An Interview with my Brother! Challah and Cherry Blossoms Guest Interview

This interview took place live on Skype! My brother Jim is in the U.S.  I am in Japan.
I wasn`t quite sure what the interview would be about when we started.  Jim was recently interviewed on his local radio station in NY about a walk he  particpated in just last week for Alzheimers, in honor of our mom who passed away two years ago.  So as I have been doing some interviews on my blog, I thought it would be nice to do an interview with my very own brother, while he was making the circuit!
When I asked about the walk, Jim turned the interview around and asked me a question--he asked how that connected with my blog and the themes of Challah and Cherry blossoms.
So I went with another line of questions, and asked him about.... Yes!
Challah , and Cherry blossoms!

It turned out to be a nice time to wish each other a Happy New Year, and to remember our mom who passed away two years ago. She loved cherry blossoms .. ..

Abbreviations used are Sh=Shayndel, J=Jim.  My brother calls me `Jo`.

Shayndel:  Hi Jim!
  Welcome to Challah and Cherry Blossoms.  It`s an honor to have you here.

Jim:  Hi  Jo.   Thank you very much.

S:  Jim,  I`ll start by asking,  do you have any memories of Challah from our childhood? 

J:  At any Jewish Holiday celebration there was always a challah.  But I don`t think they were homemade.

S: Oh!   I don`t even remember there was challah, so thanks for sharing that memory. 

What about cherry blossoms.  What comes to mind when you think of cherry blossoms?

J:  My times in college in Washington D.C.

S:  Did you know the cherry trees there come from a gift of friendship from Japan...

J:    I didn`t know they were a gift from Japan!
Now when I see them, I will always think how they came from Japan.

S:  Jim,  I know in this past year you have taken on a lot of new challenges...  as we are coming to a New Year with Rosh Hashanah this week, do you have anything that you are looking to better about yourself in the New Year, challenges, etc?

J:  Continuing to open up my heart in new ways, take one day at a time, stay positive,
and always keeping love for mom alive every day.
And to have lots of Challah and honey to start the New Year.

S:  That`s great! So Jim, you will be visiting Japan for the first time next year, and at Cherry Blossoms time!

J:  Yes! And now I remember, Mom used to love cherry blossoms in Japan.  It was one of her favorite things about visiting.  The best was seeing her daughter and granddaughter and son-in-law but then after that it was the Cherry Blossoms!

S:  She loved the Cherry Blossoms! That was so special.  
You will love them too...(note to readers, our mom passed away two years ago, and until the last years of her life, she always came to Japan to visit us every year at Cherry Blossoms season!)

This was great having you, Jim, thanks so much!!
We look forward to seeing you in Japan for the Cherry Blossoms!

And, to round out the interview,

Please accept this round challah as a thanks for being our guest here today.  It`s a sweet raisin challah, for a sweet New Year!  You should receive it on time for Rosh Hashanah.

Sorry though, it`s not homemade!

round Challah from Challah Connection!

J:  Thank you Jo!   Happy New Year.

S:  Happy New Year!

Link notes:
Chabad article HERE are some reasons for having a round challah 
on the New Year !

Rejoice in Dance! Guest Interview with Teresa Cook

Hallelujah.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
His praises in the congregation of the faithful.
Let Israel rejoice in its maker;
let the children of Zion exult in their king.
Let them praise His name in dance;
with timbrel and lyre let them chant His praises.

---Psalm 149:1~3  

To celebrate the first year of Challah and Cherry Blossoms,  I`m excited to present the second Challah and Cherry Blossoms guest interview! 

It`s an honor to introduce Teresa Cook.  
 I `met` Teresa this past spring when I discovered her Rejoice in Dance videos, as  I am preparing to teach Israeli Dance in my community in Japan.  I was so blessed by her easy to follow teaching and by her joy in Israeli dance.   When I wrote her to share my thanks, she shared a vision that she had when she made them, that people would learn these dances around the world! We hope you enjoy the interview, during which you will also have a chance to learn some easy-to-follow Israeli dances!

S: Welcome Teresa, It`s an honor to have you here as a guest on Challah and Cherry Blossoms. When I saw your Rejoice in Dance videos, I became excited.  Could you tell us a little about how you came to Israeli dance?

T:  Thank you so much, Joanne, for having me here as your guest! In 1999, I began attending a Messianic Congregation where Israeli dancing was a big part of corporate worship. We called it “Davidic dancing” at the time. We had a large area at the back of the sanctuary where we did the circle dances during worship, and anyone could join in. The dance team leader led the dances. Joining in the corporate dancing is where I first started learning the Israeli dances. And I eventually joined the dance team at the congregation. The dance team sometimes did special dances as part of the worship service. 

