Winston's New Kippah

You may recall one of my earlier posts about Winston when LO asked if her favourite teddy bear was Jewish. Since then, Winston has become a regular part of our Jewish community. He attends Shabbat services with us, has been to Hebrew school, and he even golfs with our Rabbi.

Not long ago, LO decided that his regular golf clothes (khaki pants, a polo shirt, and a baseball hat) were not nice enough for Shabbat clothes, so off we were to buy Winston a new Shabbat outfit. And no respectable Jewish bear could be caught at shul without a kippah...right?

LO was simply kvelling at Shabbat services over her little bear's new kippah and made sure that everyone saw it. (Me, on the otherhand...I still have that feeling of disbelief that I was actually sitting somewhere sewing a kippah onto a teddy bear's head.)

Special thanks to "Tante Ruth" for crocheting Winston his new kippah! Winston (and LO) love it.

Shabbat Shalom from the Orieyentas and the bear with a kippah.

Here come the Kosher Police

LO and I were invited to accompany a very good friend to Parrot Jungle. Since it's pretty expensive to get in there (around $27 each). I jumped at the opportunity to go for free. (Yes, I admit it, I have a little schnorrer in me.) What I didn't understand from the invitation was that before we went to enjoy the Parrot Jungle, we had to attend a luncheon that was a fundraiser for the Archdiocese of Miami.


As many of you know, LO ALWAYS speaks her mind, so before we entered the banquet hall, I pulled her aside and explained that this was a luncheon for the Catholic church and that it was ok for us to be there. The onslaught of questions and comments from her at that point were hilarious..."Mama, we're Jewish", "But these people are scary", "Is this like going to church?", "Will we still be Jewish if we go in?" Just to name a few.

We went in and sat at our table. The lunch plates were already on the table and LO looks at the plate and here is the look she made:


The meal was a mixed green salad with grilled chicken. Next to the grilled chicken were several slices of mozarella CHEESE with tomatoes. I knew she was going to panic and I tried to explain to her that we didn't need to eat anything there. However...before I had the chance, I saw the look on her face which was followed by what I can only describe as a sound similar to an ambulance siren. This of course was followed by her reiterating the Laws of Kashrut to me and then by pointing to everyone's plate on the table to show them how they had meat and dairy ON THE SAME PLATE -- IN THE SAME MEAL! (Yes, ladies and gentlemen, my kid is the "Kosher Police".) I politely put my hand over her mouth and got her to stop squealing. So that the people at our table were able to enjoy their lunch (despite the dirty looks LO was giving them) I tried to distract her for the rest of the meal by playing with her and Winston. It was one of the L O N G E S T lunches of my life.

Shabbat Shalom.

Winston's Conversion

I thought I would update everyone on Winston and his trip to the mikveh. (Don't worry, she didn't throw him into the body of water behind her in the picture.)

When we walked into Shul on Friday night, LO was off and running. She went to talk with our Rabbi and I had no clue what she was talking about but he was nodding his head in agreement and smiling the whole time.

At the oneg, the Rabbi told me about their conversation. She apparently was concerned that Winston was not Jewish and she wanted to arrange for him to go to the mikveh as soon as possible. She also made sure to point out to the Rabbi that although Winston was not Jewish, he was wearing a baseball hat to cover his head so he could attend services. (Oy - this kid!) The Rabbi explained that teddy bears had a special blessing that would make them Jewish and that unlike people, it is not necessary for teddy bears to go to the mikveh. She seemed satisifed with this and seems at ease knowing that her teddy bear is now a member of the Jewish people.

She continued to "make the rounds" at all the tables being what I can only describe as a "cheerleader for Judaism". I shook my head, looked at the Rabbi and motioned toward her and said, "There she is, the future of the Jewish people." The Rabbi replied, "I think we are in good hands."

Winston goes to the mikveh

I was waiting to write this post until I could take a picture with LO and Winston. However, I hear that there is someone who is a little unpatient looking for a new post from me. And since I have all of 7 readers, I wouldn't dare lose him. So...here's a "placemark" picture for my post. I'll update the post with LO's picture later.

After all of the adoption paperwork for LO went to China, all I had to do was wait. For anyone with a child, surely you can understand that this waiting is much like being pregnant except for the fact that the whole process takes longer than 9 months. (Oh and another benefit is that I didn't have to gain a million pounds to have her.) Sometimes the wait was unbearable for me (pun intended) and my sister did her best to help me deal with it. One day she brought me to Build-A-Bear Workshop and we built a teddy bear for LO long before we even knew who she was. We named the bear Winston after my grandfather Z"L.

LO has never been all that attached to any of her stuffed animals but recently she has decided that Winston is her favourite bear and that he has to go everywhere with us. On the way to Hebrew school yesterday we had the following conversation:

LO: Mama, is Winston Jewish?

Me: Well, um...I guess he is since you are his mother and you are Jewish.

LO: But he didn't come out of my belly so he can't be Jewish until he goes to the mikveh.

Me: (Trying very hard not to laugh) Um...well I guess you are right. Since he didn't come out of your belly he will need to be converted.

LO: (looking at Winston) Winston, don't worry, you can go to the mikveh and it's not scary and then you can be Jewish just like us! Mama, can we ask the Rabbi when he can take Winston to the mikveh?

Me: Sure we can ask him.

This of course led to this conversation:

LO: Can I bring Winston to Shabbat with us?

Me: As long as he doesn't make too much noise during services you can bring him.

LO: Will he have to wear a kippah?

Me: Well he's a boy so he will have to wear one.

LO: Ok, can we make him one?

Me: Yes - we'll make him one.

LO: How will it stay on?

Me: We'll figure out a way.

LO: Ok, but don't sew it to his head, it might hurt.

Me: I promise, we won't hurt him.

So, I actually did speak to the Rabbi (and no, he didn't think I was meshugganah). He said he would have to look up the blessing for converting her bear but it looks like Winston will be going to the mikveh.

Is this kid Jewish or what? (I'm kvelling.)