Jewish celebration and holidays organized right here.

Planning for Rosh Hashanah in the summer? Believe it or not, I begin working on my Rosh Hashanah plans in July. I wait until after Tisha Bav to actually begin cooking, and all of my meal plans and checklists are written before Tisha Bav.

That’s because I don’t like the feeling of Yom Tov creeping up on me. Especially a holiday as important as the High Holidays. And think of it this way, if you have the “physical” aspect of the holiday all planned out and prepared, you will be able to concentrate on the “spiritual” side of the High Holidays. After all, isn’t that what the High Holidays are all about?

Rosh Hashanah This Year starts Wednesday evening, September 12, 2007. Rosh Hashanah coincides with Shabbos, becoming a 3 day Holiday.

If you want to always know when the dates to the Jewish Holidays are, I recommend you get a copy of a program called Chagim. Download it into your computer, pda, phone and always know when the Jewish Holidays are, and when they were years ago or years in advance. You'll ALWAYS be in the know.

Here's what you need to do to get your meals perfectly organized for Rosh Hashanah 2007.

1. Begin thinking about how many meals you need to cook for Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur pre and post fast, Sukkos and Chol Hamoed Sukkos, Simchas Torah, and Shmini Atzeres. Sit down and plan your meals through Simchas Torah.

Open up your favorite cookbooks and select recipes that work well together. Recipes that work together not only refer to “tastes” but also to commonly used ingredients. In the following meal plan, you can see that I use similar ingredients for different recipes: such as beets, pineapple, rice, honey, cabbage, squash and carrots.

It is easier on me to chop everything at once, place all cut items into clear Ziploc bags, refrigerate and then assemble into recipes as I make them.

Wednesday Night	Thursday Lunch	Thursday Night
Salmon	Gefilte Fish Muffins	Salmon
Chicken Soup	Apple Compote	Beet Stew
Teriyaki Chicken	Polynesian Chicken	Pepper Steak
Wild Rice	Sweet Potato Tarts	Wild Rice
Apple Compote	Beet Salad	Carrot and Squash Souffle

Friday Lunch	Friday Night	Shabbos Lunch
Gefilte Fish Muffins	Salmon	Gefilte Fish Muffins
Pomegranate Salad	Chicken Soup	Pomegranate Salad
Polynesian Chicken	Chicken Chow Mein	Pepper Steak
Wild Rice Fruit Salad	Apple Kugel	Rice
Apple Compote	Noodles and Cabbage	Apple Kugel

Here is my Rosh Hashanah 2007 meal plan. Feel free to use it at your own High Holiday Table. I’ve selected my ingredients from a cookbook called “The Heimishe Kitchen”, but the recipes are simple and can be adapted however you like. Email me if you’d like specific instructions on some of the recipes.

If you’d like to look at my menu from last year for Rosh Hashanah, go to http://www.jewish-life-organized.com/jewish-celebration-and-holidays.html.

When I write my meal plans for Rosh Hashanah, I really like to use the symbolic foods of Rosh Hashanah and you will see that most of my recipes include the following:

I feel that when I cook using the symbolic ingredients, buying them doesn’t have to be another task to complete before Rosh Hashanah. I’m intentionally incorporating them into the meal plan taking away the pressure of “Don’t forget to buy the symbolic foods” and the guilt if I didn’t remember.

Not only will you feel great about using the symbolic foods from a Jewish standpoint, if you love cooking with the fruits and vegetables that are in season as some natural cooks love to do, you’ll be proud to incorporate the season change in your dishes.

I feel that when I cook using the symbolic ingredients, buying them doesn’t have to be another task to complete before Rosh Hashanah. I’m intentionally incorporating them into the meal plan, taking away the pressure of “Don’t forget to buy the symbolic foods,” and the guilt, if I didn’t remember.

Not only will you feel great about using the symbolic foods from a Jewish standpoint; but, if you love cooking with the fruits and vegetables that are in season, as some natural cooks love to do, you’ll be proud to incorporate the seasonal change in your dishes.