I started teaching these dances in December 2009. My daughter Sarah was planning to get married in June 2010. Her fiancé (Lael) had a grandfather who was Jewish, and Lael’s family still enjoys celebrating the Jewish feasts, incorporating these in with their faith in Jesus. Lael and Sarah were planning a wedding that combined many Christian and Jewish elements, and they wanted to have Israeli folk dancing at their wedding reception. But no one knew the dances except me! So six months before their wedding, I began teaching the Israeli folk dances to a group of about 25 young people who were friends and family of Lael and Sarah. We met once each month for six months before the wedding so that they would know the dances well. At the wedding reception, we had about 75 people dancing! The bride and groom and their friends were in the inner circle, and the rest of the guests were in a larger outer circle (You can see this in the photo above).  I was wearing a microphone, and I taught the dances and called out the steps for the guests to learn. And since the group of young folks in the middle knew the dances, the guests could also just follow along and do what the young folks were doing. We even danced one dance with palm branches! I cannot even begin to describe how the dances took the JOY of the celebration to a much higher level than we could have ever imagined. Many guests told us they had never been to a wedding that was so much fun! About a week after my daughter’s wedding, the Lord said to me, “Teresa, you started teaching these dances for your daughter, the bride. Now I want you to teach these dances to MY bride!” And that launched me into teaching these joyful dances on a wider scale.

"God `dances for joy over us`(Zephaniah 3:17), and we are made in His image. So I believe He rejoices and joins with us when we are enjoying these dances. "

Since then, I have led dance workshops at churches and special gatherings. And I even taught these dances to a group of about 60 Chinese students, many of whom had never danced before. And they really enjoyed it!
(photo below).   Eventually I decided to put the dance videos on YouTube so that the people who had been to my workshops could review the dances and continue doing them. But I never imagined that my YouTube channel would get the number of views that it has! One of my dreams has been to teach the world to dance. So I was especially excited when I learned that you want to teach these joyful dances in Japan! 

S: What a joyous celebration!      I love how you talked about the Jewish people`s understanding of G-d`s heart for family and community in your A Brief History of Dance in Israel video.  Could you share a little about that ---for example, what is so special about these dances, and how we can learn from that and use them in our congregations, community, and families?

T: I believe God has always existed as a family—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and that family is the foundational unit of the Kingdom of God. And family is made up of people of all different ages. What I LOVE about these dances is that they are so beautifully suited for people of all ages and physical abilities to dance TOGETHER. The steps are easy enough for an 8-year-old to learn and fun enough for adults to do. And each person can adjust the steps to be more or less aerobic and active depending on their own physical abilities. I have had dance circles where the ages ranged from 8 to 70+. Even children younger than 8 years old can join in the circle if a parent helps make sure that the child keeps going in the right direction. The young people that you see dancing in my videos are some of the ones that I taught in preparation for my daughter’s wedding. One mother of several of these young people actually thanked me for giving her children a wholesome way to dance and enjoy movement with music. Now her children do these dances at home just for fun! These dances are a great alternative to secular, sensual dancing. Another thing I love about these dances is that everyone can join in.  You aren’t left out if you don’t have a partner. Everyone is included! I have been in numerous different gatherings where we all joined in these dances—church services, weddings, feast celebrations, birthday parties, conferences, picnics, etc.—and doing these dances always takes the level of JOY and sense of community and unity to a much higher level!

S:  I am encouraged and inspired by hearing  your story!
Could you tell us your favorite dances or dance and one that you would like to `teach` to us? I am having so much fun learning them, and would like to share the links of your instructional videos for all of us to try in our various locations around the world.


T:  The dance that is one of the most popular (because it is so easy to learn) and seems to be a favorite wherever I go is Nigun Atik.  This is the traditional dance that is used at Jewish weddings, where the bride and groom are lifted up on chairs and the guests dance around them.  I like to start out teaching this dance because it gives beginners an easy dance to learn and shows them the JOY of the dances.  Once most people learn this dance, they are hooked and want to learn more!  And this dance gives them the confidence to see that they CAN learn these dances. 

One of my personal favorites is Lo Ahavti Dai.  Part 1 of this dance can be used as a separate dance itself and is very fun and easy to do.  And I especially love the energy and variety of Part 2.  This dance is always a favorite with young folks.  And they often take the energy to an even higher level by doing “flying mayims” in Part 1 (where you jump up high on the mayim step).  We also like to add a shout when we all move into the center in Part 2. The shout just spontaneously happened one time while we were dancing, and it so fit the song and the music that we continued doing it! 

