Chanukah at Bubbe's House

Over in the dining room the grandchildren are spinning dreidels. Would you like to play? You don't know how? Ahh...come along we will teach you.

What are they singing? Oh it is a song, "I have a Little Dreidel, I made it out of clay..." Why clay? Well it was easily accessible back in 165 BC, just dig in the ground a find a lump of clay to bake in the oven.

You see back in 165BC the Greeks were demanding that the Jews forsake their G-d, their temple, their way of life, even their language. Hedonistic Jews went along with these changes but many did not. So in secret they would meet together and teach the children their language and Alpha-bet. When the Greeks would pop in and check on them, they would pretend to be gambling, spinning tops and betting coins.

Today the Dreidle has four letters painted on its sides, outside of the land of Isreal the letters are;  Nun, Gimmel, Hay and Shin. Which stand for Nes Gadol Hayah Shom, "A Great Miracle Happened There". Inside Israel the Letters are different because "A Great Miracle Happened HERE" so the letters are Nun, Gimmel, Hay and Pay "Nes Gadol Hayah Po"  Now you have even had a Hebrew lesson today. Just like a Homeschooler, always making a lesson out of everything!

The children gather around and take turns spinning their dreidels hoping to win the Gelt in the center of the table. No Not GUILT, Gelt, chocolate coins covered in gold foil. The letter determines the amount he will win or loose. Like this...

Nun" means Nothing, you win nothing, you lose nothing.

"Gimmel" means you Get to take the whole kitty.

"Hay" means you win half of what's in the kitty.

"Shin" (or in Israel - "Pay") means "share" or "put in" - you lose, and must put one more into the kitty

Now that you know how to play would you like to make a paper dreidel? go here

Or for the BOYS who love Star Wars...a Droidel

And of course you can play with a virtual dreidel online here

So please come and play with us as we get ready to celebrate Chanukah for the next Eight Days Starting the EVENING of December Eleventh! We will light the Chanukiah (a Menorah with nine branches) have Latkes with dinner, tell stories about the brave Maccabees, Hannah and her Seven sons and play dreidel. We may even have a present or two!

Oh You have never seen a Chanukiah? Never eaten a Latke? and do not know about the Maccabees nor Hannah???? Oh dear we have much to talk about.  You better pour another cup of tea and seat here with me and I will tell you all about it.

The History Channel has a wonderful 4 minute video on Chanukah as well. Just incase you can't wait until then. http://www.history.com/video.do?name=culture&bcpid=1681694254&bclid=1675979339

In a few moments my home will be filled with Grandchildren with busy, very busy hands as we get ready for the Congregational Dinner and making lots of Latkes. Oh How I love Latkes!

 You see part of Chanukah has to do with Sacrifice and my favorite Chanukah Story is about Sacrifice as well. Chanukah is also about rising above oppression and defeating your enemies. So before I share about Chanukah lighting I would like to share my favorite story of Chanukah, a story about women and children Torture and Faith. Hannah (Chana in Hebrew) and her seven sons.

This first time I read this story to my children through tears I prayed Lord may I teach my children to have faith to die for you. Being saved in the late seventies and KNOWING Jesus was returning any day; I knew they had to be prepared. Very gently the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart and said, not only do you have to teach them to die for me, you must teach them to live for me and to teach their children the same. At the time being a grandparent was no where in my realm of thinking, yet it immediately changed my way of teaching my children from just learning to teaching them to being able to infuse their children with Truth as well.

Hannah is the mother of Seven Jewish sons during the time of Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Antiochus is determined to destroy the Jews faith in G-d by issuing edict after edict; you can not observe the Sabbath, you cannot read Torah, you cannot circumcise your sons, You must eat unclean meats. Everything G-d had commanded them to do, they were being commanded to not do. Can you imagine what this was like? You can't go to church, You can't read your Bible, You cannot pray. You can't baptize new believers, you cannot tell anyone about Jesus? What would you do?

For Hannah the price was so dear. It began with her eldest son. He would not obey the King He would not abandon Torah and eat the unclean meat set before him. The King ordered his tongue cut out, His hands and feet cut off and burned in the fire, as his mother and brothers watched. The King thought surely this will make them see I am serious and they will do as I command.