2. After planning out all of your meals, fill in this Recipe organizer and keep it with you in your purse. Shop for the ingredients in your Recipe Organizer. (Keep your menu plan in your purse and when you are grocery shopping, look for items on sale. I like to buy my meat during the 9 days since no one is in the butcher shop! This will save you money instead of buying things right before Yom Tov!)

Don’t forget to purchase significant foods of Rosh Hashanah-apples, honey, new fruit, fish head, kreplach, carrots, leeks, figs, dates, pomegranate, beets, gourd. Probably not to hard to remember since you may be using them in your menu plan.

Name of Recipe:	Found in:	Ingredients Needed that I do not currently have:	Feedback from others and notes on recipe:
Moroccan Couscous Chicken	Short on Time Cookbook	Dates, figs, couscous, zucchini	Baby did not like it! Everyone else did

3. Now it’s time to assemble your meals! Start chopping Rosh Hashanah ingredients when you are already cooking for Shabbos. Using a lot of carrots this Shabbos? Chop and peel a whole bag and refrigerate into Ziploc bags. Or, put a whole dish together and freeze it.

If you don’t like to freeze in advance, think “prep and assemble”. Of course, you cannot do too much prepping in advance because of spoilage, but as I said above, chop all vegetables at one time. Skin all of your chickens at once.

To get really organized, when cooking weeknight dinners, double up on your recipe and designate those meals for Chol Hamoed Sukkos.

There are lots of other tasks you need to keep in mind for the High Holidays and they are beyond the scope of this article. You can however get checklists and a Master Holiday Grand Plan for Rosh Hashanah at www.jewish-life-organized.com/rosh-hashanah-perfectly-organized.html. The Rosh Hashanah Perfectly Organized ebook available at Jewish-life-organized.com goes into MUCH greater detail about what you need to have completed before the High Holidays. Shanah Tovah!

Here is my jewish celebration and holidays meal plan. As far as when you are going to get around to cooking and preparing all of the foods, I suggest you purchase Rosh Hashanah/Yom Kippur/ Sukkos Perfectly Organized.

Absolutely essential for planning Jewish celebration and holidays during the fall.

Friday Night and Saturday night

1. Round Challah with Raisins

2. Gefilte Fish Muffins

(I take a loaf a gefilte fish, defrost it, mix it all up with spices, and then pour it into muffin tins. My kids love it!)

3. Chicken Soup

I put in TONS of vegetables: squash, carrots, celery, turnips, parsnips, leeks, onions, pumpkin, celery root, and beets. I also buy chicken bones and put in lots of them. Or you can put in lots of chicken. Having A LOT of chicken is the secret to a flavorful chicken soup. Some swear by lots of garlic, I like to put in lots of chicken and a drop of white vinegar to draw out the flavor.

4. Turkey with Cardamom Rice

Truth be told, I'm going to use turkey as my main course for practically all of the meals. It is so big, serves so many people, and is very versatile. If I get sick of it one night, I'll make a turkey salad.

For the rice, I just make short grain brown rice and follow the recipe on the box, add lots of cardamom, and raisins. You can add a little chicken broth too.

5. Steamed Broccoli. My family just loves it plain!

6. Dessert- Apple Pie! I buy premade pie crusts, cut up 8 apples, mix them with nutmeg, raisins, cinnamon, cloves, add 2 TB margarine, 1/4 cup flour, and 1/3 cup sugar and pour it in the shell.

*****In Rosh Hashanah Perfectly Organized, I do talk about using leftovers and cooking in double/triple batches. So, go ahead and do that when making these meals and serve them again the following night.

I'll admit that I am not so original. I serve mostly the same thing on both day meals and the same dishes for both nighttime meals.
*****

Shabbos lunch and Sunday lunch

1. Round Challah

2. Salmon-I love putting a combo of lemon, olive oil, miso, and ginger on our salmon. Marinate it at room temp for 30 minutes in a bag and then cook it for 20 minutes. Don't overcook.

