Fall has begun

Barely two days after we finished celebrating the new year, fall has hit Seattle. It's cool and grey today, even a little rain is spritzing. I'm dealing with my end of summer blues by baking a zwetchsgen kuchen (plum cake). Basically a shortbread cookie dough with sliced plums, it tastes seasonally of the moment. Thanks to H for sending her husband R's mother's recipe, which halved beautifully.

Now what will I do with the rest of the plums?

Our holiday was not as lively this year. Rik didn't feel well, and so I went to synagogue and on to lunch with friends. I had two specific goals for services this year: I wanted to hear the shofar blown, and I wanted to be able to make the full prostration before God, which is only performed on Rosh Hashanah. It is perhaps the only time during the year that Jews surrender themselves physically, acknowledging God's sovereignty. As I continue this dance with metastatic cancer, I've learned over the years that I have no control over how it rules my life. I had to learn to surrender, at least sometimes.

In Genesis 18:20-21, Abraham argues with God for the salvation of Sodom and Gomorrah, insisting that even one good person would make it worthwhile. But in Genesis 22:2, Abraham submits to God's request to take his son Isaac up to the mountain. Read this short drash for an interpretation of why sometimes Jews argue and sometimes we surrender.

On to the next holiday: g'mar chatima tova, may we be sealed in the Book of Life.

Yemenite shofar