A Rosh HaShana Card

art and design by Laya Crust

Rosh HaShana starts next week, and I am reposting a do-it-yourself  pop-up card with a pomegranate theme.

The pomegranate is beautiful. It’s one of the biblical seven species of Israel, and it’s a favourite fruit for the new year. It is often used as a special fruit for a blessing on the second night of Rosh HaShana. There is a theory that each pomegranate has 613 seeds- the number of “mitzvot” or commandments we were given to observe.  By choosing the pomegranate we are acknowledging the 613 commandments.

We want our friends, relatives-  and ourselves- to have a happy, worry free, healthy, peaceful, year.  Here is a New Year’s card that you can make yourself. Go ahead and have some fun.

Start by printing the picture below on an 8 1/2″ x 11″ paper: We’ll call it ” Model 1″

Fold the sheet in half lengthwise.

Take your page and cut along the solid line through both halves of the paper. DO NOT cut through that blank space in the centre of the half circle near the words “without any”.Now you have cut the shape of a pomegranate.

Fold the page in half widthwise. The message “Shana Tova u’Metukah” (in Hebrew) will be on one side and all the text will be on the other.

Fold the page as shown above.
Pull the pomegranate gently towards you.  The pomegranate should extend out and the rest of the card folds in the opposite way. Does that make sense? So, below you can see all the steps.And here is the ultimate greeting!..

So get out the honey cake and a cup of tea, print up a couple of pages from “Model 1” and with just a pair of scissors a piece of paper and some patience you can wow your friends and impress your family with a 3-D card!

If you are a teacher you might even want to do this with your class.

All the best for a wonderful, healthy and peaceful  New Year!

Laya and family

Rosh HaShana- Happy New Year!

art and design by Laya Crust

Rosh HaShana always seems to creep up before we know it, and this year more than ever. September has just started. We just enjoyed Labour Day. Students are getting back to class. And, guess what?  Rosh HaShana starts next week. To make things a little better I thought we could do a craft together- make a pop-up card with a pomegranate theme.

The pomegranate is beautiful. It’s one of the biblical seven species of Israel, and it’s a favourite fruit for the new year. It is often used as a special fruit for a blessing on the second night of Rosh HaShana. There is a theory that each pomegranate has 613 seeds- the number of “mitzvot” or commandments we were given to observe.  By choosing the pomegranate we are acknowledging the 613 commandments.

We want our friends, relatives-  and ourselves- to have a happy, worry free, healthy, peaceful, year.  Here is a New Year’s card that you can make yourself. Go ahead and have some fun.

Start by printing the picture below on an 8 1/2″ x 11″ paper: We’ll call it ” Model 1″

Fold the sheet in half lengthwise.

Take your page and cut along the solid line through both halves of the paper. DO NOT cut through that blank space in the centre of the half circle near the words “without any”.Now you have cut the shape of a pomegranate.

Fold the page in half widthwise. The message “Shana Tova u’Metukah” (in Hebrew) will be on one side and all the text will be on the other.

Fold the page as shown above.
Pull the pomegranate gently towards you.  The pomegranate should extend out and the rest of the card folds in the opposite way. Does that make sense? So, below you can see all the steps.And here is the ultimate greeting!..

So get out the honey cake and a cup of tea, print up a couple of pages from “Model 1” and with just a pair of scissors a piece of paper and some patience you can wow your friends and impress your family with a 3-D card!

If you are a teacher you might even want to do this with your class.

All the best for a wonderful, healthy and peaceful  New Year!

Laya and family

A Sweet New Year

Next week, on Sunday evening,  we greet  Rosh HaShana  – the Jewish New Year

Pomegranates are in the stores- they are in season in Israel- and we buy them to grace our tables, and use in recipes.

I published this recipe previously but am doing it again because I think it makes a delightful Rosh HaShana dessert treat. I call it “Pomegranate Bark”. It’s the same idea as almond bark but it’s chocolate with pomegranate seeds, fresh ginger and a sprinkling of salt.

You’ll need:

1 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips

a pomegranate

fresh ginger root or candied ginger

a sprinkling of salt (I would suggest Malden or kosher salt)

Remove the seeds from the pomegranate. Put them on a piece of paper towel to absorb any moisture that may be on the seeds.

Peel a 1 inch section of ginger. Slice the ginger and dice it into tiny pieces. (You can toss the ginger with a small amount of potato starch to absorb  the moisture from the fresh ginger.)

Melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler.

Combine 1/3 cup of pomegranate seeds with 1 Tbsp. of ginger, and stir into the melted chocolate.

Pour onto parchment paper and smoothe it out. Sprinkle with a little kosher or Malden salt.

Chill the pomegranate bark in the refrigerator or freezer. Serve and enjoy.

Have a wonderful Rosh HaShana.  May it be a year blessed with sweetness, love, peace, health, and good fortune of all sorts.
Good wishes from my family to yours,

Laya

Shana Tova

art and design by Laya Crust

Rosh HaShana always seems to creep up before we know it, and this year more than ever. September has just started. We just enjoyed Labour Day. Students are getting back to class. And, guess what?  Rosh HaShana starts this weekend. To make things a little better I thought we could do a craft together- make a pop-up card with a pomegranate theme.

