Shavuot is the time when we celebrate the giving of the Torah, but like so many other Jewish holidays, there’s a food component too. This is the “dairy” holiday. Visions of cheesecake come to mind. I’ve heard numerous explanations of why dairy and Shavuot go hand in hand. One is that the holiday commemorates the […]

Jews in America, and the world over, celebrate Yom Ha’atzmaut (this year on Wednesday, April 29, 2009), which marks Israel’s birth as an independent, free nation. This year Israel will be 61 years old! With the creation of the State of Israel we finally have a place we can call home, a bulwark that stands […]

Like most Ashkenazi Jews I grew up thinking that haroset meant grated apples mixed with ground up walnuts and a little Manischewitz wine. Never mind that we read the Haggadah twice during the holiday and discussed its meaning and I learned that we ate haroset to symbolize the mortar spread between the bricks that were […]

So much to cook. So little time. This year the first night of Passover is April 8th, a Wednesday. Add a second Seder and Shabbat and we have to prepare meals for three holiday days in a row. If you work outside the home or have small children to care for or you’re just plain […]

In the weeks before Passover, which begins this year at sundown on April 8th, I start to think about getting my home ready for the holiday and about the first Seder. Who will come? Because of space considerations and growing families it is my husband’s side one year, my side the next. What will I […]

Say the word Purim and most of us think “hamantashen.” Nothing wrong with that, both metaphorically and gastronomically. The idea of eating Haman’s hat is a delicious one: not only for the symbolic destruction of an ancient enemy who sought to destroy the Jews, but the pleasure of the soft, three cornered cookie stuffed with […]

On Thursday, October 9th, when the sun sets and the first stars appear in the sky, Yom Kippur 2008/5769 will end. After fasting for over 24 hours and spending a day in prayer and contemplation, asking for forgiveness, it’s time to gather with family and friends to celebrate our hopes for a good new year. […]

We are about to come to the Days of Awe, when observant Jews contemplate their lives and their values, their relationships with people and with their Creator. The season begins at sundown on Monday, September 29, 2008. Jewish families throughout the world will celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the New Year 5769. It concludes with Yom Kippur, […]

There’s an old joke in the Jewish community: The High Holidays are always either early or late; they’re never on time! Well, this year they’re late (Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown on September 29th). But aside from that, this year Shabbat begins one day after Yom Kippur ends (the evening on October 10th). Sukkot, of […]