Archive for the ‘Holidays’ Category

Hanukkah Celebration 2009

January 5, 2010

On Sunday, December 13, Temple B’nai Israel in Tupelo held its annual Hanukkah Celebration.

As usual, there was an excellent service led by Religious Leader Marc Perler, followed by a potluck dinner. The tables were filled with all kinds of homemade food, including lots and lots of latkes—hundreds of latkes, both the traditional kind and a tasty sweet potato-carrot version.

When all the eating was done, something new and exciting was added this year. B’nai Israel held its first annual Dreidel Spinning Championship. Though not conducted precisely according to Major League Dreidel rules, there was a standard 18-inch by 18-inch spinning area, and a suitable competitive dreidel was selected.

No one there had ever taken part in a dreidel competition before, and some players even claimed to have little or no spinning experience (though it appeared that this inexperience may have been overstated by some Hanukkah hustlers in the group). After much cajoling, thirteen people entered the contest, and most agreed to choose a spinning nickname.

Here were this year’s competitors:

Al (Saltillo Slim)
Alice (Dizzy Al)
Cindy (The Houston Hurricane)
Glenda
Kathleen (K.-Top)
Linda (Loopy Lyn)
Marc (Top Rebbe)
Polly
Richard (Latke Louis)
Ron (Rally Ron)
Skylar (Little Dreidel)
Tracy
Tyler (Butterfingers)

After three elimination rounds, the championship came down to two competitors: Latke Louis and Saltillo Slim.

Latke Louis

Saltillo Slim

Up to that round, Louis had a best spin of 13.2 seconds, while Slim had kept his dreidel going for 13.4 seconds. In the final spin, it was Latke Louis who prevailed by a mere 0.2 seconds. Temple B’nai Israel had its first ever Dreidel Champion.

Tags:
Posted in Holidays | Leave a Comment »

Temple B’nai Israel and the White House Seder

April 10, 2009

What is the connection between Temple B’nai Israel and last night’s White House seder?

In a recent post, we highlighted a new exhibit from our Library collection, A Century of Haggadot. We made special mention of our collection of different versions of the Maxwell House Coffee Haggadah, dating from 1937 to 2006. Here is how Maxwell House explains this Passover phenomenon:

The haggadah has been offered by Maxwell House continuously since the early 1930s…Maxwell House coffee has been recognized as a friend of the Jewish community since 1923, the year the well-known brand became certified as Kosher for Passover – the first coffee to seek this important designation.

Then, about a decade later, working with Joseph Jacobs Advertising and an Orthodox rabbi to ensure accuracy, Maxwell House printed their first haggadah. More than 70 years later, Maxwell House is still partnering with Joseph Jacobs to deliver the longest running sales promotion in advertising history. To this day, over 50 million haggadahs have been printed, making it the most widely used haggadah in the world.

No sooner did we mention this then we learned that at the historic Passover event, the Obama family and their guests used the Maxwell House Haggadah at their White House seder.

Is this related to our Temple B’nai Israel Library and site? Okay, probably not. As Maxwell House points out, it is the most widely used haggadah in the world (at least Maxwell House says so), so the odds are in their favor. Still, Jews everywhere are kvelling about the First Seder, Maxwell House is probably kvelling about being the First Haggadah, so as proud exhibitors of the haggadah Obama used, we can’t be blamed for kvelling a little too.

Tags:, ,
Posted in Holidays | Leave a Comment »

Community Seder

April 9, 2009

The Temple B’nai Israel Community Seder was a sold-out success. People from all over the community joined members of the congregation to retell the Passover story, sing the songs of the holiday, and of course eat wonderful food.

Thanks to:

Jane Litke for organizing the seder and for making the charoset.

Leslie Mart for promoting the seder.

Al and Marilyn Cohen for making sure we had  all the necessary Passover food.

Kathleen Kennedy and Tracy Wolfe for the chicken soup and matzo balls.

Skylar Wolfe for his excellent Four Questions.

Marc Perler, our Religious Leader, for guiding us masterfully through the seder, making it both a spiritual and educational experience, and making sure that even the most reluctant participants took part in the readings.

Don Kartiganer, our Cantor, for his voice, his guitar, and his leading us all in song.

Park Heights Restaurant for providing beautiful accommodations, terrific food, and the most friendly and efficient service.

Posted in Holidays | Leave a Comment »

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.