I found them when we cleaned out my mother’s basement last spring. They are labeled in my  her handwriting, “Martha, Betsy, Lorrie and Ted.” I wonder why there isn’t one that says “Gloria.”

My father’s copy is carefully marked in red pen so he could lead our seder (in his deep resonating voice) to dinner as efficiently as possible. He even wrote the word “Skip” in many places. Thank goodness. The Gershun family has always been short on seder and long on food! We definitely follow that tradition in this Gershun’s home to this day.

It wasn’t until I was putting away the seder plate and the china, a few days later, that I did feel sad. For a moment, my parents and  relatives were passing through to be with us on this special holiday, singing Dayeinu and Had Gad Ya joyfully together (a bit off-key.)

And now I was putting them back in the cupboard, along with a part of me, to wait for the next time. Ba shanah haba’ah, in the year to come we will all return together–if not in Jerusalem–at least in Kapolei.

There’s more than just a chicken in my soup pot

21 Apr 2011 1 Comment

by Being Jewish in Hawaii in Food, Holiday Tags: , , ,

This may not seem like a big deal to some, but for me it is huge. I used the fresh dill that grew in  my very own yard in the chicken soup that I made in preparation for our seder.

Many of you are used to growing things and eating them. I am not. I do not have a green thumb. The only thing I have been able to grow successfully are a few children and a dog or two over the years. My track record in the plant department is appalling.

Every time a plant in our garden begins to thrive, something happens. We go on vacation and the house sitter forgets to water them. It rains so much that the plants drown. Or I just put them in the wrong spot.

I had a beautiful basil plant for a while and was able to serve its leaves on a few occasions. I’ve even had some limited success with green onions. That’s about it.

I planted the dill seeds a while ago because the package said they need direct sunlight. I only plant seeds that like direct sunlight. None of this indirect stuff for me. It is too unclear.

I’ve been wondering what to do with the dill. It keeps growing and growing and growing. We keep watering and watering and watering. I’ve moved it a few times to chase the sun.  I am proud of our dill plant.

When I looked at a the  chicken soup recipe for Passover and it said to use fresh dill I got excited. “I get to use the dill,” I reveled.

The chickens and carrots and celery I bought at the store. I had to go to several stores to find the parsnip. But the dill was right in my yard waiting to jump in the pot.

Why was last night different than many other nights? Celebrating Passover with a little local style

19 Apr 2011 1 Comment

by Being Jewish in Hawaii in Family, Food, Holiday Tags: , , , , , ,

A seder in Hawaii is much like any seder around the world. We tell the story. We eat the traditional foods. And then there are a few special moments that highlight that we are celebrating in this particular place and possibly nowhere else.

Last night was no exception. The Aloha Jewish Chapel seder at the Hale Koa Hotel was a pleasure. The table was set with a beautiful seder plate and we told the story that Jews around the world had been telling all day long in different time zones.

This particular event has a personal story our family likes to tell. Every year when we attend, we remember that it was at this very seder, eight years ago, that my husband and I had our “Almost First Date.” We have been going every year since–except in 2005 when he was deployed in Iraq.

2006

2007

2011

The seder also has some local flavor, but not in the cooking.

How many seders have you been to where the guest list is a balance of  names such as Watanabe, Fukuhara and Hashimoto?

And then there is the music. Rachel Haymer played the ukulele at my wedding, my daughter’s Bat Mitzvah and at most of our Temple events. The addition of her ukulele and her voice last night was a real treat.

Finally, comes my favorite, and the initial inspiration to write this particular blog entry. When we were singing the four questions, during the part that asks why on some nights we eat either sitting or reclining, but on this night we only recline: She b’chol haleilot anu ochlin bein yoshbin uvein m’subin. Halailah hazeh, kulanu m’subin., both my husband and older daughter changed the word  m’subin-reclining- to musubi which is a spam and rice sushi snack that is so far from belonging at a seder that one can only laugh.

Try singing it.

Only in Hawaii.

Happy Passover.

The search for gefilte fish and horseradish…tears to my eyes

18 Apr 2011 1 Comment

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Preparing for Passover in Hawaii has gotten easier in the past few years, but it is still not completely convenient.

Most of the neighborhood Safeways have matzah and matzah meal. They bring it out for every Jewish holiday, thinking that we eat it all year round.

Now that I am a “Military Wife,” I have access to the commissary which dutifully puts out a table of items a few weeks before Passover, but it wasn’t as robust this year as the last few.

Whole Foods in Kahala (about 25 miles from my house and a good hour drive if there is traffic) had a good selection of macaroons and gluten free Passover items.

Only the Kapahulu Safeway had gefilte fish. My husband loves gefilte fish. I made the drive.

When I was at the commissary yesterday I asked for fresh horseradish and was told they only have the Chinese kind. I figured that would do for a bitter herb. I had no idea that Chinese horseradish was so big. I had to take a photo. Even my husband laughed.

While surfing the web, my younger daughter noticed that Party City has ready made plague bags, a new tradition at our seder ever since my oldest sister started sending them to my kids. We went to the Waikele Party City to check them out. When I asked the clerk where their Passover items are, she looked at me and said, “What’s Passover?” So much for buying plague bags there. We will make our own.

Despite the obstacles, we are ready. We will celebrate with the community tonight at the Aloha Jewish Chapel seder at the Hale Koa Hotel, organized by our good friends Val Hashimoto and Dan Bender.

And thank goodness for Good Friday. In Hawaii it is a State holiday.  Since the kids won’t have school and my husband doesn’t have to work, we will have our own seder at home with a few friends. All of the items I have hunted and gathered from across the island will come together on our table as we celebrate our  freedom and remember our journey together.

