Supporting Israeli Artisans: A Core Mission
We started JEWishly because we were having a hard time finding Jewish gifts that fit our contemporary lifestyle. From the outset, part of our mission at JEWishly has been to honor Jewish culture while also supporting the skilled artisans in Israel. By featuring their handcrafted creations on our site, we aim to foster a deeper appreciation for one-of-a-kind Israeli products.
Expanding Support for Israel
Since October 7th, we've expanded our collection to include even more items crafted by Israeli artisans. This allows us to showcase the broad variety of Israeli artistry and contribute to the livelihoods of these talented individuals.
A Growing Collection
Our curated selection now includes an array of beautifully crafted items, each reflecting the diversity and richness of Israeli culture. Whether it's intricately designed jewelry, stunning ceramics, or meticulously crafted Judaica, every piece tells a story and carries the essence of Israel's vibrant heritage.
At JEWishly, we're passionate about continually adding to our collection to further support Israeli artisans. We believe in the power of art and craftsmanship to transcend borders and connect people, and we are dedicated to playing our part in supporting the talented individuals who create these meaningful pieces.
Join Us on this Journey
We invite you to explore our collection and discover the beauty of Israeli craftsmanship.
Thank you for being a part of our mission to celebrate Jewish heritage and support Israeli artisans. Together, we can continue to promote creativity, tradition, and the enduring spirit of Israel.
We're always looking for more items that are made in Israel, so if you have a business that you think would fit our mission and modern aesthetic, we'd love to hear from you.]]>How Do You Jew with Joan Nathan conducted in December, 2017
Cookbook author and newspaper journalist
How did you come to do what you do?
After graduating from Michigan, one of my first jobs was at NBC, where I took a summer vacation to Israel. Mind you, I didn’t want to go. My father was a Zionist and I guess you can say that was my own form of rebellion. Well, I loved it. I stayed in Jerusalem for 2 ½ years, which were really my formative years. During this time I learned that you don't have to live in Israel but Israel teaches you how to live. The intensity of the political atmosphere reminds us of the preciousness of life and the importance of seizing the moment. I ended up working for the mayor of Jerusalem, where I met Ben Gurion and Golda Meir; and during that time I also wrote my first cookbook, The Flavor of Jerusalem.
King Solomon’s Table is just as much a history book as it is a cookbook, tell us more about what inspired that
When I visited India, I saw a sign in a synagogue that said “Jews have been in India since the time of King Solomon.” That initial discovery in India made me realize that Jews have circled the globe and that Jewish food dates back earlier than we had originally thought. That trip inspired me to explore, in a very academic way, what makes Jewish cooking unique.
How has your cooking evolved from your first book to the most recent one?
Each of my cookbooks is like a master Thesis and has reflected where I was in life. My first book reflected where I was in my late 20s, a period spent living in Israel, visiting people’s houses, and being fascinated by the people and the food. I didn’t know much about Judaism during that period, and I wasn’t mature enough to understand what Jewish food really meant at that point. King Solomon’s Table really is decades in the making and celebrates our history and our culture.
What is your favorite Jewish holiday or tradition?
Passover! We have 40 people of all ages at our house. And it’s hard to do, and everything on the table is mismatched, but every time, we do it. I make gefilte fish, and five different charoseths to show where Jews have been, and we do the same play after we read the Hagaddah, and that’s become our tradition. So you can put food on a table, but the traditions are what make the memories for children.
That’s probably why the traditional recipes are still around: people like the old because everything else keeps changing.
Favorite food that you associate with Judaism?
I love making challah. I like that It comes out differently every time. It also makes Friday night special, in an instant.
Is there a Jewish food you don’t enjoy cooking?
I’m not a huge fan of honey cake, I just don’t like the taste of honey.
Aside from culinary, how do you incorporate Judaism into your daily life?
Israel is a big component. Also, Shabbat dinner, whether at our house or others’ houses, is something we try and do every week. But I also read a lot of stuff that’s Jewish and although our home is not kosher, we do observe some kashrut rules (no pork, no shellfish).
After reading King Solomon’s Table, what would you like people to come away knowing about Jewish cooking?
First, that Iraq is the center of all Jewish food. Babylon and later Baghdad were, at one time, the center of the world: the rabbis were there, commerce was vibrant, and life was good. In 1930 there were 50,000 Jews in Baghdad, which by the late 1940s was close to 130,000.
The other is that Jewish food has always been the one global cuisine. We are founded on this notion of gathering of people, even King Solomon’s wives came from many different places. Jews at that time had been merchants, vintners, bakers, wandering the world, and were being expelled from places. As they moved from place to place, they had to regionalize their food and adapt while ensuring they were following the dietary laws. The history of Jewish food is almost like a history of the world's food. That’s what makes our cuisine so very rich.
What’s next for someone who’s always curious and never stops learning?
I’ll be working on a book of essential Joan Nathan recipes, a best of, which won’t be easy.
What’s your favorite Hanukkah dish you’d like to share with our readers?
