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Enjoy these Purim cocktails created by Deborah Missel in honor of our favorite characters from The Megillah!  The Queen Vashti In a champagne flute combine: 1 TBSP plum jam A pinch of edible gold glitter 1 shot plum brandy Top off with prosecco  The Queen Esther In a cocktail shaker mix:  Ice 1 spring of mint 1 spring of lemon verbena 2 squeeze of lemon juice to taste 2 shots of gin 1 shot apricot brandy 1/4 cup apricot nectar Shake...

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Shabbat. Somehow our ancestors knew, without a scientific study or thousands of retweets, that we humans are hard-wired to need a break.  That’s why the word Shabbat has the same Hebrew root as the word to sit, l’shevet. The ancient rituals of Shabbat gently nudge us to separate from the weekday grind and instead to unplug, notice, reflect and relax.  There’s a belief that we each get an extra soul on Shabbat. A little more spiritual life and breathing room in...

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Recite when seeing large-scale wonders of nature such as high mountains, vast deserts, seas, major rivers, shooting stars and the sunrise:   Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech haolam, oseh maasei v'reishit. We praise You, Eternal God, Sovereign of the universe, who makes the works of creation.

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Gratefulness connects us up to the great flow of receptivity and generosity. When we begin the day in gratefulness, we step on to the path of love. מוֹדֶה אֲנִי לְפָנֶיךָ רוח חַי וְקַיָּם שֶהֶחֱזַרְתָּ בִּי נִשְׁמָתִי בְחֶמְלָה, רַבָּה אֱמוּנָתֶךָ Modeh ah-nee lifanecha, Ru-ach chai v’kayam, she-hechezarta bee nishma-tee b’chemlah rabbah emunatecha!  I give thanks before you, living and eternal Spirit, for You have returned within me my soul with compassion; how great is Your faith in me!

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Food that is eaten daily can be taken for granted. One of the ways Judaism helps us to keep our sense of appreciation alive is by instituting blessings to be said before and after eating. Wonder or radical amazement is the chief characteristic of the religious man’s attitude toward history and nature. One attitude is alien to his spirit: taking things for granted, regarding events as a natural course of things. To the prophets, wonder is a form of thinking. It...

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הִנֵּה מַה טּוֹב וּמַה נָעִים שֶבֶת אַחִים גַם יָחַד Hineh Mah tov umah na'im she  http://www.zemirotdatabase.org/view_song.php?id=17  vet achim gam yachad.  Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity