Dealing With Change

As readers of my other blog, A Jewish Grandmother must know, we're in the midst of getting a new kitchen.

I'm not exaggerating to say that a new kitchen is a life changing event, certainly shouldn't be compared to illness and death, but it does demand numerous decisions, deprogramming, reprogramming and causes sometimes severe disorientation.

My need for a new kitchen stemmed from a need, not just a simple gimme desire for two full-sized ovens. There was no way we could fit them into our old kitchen, which had been designed with a niche barely wide enough for a narrow stove with two tiny ovens underneath. The size, about 57 centimeters, was very popular in 1971 Israel when we bought our Jerusalem apartment, but as time went on it became almost impossible to buy replacement stoves. The last one we got, just over ten years ago, if not more, was just a bissel too wide which prevented us from opening the sliding kitchen door. Luckily, we could enter the kitchen from the dining room part of the "L."

It also took so long to cook in tiny ovens. I couldn't do more than one small tray at a time.

We've been in our house close to thirty-three years now, and the kitchen plumbing was problematic, too. So, after squirreling away money for the past few years earmarked for "new kitchen," Over a year ago, I began trying to find out how such a thing becomes a reality. Choosing workers and a plan aren't easy. The nitty-gritty of that aspect is more the style of  A Jewish Grandmother, not this blog.

Now, thank Gd the heavy destruction, deconstruction and construction necessary for a new kitchen have been mostly completed. Yesterday I got the green light from our "kitchen guy" to start filling the new cabinets. In all honesty, it's easier said than done.

Most storage space is "drawers." I don't mind change, but my husband finds it traumatic, so I planned regular upper cabinets for the Meat/Fleishig dishes near the Meat/Fleishig sink. The Dairy/Milchig sink and counter are totally different and I'm storing in drawers.

It's also so difficult to accurately just space requirements and convenience. I am glad I didn't take an "expert" to help. After close to half a century as a housewife, I have a pretty good idea of what I need and how I work. Also, I'm blessed with a fairly good skill at spacial judgment/measurements. But even I, while planning, vacillated between confidence that we would have more space than needed and panic/acceptance that I'd be giving away or throwing out lots of my kitchen items. I did get rid of a few things while packing up the kitchen, and that includes all of my cookbooks and health/diet books.

There's a certain excitement in moving into a new kitchen and embracing the challenge of change.

We are now in the Jewish Month of Elul, the time of the year when we're supposed to make extra efforts to rid ourselves of sin, confess to Gd and try to live a more Torah Life. I see the parallels between Teshuva, Repentance and reordering my kitchen possessions and priorities.

Well over fifty years ago I made the momentous decision to live a Torah Life, while at the NCSY National Convention 1965. I've treasured the changes I've made ever since. It wasn'[t in the Month of Elul, but in a way I've been in the Elul State of Mind ever since.

May my new kitchen be used for good, for observing the mitzvot, chesed and smachot, Gd willing.

Kashrut Alert, Buggy Lettuce Question

How many bugs are too many?

Well, first of all, anyone with minimal knowledge of kashrut, Jewish kosher food laws, knows that we are forbidden to eat bugs. That means that if you find bugs, especially in the plural, in your food, or a food you're about to cook, you have to check if there are more, and if the number just keeps growing, throw it out.

On Friday, as I was getting ready for Shabbat, I pulled out the nice, green leafy lettuce my husband had bought. In the package, it looked nice and fresh. It had impressive "Hechsharim," seals of rabbinic approval, and instructions to rinse, just to be safe. I put the leaves in a large bowl, and as soon as the first drops of water hit, I could see fully formed creatures, bugs swimming happily. That was even before I had added my usual salt to chase the more stubborn ones from their hiding places.

A couple of simple rinses later, I realized that there was no way this lettuce was going to be clean enough to eat. I wasn't going to waste anymore precious water or my limited time. We had lots of other salad vegetables in the fridge, and the kuzbara my husband bought was completely clean of bugs. So I trashed the lettuce.

The quantity and variety of bugs of all "ages" made it clear that this lettuce was not for us. It wasn't even about the store's storage conditions, since the leaves were very fresh and pretty.

Contrary to what was printed on the label, the growing process did not prevent bug infestation. It takes longer for the bugs to grow to full adult size than it takes for leaves to wilt and go soggy and disgusting.

Personally, I prefer as much as possible for my fruits and vegetables to be seasonal. Citrus is for winter for example. And also are leafy and flowery vegetables, such as lettuce, cauliflower and broccoli. I can easily live another six months without lettuce. And I think it's actually sinful to waste our precious limited water on cleaning the leaves.

עלי בודק Alei Bodek
Green grown specially to prevent bug infestation, sic 

Lots of Legitimate Kosher for Passover Customs/Psak/Laws Part 1

Note that I didn't use the word "choice" in my title here. As many people know, I'm in the midst of planning a new kitchen. We never made a change or even major repair in the kitchen we built as part of our house almost thirty-five years ago. We've changed the major appliances, but that's it. We probably should have done work, like major repairs, on the plumbing, but we didn't.

Some of you may be wondering why I'm writing about something as mundane as a kitchen on Shiloh Musings. Isn't that more a topic for A Jewish Grandmother? Yes and No. When it comes to the logistics, aesthetics, planning, appliances and things like that, yes, I'll be blogging a lot on A Jewish Grandmother. But a Jewish kitchen isn't just about style and even convenience. There is a lot of halacha, Jewish Law involved when planning a kitchen and choosing materials and even appliances.

Once my friends, in real time and the internet, facebook and blogging, heard that I was going to totally redo/renovate my kitchen the advice began flooding in. In almost all cases, I was told to get "X," because it would make Passover cleaning easier. And, inevitably, the recommended type of appliance or sink or countertop that can be kashered more easily for Passover is more expensive.

In Torah aka Orthodox Judaism we follow our rabbinic instructions/decisions/customs etc. Not all Orthodox rabbinic instructions/decisions/customs are the same, especially when it comes to Passover. There's a major difference between the instructions/decisions/customs of Ashkenaz (European) Jewry and the Sefardi (North African) Jews. And even within Sefardi Jews there's a big difference between, Yemenite, Moroccan and Tunisian etc including which cities the family had lived in.

It's not just a matter of who eats rice and/or lentils.

In general, Ashkenaz psak, decisions and procedures are strictest and most difficult. We are Ashkenazim, so we change and cover pretty much everything. We always had Passover sets of silverware, dishes, pots etc, so I never found myself learning how to kasher anything for Passover. Just take it out of storage.

Now I keep hearing that I must get a stainless steel sink, because it can be kashered for Passover. I may get one, but since I may have the chance to get a good regular one much more cheaply, then since I already have Passover sink bowls, I may decide to save the money. Renovations always entail extra expenses. We also need to buy new lighting fixtures, and now my husband is talking of changing the livingroom windows...

Countertops are another major issue. We have always completely covered our countertops. It's no big deal for me. Certainly in this stage of life I don't see the point in spending extra money and then have to pour boiling water over everything, which has safety and other risks.

When I say "this stage of life," I'm reminding you that the one week Passover Holiday is no longer a time of major cooking and entertaining for us. Our daughter, may she and her family live and be well, has taken over the big family Passover Seder and most other family entertaining/hosting. Our new kitchen must be suitable for two senior citizens, which is a topic for  A Jewish Grandmother.

What do you think?