These Green Chile Relleno Latkes were created on a Hanukkah night in the hills of Placitas in northern New Mexico at the home of Tom and Joanne Ashe, avid cooks who are always having family gatherings.
King Solomon's Table will make a great addition to your cookbook collection, or a wonderful gift to someone who has everything.
Don’t expect to see me in a bodysuit and golden cuffs. And apologies for that image. Yet, Wonder Woman, a symbol of women empowerment, is always fused for me with the story of Purim. Strong women feature prominently in Vashti, for refusing to be objectified by Achashverosh any longer, and in Esther (whose name contains the root for “hidden”), for finding her voice, no longer hiding her religion from her husband, and standing up for her Jewish community.
Looking beyond the female characters of the story, there is a larger theme of self-identification. We learn Haman hated Mordechai, for refusing to bow to him, leading us to infer that many Jews did. I found many articles that spoke of the assimilation of Jews in Persia during this period. But an interesting thing happened following Haman’s decree. Rather than causing Jews to further hide their identity in order to save themselves, the decree served as a catalyst to drive Jews back to self-identify as Jews and a part of the Jewish community.
HaShem’s name never appears in the Megillah. And, so, the Jews choosing Him in this story, by finding their way back to their faith, with no overt miracles, becomes even more powerful. That He is hidden throughout the story also provides us an explanation for why Purim is a holiday of masks. But while Purim is celebrated hidden behind masks and costumes, its customs (not costumes) uncover our full community through the mitzvah of gifts for the poor. We must ensure that all the people who comprise our village, even those who are sometimes hidden from us, through their choice or ours, are able to feast on Purim.
Purim and Yom Kippur, while, on the surface, as different as two holidays can be, each provides us opportunities for enlightenment and self-discovery in its own way. Even their names, Purim and Yom K’Purim (a day like Purim), create a connection between them. Yom Kippur is seen as the ultimate day of self-reflection and introspection, while Purim is seen as the ultimate day of community and partying. To get through life, we need a balance of both. We need to learn who we are as individuals and work on our personal connection with HaShem. But, even (especially!) when He is hidden from us, we must continue that work, and remember that our survival requires more than a collection of Jewish individuals. It requires a true community, connected through struggle and through celebration, through shared traditions, tragedies, and simchas.
And so, this Purim, whether you are Esther, Vashti, or Wonder Woman, we wish you abundant joy and jubilation from the knowledge that you are part of our village and that we are so thankful that you are.
Love,
Netta, Meirav, and Michal
JEWishly
Israel is a perfect blend of eclectic cuisines and culture, and a country well-known for its lively and delicious food. Israeli cuisine is the culmination of the gastronomic traditions and national cuisines of the countries the Jews migrated from to Israel - Yemen, Syria and Iraq, Morocco and Georgia, France, Ukraine and Poland, and the like.
Some of our favorite Israeli dishes are Shawarma, falafel, shakshouka, hummus, and tabouleh. In order to make these, an Israeli pantry must have some essential items, So what are these essentials? Read on to find out!
Spices
Stock up on some of the basics like cinnamon, cumin, cardamom, coriander, ginger, paprika, turmeric and sumac– but don’t forget to add some lesser-known varieties of herbs and spices such as za’atar and Aleppo pepper for an extra kick of flavor whenever needed! These can be used to season meats, prepare marinades or just liven up pre-made sauces.
We also love that now that now there are some premade spice blends available for purchase, like shawarma spice and Jerusalem spice mix, to take the guesswork out.
Herbs
Parsley, cilantro, dill, and mint are a must in any Israeli kitchen (unless you’re Meirav of course who can’t stand cilantro, more on that another time) - they go into salatim (salads) or used as a garnish in pretty much everything.
Legumes & Grains
Used in so many stews, soups, and dips, make sure you have plenty of legumes such as chickpeas and lentils in your pantry at all times. Grains such as bulgur wheat and couscous are staples in most kitchens so don't forget to pick those up as well. Basmati rice and quinoa are also very popular and often used for salads and rice dishes.
Cheese
Classic Mediterranean cheese such as feta cheese adds a salty tang to salads and is very popular.
Labneh cheese is essentially thick strained yogurt that comes as balls packed in its liquid form often seen on mezze platters across Israel popularly known for its consistency softer than ricotta cheese but firmer than Greek yogurt. If you have Greek Yogurt you can easily make it at home yourself.
Onions & Garlic
The foundation of any dish, make sure you always have lots of onions and garlic around! Most grocery stores have frozen garlic cubes I always have on hand in an emergency. Not having garlic in the house is definitely an emergency!
Lemons
As essential for me just as much as kosher salt and olive oil, I always have lemons on hand. I used them in salad dressings, tahini and hummus, and to brighten up salads and fish. You can also make preserved lemons or buy this one which we are obsessed with.
Tahini
Tahini is sesame paste made from ground-up sesame seeds (think Israeli peanut butter). It's a key ingredient in many Middle Eastern dishes – like hummus or baba ganoush – and adds a nutty, earthy taste to a variety of recipes. It’s also used as an ingredient in many salad dressings and desserts like halva.