Each son was presented to the King and each deadly torture became worse than the next as Hannah watched each of Her sons shout their devotion to God and enter into His Presence. Finally her last and youngest son appear be for the Monster Antiochus. The Seven year old Showed the same courage and devotion as his other brothers had. The King Pleaded with Hannah, save this boy your last child, make him obey me! So Hannah asked to speak to her little boy and in Hebrew so the King could not understand this is what she said...

"My son, I carried you in my body for nine months, I nursed you for two years and I have fed you until today. I have taught you to fear G-d and uphold His Torah. See the heaven and the earth, the sea and the land, fire, water, wind and every other creation. Know that they were all created by G-d's word. He created man to serve Him and He will reward man for his deeds. The king knows he is condemned before G-d. He thinks that if he convinces you, G-d will have mercy on him. G-d controls your life's breath and can take your soul whenever He desires. If only I could see the greatness of your glorious place where we would be illuminated with G-d's light and rejoice and exult together."

and lastly when you see Abraham tell him your mother says "'You bound only one son upon an altar, but I bound seven."

With That the King ordered the littlest son to be tortured worse than all his brothers before him. Hannah surrounded by the bodies of her beloved sons Exalted her G-d in Prayer.

Hannah stood by the heaped bodies of her sons. She prayed for three things:

1)      for the souls of her children

2)      for the strength of the Jewish people

3)      to be taken by God rather than be killed by the Greeks

As Hannah finished her prayer, she breathed her last breath and fell dead beside her children.

A Child's version of this Story can be found here http://www.torahtots.com/holidays/chanuka/chana7.htm

Now This story may seem so far from your imaginings that it is hard for you to comprehend, yet there women and children are suffering the same evil today, some for their faith ,some for the pleasure of their tormentors. Daily they choose what is best for their families, their children, their souls. Many martyrs for Christ are in their numbers.

One year in Honor of Jesus’ and Hannah’s sacrifice the children decided to sacrifice (or fast) one of the days of Chanukkah and give all the money that would have been spent on the celebration and the presents to Voice of the Martyrs. Just one way for Chanukah to become real for their tender hearts.

As you hold your children in your arms, praying for them and singing to them, remember you are called to train them to Live for Jesus and each celebration and tradition you instill in their hearts is doing more than you imagine. Chanukah is one such Tradition.

And so we ask, did Jesus celebrate Chanukah? And if He did, should we? What does the Bible say on this subject?

John 10: 22-30 says this in the Living Bible Translation

22 It was now winter, and Jesus was in Jerusalem at the time of Hanukkah. 23 He was at the Temple, walking through the section known as Solomon's Colonnade. 24 The Jewish leaders surrounded him and asked, "How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly." 25 Jesus replied, "I have already told you, and you don't believe me. The proof is what I do in the name of my Father. 26 But you don't believe me because you are not part of my flock. 27 My sheep recognize my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them away from me, 29 for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. So no one can take them from me. 30 The Father and I are one."

This was a time to celebrate Miracles and Jesus is trying to explain “Plainly” that during this time of Miracles of G-d, He is the greatest Miracle of all. He says Yes I have told you, yes I am He but You do not listen. The Proof is in what I do in the Name of the Father. Many think Chanukah is about a great battle. And it is about a great battle. Not only the battle of the Maccabees and the Greeks, but also about a daily battle against Light and Darkness.  It is said many times if there is a Jewish Celebration it goes like this. “What are you celebrating now?” The replay is “They tried to Kill us, G-d defeated them, Let’s eat!” And very often that is true. The Maccabees did not save the people, G-d saved the People. G-d raised up these warriors against The Mighty Greek army and won. As we well know Our G-d loves to take the foolish things of the world and confound the wise.

The Temple that they rededicated is no less a temple than the one Jesus is now asking us to rededicate to God the same way. Just as the Miracle of the Oil came into the Temple, The Holy Spirit often symbolized as oil comes into you, the Temple of the Lord. Just as the prayers of Dedication were prayed, for Chanukah is the Feast of Dedication, we are asked to rededicate ourselves to the Lord as well. Jesus is tell them in John, Believe the Miracles, know who I am, Rededicate yourself to G-d. And still today many do not see it.