S:  Those flying mayims sound fun! Thank you so much Teresa!   
I’m happy for this chance to meet you through Challah and Cherry Blossoms! May we all dance them together in unity in Israel one day!  

ADONAI your God is in your midst---

a mighty Saviour!

He will delight over you with joy.

He will quiet you with His love.

He will dance for joy over you with singing.

---Zephanaiah 3:17  TLV

 

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Note to readers:  Links to Teresa teaching these dances are here:

Teaching for Nigun Atik HERE, and Teaching for Lo Ahavti Dai HERE
 

To know more or visit Teresa’s YouTUBE channel, please visit her at: 

REJOICE IN DANCE

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Ascribe to ADONAI the glory of His Name.

Bring an offering and come into His courts.

Bow down to ADONAI in holy splendor.

Tremble before Him, all the earth.

---Psalm 96:8~9　TLV

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*Photos courtesy of Teresa, Rejoice in Dance

interview abbreviations: S=Shayndel  T=Teresa 

Blessings and Shalom! 

♡

First Challah and Cherry Blossoms Guest Interview! TALLITmaaven, Marilyn Levy

Cherry Blossoms Challah Cover by Marilyn Levy, photo courtesy of TALLITmaaven.com

To celebrate the new year, days becoming lighter,  and the approach to spring,  I`m excited to present the first Challah and Cherry Blossoms guest interview! 

It`s an honor to introduce Marilyn Levy, otherwise known as the TALLITmaaven.   Marilyn, an accomplished Judaic fibre artist, uses texture through embroidery, beading, spectacular fabrics and color to express the beauty of Jewish Life Cycle events (Brit Milah, Bnai Mitzvah, wedding) and mitzvoth, ( Shabbat, synagogue accessories, chagim) such as the Holy Days and Shabbat.  Marilyn is a native of Hamilton Ontario Canada and has created commissioned Judaic fibre art for people around the world.


I discovered Marilyn`s works when I came across her beautiful Challah Cover, embroidered with Cherry blossoms!! And a yarmulke to match!! Jewish and Japanese together in a way I never imagined!!

S: Welcome Marilyn, It`s an honor to have you here as the first guest on Challah and Cherry Blossoms.  When I saw your Challah Cover and Yarmulke/kippah set with the cherry blossoms, I became excited.  Could you tell us a little about how you came to create those designs.

M:  Thank you, Joanne, for flattering me by asking me to contribute to your blog.
I have always admired orange blossoms since, when, as a young bride(1966), my new husband and I drove to Miami, Florida, USA.  As we drove through the state of Florida, we saw orange blossom fields after orange blossom field.  I created my first tallit in 1990, and have used textiles as my medium of choice ever since.

My choices for tallitot, challah covers, kippot come from requests from purchasers as well as my own ideas.  For example, the cherry blossom design always intrigued me since studying Japan as a child in the junior grades. This young lady, in preparation for her Bat Mitzvah, chose beautiful invitations decorated with cherry blossoms.  The invitation was given to me and I was asked what I could create to coordinate with the invitation.  I told them that I’d always wanted to make a cherry blossom challah cover.  They loved the idea and I created the challah cover that you saw on my web site. I would love to make a tallit with the cherry blossom design as soon as someone requests one for their special person. The cherry blossom challah cover and Kippah won a prize in the 4-Hobby.com 2015 annual competition last year.  I was very proud of it and am still to this day.

S:  That`s beautiful. Thank you for sharing, and congratulations on the prize!
Your Tallit Prayer Shawls are each so unique!
 As you are known as the TALLITmaaven, could you talk a little about the Tallit, how it is used, and share a little about this special garment.


M:  (please see this link:) HISTORY OF THE TALLIT




S:  When I saw your Tallit prayer shawls, I thought of the Japanese Kimono---something about the cut and shape, the way it drapes on the body, the collar portion (in Japanese it is called the `eri`) and your creative use of color and patterns.  Am I stretching the connections or is this something you thought about in the designs?!

M: Actually, I use a mandarin-type collar of varying widths, on a shawl-shaped tallit because “it works”.  The construction works well.  Yep… stretching connection but it’s a connection that I guess I discovered by myself, rather than realizing it.. almost a happy coincidence.

S:  Thank you so much Marilyn!
I`m happy for this chance to meet you through Challah and Cherry Blossoms! And getting excited as we approach Cherry Blossoms season this year!!

Wishing you and all readers a Happy New Year!Blessings and Shalom!

interview abbreviations: S=Shayndel  M=Marilyn
For readers who wish to know more or visit Marilyn`s website, please visit  her at www.TALLITmaaven.com

Cherry Blossoms Kippah by Marilyn Levy, photo courtesy of TALLITmaaven.com