The Latest Miracle of the Oil

I did get the wax removed from the Menorot (pural for Menorah) yesterday!

As I was scraping wax off of his antique brass Menorah/Music Box (It plays Maoz Tzur), my DH passed by. I told him that I was thinking of using Murphy's Oil Soap because hydrophobic molecules (like fats, oils and wax) cannot be dissolved by water, but can be dissolved by fats. He said:"Hmmm...I'll bet mineral oil would work really well!" I said I thought it would, but I didn't think we had any. DH went off to the garage and a few minutes later he came back with a large bottle of mineral oil! It worked! Oh, it did! It shortened the time incredibly, although I did have to scrape at the big patches, they came off easily! I will post before and after pictures tomorrow--I am too lazy to get up and load the pictures right now--but it was nothing short of miraculous! (My husband's Menorah came out cleaner than it has ever been--he brought it into our marriage with years of wax on it). Chalk another one up to the "Miracle of the (mineral) oil! My DH says that it is "better living through chemistry." All religions have their explanations.

Today we did the Jewish thing. CAB (Congregation Albert Brotherhood) put on the first annual Chinese Dinner and a Movie event. About 75 of us showed up to eat Chinese food, shmooze, tell Jewish Chinese food jokes, and watch an Israeli movie.

Some Jewish Humor:
Q: Name three categories of Jewish food?
A: Fleishlig (meat), Milchlig (dairy), and Chinese!

This is the Jewish year 5767. According to the Chinese Calendar it is 4704. What did Jews do for 1063 years without Chinese food?

Twas the night before Christmas, and I, being a Jew,
My girlfriend and me, we had nothing to do!
The Gentiles were home hanging stockings with care,
Secure in their knowledge that St. Nick would be there.
But for us, once the Hannukah candles burned down,
There was nothing but boredom all over town.
Outside the window sat two feet of snow,
With the windchill they said it was 15 below!
And while all I could do was sit there and brood,
My girl saved the night and cried out "CHINESE FOOD!"
In search of a restaurant, "Which one! Let's decide!"
We chose Hunan Chozer* and ventured inside.
Around us sat other Jews, their platters piled high
With the finest of food that money could buy.
--Anonymous

*Chozer is Yiddish for "pig" which is only kosher when prepared in a certified authentic Chinese venue. (Just kidding!).

Oh, and the movie was Ushpizin, a modern retelling of the story of K'tantan. In the movie, a chasidic couple are down on their luck (and infertile) and do not have the money to even buy food and the lulav for the holiday of Sukkot. After praying for a miracle, 1ooo American dollars shows up on their doorstep. They are able to build a Sukkah (booth) and then two troublesome guests show up--former cons--called Eliyahu (Elijah) and Yussef (Joseph). These are the names of two of several Ushpizim--symbolic guests--that are brought into the Sukkah over the holy days. But the couple, Moshe and Mali, have strong faith and they decide that the troubles the Ushpizin bring are a test from the Eternal. So they welcome them. In the end...well you should get the movie from Netfix. It is a very heartwarming movie for everyone about the power of faith. (A Hint: Remember what happened to Abraham and Sarah after they welcomed strangers to their tent?).

A good time was had by all!

Happy December 25th to all, and to all a good-night!