So we Light our Chanukiahs, shouting to the World, Jesus is the Messiah, come to the Light, rededicate your hearts and lives to Him.

 He is the “Light” of the Celebration. Jesus the Light of the World came as a Servant to light us ablaze with the Truth. Just as the Chanukiah has a servant candle, one set apart from the others to ignite the others, so Jesus is the Light set apart to ignite our souls. Jesus is the Light of the World and it is that Light He passes on to us to make us the Light burning brightly for all to see., A City of a Hill. Jesus, Himself said I did not come to be served but to serve. As the Shamash it is Jesus that kindles the Lights of Chanukah.

Lighting the servant candle you start from the Right to the Left (Just as Hebrew is read Right to Left) and light the first candle marking day One. The Next day still lighting on the right side you light the candle closest to the shamash first (left to right) and so on. Yes it can be confusing and causes many debates as to which candle was lit first. Thus we are Thankful for Grace! Each night a Candle is lit and Prayers are lifted up, songs and sung and laughter is heard in every home. The Servant candle shares His light with all the others until the blaze can be seen by passerby.

Prayers can be found here…. http://www.sbmessianic.net/Chanukah.shtml

My prayer is that you will see it, lighted candle by Lighted candle. Jesus is very visible in Chanukah; just as He is Visible in the Passover and every other Celebration. They are all designed to bring us to the Messiah, to train our Children and be set apart from the world.

When the parents forgot to tell their children about the Miracles of the Lord they fell away. The Bible says “they did what was right in their own eyes.” When we fail to teach the Children the depth of truth, past the presents, and good food, we fail to bring them to Messiah. Notice these next few weeks how many times you hear “Christmas is about getting together with family” and nothing about the Messiah it is honoring. When we remove the truth of the celebration whatever it is, the children are lost.

Does it Matter How You Spell Hanukkah?

How do you spell Hanukkah? Hanukkah is a Hebrew word; the Hebrew alphabet is different from the English one. In English, Hanukkah is spelled as it sounds when spoken. However the true beginning sound of the word is not used in English. It comes from the back of the throat - it sort of like clearing your throat when you say the word. So there are different ways to spell Hanukkah, take your pick.

At least it’s always the same in Hebrew: You will just have to trust me on this one, it is five letters long and looks nothing like the words Below! It does however look like this.

Hanukkah (rededication) has only five letters in the original Hebrew. In English there are at least 16 ways to spell it, including: Channuka, Channukah, Chanuka, Chanukah, Chanuko, Hannuka, Hannukah, Hanuka, Hanukah, Hanukkah, Kanukkah, Khannuka, Khannukah, Khanuka, Khanukah, Khanukkah, and Xanuka.

When typed into your spell check these are your most common spellings Chanukah, Hanukah, and Hanukkah. Now when you say it, it is not a soft “H” sound! The “CH” is not quite as hard as the “CH” in Christmas but not the “Ch” in Church. It is more like the “Caw” of a crow. Thus since most Americans say Hanukkah with a soft “H” they spell in that way.

The Importance is not in the spelling, it is in the heart. It means Rededication. This is a Rededication of the Temple, their rededication to worship, the rededication to Torah. They had fought the whole Greek Army and won! This was a time to Praise God who delivers His People against all odds.

 For the Believer in Messiah Jesus this is not just a moment to reflect on the Rededication of the Defiled Temple in The Time of the Maccabees, which is the central focus of Chanukah.  For us it is a time to look at 1 Corinthians 3: 16-17 more closely and rededicate ourselves to G-d as well. We also are a Miracle. We are to be set apart. Just as the Maccabees knew they could not conform to the world around them; we must be set apart as well. Just as the Jewish Household is to place their Chanukiah in a doorway or a window to let their light shine for all the world to see, our light is also to shine forth and call out those in darkness .

Does that sound familiar to you? The verse that rings out first in most Advent calendars is Isaiah 9:2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. This is a Messianic prophecy. This verse is immediately followed by verses 6 and 7 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty G-d, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

Oh how Holy is the Light of the World!

John 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

So know you know, it is not the spelling of Chanukah, it is in the heart that the difference is truly made.

Now the reason for Latkes….

