Q2 Outside Reading Post 5: Miriam's Kitchen

This week, I finished the book, Miriam's Kitchen.  This week, a very unfortunate even occured.  Elizabeth's grandma, or Miriam, died.  Elizabeth Ehrlic describes one memory as, "Buried: the box that held her body was set in a hollow dug for that box, and her remains covered with earth" (317).  This is obviously a memory that has stuck with her for a long time.  She seems to remember this scene very clearly because of all the descriptive words she uses.  Miriam seemed to be a huge part of Elizabeth's life.  Ehrlic keeps one special thing of Miriam's to remember her.  She writes, "The ripping cloth stays with me, an image that serves the bubbe" (318).  The cloth seems to be an important keepsake to Ehrlic.  By keeping it with her at all times, she will always have a part of Miriam, or her bubbe, with.  This chapter really shows us that Miriam was one of the most important parts of Ehrlic's life.

In one of the last chapters, Continuity, we really see how important family is to Ehrlich.  By writing this book, she could capture and remember all the sad, happy, good and bad times she had with her family.  Ehrlich writes, "The stories were remembered for a reason.  Family stories, they were told and retold because they contained essential truths" (351).  The word "essential" really shows how important her family stories are to her.  Without them, life wouldn't be the same for her.  We also get a sense of how religion influenced her life.  She states, "Religion is a story that tells us how to live" (351).  By saying this, Ehrlic is saying the Judaism has made her who she is today.  She lives her life based off all of those rules and has been a huge part of her life.  By reading this book, one would be able to see the true meaning of religion, family, and memories to Elizabeth Ehrlich. 

Outside Post #4

In pages of the book, Miriam's Kitchen, that i read this past week, we find out some information about how the family celebrated the sabbath.  The sabbath is on each friday of the week and it is basically a rest day for Jews.  It starts at sunset and ends at sunset the next day.  During this period of time, Jews will go to Friday and Saturday services at Temple or rest at home.  Elizabeth Ehrlich writes, "I want to create a home of rightness and wholeness, to establish the percussion beat of work and Sabbath," (291).  This quote shows that Miriam wants to have a good Sabbath and make sure everything turns out right.  The sabbath is supposed to be a very holy time for a family so Miriam is making sure that everything is in place.  Miriam also seems to treasure the Sabbath.  Ehrlich says, "The Sabbath is a gift: you give over twenty-four hours to contemplation, rest, and praise" (293).  After a long week or hard work, the Sabbath is needed for most people.  It's a time to reflect on the past week, and many people cherish the time they have to catch up on their rest that they haven't had since the past week.  Since Ehrlich describes the memories she has of the Sabbath days, it shows us more about her families Jewish traditions.

Elizabeth Ehrlich also describes the views on Jewish marriage.  All Jewish mothers want their sons and daughters to find a person who they love, but they would prefer them to be Jewish.  Ehrilich states, "When your child marries a non-Jew, it is as if that child is dead" (314).  This really gives a good view point of a typical Jewish mother.  They'd almost rather you not get married at all if it is to a non-Jew.  They feel like keeping the Jewish traditions is a necessity.  Jewish mothers also seem to get angry with the thought of intermarriage.  Ehrlich also writes, "Such is the anguish and fear with which intermarriage has been regarded by a besieged and defensive people" (314).  This shows that Miriam and Elizabeth can't imagine having an intermarriage.  It is almost as if one is an embarrassment or disappointment to the family if they don't marry a Jewish man or woman.  Ehrlich does a very good job at getting the view point of a Jewish mother, and we find out more about her family life through that.