A Zeisen Pesach to all.

Our joyous Purim celebration

21 Mar 2011 2 Comments

by Being Jewish in Hawaii in Holiday, Traditions Tags: , , , ,

Blue skies, sunshine and 77 degree weather were the backdrop of  Honolulu Temple Emanu-El’s School of Jewish Studies Purim carnival that was sponsored by the “Parent Hui” today.

We had a blast. While some mainland shul’s make this occasion a major fundraiser or perhaps a signature event similar to the Punahou Carnival, ours is what might be described as a bit more heymisha. But no less enjoyed.

The dunk tank was a big hit, especially when the Rabbi was the featured dunkee. The kids lined up for a chance to watch him plunge into the water and climb back out for another round.

Visiting Cantor Karen Gilat led the children in song, families dressed up, the bake sale featured hamantashen and the youth group sold hot dogs.

 

Shalach manot from my friend Nancy brightened my day.

Most of all, the great feelings of coming together as parents to make sure our kids have good Purim memories and a community celebrating a holiday that represents victory and deliverance is a darn good reason to get my blogging groove back in gear.

What else do Jews do on Christmas? This one waits for the next day.

26 Dec 2010 2 Comments

by Being Jewish in Hawaii in Holiday, Travel Tags: , , , , ,

Travel. Christmas day is the perfect day to fly somewhere. I went to the airport yesterday to pick up my Mother-In-Law who came to visit from Florida. It was empty. It was so easy.

Of course I managed to miss the parking lot entrance more than once and drove around HNL a few times too many. But this gave me a clear perspective of how not busy the airport was yesterday afternoon.

And we are very happy to have her here for a visit, just in time for the rain.

When I was a kid my family often drove to Vegas on Christmas to be there just in time for my birthday the next day. I spent many a birthday there, including #21. I clearly remember being in the bathroom with Kathy (Brown) Goetsch at midnight on December 25 and joyfully cutting up my fake I.D.. Please don’t tell my kids!

My parents took us to see Joan Rivers one year and Frank Sinatra another in honor of all the great people born around December 25. I’m pretty sure I share a birthday with Joan Rivers’ daughter.

That’s another reason it was so easy for me to get comfortable with the local culture once I moved to Hawaii. Locals love to go to Vegas and I grew up with a father who did too.

I have combined this  love of going to Las Vegas and my Jewish tradition of flying on Christmas on more than one occasion with excellent results.

For my 40th birthday we flew on December 25 to be there in time for my for the big day. Kathy met us there along with other childhood friends from California  and we had a blast.

We met my sister there a few years ago. This time I was treated to a Jerry Seinfeld show for my birthday!

So, if you are looking for a good day to travel, I highly recommend Christmas. And if you are looking for something else to celebrate when all is said and done, there is always my birthday on December 26. I am happy to share!

Melekalikimaka and Hau’oli Makahiki Hou. Keep your eyes closed for the picture of the ham if you keep kosher.

25 Dec 2010 2 Comments

by Being Jewish in Hawaii in Family, Holiday, Traditions Tags: , , , , , , , ,

I am always clear that we do not celebrate Christmas. That does not mean that I begrudge others their celebration. On the contrary, I fully support whatever is your family’s tradition and the great joy it brings for you.

It just bugs me that it has to be so public and that there is no consideration that it might not be my tradition. Local culture as well as most retail establishments assume that everybody wants to get in the holiday spirit before the Thanksgiving turkey can be served as left overs and sandwiches.

At my kids’ school the Christmas trees appeared in the lobby on the first day of Chanukah and one of the teachers dressed up like an elf for weeks before the winter break. It makes my kids feel left out, not to mention that she looked a little silly.

I’d say it wasn’t a until a few days ago that I was ready for the world to enjoy Christmas, and I did manage to get into the holiday spirit in my way.

There were many firsts for me this year.

Since I helped organize the Kukui Center’s holiday party, I bought Christmas decorations for the first time in my life. I strolled the aisles of Longs and picked up some tinsel and ornaments and a couple of stockings. It felt weird and I hoped nobody I knew would see inside my shopping cart!

But the party was very nice and all the staffs of the 8 non-profits co-located at the center came together for a joyful afternoon and celebration of a year of hard work and helping people.

While it has nothing to do with Christmas, yesterday I went to my first tailgate party at the Aloha Stadium where UH played in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl and, more importantly, my older daughter danced hula in the half time show.

We got there early and set up and spent the day relaxing and enjoying the delicious hamburgers and sausages my husband grilled.

The girls got ready and nervously awaited their international half time debut. They and the other 300 hula dancers were televised and aired across the nation and in Japan.

And today I made my first ham! My husband’s battalion held a gathering at lunchtime and he was in charge of the ham. Never before have I cooked a holiday ham, but for the soldiers I did.

There wasn’t much to it. I put it in the oven and when it was warm he took it out. I’m sure there are others that employ much more art for their hams. But for this Jewish girl’s debut, I do think it was quite successful.

I did not join him and his soldiers to find out how it tasted. Instead, my younger daughter and I went out to deliver meals for Lanakila Pacific’s Meals on Wheels. This has become our annual Christmas tradition. We started last year and were pleased to have the opportunity to do it again.

She is thrilled and I am satisfied to do our part to bring some food and joy and company to other people’s holiday. We made goodie bags and she made cards and we hit the road to pick up the meals and distribute them on the west side.

So when all is said and done. Melekalikimaka to you and your family, even if you don’t celebrate.  It certainly has been a nice one for ours.

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