Now the big question is why do we eat Latkes??? Well it has to do with the Miracle. What Miracle? Well the Miracle of the oil of course! The same Miracle that the letters on the Dreidel stand for Nes Gadol Hayah Shom..A great Miracle Happened there.

But back to the Miracle.... The Greeks said no Jew could be a Jew, they needed to be a Greek. That sounds so familiar even today doesn't it? Everyone is forcing everyone else to conform to what they think is right. Anyway after a while the Jews said no more and fought back. A little rag tag group of everyday people against the whole Greek Army (only G-d can bring victory) and He does. But when they return to their temple, the altar is covered with PIGS blood ( Can you even imagine such a horrific sight?)and statues of Antiochus filled the Holy of Holies! So they begin to scrub and clean so they could rededicate the temple, and themselves to the Lord. This is the same feast of Dedication Jesus celebrated. Here is where the tricky part comes, you see there is only one flask of oil to fill the menorah with and it will only burn one day. Once it is lit it must remain lit. It can’t go out and the priests refill it only once a week. It has to continuously burn for eight days. If it were up to me, I would have said, ”Hey let’s wait a week and make more oil first”, but G-d’s does things differently to show us He is there in our midst. The problem is there is NO MORE purified oil and whether it took eight days to purify it, or eight days to get some from somewhere else is debated (Jews love to debate thing). What is not debated it the Miracle! What only would have lasted one day lasted eight days! It just kept burning. Because it kept burning the Temple could become a Holy Place for G-d to abide once more. Oh how wonderful it is when the Lord enters His Holy temple and takes up residence there.

G-d loves replenishing Oil, remember the widow’s flask of oil that filled up as long as Elijah was in their home?

So now you know why OIL is so important to Chanukah.

Now I will tell you how to make the Latkes!

Here is our favorite recipe which we triple for the family and make at least ten times this for the congregation.

6 potatoes (I like Yukon gold)

1  yellow onion

2 eggs beaten

3 TBSP of flour or Matzo meal (I use both)

Salt and pepper

and schmaltz (rendered chicken fat) or oil (we used oil) for frying

Peel and grate potatoes and place them in a large bowl of ice water to keep them from graying (if you have the time with kid-lings underfoot!) because now you have to squeeze them dry! add onion (which I also grate but feel free to chop if you like) also add the beaten eggs the flour salt and pepper. mix well! heat the oil and drop large tablespoons full of the mixture into the skillet and flatten. Brown on both sides drain on paper towels and serve with....applesauce, sour cream and even caviar if you dare. Me, I like Sour cream and Crystal Hot Sauce!!!

That should be enough to get you started. I hope you find this Chanukah season to be a wonderful time of growing closer to your Messiah Jesus and to your children. Share some of “His” light with those around you. G-d bless you all.

Here are some great links

http://www.sbmessianic.net/Chanukah.shtml

http://biblicalholidays.com/hanukkah.htm

http://www.torahtots.com/holidays/chanuka/chanuk.htm

http://www.jewishmag.com/85mag/chanukaoil/chanukaoil.htm

Hag Sameach!

2010

FREE lapbook - Books Of The Bible

American Girl Christmas Party

To keep things simplke for me we asked for each family to bring a dessert or finger food to share and one wrapped ornament for each person attending.

Here are all the pretty girls as they arrived at the party.

• Addy 1864 Civil War
• Felicity 1774 Revolutionary War
• Josefina 1824 New Mexico
• Julie 1976 San Francisco
• Kaya 1764 Nez Perce
• Kirsten 1854 Pioneer
• Kit 1934 Great Depression
• Molly 1944 WWII
• Rebecca 1914 New Your City
• Samantha 1904 Industrial Revolution

And here is the BIG pile of paper towards the end of the unwrapping!

Once upon a time there was a wonderful group of American girls who LEFT their homes every Tuesday night to go RIGHT to American Girl Club.  The first time they LEFT their homes they LEFT on a beautiful warm Fall evening.  After getting RIGHT to American Girl Club all the girls met each other and it was all RIGHT!  Soon they got RIGHT to learning History together.  They were happy that their mom’s where RIGHT there with them and had not LEFT them somewhere to learn History alone.

Week after week the girls LEFT their homes to get RIGHT together.  Each week they got RIGHT to discussing the stories and they LEFT having learned a little more history.  The crafts LEFT no one disappointed and the activities they did together were just RIGHT!