Our favorite tahini as everyone probably knows by now is Soom!
Schug
Schug (pronounced skoog, sometimes spelled zhug) is a Yemenite hot sauce made from fresh parsley, garlic, cumin, chilies, cardamom and other spices. It’s popular throughout the Middle East and is used to flavor soups and stews or as a topping on falafel or shawarma sandwiches. Here is a good recipe for you'd like to make it.
Other
While not as widely use, we always have date syrup, or Silan, on hand. You can easily make it or we love this squeeze bottle version from Soom.
Rose water is used in the popular dessert you'll see in Israel called Malabi (think rosewater pudding), as well as baked goods.
What's your must-have pantry items for making your favorite Israeli food?
]]>Just like most other Jewish holidays, it all comes back to food. We gather with family and friends around a table, light the chanukiah, and devour latkes and sufganiyot (jelly donuts). Not the healthiest of holidays, I know, but someone's got to do it. What can I say, your 3-day cleanse can wait until tomorrow.
Here are a few tricks I've gathered along the way for those intimidated by the thought of making them yourself.
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Hanukkah is my favorite holiday! Not because of the gifts, because let's face it, I don't really get anything these days. My husband and I get a couple of things for ourselves, wrap them, and have the other one give it to us. Surprise!
Hanukkah is my favorite because it is the time of year where we are reminded to celebrate family, friends, and be grateful for all we have. And even in this crazy world we live in, we can all look around and find things we are grateful for, and for that, I am thankful.
Just like most other Jewish holidays, it all comes back to food. We gather with family and friends around a table, light the chanukiah, and devour latkes and sufganiyot (jelly donuts). Not the healthiest of holidays, I know, but someone's got to do it. What can I say, your 3-day cleanse can wait until tomorrow.
I've been eating Latkes for more years than I'd like to admit and making them for almost as many, so I've gathered for you the best recipes for traditional latkes and a couple not-so-traditional ones.
A few tricks I've gathered along the way for those intimidated by the thought of making them yourself:
-Use plain old russet potatoes for making latkes. They have a high starch content, which means they'll be less likely to fall apart.
-Some swear by hand grating potatoes. Don't listen to them...I've tried both hand grating and using a food processor, and while the hand grating is (maybe?) marginally better, it's not enough for me to torture myself in that way. I pull out the food processor once or twice a year, this being one of those times!
-Squeezing the potatoes is essential: otherwise they will be too watery and fall apart. Do not skip this step. Wrap the grated potatoes in a kitchen towel and squeeze out as much liquid as possible.
-Now I hope you're still paying attention because this is the best tip: you know that bowl where you've been squeezing out the potatoes? at the bottom of that bowl is the potato starch you need for your crispy latkes! After squeezing the potatoes dry in a clean kitchen towel, let the liquid in the bowl settle. Pour off the liquid on top and then collect the potato starch from the bottom of the bowl and put it back into your shredded potatoes. TRUST ME.
-You can pre-make these, and freeze them. When the guests come over, instead of sweating over the frying pan, pop them into an oven, they'll come out crispy and delicious, and you'll look like a hero.
-And lastly, don't beat yourself up if you can't (or don't want to) make them: Trader Joe's has pretty good ones in their freezer section that could almost pass for homemade.
Here is the go-to Latke recipe I've been making for years, which was inspired by an old Gourmet Magazine recipe:
INGREDIENTS
Aside from the mezuzah, the most popular protectors from the evil eye in modern culture are the red string, the blue eye bead, the fish, and the hamsa.
Our selection of protective jewelry includes bracelets, necklaces , earrings, and rings.
Browse our entire collection to find a protective symbol that speaks to you.
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The hand is a sign of protection, blessings, power, and strength
Our maternal grandmother used to tfu, tfu, tfu us (it’s amazing what I’ll turn into a verb these days). Our mom would throw a well-timed “bli ayin hara” or “kein ayin hara” when she talked about people’s beauty or good luck. But we’re once again picking favorites, and our Sephardic side wins. While I have no recollection of my grandparents, uncles, aunts, or father having superstitions or invoking sayings or items to offset bad luck, I married into a Moroccan family, and my mother-in-law has made me fall in love with amulets to counteract the effects of the evil eye.
Aside from the mezuzah, the most popular protectors from the evil eye in modern culture are the red string, the blue eye bead, the fish, and the hamsa.
Traditionally, red was viewed as defending against the evil eye. One of the items required for building the Mishkan, the portable Tabernacle that accompanied the Jewish people in the desert, was red thread. The red dye came from a type of worm, teaching that even the lowly worm has a role in God's dwelling place. From here, the red thread worn on the wrist was meant to remind us to gain inspiration from God and keep our egos in check, and this humility serves as the ultimate weapon against the evil eye.
The blue bead/charm is meant to mirror back the blue of the evil eye and thus confuse it (did I mention that blue-eyed people are viewed as carriers of the evil eye?). According to the Talmud, the fish is immune to the evil eye, since it lives under water, so it has been adopted as an effective amulet.
