Storytime Tapestry Newsletter

The newsletter devoted to spreading love and cultural awareness around the world.

April 19, 2006

Today’s announcements

A very special happy birthday greeting goes out to our writer Barbara Weymouth.

Now onto the good stuff!

Today’s Queue Stories

~**~**~

Passover

Hartson Dowd

The Jewish celebration of Pesach, or Passover, is the festival of freedom held each year at this time to commemorate the freedom and exodus of the Israelites from Egypt.  It is a time of family gatherings and lavish meals called Seders, where the story of the Passover is retold through the reading of the Haggadah, the book of Exodus.

The Seder is the most important event in the Passover celebration.  Usually the whole family and their friends gather together to enjoy this meal that is steeped in long-held traditions and customs.

The dinner itself is both a meal and a service of worship.  The table is set with special dishes used just for the event.  The centerpiece is the Seder plate with five dishes containing foods that remind us of the Israelites’ struggles in their quest for freedom. 

1.      Karpas – Fresh greens – usually celery, lettuce or parsley dipped in salt water is a reminder of spring and the tears shed for the Israelite slaves.

2.      Haroset -  charoset , a mix of walnuts, wine, cinnamon and apple represents the mortar that the Jewish slaves used to assemble the bricks of the Pharaoh’s home.

3.      Maror - Bitter herbs symbolize the bitter affliction of slavery; horseradish and romaine lettuce

4.      Baitzah  -A roasted egg, a symbol of new life and fertility;

5.      Zeroah -  A roasted shank bone is symbolic of the sacrificial lamb.

In addition to these foods on the plate, there are three matzot (plural for matzah) that are covered, a bowl of salt water, wine cups for everyone, as well as a big and beautiful wine cup for Elijah the prophet.

There are four questions asked at Seder, and in answering these questions the story of the Jews’ deliverance is told.

1. Why is this night different from all other nights? 

      (Because on other nights we eat matzah and bread, but on this night we eat only

        matzah.)

2. Why on all other nights do we eat many herbs and on this night only bitter herbs? (To recall the bitter lives of our ancestors, who were slaves in Egypt.)
3. Why on all other nights do we dip our food only once3, and twice on this night?  (It is our custom to dip on other nights.  We dip a second time to remember that our ancestors dipped a leafy branch to smear lamb’s blood on their doorposts.)
4. Why on all other nights do we sit up to eat, but recline on this night?

(Because free people reclined in ancient times, and our ancestors became free on this night.)

As well, four glasses of wine are poured which represent freedom, deliverance, redemption and release.  A fifth glass is poured for the prophet Elijah and, as well, the front door is left open in order to welcome Elijah should he come to dinner.

After dinner, all of the children are sent to look for a broken piece of matzo, or afikomen, which is hidden before the meal begins.  Many homes break the matzo into many pieces so that each child could find a piece and receive a special gift.

A recipe often enjoyed at this time are

‘Passover Cheese Balls.’

? pound cottage cheese

2 eggs separated

2 tablespoons sugar (optional)

? teaspoon salt (is you don’t use sugar)

4 tablespoons (or more) matzo meal

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1. Beat egg whites until stiff.
2. Mix cheese, yolks and sugar or salt.  Stir in enough matzo meal to make the batter thick enough to work with your hands.  Fold in butter and egg whites.  Let stand for ? hour.
3. Make small balls and drop into boiling water and when they rise to the top they are done.
4. Serve with apple sauce, sugar and cinnamon, or sour cream.

Submitted by Hartson Dowd

thedowds@telus.net

~**~**~

ValueSpeak

A Weekly Column

By Joseph Walker

valuespeak@msn.com

MARKED BY GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP

Adam was a marked man. I knew it, and the teenage players on the church league basketball team I was coaching knew it. For us to win we had to stop him. And that wasn’t going to be easy, since he was six inches taller than anyone on our team. He was also a great jumper, an excellent shooter, a fine ball handler and an outstanding defensive player.

Oh, and they tell me he made a mean batch of popcorn to sell at halftime, too.

But we had a pretty good team, and in our pre-game huddle we stressed the importance of working together – as a team – to contain Adam. If we did, we had a chance. If we didn’t . . .

Adam easily controlled the opening tip, and his team sprinted down the court. With a couple of quick passes they had the ball back in his hands just a few feet from the basket for what should have been an easy shot. But he didn’t even look at the hoop. Instead, he passed to a smaller, younger player on his team who took an ill advised shot that missed badly.

"Nice try!" Adam shouted to his teammate as they ran up court. "Get it next time!"

A few minutes later Adam again spotted his younger, smaller teammate unguarded while three or four members of our team swarmed around him and the ball. He flipped the ball to the other player, who confidently drilled a 15_footer.

"Great shot!" Adam shouted, smiling, as the two slapped hands. "Keep it up!"

The first three quarters of the game followed the same pattern. While Adam made a few shots, most of the time he distributed the ball to his teammates. He also encouraged our players, although he often did it after taking a rebound away from them or blocking a shot. If anyone from either team was knocked to the ground, Adam was the first to extend a hand and a smile.

As the two teams prepared to begin the fourth quarter, the outcome of the game was still very much in doubt. Adam’s team was ahead, but only slightly. My boys felt good about their chances. As I hunkered on the bench, however, I noticed the score keepers smiling knowingly.

"What’s going on?" I asked, wanting to be included in the joke.

"Just watch," one of them said. "You’ll see."