The pomegranate is beautiful. It’s one of the biblical seven species of Israel, and it’s a favourite fruit for the new year. It is often used as a special fruit for a blessing on the second night of Rosh HaShana. There is a theory that each pomegranate has 613 seeds- the number of “mitzvot” or commandments we were given to observe.  By choosing the pomegranate we are acknowledging the 613 commandments.

We want our friends, relatives-  and ourselves- to have a happy, worry free, healthy, peaceful, year.  Here is a New Year’s card that you can make yourself. Go ahead and have some fun.

Start by printing the picture below on an 8 1/2″ x 11″ paper: We’ll call it ” Model 1″

Fold the sheet in half lengthwise.

Take your page and cut along the solid line through both halves of the paper. DO NOT cut through that blank space in the centre of the half circle near the words “without any”.Now you have cut the shape of a pomegranate.

Fold the page in half widthwise. The message “Shana Tova u’Metukah” (in Hebrew) will be on one side and all the text will be on the other.

Fold the page as shown above.
Pull the pomegranate gently towards you.  The pomegranate should extend out and the rest of the card folds in the opposite way. Does that make sense? So, below you can see all the steps.And here is the ultimate greeting!..

So get out the honey cake and a cup of tea, print up a couple of pages from “Model 1” and with just a pair of scissors a piece of paper and some patience you can wow your friends and impress your family with a 3-D card!

If you are a teacher you might even want to do this with your class.

All the best for a wonderful, healthy and peaceful  New Year!

Laya and family

Shana Tova

A do it yourself happiness project.

Rosh HaShana and the days until Yom Kippur are high energy and high anxiety for some of us. Ultimately we want our friends, relatives-  and ourselves- to have a happy, worry free, healthy, peaceful, year.  I adapted some blessings wishing for those exact things, wrote them in Hebrew and English, and designed a pop-up New Year’s card that you can make yourself.

Start by printing the picture below on an 8 1/2″ x 11″ paper: We’ll call it ” Model 1″

Fold the sheet in half lengthwise.

Take your page and cut along the solid line through both halves of the paper. DO NOT cut through that blank space in the centre of the half circle near the words “without any”.Now you have cut the shape of a pomegranate.

Fold the page in half widthwise. The message “Shana Tova u’Metukah” (in Hebrew) will be on one side and all the text will be on the other.

Fold the page as shown above.
Pull the pomegranate gently towards you.  The pomegranate should extend out and the rest of the card folds in the opposite way. Does that make sense? So, below you can see all the steps.And here is the ultimate greeting!..

So get out the honey cake and a cup of tea, print up a couple of pages from “Model 1” and with just a pair of scissors a piece of paper and some patience you can wow your friends and impress your family with a 3-D card! Have a wonderful New Year! Good wishes from me and my family!

Stairway to Heaven

Tova and Cliel Schachter’s             Brit Ahuvim

This week we are reading parshat Nitzavim, and the haftarah is from Isaiah 61:10- 63:9. It is the seventh Haftarah of consolation after Tisha B’Av and is read on the Shabbat preceding Rosh HaShana. King Cyrus has defeated Babylonia and the possibility of returning to Israel is ever closer.

As in other haftaroth that we have read recently God is presented as a bridegroom and the nation of Israel as a bride. There are two lines in this haftarah that are often sung at weddings- (excuse the transliteration) “um sis chatan al kallah, yasis alayich elokayich “. “And as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride so will your God rejoice over you”  Isaiah ch. 62: 5.

August is a beautiful month to get married. The trees are green, the flowers are bright and colourful, and we are enjoying the last relaxing weeks of summer. Two weeks ago a lovely young couple- Tova and Cliel Schachter- got married. Surrounded by family and friends they formalized their commitment to each other, embarking on a new path together.

Tova and Cliel wanted a special ketubah that would represent their values, outline their dedication to each other and reinforce their commitment to mutual respect and equality. Together we discussed the steps they had taken throughout their lives to reach this point and the ideals they share.

Their love of family, friends and Judaism are paramount in their lives. They have a desire to better the world. Their creativity and joy in all they approach is obvious. So- how to put this into a ketubah design?

It occurred to me that they had mentioned that the events of their lives were steps they had taken to arrive at this point in time. And  nothing is more important to Tova and Cliel than family. The idea of a staircase rising within a bower created by two trees seemed perfect. They used a traditional Aramaic ketubah under the chuppah and also signed a Brit Ahuvim which discusses love, respect and mutual responsibility.  The Brit Ahuvim is the text shown here.

The two family trees are growing together, sheltering and guiding a staircase that will reach to the future- to heights beyond imagination.The papercut leaves are the relatives and friends and children of the future. In the sky are 18  23 karat gold stars- a life of precious beauty.I put it all together, writing the Brit Ahuvim on the staircase, cutting the trees and leaves in a papercut design, adding the 18 stars and then combining all the elements.

It was a perfect day for the young couple, and in terms of our Jewish calendar it is a perfect time too.

We are approaching the New Year, a time of reflection and renewal. We read aboout God’s commitment to us and our promises to God. In this week’s haftarah Nitzavim we are likened to a bridegroom and a bride. As bridegroom and a bride enter a new life together with commitment and joy, may that be a template for us and our new year as well.

Mazal Tov to Tova and Cliel, and Shabbat Shalom to you!