I know…I ran through those last couple with a quickness, so I could get to the hamsa. The hamsa has other names, as well, such as the hand of Miriam, the hand of G-d, or the hand of Fatima. Hamsa is the number five in Arabic, and the digits on the hand. The hand is a sign of protection, blessings, power, and strength, and the hamsa is seen both in jewelry and in home décor.
When we decided to launch a shop, I knew that the hamsa would figure prominently in what we offered. Its beauty, its symbolism, and its rich ties to history (not just Jewish history, but African, Greek, and Arab) make it irresistible to me.
When we were in LA over Pesach (not that my family realized that it was Pesach), I found a Tunisian man who introduced me to one of the first items we’ll offer in the shop – a hamsa dipper. This incredible creation, handmade and hand-painted, separates into 6 small plates from the palm and fingers and reveals a large hamsa-shaped serving plate underneath. Mine is proudly displayed in my dining room, and I can’t wait for you to add one to your home.
When it comes to finding the perfect gift for a Bar or Bat Mitzvah, it can be difficult to know where to start. From traditional religious items to more modern gifts, there are many options available. To help you narrow down your choices, we’ve compiled a list of the best gifts that will mark this momentous occasion with the perfect item to make them feel special and appreciated.
Money
The Bar/Bat Mitzvah boy or girl will love receiving money. They just won't like the part where their parents take most of it away to put into a savings account for future use.
If you're giving cash or check, the most common rule in Jewish gifting is to gift in multiples of $18. In numerology, 18 is Chai (no, not the delicious tea latte), Hebrew for life. Giving money in multiples of $18 is symbolic of giving “chai” or life. So if you were going to give $50, give $54. If you were going to gift $100, make it $108 instead.
That's where the rules end, and the rest is highly dependent on how close you are to the boy or girl celebrating and how many people are invited; please use the below as rough guidelines, and give what you're comfortable giving:
Israel Bonds
Giving gifts of Israel bonds is a special way to celebrate meaningful occasions.
Israel Bonds support Israel and can be redeemed in five years.
Mazel Tov Bonds, a special all-occasion gift available for an initial minimum investment of $100 can be purchased online.
E-Mitzvah bonds can be purchased for a minimum of $36.
Visit the Israel Bonds website to learn more.
Gifts
There are some people who, especially for close friends, will prefer to give a personal gift, as opposed to cash or even an Israel bond (my son may now have voting shares in the future of the State of Israel based on his current portfolio).
The advantage of a personal gift is that its perceived value is oftentimes higher than the actual value, with consideration given to the thought and the time taken, providing the gift-giver additional wiggle room in terms of spend.
Judaica. A beautiful yad (torah pointer) is a unique gift they will use for life. We also love giving this Tallit Bag, which is non-leather and can be used year round. A Mezuzah is also very special, and can be engraved with a custom saying or name. This acrylic one comes in a multitude of colors! We also love the idea of giving a girl her first Star of David Necklace, and we are in love with this one. We recently gave this menorah as a Bat Mitzvah gift, it’s stunning and timeless.
You can shop all our Judaica for more ideas.
Hebrew/Jewish Jewelry. A necklace with their Hebrew name is something they’ll wear for years. We also love this Hebrew necklace that says Ahava (Love in Hebrew). It is delicate and dainty enough to layer with other necklaces. If you’re seeking a bracelet that’s modern and meaningful, these Everything Is Possible and Woman of Valor bracelets are the perfect pieces.
For a boy seeking their first piece of jewelry, we are obsessed with this Star of David dog tag necklace and this Chai necklace
Amulets. An amulet is an object, often a charm or piece of jewelry, that is believed to possess certain magical powers of protection. The Hamsa and Evil Eye are two powerful amulets that represent protection and strength. This cz Hamsa necklace and this opal one with stones from israel are a great gift for the girl who has it all. We also love the detail on this evil eye necklace and this evil eye enamel charm bracelet.
Gift Within a Gift. We love providing something special that contains another surprise gift inside. For a Bat Mitzvah girl, this most often will take on the form of a jewelry box that contains a piece of jewelry inside. For a boy, cuff links in a box that is personalized makes for a thoughtful and lasting gift.
A Gift AND a Check are also more than appropriate, so don’t think you need to find the perfect gift at the perfect price point.
We are excited to package these items for you through JEW-ishly to make the process easy and assist you in gifting in a meaningful and memorable way. Either select one of the pre-packaged gifts we have available, or contact us to create your own. And remember, we can source and customize (almost) anything with advance notice. Because gift giving shouldn’t be stressful, think of us as your Jew-ish gift concierge. Shop all our Bat Mitzvah and Bar Mitzvah Gifts here.
This was difficult to write. I had a feeling it would be somewhat hard, which is why I procrastinated. But this was heart wrenching. And not in a cathartic way. But in an “I miss you so much and I can’t do this” way. Because in Judaism, food is love. And in an Iraqi household, every holiday, every memory, has a culinary association. It’s a beautiful connection but it’s also hard to separate and write about just the food. It’s hard not to think about my grandmother’s salad without thinking of my dad emptying the “juice” into a cup for me so I could drink it. To think of Sukkot without tbit. Yom Kippur without hriri. Thursday nights without kichri. Saturday mornings without eggplant and browned eggs. The spices and the tastes of these SWANA kitchens that dominate Israeli cuisine today. Not appropriated, but gathered from centuries of dwelling in middle eastern countries.
