I ended up staying in South Florida for Shabbos this week. Unexpected. I was down here for a doctor’s appointment and then mom suggested it and told me Lauren wanted to go to our favorite Kosher place when she got home from tour tomorrow morning and wouldn’t it be great if I was there? And it would be, especially since I’ve talked to here twice for a total of about 3.5 minutes in the last 3 months. And so I stayed.
Granted, only later did the ramifications of that decision become clear… Missing Tanya’s birthday party, missing a day at the lake with Sara and Travis, missing Shabbos with Shmuli and Malka… So I’ve come to the conclusion that I must really love my sister a lot ♥
In any case, Shabbos at home always comes with certain challenges. Living in South Florida, food isn’t usually one of them. This week was a little different though since lunch was in the oven at 170° all night and somehow the oven mysteriously shut itself off. And my mom, trying to help, turned it back on. Soooo that food was out of the question 😦 Luckily there was still some deli in the fridge and I made myself a mean sandwich!
Another challenge was the lack of havdalah supplies. I didn’t think about until I woke up 30 minutes after Shabbos was over. Oops. So I said hamavdil ben kodesh lechol and decided to make my own havdalah candle!
1) Heat up a large cup of water in the microwave.
2) Rummage for 3 leftover Chanukah candles in my mom’s cabinet.
3) Submerge candles in the hot water to melt the wax a little bit.
4) Braid the now-pliable Chanukah candles together.
5) Place the candle in the freezer to reset the wax.
annnnnd voila! Instant havdalah candle!
After some fizzing and sparking and sputtering around for a few seconds due to the leftover water on the wicks, I’m proud to report the candle worked beautifully well and produced an unusually large flame 🙂 So if you are ever in need of a havdalah candle on the run, feel free to use this technique!
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