3. A big Salad-you can make a HUGE salad and serve it for lunch covering the protein and vegetable. I would put in large chunks of turkey or smoked turkey breast along with croutons, chickpeas, green beans, lettuce, red onions, carrots, peppers, and in honor of Rosh Hashanah- pomegranate seeds. Pour on your favorite dressing or make your own. Everyone can have lots of second helpings.

4. Crock pot soup- Some people love cholent. My stomach favors it a little less than others, so we just have a vegetable soup. Barley, tomatoes, lentils, carrots, celery, potatoes... Put in what you like and add lots of salt. I don't usually cook with salt, but crock pot soups taste better with it.

5. Dessert-Apple Cranberry Crisp

1 cup oats, 1 cup flour, brown sugar, and 7 1/2 TB margarine to make the crumbs on top. The filling is 6 cups of cranberries (or cranberry sauce), 4 apples, 1/2 cup raisins, 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, 1/2 cup of orange juice or grape juice. Mix and top with crumb mixture. Serves 8 people. I often double it and it comes out great. Serve warm :)

*****

That's it! You've got your meals planned- (except this year we also have the 3rd meal on Shabbos, Shalosh Seudos, but I just serve salad, tuna, challah, and dips).

Thank you for giving me the impetus to plan my meals.

Now you've got to shop and cook.

But don't worry too much, if you have a copy of Rosh Hashanah Perfectly Organized you'll be all set.

Halacha

After you plan out the meals, create your Master Holiday Grand Plan. That will include EVERYTHING you can possibly imagine that needs to be done prior to Rosh Hashanah- including ordering meat, getting your house ready, planning the kids outfits, giving your boss notice of when you'll need time off, the special halachos and customs of the Yom Tov...

Guess what? You can print out my own grand plan, included for you in Rosh Hashanah Perfectly Organized, absolutely recommended because it is VERY comprehensive! It's already done for you :) You won't forget a thing!

I put this under Halacha- because all of these tasks are like laws that must get done and because some of them actually involve halacha (Jewish law).

You can also organize your Spirituality so you are ready to ask for another year of life.

The following is an inspiring article that was originally published in Thejewishwoman.org

Organizing Your Spiritual Growth

By Rivka Slatkin

Recently I found myself thinking that I want to use my organizing skills to contribute more to the world. Yes, organizing people's homes and holiday preparation is wonderful; but I want to do something a little more spiritual, a little more moving. I realized that I could apply the industry knowledge that I've studied over the years and the practical applications of organizing, towards something a little loftier.

I proceeded to think about how I could use organizing teachings and methods to plan and track Spirituality and Personal Growth. After all, I'm not the one who invented the concept of taking a personal inventory every so often, and even nightly, of your actions and your soul. This concept of harnessing organizing skills towards soulful introspection is a profound one.

The Purpose of Getting Organized

Understand first what it means to be organized. How can you employ the structure of organizing towards your spiritual growth over the year? Understand first what it means to be organized. What phrases come into your mind when you think about getting organized? "It's having systems in place," you might tell me; or "knowing where to find what you are looking for." Both observations are true.

Dictionary.com says, "The objective of getting organized is to put [oneself] in a state of mental competence." You know how competent you feel when you can find what you are looking for and are able to accomplish the goals for the day? This is mental competence; and being organized gets you there.

Spiritual Organizing

Let's talk a little about the concept of mental competence with regards to your spirituality and – more specifically - your spiritual growth. When Rosh Hashanah approaches, our inner critic tends to get louder. "What did you actually do this year? Was it a productive year? Was it a complete waste?"

We can silence our inner critic by compiling concrete evidence against his self-deprecating words. It's not possible to remember the day-to-day struggles or milestones. We can remember some worthy acts, but certainly most slip our minds. This is why people save receipts. The physical documentation of where their money went provides tangible proof, since the memory of every store visited cannot possibly be retained.