I am still working on my family’s recipes and trying to replicate them. I am sharing them in their current state in case you want to try to make any of them, as well.
Tbit (aromatic chicken and rice)
Ingredients:
1 whole chicken, cleaned, with skin
1 teaspoon baharat spice
1 chopped onion
2-3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 chopped tomatoes
3 cardamom pods, cracked open
2-3 cups rice
2 tablespoons chicken soup mix
4 hard boiled eggs, with shells
Ingredients for the stuffing:
½ cup rice (rinsed)
Chicken thigh pieces, bones removed, cut into small cubes
1 or 2 tomatoes cut into small cubes
Seeds from 2 cardamom pods
¾ teaspoon baharat spice
1 level tablespoon chicken soup mix
Directions:
Mix ingredients for the stuffing, place into chicken and sew the chicken shut using thread or secure shut using toothpicks.
In a large, heavy pot, cook the chopped onion in some olive oil for 1 minute on medium flame. Stir in the tomato paste, baharat, tomatoes if using them, cardamom pods, and chicken soup mix. Mix in 2 cups water.
Place the stuffed chicken in the pot and add enough water to cover ¾ of the chicken. Cook on medium flame for half an hour. Turn the chicken over and cook for another 15 minutes.
Put the rice around the chicken and cook until the water is fully absorbed (approximately 15-20 minutes, depending on the rice you choose to use).
Preheat the oven to 175°F/80°C.
Nestle the eggs on top of the rice. Cover the pot and place in oven to cook overnight until ready to eat. Check in the morning to make sure the eggs, rice and chicken are browned. Turn up the oven temperature slightly if you want the tbit to be more “well done”. Pro tip: my oven turns itself off after 12 hours so I have to turn it back on.
Remove the tbit from the oven just before serving. Be sure to remove the thread/toothpicks
Aruk Bruz (chicken and rice patties)
I’ve now attempted the recipe 3-4 times, so I think I’m ready to share it. It will be years before I’m able to confidently and consistently make it the way I want, and potentially never before I perfect it.
I only use ground chicken, but feel free to use some beef in the casings, as well.
For the casing:
1 ½ cups of long grain rice
1 cup of round rice (either sushi or risotto)
1 pound of ground chicken
1 tbs of chicken boullion
1 tbs of Baharat
½ tsp or so of salt
½ tsp or so of pepper
In one bowl, mix the rice and then rinse in water until water is clear. Then add enough lukewarm water to cover the rice and let it sit for 30 minutes.
In another bowl, mix the spices into the ground chicken. Once the rice is ready, strain the water and add the rice into the chicken, kneading it as you would dough, and adding water if necessary (I added less than ½ a cup here). The mixture really should feel like dough. If you add too much water (like I did the 2nd time I made this), then the bind won’t hold the filling. Let the mixture sit for approximately 30 minutes while you prepare the filling
For the filling:
1 pound ground chicken
½ sweet yellow onion, diced
Handful of parsley, cleaned thoroughly and with stems removed, diced
½ tsp salt
½ tsp of pepper
½ tsp cardamom
Mix all the ingredients thoroughly.
Take a cookie sheet and line it with parchment paper.
Once the casing is set, take a handful of it at a time, flatten it in your hand, fill with about a spoonful of the filling mixture, and close the casing around the filling. Place it on the cookie sheet. Once done, I suggest cooling the arum bruz for at least a couple hours.
Once cooled, you should be able to pick up the arum bruz pretty easily without it falling apart. To cook it, place it in a broth. For my ashkephardic kids, I put it into a clear chicken broth with onion, celery, and carrots. You can either serve it in the broth (how my daughter prefers it) or remove it once cooked and pan fry it (which is how my son prefers it).
Shifta (patties)
1 pound ground chicken
½ sweet yellow onion, diced
Handful of parsley, cleaned thoroughly and with stems removed, diced
½ tsp salt
½ tsp of pepper
½ tsp cardamom
you can also use some of the Aruk Bruz filling on its own to make delicious patties - simply take some of it, create small patties, and pan fry in some oil. My sister makes these with turkey and adds some shredded zucchini to keep them moist and they are DIVINE!!
Sweet Sambusak (cookies filled with nuts)
Ingredients for the dough:
2 Large eggs
1/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
1 Packet of yeast
2 1/4 cup flour
Ingredients for the filling:
100 grams walnuts
100 grams almonds
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp rose water
1/4 tsp cardamom
Coating:
Egg mixed with 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp water
Sesame seeds
Directions
Preheat oven to 350
Proof your yeast by mixing your packet of yeast with one tsp of sugar and 1/4 cup warm water (baby’s bath water temperature). Then add all other dough ingredients and kneed until soft and doughy. Set aside, covered, to rise for an hour (I do this in the oven, while off, but with a pot of boiling water underneath it). In the meantime, ground the walnuts and almonds and then mix with the other filling ingredients.
