Pesach signifies the joining of the Jewish people
Passover has been described as the “Independence Day of the Jewish People”—the day of our national liberation. It is possible to describe the exodus from Egypt as the moment Jewish peoplehood was founded.
The fact...
Wisdom from the Passover kitchen: Getting the kids involved
Folding chairs lined the hallway wall like dutiful soldiers in expectation of arriving guests. Unfamiliar, dusty boxes of pots and china were stacked high, their contents waiting to make their annual appearance on the...
Post-Passover seder Shabbat dinner: Make it light and easy
The Passover seders fall midweek this year: the first one on Wednesday, April 5, and the second on Thursday, April 6. Most of us go out of our way to prepare substantial festive meals...
Purim 2023: Multitudes to join in community Megillah readings
Tens of thousands of Jews will attend public Megillah readings for the Purim holiday organized by two prominent Modern Orthodox organizations and taking place in hundreds of communities throughout Israel.
This year’s Megillah BaKehilla (“Megillah...
How Jews made the holiday of Purim personal
“Cursed is Hitler, cursed is Mussolini … Blessed is Roosevelt, blessed is Churchill.”
With these words, the Moroccan scribe Prosper Hassine concluded his account of World War II and the Holocaust. The story was familiar,...
What goes hand in hand with cherries? Chocolate!
HaAs a kid in my mother’s house, I’d use a drinking glass to cut out my rounds of dough for hamantaschen, those triangular Jewish cookies made for the holiday of Purim. Dipping the rim...
Grains and veggies speak to Purim culinary tradition
This should be a fun-filled, over-the-top Purim this year; after all, it’s exactly three years since the coronavirus turned our world upside-down. This year, the holiday begins on the evening of Monday, March 6...
On Tu B’Shevat, let’s celebrate homeland and heartland
Ask any Hebrew school child what the food bokser is, and you’ll receive a description of what sounds like tree bark. But you’ll also see that the student understands that this nearly inedible annual treat comes...
Band places impressive song in impressive Hanukkah film
The latest entry to the ever-growing musical category of “modern Hanukkah songs” has arrived.
Distant Cousins—the popular Los Angeles-based band featuring former Blue Fringe frontman Dov Rosenblatt, Moshav’s Duvid Swirsky and singer-songwriter Ami Kozak—has a...
Menorah from iconic 1931 photograph returns to Germany
A brass menorah from a famous photograph taken during the rise of the Nazis made its way back to Germany for a Hanukkah candle-lighting ceremony in Berlin attended by the country’s president.
“This light is...