Category
April 6, 2006
PASSOVER: Yemenite Flavor at the Seder
Yemenite Jews in Israel live longer and healthier lives than other Israelis. Over the years, many researchers have attributed the Yemenite\’s good health to the simplicity of their cooking and their use of herbs and spices. Fenugreek, for example, a staple spice in our kitchens, has shown promise in research to treat diabetes and high cholesterol.
PASSOVER: Don’t Be a Slave to Tradition
Here was my dilemma when I came of age and began making my own seders: Should I maintain tradition even though I didn\’t have the same associations with these foods that my mother did? Since Passover celebrates freedom (another traditional name for the holiday is Zman Cheiruteinu, or The Time of Our Freedom), I wanted to express my freedom by making foods of my own choosing, rather than feeling bound by a menu that was \”traditional\” only due to its roots in Eastern European cuisine.
PASSOVER – The Model Seder Begets Model Students
Lingering clouds huddle at the eastern edge of Los Angeles\’ clear blue skyline, casting a dusty shadow over the snow-capped San Gabriel Mountains. Follow one of those meandering white trails down the mountain, and you\’ll find yourself at Weizmann Jewish Community Day School in the eastern foothills of Pasadena, where 38 students and 11 staff members occupy a stronghold of Jewish education in an area of Southern California not known for its overall Jewishness.
PASSOVER: Songs for a Swinging Seder
Of all the Jewish holidays, none is so firmly rooted in the home and so joyously celebrated with song as Passover. This simple fact would lead you to expect an avalanche of Passover records, but this year the avalanche is more like a mild rain of pebbles, at least in the quantity department.
PASSOVER: Prague’s Matzah Metamorphosis
An anonymous source breathes heavily on the other end of the receiver, softly intoning that the only way to get the goods is from an inside contact. Through friends, I discretely discover my intermediary, who leads me through several dark corridors for an encounter with an angry man.
PASSOVER: You Say Charoses and I Say Charoset
I was so excited when a publishing house in New York accepted my children\’s book for publication. Geared to preschoolers, it\’s a short piece that recounts the steps of the Passover seder in simple, upbeat verse. What I didn\’t realize was that the work would need to be translated.
PASSOVER: The 11th Plague: Boredom
Not all seders are sit-down affairs. When \”Dayenu\” begins at the home of Simone Shenassa of West Orange, N.J., everyone takes bunches of scallions and hits everyone else, to imitate the whipping of the slaves.
PASSOVER: Try to Avoid Asking the Fifth Question
While there are only four questions posed in the haggadah, most seders struggle with the unasked fifth question, \”When are we going to eat?\” It is asked, not only by hungry children, but also by adults who feel disconnected to the rituals of their ancestors.
PASSOVER FOOD: Treats to Leaven Desire for Dessert
Something new for the holiday, use the charoset ingredients to make a Passover Fruit Cake filled with nuts and dried fruit that offers a tasty and a crunchy treat. It is similar to the Italian delicacy known as Panforte that originated in Sienna. The mixture is tossed together in a large bowl, spooned into parchment-lined baking pans, and baked for an hour and a half. The good news is that these loaves will easily keep for the eight days of the holiday.
New Articles
Why Are Presidential Statements About Jews So Weak?
UCLA Hillel on Pro-Palestinian Encampment: Jewish Students “Feeling the Intensity of the Situation”
USC Cancels Main Commencement Ceremony
Chosen Links – Colleges and Passover Edition – April 25, 2024
More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.