Am I suggesting you save all of your receipts? Not the ones the stores give you: too much clutter! Rather, keep your own. Record some aspects of your spiritual growth on paper. As a result, thinking in the days before Rosh Hashanah about what we actually accomplished over the past year will be much easier.

"What in the world do I write down?" you may be asking.

How about your G.R.O.W.T.H?

G stands for Gratitude

Paying attention to all the things we have to be grateful for is the key place to start. And better than just thinking about it, write it down, make it permanent. When we record statements of gratitude, we undergo a mental shift, catapulting us out of whatever stagnation or even negativity that we may be in.

Expressing gratitude on a regular basis not only shifts our mental space, it actually creates a new reality for us. You can relate to this if you have ever been plagued by anxious thoughts that perpetuate until they are flushed out of your system.

When we record statements of gratitude, we undergo a mental shift. Reversing those nervous thoughts into positive mantras of gratitude will actually create new realities for you. Worried that your kids won't sleep the night and you'll be exhausted tomorrow? You can write, "Thank you for the abundant rest" or "I am grateful for the sleep everyone gets…"

There are endless books that laud the importance of positive thinking. Yet this concept is not new. It is a core teaching of Chassidut. Tracht Gut V'Zain Gut, "think good and it will be good." The way we think about something actually affects the outcome. Our attitude towards something doesn't only make us feel better, it can make things better!

Expressing gratitude regularly is a catalyst for shifts in all of your relationships - with yourself, your fellow man, and G‑d. Again, this is not just a nice idea, but a Torah concept. There is the idea of Hakaras Hatov which is giving thanks and appreciation where it is due. When someone has helped us or done us a favor, we are obligated to acknowledge that. And this is not just limited to our interactions with other people, but between us and our Creator as well. Reflecting on previous entries in your gratitude journal will also help you to recognize G‑d's bounty of gifts bestowed upon us.

R stands for Resistance

Tracking things that make you feel unsafe - your "resistances" - will give you tangible perspective about how far you've come in your growth, when looking back at what you've overcome. We all resist things that make us feel unsafe. It's the fight or flight mechanism that we are born with to help identify what is really harmful.

When you track the things toward which you feel resistant, you can look back and understand what caused your resistance to a person, subject or place. You will see that you have grown by leaps and bounds in overcoming your resistances!

Know that the very things you are most resistant to changing are indeed hard because of their inherent role as healing mechanisms towards making you a more complete individual.

It really is a wonderful exercise; and, in the case of a resistance you have toward another person you are in a relationship with, sharing your past or present resistance with them in a safe way can connect you at an even deeper level.

O stands for Objectives

What was last year's Resolution? Who knows?!

Know what your objective for last year wasKnow what your objective for last year was. When this year comes to a close, and you look back at the beginning of last year (realizing that you have not only completed your objectives, but surpassed many of them), how amazed you will be!

Recording your objectives is not just a way for you to feel proud. It's concrete evidence that you are growing as a human, constantly achieving and striving in this world. This is important testimony for ourselves and our "inner critics" - especially during those times when we feel like we are not doing anything spiritual at all.

Record two or three objectives for yourself in the coming year; and save them in your prayerbook or personal planner. Remind yourself daily to put focus on achieving those personal growth objectives.

W stands for wearies or worries

Wearies or worries? Why would I want to record those in my GROWTH journal? Partially due to the same reason as Resistance: the very things we resisted in the past, after a while, we no longer resist. But let's go a little further.

I am sure you know that there are people, places, things, or ideas that consistently wear you down. When you become aware of the things you worry or feel weary about, perhaps the consciousness you will now feel as a result of your recording will cause you to shed those worries or wearies. Not necessarily by ending contact with those people, but perhaps by setting boundaries. Or limited time with those "wearying" people. Same goes for the worries. Give your worries "space" in your journal. When they are fully expressed onto paper, you will shift into mental competence and perhaps realize those worries no longer serve you.

T stands for Technicalities

Less spiritual than technical, you must have a place to record all of the necessary tasks, appointments, meetings, and needs you have down onto paper. The Torah places emphasis on the concepts of keeping order and taking care of yourself.