What I saw was a devastating display of athleticism. In fewer than three minutes Adam turned a close game into a rout. He dunked and hit three_pointers. He blocked shots and rebounded. He stole passes and fed his teammates for lay ups. And just like that it was over.

After the game I must have looked a little shell shocked, because one of those smiling score keepers came over and put an arm around me.

"Don’t worry about it," he said. "Adam does that all the time. He doesn’t turn it on until the fourth quarter, and then only long enough to put the game out of reach."

But why? Let’s be honest: you don’t normally associate such grace and good sportsmanship with teenage boys, you know what I mean? So I asked Adam about it when I bumped into him at the store a few days later. He gave me that "Well, isn’t it obvious?" look I get from my own teenagers whenever I sell them a little short in the maturity department.

"Hey," he said, "it’s a game. It’s supposed to be fun – for everyone."

He’s right, of course. But sometimes it’s hard to remember the recreational roots of athletics when our sports pages are filled with hard_nosed business negotiations and crime reports, or when you watch a game on TV and see players talking trash and looking for any opportunity to make an opponent look bad. That’s why it’s good to know there are still a few athletes like Adam who are blessed with great skills as well as with great humanity. Good sportsmanship sets them apart from other athletes and makes them marked men and women.

On the field of play, and off.

~**~**~

WHAT CAN BE

By: Joseph J. Mazzella

     Albert Einstein once said, "Most people see what is, and never see what can be." I myself have seen far too much of what this world is in my lifetime. That is why I am now doing my best to see what this world can be.

     When I look at this world full of beautiful, loving souls I see what could be if all of us would only work to bring it about. I see a world where no child would ever go hungry again. I see a world where there is no more war. I see a world where all the religions respect each other and every person is seen as a fellow Child of God. I see a world where diseases are cured, the sick are cared for, and people in every country live in health and happiness. I see a world where hatred, fear, and prejudice are seen as the poisons they are and where noone allows them to make a home in the human heart again. I see a world where every child has an adult to hug them and every elderly person has someone to love and care for them. I see a world where the mentally and physically disabled are treated with all the care, respect, and kindness that they deserve and where noone is looked down upon because they are different. I see a world where everyone would see just how much God loves them and
 where everyone would do their best to share their own love with all the souls they meet along the way. I see a world where all of us would live each day in joy and all of us would work every second to make Earth more like Heaven.

     The most wonderful thing of all, though, is that I have already seen this world happening. I have seen it happening one mind, one heart, and one soul at a time. Don't settle for what is then. Work with God to create what can be. This world can be a place of love, joy, caring, sharing, goodness, and delight. This world can be a beautiful home for the Children of God to learn, to love, and to grow if we only work to make it so.

Joseph J. Mazzella
joecool @ wirefire.com

Joe lives in West Virginia with his wife and three children. Various dogs and cats have adopted Joe and his family for their own. Joe enjoys his family, beauty, love and hearing from his email friends. Joe likes to take the time to smell the roses and enjoy the beauty around him as he goes about his daily life.

~**~**~

Poetry Section

~**~**~

STILL THE SAME

Joyce C. Lock

If 'ere ye be self will denied and,
Though through the fire, one's faith is tried;

The aching heart about to burst,
Or blisters form in plight of thirst …

And from the stripes no flesh remains -
God's promises are still the same.

© by Joyce C. Lock

~**~**~

Teamwork

Joyce C. Lock

Don't walk behind God.

Don't run ahead.

Just walk by His side

And you'll ever be led.

© by Joyce C. Lock

~**~**~

Thank You, God

Joyce C. Lock

Thank you, God, for giving me many Gifts of my very Own.
Thank you, God, for giving your only Son for to Atone.

Thank you, God, for giving me Salvation, Full and Free.
Thank you, God, for giving me a Beautiful life, Knowing Thee.

Thank you, God, for giving me the Holy Spirit, Three in One.
Thank you, God, for Everything.  For, you left Nothing yet Undone.

© by Joyce C. Lock

Senior Writers

Chief writer: Sharon Bryant

Agee, Vance; Apted, Violet; Baker, Kathy; Batt, Al; Berry, Nell; Blaine, Pamela; Boda, Ginger; Buhagiar, Victor; Cassady, B.J.; Cavalera, Robyn; Crider, Mark; Deming, Barb; Doherty, Maria; Gilbert, Robert, Jr.; Goodier, Steve; Braun-Haley, Ellie; Harris, Kathy Anne; Hunt, Sharlett; Hymes, Christina; Jacobson, Gary; Kiser, Roger Dean; Kerens, Claudia; Kevin, Tim; Jenkins, Pamela; Liles, Norma; Lily Jodi Flesberg; Lock, Joyce; Marlor, Janice Bumbalough; Mazzella, Joe; Morris, Deepak; Ojeibge, Georgewaters; Petry, Dianna Doles; Roberts, Susan; Shiveley, Debra; Shaw, Bob; Sims, Richard; Streidel, Saskia; Swarner, Ken; Vaknin, Sam; Verhoeff, Jan; Walker, Bill; Walker, Joe; Warner, Gordon, K; Walsh, Sue; Weymouth, Barbara J.; Whirity, Kathy;

Wainland, David; Westerfer, Clara; White Robert;

Storytime Tapestry Staff

Carol Roach - Founder/publisher

Thelma Hartselle - Co-Founder, Moderator

Clara Westerfer – moderator

Bob Johnston - moderator