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Ten Ways to Create a Meaningful Jewish Home {Part Two}

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Jewish Wedding Spirituality

Photo courtesy of Micaela Ezra 

Last week, we shared Part One of our list of top ideas for creating a meaningful Jewish home – something that’s on a lot of our minds right now during COVID. No matter where you are in terms of your background, knowledge, or level of Jewish observance, there are so many beautiful and non-intimidating ways to ground yourself spiritually during this unsettled time for the world – last week we covered observing Shabbat, collecting Judaica that sparks joy, celebrating holidays, participating in Rosh Chodesh groups, and tuning into the Jewish calendar – and this week we’re back with five more ideas to get you going.

Build a Jewish Library

Jews are the people of the book, after all! There are so many incredible Jewish books, and whatever your interests trend toward, there’s something out there for you – whether you’re looking for Torah, Jewish life, history, philosophy, Jewish law, fiction, poetry, or even a cookbook!

Jewish books are a popular discussion topic in the Smashing Life Facebook group – a few titles that come up again and again are Anita Diamant’s Living a Jewish Life and Harold Kushner’s To Life – and if you’re looking for inspiration, there are all kinds of great Jewish book lists out there to get you building that reading list. 

Also – if you have children PJ Library is the most wonderful free resource.

Put Up a Mezuzah 

One easy way to add some Judaism to your home is to put up a mezuzah, a piece of parchment inscribed with two verses from the Torah, placed in a decorative case, and hung on doorposts.

It’s traditional to put a mezuzah up on all doorways in your home, but if you want to go for just one – whether on your front door or bedroom door, whatever you like – that works too!

Mezuzot serve as a clear marker of a Jewish home, and just seeing your mezuzah as you come and go is a wonderful reminder of our Jewish identity – as well as the fact that are homes are places of holiness.

And there are so many beautifully designed cases available these days, whatever your style!

Start a Prayer Practice

I know this one might seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to be! While it’s true that Judaism has a lengthy and complex liturgy, there are so many ways to approach prayer Jewishly. It doesn’t have to take a long time, and it doesn’t have to involve Hebrew. 

You can pick a prayer that speaks to you, to get in the habit of reciting in Hebrew or English (or whatever language is most comfortable for you) – the Shema, an affirmation of belief in God’s oneness commonly considered the most essential prayer in Judaism, is a great place to start, but if that doesn’t do it for you there are so many choices. Modeh Ani, a short prayer traditionally recited on waking up each day thanking God for giving another day of life, is another wonderful option – one of our Smashing Life members even made a recording of this prayer her alarm, so she now wakes up to it each day! You could also opt to recite blessings over food – or one of these little known but very cool Jewish prayers! The sky is really the limit. 

And of course, you can also talk to God in your own words – you don’t need to feel constrained by the liturgy. After all, that’s how Jewish prayer began – it was only with the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem that structured prayer as we know it today really began to take form. 

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Ten Ways to Create a Meaningful Jewish Home {Part One}

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ahyin-shabbat-table

Photo courtesy of Micaela Ezra 

Now more than ever before, so many of us are leaning into our Jewish (or Jew-ish) identities. Amidst all the uncertainty of this moment, there’s something grounding about embracing tradition and spirituality. 

But for those of us who may not have been so Jewishly involved for most of our lives, getting started can feel overwhelming. It’s hard to know where to start – and even harder to get past the sense of impostor syndrome that can creep in when you feel like everyone else knows more than you do, does more than you do, and just generally fits in better than you do. 

But the truth is, there is no one right way to be Jewish (or Jew-ish, of course!) – the right way is the way that’s meaningful to you and will make you feel connected to your Judaism. And no matter where you’re coming from, we believe from the bottom of our hearts that there is a place for you in the Jewish world – and if you’re struggling, we would love nothing more than to help you find it! 

The good news is that there are so many beautiful and non-intimidating ways to bring your Jewish identity into your home – and today we’re talking about a few of our favorites (and next week, we’ll be bac in this space with part two!).

Observe Shabbat Your Way

When it comes to building a Jewish home, there’s nothing like instituting a Shabbat observance practice. This doesn’t mean you have to go full-on shomer Shabbos – there are so many small, accessible ways to bring the spirituality of this special day into your week, and there’s bound to be one that’s meaningful to you. You could light candles on Friday nights, turn your tech off (for a full 24 hours or just a couple on Friday evenings – whatever works!), buy or make challah, host Shabbat dinners, or keep up with the weekly parshah (Torah portion).

