So MUCH to Consider!

B'SD

17 Tishrei, 5779

It's been a lovely Sukkot holiday so far. I have enjoyed time at the synagogue and in the sukka, praying for genuine peace. Sadly, though, many of us Israelis smell smoke from the arson attacks accomplished with balloons and other incendiary devices burning our crops, parks, and other parts of the holy land. 

Meanwhile, people are outdoors enjoying what they can at this harvest festival time when we remember the arduous trek from Egyptian slavery to freedom in Israel. Our fragile hold on life depends on the blessings of the One Above.

While we share festive fun and food, though, some celebrants wonder why there is an absence of organic etrogim, those aromatic citrons that we use for the Sukkot holiday. A significantly large niche market exists for them. 

Perhaps next year I'll be able to report that the niche has been filled so that we can make jelly and candy from cooked organic etrogim/citrons. They are presently loaded with cancer-causing pesticides to enhance the unhampered growth of these fruits that are primarily sold once yearly, for prayerful rather than edible purposes.

Here's another health concern to think about. Please share it with your insurers and doctors and coax them to foster solutions to the problem:

Yocheved Golani

16 hrs · 

"Why does our health insurance system not support patients who want to improve their health?"

There are several answers to the question. I hope that the doctor will address at least some of them in the future.

KEVINMD.COM

Our health system is a sick system

I see the insurance reimbursement system as more of a sick system then a health system. It promotes the status quo rather than health change.

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There are so many things to consider.

Buy the E-book or print edition of EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge. 

Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity. Face Your Future with Optimism.

Fill your mind and efforts with solutions.

Fun in and Out of the Sun!

B'SD

14 Tishrei, 5779

September is the hardest month of the year, when Jewish college students struggle to help their professors to understand that "I understand that your class is valuable instruction time, but, hey, I need to miss the first three weeks of the new school year..." It's  dilemma that Jewish students worldwide must overcome as we commemorate our High Holidays/Jewish New Year season.

Now that I'm well into adulthood, I appreciate Sukka-building for the holiday of Sukkot all the more. It's a fun project that heralds the last week of the High Holiday Season while symbolizing so much meaningful spirituality. 

A sukka, by the way, symbolizes GOD's protection and constant blessings. A miniature mishkan (a portable temple - the first one was built in Shilo) that preceded the REAL temple aka Bet HaMikdash, it makes us long all the more for the THIRD and Final Temple that will serve everyone in the world (as did the first two!).

Here I am having fun and out of the sun with a few friends as we put our synagogue's sukka together this morning.

‎Yocheved Golani‎ 

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Yocheved Golani

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Yocheved Golani

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Yocheved Golani Considering the deep, mystical symbolism of Yocheved's ceiling decoration... Water drops for Simkhat bet haShoeva (a water celebration festival), a palm frond, a Don't Speak Lashon Hara sticker, symbols for Rosh HaShana, plus a tiny sefer Tehilim. And a mysteriously purple round thingy, too...

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Yocheved Golani It was an adventure with ankle-piercing tips on palm fronds, sharp scissors snapping in the air, wood splinters in a few thumbs, and ladders taller than the cross beams. But the mighty team won the day and the mitzva of setting up a sukka without killing anyone in the process! 5779 we gotcha covered!

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The holiday begins tonight and lasts 8 days (the first and last days are spent in synagogue). I'll probably tap at you again on Tuesday.


 Enjoy this classic song for Sukkot, "Shlomit Builds a Sukka of Peace."

Buy the E-book or print edition of EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge. 

Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity. Face Your Future with Optimism.

Fill your time with long-lasting fun. Feel better FAST!

Healing as Best We Can

B'SD

14 Tishrei, 5778

It's hours before the freedom festival of Sukot begins, and I remain miserable to know of the suffering once again inflicted on innocents enjoying a concert. Terrorists simply despise fun and happiness.

I've been at a loss to know what sort of message to post at this blog. Sympathies abound worldwide. So, since we're in this together, I've decided to make my message unique by sharing two recipes that build strong bodies and minds, the better for weathering emotional storms. They're already cooling on my kitchen counters so I can share them over the holiday. Make these yourself and we can enjoy them together, so to speak.

Seed Crackers (full of nourishing Omega-3 and gluten-free!)

1 half cup each of sesame, chia and flax seeds, (poppy seeds if desired) and enough water (1/2 cup or so) to bind it.

Salt to taste.

Spread the mixture out as thin as possible upon a sheet of oiled baking paper already set up on a baking tray.

Layer with another sheet of baking paper.

Bake at 180 degrees C for 20 minutes or until done.

Sesame Crackers with Almond Flour

aka GLUTEN-FREE SESAME CRACKERS

Serving Size: 60 crackersPrep Time: 10 minutesCook Time: 12-15 minutes

Cooking Temp: 350°Ingredients:

3 cups almond flour

1 ½ tsp sea salt

1 cup sesame seeds

2 tbsp olive oil

2 eggs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. In a large bowl, combine almond flour, salt, and sesame seeds.

In a medium bowl, mix oil and eggs thoroughly.

Combine wet ingredients with dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Divide dough into two pieces. Place dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper. Roll to about 1/16 inch thickness. Remove the top piece of parchment paper and transfer the bottom piece onto a baking sheet. Repeat this for the remaining piece of dough.

Cut the dough into small squares no bigger than 2 inches with a knife or pizza cutter.
Bake 12-15 minutes until lightly golden-brown.
Let cool and enjoy!

PS - A much-loved song written by Naomi Shemer is Shlomit Bona Sukkat Shalom. The title and the song are about building dwellings of genuine peace, and living in peace.

May GOD bless the world at large to dwell in true peace. May emotional agony become a dim memory.

May miracles fill our lives.

Calm down more when you read the E-book or print edition of EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge. 





Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity. Face Your Future with Optimism.

Fill your body, mind and heart with nourishing peace.