Find a way to create a semblance of order in what you do every day, and of what is in your house. A person needs her home to run efficiently.

H stands for habits

Make or break habits by tracking them on paper.

Make or break habits by tracking them on paper. Sound too perfect? Believe it or not, a Habit Tracker was not my own idea. I came across the idea of tracking one's habits on a website designed for people to create their own planner/calendar pages. I took a lesson from this, and found it to be a very spiritual practice. Working on ourselves to make or break a habit is a Jewish concept that is probably one of the most fundamental when it comes to our relationship with G‑d and our relationships with others. Again, this is the idea of taking stock of our lives not only yearly but on a daily basis as well, for the Torah teaches us that each new day is a new opportunity to work on ourselves and improve.

List your Habit- Not giving silent treatment

Monday-Had a hard time not doing this

Tuesday-Yes

Wednesday-Got angry and had a hard time talking

Thursday-Yes

Friday-Yes

Shabbat-Yes

Sunday-No - couldn't help it

After keeping track of your habits, be careful to stay proactive. Now that you know what you do, what are you going to do about it? Picture yourself moving towards the goal, and re-frame that negative habit into a positive one.

Instead of saying "I don't want to get angry anymore," say, in the present tense: "I am calm."

Affirm your present-tense, positive statement daily.This process is about service, growing, and getting out of our comfort zones to grow and become better people. See how organizing practices can be used for spiritual growth?

There is no set format for keeping a GROWTH journal. In fact, if you want to, type every day on the computer noting how your day went, what you felt grateful for or what you wish you could take back and make right. Better yet, if you'd like to carry a small voice recorder around and talk into it, fine. It's up to you. A standard notebook or beautiful journal works fine, too. I encourage you to keep some kind of physical record that you can track from year to year noting your progress. You will "hear" your progress, not only through your actual activities, but even in your actual writing style or voice! Your spiritual development will become obvious to you.

Your GROWTH journal gives you a way of looking back at your productive year and actually changes reality, because you made your Gratitude, Resistance, Objectives, Worries, Technicalities, and Habits real, by recording and writing them down. You grew into a state of mental competence, knowing what you did, what you used to do, what needs to occupy you no longer, and what you need to be doing presently.

This time of year is all about tracking our growth and spiritual development. Make the process easier and organized by recording your feelings of gratitude, resistance, objectives, worries, technicalities, and habits. Here's a little secret you may not know: it's not only about what you do, but about how you do it. Keeping the journal in itself is an act of growth; so get all the points you can get before Rosh Hashanah!

Aesthetics

Remember to make your appointments for your haircuts, wig styling, and other appointments for your physical appearance in advance as most salons get busy before the High Holidays.

Guests

Many people have guests for the high holidays. The most important thing to remember is to sit down now and anticipate the basic needs that guests and everyone in your family will have. Do you need one meal alone with your family and if not are you going to lose your cool? Does your grandfather like a particular soda or drink that you do not normally have in your home? Anticipate everyone's needs (especially your own) as much in advance as possible to avoid mishaps.

Do your best. Call your guests in advance and say, "Is there any food or particular item that you just cannot live without?"

Believe me, doing this in advance will make hosting guests smooth sailing.
Schedule the tasks in your grand plan on your calendar- what weeks make sense for you to grocery shop, clothing shop, order specialty items, prepare for the yom tov davening, arrange childcare, etc. It helps to work backwards, start with erev Yom Tov and work backwards. You know what needs to be done by candlelighting so all this becomes somewhat easier to plan when working backwards.

Again, this is all scheduled for you in Rosh Hashanah Perfectly Organized using the 2007 calendar so you don't have to recreate the wheel.

Your C.H.A.G. Rosh Hashanah Guide courtesy of the Yom Tov Planning Center

Cuisine

Friday Night and Saturday night

Shabbos lunch and Sunday lunch

Halacha

Aesthetics

Guests