Cake Cuneiform

Here is the uncropped version of the picture I posted last time. I had piped scrolls on top of this buttermilk chocolate cake, which made the cake so tall that they kissed the top of the box, leaving the image of the reclining chocolate lady where they touched.

Provisions for the Journey צידה לדרך

These organic tamari-roasted almonds are one of my favorite things to bring along on trips and festivals and places where you might want to have some provisions for the journey. In Yiddish צידה לדרך tseydo ladorekh, the food one brings along for the road, is a metaphor for good works that will serve as sustenance in the world to come, but what I want to tell you about right now is the bowl.

This beautiful bowl was made for me by my adored nephew, the Wee’an. The decorative elements are images from some of our most beloved alternate realities. The A-shaped thing on its side is, of course, a Starfleet insignia and the bagel-shaped ring is the seeing stone from The Spiderwick Chronicles. For those of you who have not had the pleasure, we learn in The Spiderwick Chronicles that the seeing stone reveals the vast civilizations of fairies, brownies and goblins, normally invisible in our universe. Well, you already know what I’m going to say next, right?

THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU LEARN YIDDISH!

There are gorgeously-colored and intricately-textured worlds lying just out of sight that will become accessible to you once learn the language. Yiddish is your seeing stone and the Yiddish language is the tseydo ladorekh without which you really cannot safely leave your house. What are you waiting for? Learn Yiddish already!


Classes at all levels begin February 16 at The Workman’s Circle.


Now is also the time to register for a Yiddish summer program.

You can study Yiddish in New York at the first and greatest summer program of all.
The Uriel Weinriech program in Yiddish Language, Literature, and Culture of NYU and the YIVO institute is the jewel in the crown of both institutions. This is the original Yiddish boot-camp. If there is any way on earth you can possibly set aside six weeks, I have to insist that you enroll in this program.


If you are a full-time undergraduate college student, you can apply to the wonderful Yiddish Summer at the National Yiddish Book Center. Tuition is free!

You can study Yiddish in Vilnius, According to Leyzer Ran, the most Yiddish city in the world.

You can study Yiddish in Tel Aviv, a first taste of the epoch of redemption.

You can even study Yiddish in Paris. It’s Paris! You’re learning Yiddish! If it gets any better than this, I just can’t see how.

More Edible Adjectives

Since I got back from Kentucky, I have been looking around for edible adjectives. There is a restaurant called Good on Greenwich Avenue, and one in Midtown called Artisanal. Miriam recalled a bakery chain called Hot and Crusty. Have a look at other comments here. Fiddlin’ Lew reminds me offline that the stuff you get at an appetizing store (smoked fish, dried fruits, candy, and nuts) is referred to collectively as “appetizing,” as in “I’m going out for appetizing.”

Here is Moyshe Nadir's poem "Adjectives" Translation pending. As soon as I do everything else.

What is This? װאָס טוט זיך דאָ

I think this might be my fifth online self-portrait. Some wonderful prize to be determined goes to the best guess for how this image came to be.
Please post your guesses in the comments.