Category Archives: Jewish Holiday eCards

How to Party Purim Style

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Dancing-hamantaschen

Scene from our “Dancing Hamantaschen” ecard for Purim

Aren’t you grateful for a holiday that’s based on just plain fun? (Sorry Christmas but you can get a little heavy-handed sometimes.)

The Jewish holiday Purim encourages you to be silly and make a racket. Which we could all stand a dose of, right?

So a quick look at the history of Purim:

Purim marks the day Queen Esther of Persia outwitted Haman, her husband’s evil henchman, who planned to kill all of the Jews in the kingdom. It usually falls in March, on the 14th day of the Hebrew month of Adar.

Purim consists of a day of readings, feasts, games and giving to charitable causes. And (get this) it’s the one holiday where drunkenness is encouraged. This isn’t common in Jewish law—in fact just the opposite—except for this one day:

Part of the mitzva of the Purim Seudah is to get drunk until we are unable to distinguish between Arur Haman (Cursed is Haman) and Baruch Mordechai (Blessed is Mordechai). This is in memory of the miracles of Purim which were all associated with the drinking of wine.

This is a very unusual mitzva because drunkenness is usually strongly discouraged by Jewish law since it can lead to sin. The minimum (and sometimes recommended) requirement is to drink more than one is accustomed to and then go to sleep.

So eat, drink and be merry…and send one of our fun Purim ecards to a loved one. (Trust us…we know silly!)

Source: Ahavet-Israel.com

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Breaking the Fast after Yom Kippur

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After fasting for Yom Kippur in which no food or water is consumed for over 25 hours, most Jews heartily welcome the day after, where the fast is officially broken and deliciousness is consumed.

So what is generally eaten?

The answers range, according to culture:

  •  Iranian Jews often eat a mixture of shredded apples and rose water called faloodeh seeb.
  •  Polish and Russian Jews take to some tea and cake.
  •  Syrian and Iraqi Jews prefer round sesame crackers that look like mini-bagels.
  •  Turkish and Greek Jews partake in a sweet drink made from melon seeds.

In American Jewish households, I found delicious recipes to break your fast deliciously (see the link below). they include:

  •  Herring In Cream Sauce With Apples And Walnuts
  • Lox, Eggs, And Onions Quiche
  • Carrot Cake Kugel
  • Cheese Blintzes With Cherry Sauce
  • Chocolate Chip Rugelach

Is someone you know celebrating this High Holiday? Send them one of our Yom Kippur ecards from our collection.

The Puppy is fasting, and will not break it for even a bone. Good puppy!

Here is the site with all the delicious recipes: http://main.kitchendaily.com/2010/08/23/yom-kippur-break-the-fast-recipes/

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What is your Yom Kippur? Will you Forgive or Ask for Forgiveness?

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“No sin is so light that it may be overlooked. No sin is so heavy that it may not be repented of.”  – Moses Ibn Ezra

As a curious and open-minded individual, I’ve come to embrace aspects of all holidays. Each offer up history, lessons, traditions and reflections that we can all learn something from. Yom Kippur is certainly one.

So what is Yom Kippur?

Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the years for Jews. It is also called the Day of Atonement, a 25-hour period dedicated to fasting, intensive prayer and a long visit to your synagogue. Even those who aren’t overly religious tend to regard Yom Kippur seriously (meaning the synagogues are packed).

There are three essential components of Yom Kippur:

  • Teshuvah (Repentance)
  • Prayer
  • Fasting

The ten days prior to Yom Kippur are dedicated to repentance. One should seek out and request forgiveness to anyone he or she offended so that the New Year can begin with a clean slate.

Here’s the interesting part: if your first request is rebuffed, you should ask at least two more times. At that point, the offended should grant you forgiveness.

What a cool tradition! It seems to take into account that forgiveness is a process, not a split-second occurrence. Forgiveness can also require several attempts (who doesn’t get that?).

And let’s not forget: the scorned party must also do his or her part. In short, when someone has reached out to you several times, requesting heartfelt forgiveness, it is also your moral duty to accept it to the best of your degree.

Couldn’t we all stand for that “clean slate” feeling. This Yom Kippur, Jew or Gentile, why not seek out the people with whom you can make amends? Yes, it certainly takes courage and resolve…and it often takes several attempts. But you’ll feel a weight lifted, simply by reaching out and trying.

And maybe, just maybe, when more of us seek out forgiveness during a certain period of time, it heals the world that we live in, even just a little.

Is someone you know celebrating this High Holiday? Send them one of our Yom Kippur ecard from our collection.

The blowing of the Shofar, a ram’s horn.

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New Jewish New Year ecards – the MacIntoshowitz Brothers

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We are thrilled to present the newest of our Rosh Hashanah ecards, “Vaudeville Apples”!

In the best tradition of making inanimate objects behave like petulant children, we thought we’d offer everyone celebrating the Jewish New Year some levity centered around the year-sweetening practice of apples dipped in honey. Put your hands together for Manny and Marty, The McIntoshowtiz Brothers and their Amazing Spinning Pots of Honey trick!

Watch (and send) the Vaudeville Apples card yourself, and have a very Happy New Year! L’Shana Tovah!

 

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