As dusk fell, we slowly made our way through the city towards Navy Pier. There are fireworks on weekends, but it's a fun place to go at night anytime.

Public transportation is the way to go! Just catch bus 124 to Navy Pier. They drop you off at the entrance and pick you up when you're ready to return to the heart of the city. It's like really, really cheap valet. Only not.

There's just something about a downtown market. Like a little colorful oasis nestled below towering steel and glass.

What can I say? I'm a sucker for the sight of someone walking down the sidewalk nestling a brown bag stuffed high with bread and vegetables. It just seems somehow more exotic than my minivan-with-seventy-five-plastic-Walmart-sacks life.

Can't you just feel Autumn and the sights and sounds buzzing around this little spot?

It was a feast for the senses.

We enjoy the observatory on top of Sears tower, but this time we opted for the John Hancock Tower ("Big John"). It actually has better views, because it's right smack in the middle of everything. After a trip up the fastest elevators in North America (something like 20 seconds to go up 96 floors), you don your schnazzy headphones and begin a birds-eye tour of Chi-town.

Chicago has done the best job of any US city in preserving its lakeshore coastline.
Walking out into the open-air observatory - NINETY SIX floors above the streets. The sound is amazingly loud. A single car horn carries up the side of the building. Multiply that times Chicago, and it was a delightful dull roar. Comforting, to me, after growing up just above Cincinnati's downtown. Our house had an incredible view of Cincinnati's skyline, just down the hill from us. From the third floor the sounds of the city were almost like a distant lullaby.

September 30, 2008 :: Rosh "Beginning" Hashanah "the year" (Ezekiel 40:1) This is the beginning of the Spiritual new year - celebrating the birth of the world, among other things.

These ideas came from the book "Celebrating Biblical Feasts" by Martha Zimmerman.



Last night we had a special little family dinner celebrating the "Feast of the Trumpets." When I was in grad school, I did home health care for a wealthy little old Jewish lady. I remember going to synagogue with her on Rosh Hashanah and listening for her husband's name to be called from the "Rembering" list. I also remember the apples and honey served at the country club with the delicious Rosh Hashana feast.

No - we are not attempting to be Jewish. But this book has a lot of easy, practical ways to familarize your family with the rich meanings of some of the Biblical Feasts and traditions. At these ages, we do not try to explain all of the Jewish/Gentile stuff to our kids. We simply tell them this is a feast "from the Bible days" and explain the significance. That's enough for now.

We weren't able to begin our feast with the traditional Horn Blowing because we don't have a horn! As goofy as this sounds, I have a shofar on my wish list. I may not be able to afford a really good one, but I hope to at least get a small one some day.

There are many significant things about this feast and the beginning of the "High Holy Days" or the "Days of Awe," but we just kept it very simple and basic and (mostly) tasty.

Apples and Honey - The hope that the coming spiritual year will be a sweet one.
A round loaf (in place of the traditional long braided challah loaf) "symbolic of our desire for a full and round year." (p. 133) My exquisite round loaf was created painstakingly by plopping some frozen yeast rolls in a stainless steel bowl, letting rise to the top, and baking.
"The Hebrew word for carrots also means 'to increase.' therefore, they are eaten in abundance, symbolizing that God will increase our blessings as we walk with Him in the New Year." (p. 133)
Many people serve a whole fish with the head intact. I could only find headless fishes in this here town, so we settled for wild caught frozen salmon. My buttery, flaky spicy-sweet dish was, uh, not appreciated by all.