Once the dough is ready, roll the dough and cut into circles (I use a small glass cup or the medium cookie cutter - is this like when my aunt tells me the measure is a mug?). Fill with one teaspoon of the filling mixture and close into a half moon. I find that sealing it with a fork around the edges helps it stay shut. You can also poke holes into the sambusak dough with the fork so that they are less likely to pop open during the baking process.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and place sambusak on it, spread egg wash and sprinkle liberally with sesame seeds. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown (check at 12 minute mark to see if browning has started and then it’s usually 5 minutes more). Remove from oven, place sambusak on cooling rack, and try not to eat them all at once!
Salad
There isn’t really a recipe, but this is my version:
container of grape tomatoes, halved or quartered depending on their size
2-3 Persian cucumbers
1-2 red/orange/yellow sweet bell pepper
Handful of parsley, soaked in water and salt mixture to clean thoroughly, rinsed, with thick stems removed
1-2 scallions
”Dressing”
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper (2:1 ratio, to taste)
Juice of 1/2-1 lemon (we actually use cured lemon when available instead of lemon juice. If you go this route, reduce the amount of olive oil and salt you use)
Chop all vegetables and combine in a bowl. Then add the dressing and mix well. Select your favorite child and pour the salad “juice” into a cup ❤️
]]>Green bean and beet salad (Tori Avey)
Ingredients
Instructions
Pumpkin Sambusak (my recipe to come)
Sweet sambusak casing
Pumpkin, cardamom (~1 tsp), nutmeg (~1/2 tsp), ginger (?)(~1/2 tsp), brown sugar
Honey Zaatar roasted eggplant spears (saladsnsweets)
6 small eggplants, or 2 large, cut into wedges or sticks
Salt (to sweat the eggplants)
Honey zaatar marinade (recipe billow)
Tahini (drizzle)
Silan (drizzle)
Parsley (garnish)
Pomegranate seeds (~1/2 cup/sprinkle on top)
Marinade:
3 tbsp honey
1.5 tbsp zaatar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest
1 garlic clove, minced
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp coarse black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
Mix all marinade ingredients except oil
When smooth, add in oil
Brush over eggplant spears
Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes, or until cooked through (depends on eggplant piece size)
Drizzle with Tahini and silan
Garnish with fresh parsley and pomegranate seeds
Leek fritters (Aromas of Aleppo)
1 pound leeks
2 tablespoons plus 2/3 cup vegetable oil, divided
3 eggs, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon Aleppo pepper
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon cardamom (recipe calls for cinnamon)
Apple Honey Challah (Tori Avey)
Ingredients
Dough Ingredients
Egg Wash Ingredients
Instructions
Apple Jam for challah
slow cooked peeled apples with sugar, rosewater, cardamom and cooked until thick and jellylike but chunky. The goal is for it to be ridiculously sweet but if that sounds inedible maybe try a tart apple variety. definitely want a meaty apple so you have larger chunks. Granny Smith works best.
]]>📷 @haley.truong via @unsplash
If you’ve been following us, you know -- our love affair with the bagel (beigel) runs deep. So it had us wondering, where did bagels come from and how did they come to be one of the most famous Jewish foods?
The first written records of the bagel date to the year 1610. They showed up then in the community regulations of the Polish city of Krakow, which dictated that bagels were to be given as a gift to women after childbirth.
Back in medieval Poland, their round shape led to the belief that bagels had magical powers. Like the round loaves of challah we eat at Rosh Hashanah to symbolize a full and complete year to come, the round shape of the bagel was believed to bring good luck in childbirth and to symbolize long life.
Unlike almost every other country in Europe during that time, Poles identified themselves as citizens of their country rather than of a framework based on religious, ethnic, or linguistic origins. This mindset created the environment where Jews were first allowed the opportunity to bake, and then sell, bread -- of which bagels were an integral part.
Although bagels clearly had multi-ethnic origins in Poland, here in the U.S. they came fairly quickly to be associated with Jewish culture. Like blintzes, latkes, pastrami, and rye bread, which came from the Eastern European communities in which so many Jews lived, bagels came to be known as primarily Jewish.
Many varieties of bagels have since appeared in New York, but purists will have only the original plain water bagels, which are made by throwing rings of risen dough into violently boiling water for a few seconds, then draining, cooling, and baking quickly till golden, shiny, and crisp. They are best when very, very fresh and still spongy inside. New York is said to make the best, due to the mineral content of their water.
I’m perfectly happy to keep eating bagels around the country to see who has the best ones. I may even consider [gasp] Montreal-style.
What's your favorite bagel?
Zucchini Latkes with Mint & Meyer Lemon Labneh
By Lauren Braun Costello
Makes 4-6 servings.