The club started with Samantha and went RIGHT to Kaya.  Then they went RIGHT to Felicity and that LEFT Josefina. Next they will go RIGHT to Kirsten!

The best part of all is that the girls have friends to the LEFT and the RIGHT of them and both the mom’s and the girls have become the RIGHT kind of friends!

Thank you God for bringing these awesome girls and mom’s RIGHT together!

Now, all that is LEFT to do is open your gifts!

After all the games and activities I had planned were over the girls wen in the family roomand played duck-duck-goose. 

It was a very fun night and a great start to the Christmas season!

:^)

Happy Homeschooling,

Jamin

Trigger Memory Super Cyber Monday Sale!

Super Cyber Monday Sale!   48 Hours Sale - Save 25%  on ALL TMS Products (Use coupon code below) Times Tales -  $29.95  now $22.46 Times Tales w/Mini  - $34.95 now $26.12 Memory Trigger - $5.95 now $4.46 Zone Clean 'N Flip - 17.95 now $13.46 Bedroom Clean 'N Flip - $7.95 now $5.96 Laundry Clean 'N Flip - $7.95 now $4.18 OOB Education E-Book - $7.95 now $5.96 Homemade Games  - $4.95 now $3.71 Includes any combination or version of the above products (combo packs, classroom programs, etc) Monday & Tuesday ONLY!   Use code CYBER25 to receive 25% off ANY TMS Product!   Click to Graphic below to start shopping!

Hershey Pound Cake Recipe

Thank God For Dirty Dishes

Thank God For Dirty Dishes

Thank God for dirty dishes; They have a tale to tell.

While others may go hungry, We're eating very well.

With home, health, and happiness,

I shouldn't want to fuss;

By the stack of evidence, God's been very good to us.

Author Unknown

I Did It!

Today I Am Thankful For...

Celebrating Hanukkah Today

Each night of Hanukkah includes the lighting of candles, the reading of blessings, gift giving, special foods and game called dreidel. There are also many songs and readings from ancient books in some homes. This year (2009) Hanukkah begins at sunset on Friday December 11th. Let’s take a look at some of the most common elements of the modern day festival!

CANDLES: the chanukiyah (Hahn-uh-key-uh) is a candle holder or menorah with nine branches. Each night of the Festival, at sunset, the candles are lit for that evening with one more candle lit each night to symbolize increasing joy!
First the shamash or servant candle is lit. The shamash is the taller center candle. I love the imagery of the central “servant” candle “bowing” in order to bring light to the other candles. It reminds me of two passages of Scripture:
In Mark 9 we read of a time when the disciples were having a dispute over which one of them would be the greatest in the Kingdom of God. Jesus answered their question in verse 35 with these words:

Mark 9:35
35And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.

 

Jesus was telling them to be like Him! In Philippians 2 we read:

Philippians 2: 5-11
5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
6Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

 

A FUN ACTIVITY:
My mom told me about this fun and easy craft recipe that can be used to represent a Hanukkah candle:

CANDLE “SALAD”
1 pineapple ring
1 banana
1 orange or red gumdrop or a slice of strawberry
Cut off both ends of the banana and place it into the pineapple ring to represent a candle in a candle holder. Top with the gumdrop or strawberry to “light” your candle! Enjoy!

 

BLESSINGS: Each night after the shamash is lit, two blessings are spoken. On the first night, one additional blessing is read. This is traditionally done in Hebrew and is often followed by the English translations.

GIFTS: This is a newer addition to Hanukkah that began as rewards for children who could answer questions on the history of the holiday!
Gift-rewards were originally known as gelt. It became a tradition to give eight small gifts… one for each day of Hanukkah. Since Hanukkah is around the same time as Christmas it led to this tradition becoming more prominent and popular, especially for families with young children.

Gift ideas:
For young children: Small books, little toys, match box cars, hair ties, and maybe even a baked treat or candy
For older children: Hand lotion, craft supplies, smaller hobby items, tools, journals or handmade gifts
For young adults and adults: Items to save for their own Hanukkah traditions such as a nice menorah/chanukiyah, olive wood dreidel or other items from The Holy Land

 

FOOD: It is said that many of the traditional feast items are fried because of the miracle of the oil. We have not tried any of these recipes yet, but if we try them we will work on making them healthier by baking or at least frying in the better, high-heat stable oils like coconut oil.

