Five Questions, Five Minutes

Editor's Message

By Audrey Shore
Jewish Theological Seminary/ Columbia University
(KOACH on Campus Editor)

Recently I remembered the strange ritual practice of a fellow member of Nativ 18. She said that, when lighting Shabbat candles, she would always lightly slap the wall behind them. She had no specific religious reason for this; instead, her minhag (custom) came out of watching her mother, and her grandmother before her, doing this. Much speculation ensued as we tried to find the reason behind this.

Was there some rich historical mystery to the wall-hitting? Had her ancestors been hidden Jews in some oppressive nation, who used a subversive knocking system to indicate to other hidden Jews that the Sabbath bride was entering? Was the answer, perhaps, more boring, like her grandmother had been slapping a fly on a wall and for generations people had been misinterpreting this motion?

Some family rituals are less-midrash-inspiring. When visiting a friend’s family in Sacramento I enjoyed Shabbat dinner immensely. Her parents met in France, when her formerly non-Jewish father was a soldier stationed abroad. Watching him recite Eshet Hayil (A Woman of Valor, the last twenty-two verses of the book of Proverbs, a beautiful set of accolades from a man to his wife, traditionally sung on Friday night) in English was something I had never seen before, and I was captivated by the sincerity of his supplication.

Families come in all shapes and sizes, and so do the rituals which stem from them. This issue of KOC focuses on "Five Questions, Five Minutes" in which we've explored the wide world of family ritual.

Get some opinions

Read the comments from KOACH members at colleges across the country.

Have something you want to share with us? Email us at koach-on-campus@uscj.org and if you'd like to take a turn at the KOC wheel, email me at AUDSKOC@AOL.COM to discuss writing opportunities!

Best wishes for a chag kasher v'sameach (a happy and a kosher holiday),

Audrey

[Posted 3/25/02]