Latkes are fried potato pancakes traditionally made to celebrate Chanukah, the Jewish festival of lights. But the frying is the symbolic part of the recipe, not the potato. This latke is made with grated zucchini and mint, which makes for a lighter pancake so good that even the kids won’t know they are eating their greens! Paired with a labneh (strained yogurt) spiked with Meyer lemon juice and zest, the flavor is vibrant and bright. You can serve this pretty pancake any time of year for an elegant appetizer or side dish.
Equipment: cutting board; chef’s knife; box grater or food processor with a shredder disc; measuring spoons; dry measuring cups; mixing bowls; spoons; reamer or fork; microplane or zester; large sauté pan; offset heatproof spatula
Ingredients:
1 cup labneh
juice and zest of two Meyer Lemons
6 zucchini, skin-on
½ bunch mint leaves (stems discarded)
3 tablespoons matzo meal
2 eggs
1 teaspoon kosher salt or to taste
½ teaspoon white pepper or to taste
vegetable oil for frying
1. First make the labneh. Combine the Meyer Lemon zest and juice with the labneh. Season with salt, if desired. Set aside.
2. To make the latkes, grate the zucchini either in a box grater or in a food processor. Place the grated zucchini on a clean dish towel. Gather the dish towel to enclose the zucchini and squeeze the liquid from the zucchini.
3. Combine the strained zucchini, mint, salt, pepper, matzo meal and eggs in a large bowl. Beat well with a fork to combine.
4. Heat 1 inch of vegetable oil (or any high flashpoint oil) in a sauté pan. Once the oil is hot and shimmering—but NOT smoking—add ¼-cup dollops of latke batter to the oil and flatten with the back of a heatproof spatula. Cook the latkes for 2-3 minutes per side, until golden brown.
Be sure to manage the heat source so that the oil does not smoke (likely medium to medium-low).
5. Drain the latkes on a tray or plate lined with paper towels. Serve immediately with the Meyer lemon labneh, or keep warm until service in a 250F oven.
Egg-Free Latkes
By Lauren Kohr
My Favorite Latkes are actually egg-free! I started making latkes with no eggs for a client and they have become my absolute favorite. They get super super crispy because they are not wet and the crunchy edges are my favorite.
Ingredients:
3 russet potatoes, grated
1/2 vidalia sweet onion, grated
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Light oil, such as canola or vegetable for frying
1) Grate the potatoes on a box grater or with food processor. Food processor is the way to go!
2) Grate onions the same way and add to potatoes.
3) Squeeze the water out of the mixture with a clean dish towel to ensure the potatoes and onions are super dry.
4) Combine with flour, salt, pepper and baking powder.
5) Heat oil in skillet- about 4-5 Tablespoons to ensure the bottom of the skillet is completely covered.
6) Once oil is shimmering drop small handfuls of mixture pressed together into the pan. It should bubble and start to fry immediately.
7) Once the edges begin to look golden brown flip and fry on the other side. About 3 minutes per side depending on how crowded the pan is and how large the latkes are.
8) Drain immediately on a paper towel and sprinkle with finishing salt. My favorite is maldon sea salt.
I love to make a "latke topping bar" and let my guests pick their toppings.
My favorite latke topping combinations are:
Plain greek yogurt, pomegranate seeds, wild honey and salt
Creme fraiche, smoked salmon, dill and caviar
Scratch-made caramelized onion dip (or store bought) and scallions
Pulled bbq chicken with pickled onions
But my ultimate favorite is a pile of hot latkes with a runny fried egg broken on top and finished with black pepper and sea salt. It sure is messy but it is my favorite.
Spinach Feta Latkes & Dilly Yogurt Topping
By Liz Rueven
Serving: 25-35 latkes
Notes:
A food processor makes quick work of grating potatoes and chopping onions
but if you don’t have one, don’t fret. Use a box grater like your grandma did.
In the same vein, a cast iron pan is a great choice for frying because it heats
up more evenly than other materials. If you don’t have one, don’t fret about
this either.
This is the first time I made latkes without peeling the potatoes. It saves a lot
of work and doesn’t affect the flavor or texture. In fact, it probably improves
the texture if you like your latkes ragged around the edges.
Prepare a cookie sheet with paper towels to place/drain your cooked latkes
on.
Start by making the yogurt topping as it needs an hour to rest in the
refrigerator before serving.
Ingredients:
Yogurt Topping:
7 oz. container of whole milk Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon fresh dill, minced
⅓ cup finely chopped cucumber
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 Tb. olive oil
1 Tb. lemon juice
½ tsp. Salt
Freshly ground pepper
Latkes:
Canola oil for frying
6 medium Russet potatoes
2 medium white onions
4 fat scallions, washed, patted dry, green part only
3 large eggs
6 oz. feta cheese, drained
1 cup fresh spinach
¼ cup fresh dill, minced
6-7 Tb. unseasoned panko bread crumbs
1 tsp. Salt
Ground pepper to taste
Directions:
Make the topping:
Before making the latkes, mix the yogurt topping. It benefits from hanging
out in the refrigerator for at least one hour.
Place all ingredients for sauce in a medium bowl and stir to combine. Adjust
seasoning after it rests in the refrigerator.
Make the latkes:
Scrub potatoes with a vegetable brush and pat dry with paper towels. Set
aside.