Latkes: some recipes call for white potatoes, but I have also seen some with sweet potatoes. That sounds like it has even more potential to be a little healthier! Potato Pancakes from foodfit.com

 

3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes
1 medium onion
1/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup egg substitute, or 2 whole eggs plus 4 whites
salt
freshly ground black pepper
olive oil spray (or 2 tablespoons olive oil)

Serve with:
non fat or low fat sour cream
applesauce

1. Preheat a non-stick electric griddle to 450°F.
2. Peel the potatoes and onion and coarsely grate in a food processor fitted with a shredding disk, or on a box grater. Grab handfuls of the grated vegetables and squeeze tightly between your fingers to wring out as much liquid as possible.
3. Transfer the grated vegetables to a mixing bowl and stir in the flour, baking powder, egg substitute and a pinch of salt and pepper. (The potato pancakes should be highly seasoned.)
4. Spray the hot griddle with oil (or drizzle the oil on it and spread with a wooden spoon.) Spoon small mounds of potato mixture onto the baking sheet to form 3-inch pancakes, leaving 1 inch between each. Fry the pancakes on the griddle until golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes per side, turning once with a spatula.
5. Transfer to plates or a platter and serve immediately with sour cream and/or applesauce.
Serving Size: 3 potato pancakes

Baked Soufganiyot: Baked Soufganiyot–Low Fat Israeli Hanukkah Jelly Doughnuts. Doughnuts is a lower fat recipe from foodfit.com

1 package dry yeast (1 scant tablespoon)
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup lukewarm water
3 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (approximately)
1 cup lukewarm skim milk
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
pinch of salt
grated zest of one lemon
3 tablespoons reduced fat butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup apricot jam (approximately)
confectioner’s or granulated sugar for rolling

1. Dissolve the yeast and 1 tablespoon of the sugar in the water.
2. Put the flour in the bowl of a food processor equipped with a steel blade. Add the dissolved yeast, milk, egg, egg yolk, salt, lemon zest and the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Process until blended. Add the butter and process until the dough becomes sticky yet elastic.
3. Remove the dough to a bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place for at least an hour. If you want to prepare the dough in advance, place it in the refrigerator overnight, then let it warm to room temperature before rolling and cutting.
4. Grease 2 cookie sheets. Dust a pastry board with flour. Roll the dough out to a 1/2-inch thickness. Using the top of a glass as a cutter, cut into rounds about 2-inches in diameter and roll these into balls. Place the balls about 1 to 1 1/2-inches apart on the greased cookie sheets. Cover and let rise 30 minutes more.
5. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Bake the doughnuts for 12 to 15 minutes or until they’re golden. Remove from the oven and let cool.
6. Soften the jam in a food processor. Using an injector (available at cooking stores), insert a teaspoon of jam into each doughnut. Roll the soufganiyot in confectioner’s or granulated sugar and serve immediately.
Serving Size: 1 doughnut

DREIDEL: this game is a favorite with my children ever since they received an olive wood dreidel as a gift!
The driedel is like a little four-sided top. Each of the four sides has a Hebrew letter. The letters are the initial letters of a sentence: “A great miracle happened there!” The game is played with coins, candy or other small tokens and each letter/side rolled represents an action:

Nun=take nothing
Gimel=take all
Heh=take half
Shin=put in

(Listed from Left to Right since Hebrew is read from Left to Right) 

At the start of the game, each child has an equal portion of items and the remainder is place in the center. We play for a certain length of time (usually 30 minutes or so) and rather than allowing the children to keep all they have at the end we play with chocolate coins and allow each child to eat one and the “winner” to eat two!

Whatever YOUR family does this year, may your lives be filled with the Light of Christ. May you do ALL to His glory. May you stand for what you believe in and rededicate your life to shining God’s light into this dark and lost world. We know that our salvation is not based on our works, but on the work of Christ on the cross, but may be show our love and thanks to Jesus by acting in a way that will bring others to a saving knowledge of The Messiah now at the end of 2008 and as so long as we may be given grace to live in this world, but NOT of it!

Matthew 5:16
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”