Acknowledging Shabbat is one of the most beautiful and meaningful ways to bring spirituality in your life, and the fact that Shabbat comes around each and every week means you’ve got plenty of opportunities to try different things out and see what sticks.

Invest in Judaica You Love

There’s nothing like surrounding yourself with beautiful Jewish ritual objects and art to infuse your home with a sense of spirituality. But make sure you fill your home with pieces that speak to YOU, personally – whether that means traditional or modern, boho or whimsical, luxe or DIY. A lot of us end up accumulating bits and pieces of Judaica that don’t really do it for us, and if this is you, know that there’s no shame whatsoever in swapping out items that don’t spark joy for new versions that are totally you – yes, even if the stuff you’re not so excited about was gifted to you by a well-intentioned friend or relative.

Our friend Micaela Ezra, the mega-talented textile designer behind AHYIN Judaica, has long championed the traditional Jewish concept of hiddur mitzvah – enhancing a mitzvah (commandment) through aesthetics – on grounds that feeling genuinely enthused about, say, your Shabbat candlesticks will make you all the more likely to pull them out on Friday evenings. 

Mark the Holidays

If you’re reading this, you may already be good with lighting your menorah on Hanukkah, sitting down at the seder table come Passover time, and fasting on Yom Kippur. But there are plenty more holidays throughout the Jewish year that lots of Jews aren’t necessarily in the practice of celebrating. From Tu Bishvat (the birthday of the trees!) to Shavuot (commemorating the day God gave the Torah to the Israelites at Mt. Sinai) to Simchat Torah (celebrating the conclusion of the yearly Torah-reading cycle), the Jewish year is full of special days that can go so far toward grounding you in your spirituality and identity.

And, as with Shabbat, you don’t have to go full-on for these festivals if that doesn’t make sense for you – there are all kinds of small ways you can work in holiday observance, from leading a Tu Bishvat seder (which basically consists of drinking wine and eating fruit – what’s not to love?) to eating delicious dairy foods and decorating your home with flowers for Shavuot to joining a congregation and dancing with a Torah (at least in non-COVID times) for Simchat Torah. 

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12 Unique Challah Shapes for Your Shabbat Table

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Here at Team STG, we love a good challah. (Although on second thought, is there anyone who doesn’t?) In addition to being totally delicious – there is nothing, but nothing, like a slice fresh out of the oven – challah’s just so evocative of cozy Shabbat dinners and nourishing holiday meals. 

Usually it’s simply (or not-so-simply) braided – with three, four, five, six, or even more strands – and while the more standard braided loaves can be plenty impressive in their own rights, today we’re turning to some intrepid bakers of Instagram, for whom challah is more than a bread – it’s an art form. 

From Jewish symbols to animals, abstract designs to seasonal specialties, turns out you can shape your challah dough into just about anything. Though it’s just a tiny smattering go all the gorgeous loaves we could’ve shared, feast your eyes on twelve of our very favorite bakes. 

 

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Allegra Benitah, Challah Mummy (@allegrabenitah) on

We’ve seen pull-apart challah before, but never like this – HOW stunning is this design from master baker @allegrabenitah?

 

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Nomad Bakery (@nomadbakery) on

This hamsa challah from @nomadbakery‘s got us wondering why this palm-shaped good luck symbol doesn’t show up more often when it comes to bread baking.

 

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Rebekah Lowin (@rebekahlowin) on

Just in time for Halloween (or really any autumnal occasion), @rebekahlowin brings us pumpkin challah rolls – which not only look like sweet lil’ mini pumpkins, but taste like them too (well, sort of) thanks to pumpkin puree.

 

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by The Challah Artist from Berlin (@challahprince) on

How elegant is this artistic sunrise (or sunset, your call!) challah from @challahprince?!

 

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Amy Kritzer ???? Jewish Food (@whatjewwannaeat) on

Okay, so it’s not the shape we love about this one, but rather the colors – but either way, @whatjewwannaeat bakes up the prettiest rainbow challah we’ve ever seen. And Amy Kritzer, the blogger behind this iconic account, just happens to be a member of Smashing Life, our community for Jewish and Jew-ish women looking to lead authentic Jewish lives on their own terms!

 

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Jewish Food History Blog (@poppyandprune) on

It’s a little late for this year, but keep this lulav and etrog challah by @poppyandprune – aka Smashing The Glass’s very own Client Relations Manager, Emily Sacharin – in mind for next Sukkot!

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