Peel onions and chop in processor. If using a knife, chop well. Set aside.
Chop scallions and set aside.
If you need to wash the spinach, spin it very dry. Chop spinach and set aside.
Have all of your ingredients at the ready before you start shredding your
potatoes.
Set up a large bowl and place a colander inside.
Shred the potatoes in the processor and place them in the colander. With a
clean dishtowel over the top of the mound of shredded potatoes, press down
and squeeze out as much liquid as you can.
Save the potato starch that gathers in the bowl. It is the talc like substance
that sinks to the bottom of the bowl. Dispose of other liquid.
Add all other latke ingredients to the same bowl, including the potato starch.
Mix well with your hands.
Be sure the ingredients are well distributed and evenly mixed.
Heat ⅛ inch oil in pan. Test to be sure it is really hot by tossing a shred of
potato into the oil. If it sizzles, it’s ready.
Scoop 1 tablespoon of batter into the pan, gently pressing down with the back
of a spatula to flatten.
Allow latkes to brown and flip to cook second side. Place cooked latkes on
paper towel lined cookie sheets so they can drain of excess oil.
Serve piping hot with a dollop of the dilly yogurt topping.
Tips:
It’s important to have all of your ingredients measured and ready before you
begin to shred the potatoes. No need to soak them in ice water if you shred
them and immediately cover them with the rest of ingredients to provide
oxidation.
Latkes are best eaten hot and fresh out of the pan. Still, they can be reheated
successfully by placing them on a foil lined pan in a 400 degree F oven for 7-
8 minutes. They should be sizzling hot.
My Favorite Potato Latkes
By Netta Levy
After years of eating and making latkes, here is the go-to Latke recipe, which was inspired by an old Gourmet Magazine recipe:
INGREDIENTS
PREPARATION
Notes:
Happy eating! Hope hope have a wonderful Chanukah filled with lots of fried foods and loved ones.
We grew up eating this charoset and let me tell you it's so good.
The great news is that it's also super easy to make. Last year I shared my initial recipe for my our dad's charoset which only included walnuts and silan (date syrup). This year I've further improved it by also adding pecans (SORRY DAD!).
Eat it at the Seder on matzoh, as a dip with lettuce (that's what we do), or use it as a spread or topping for yogurt during Passover. It's so sweet you'll just want to eat it with a spoon!
Makes: About 1 cup (double this if you're having a large Seder)
Ingredients:
1/2 cup toasted chopped pecans
1/2 cup toasted chopped walnuts
1/2 cup silan (date syrup) - I used Soom
Directions:
1. Mix the pecans and walnut, spray a medium pan with coconut oil, and toast the nuts on medium heat for about 4-5 minutes, until fragrant and golden. Let them cool slightly before proceeding to the next step.
2. Put toasted nuts in a thick ziploc and using a meat mallet, rolling pin, or even a regular hammer, gently smash them into small-medium sized pieces; stop before the nut mixtures becomes a powder
3. Place chopped nuts in a bowl and add the silan. Stir. At this point, you will have a thick spread.
if too thick, add a bit more silan. If too thin, more chopped nuts will do the trick. Experiment and see what consistency is best.
4. This can be made a couple of days ahead and stored in a covered container at room temperature.
Enjoy your Seder with your friends and loved ones, and please share with us your holiday traditions with the hashtag #howdoyoujew.
Still need Haggadahs or Seder Plates? You can find our Passover best sellers here .
Happy Passover!
]]>When I began spending just a few minutes a day on myself and filling up my reserves, I was able to bring a more joyful, centered, and energized version of myself to my family and the world.
Q: How did you get into meditation?
A: The best way I can explain it is that the Universe pushed me into it. It was part of my journey and path, only I didn’t know it yet!
I was at an event at my synagogue that truthfully I didn’t feel like going to, but my dear friend was chairing it and I wanted to support her. There was a young rabbi speaking, and my friend leaned over during his talk and told me that his sister was a famous medium. I had never thought about mediums before so I probably said something like “cool,” and didn’t give it a second thought.
Two weeks later I was having dinner with a camp friend in Los Angeles whom I hadn’t seen in years. She told me that she had recently had an incredible reading with a medium, and it was the very same one I had recently heard about. I still wasn’t really putting anything together, I only thought it was a funny coincidence.
The next week I was speaking with a friend who said her mother had just had a reading with a medium, and wouldn’t you know it….it was the same one I kept hearing about!
I literally put my hands in the air, and said, “Universe, I have probably missed every sign you have ever given me until now, but I will talk to this woman!”
I had to wait six months to get an appointment, but my reading was a life-changing experience in many ways. The very last thing that she said to me was that I should meditate. I had never thought about meditation before, but I am excellent at following directions so I decided to give it a try. It was the beginning of the most incredible journey ever.
Q: You talk about your “hot mess” phase. What was that like?
A: Before self-care became a staple in my life, I had what I call “martyr syndrome.” I thought that if I put everyone’s needs before my own, and I was last on my list, it meant I was doing things right. I thought I was proving my love to my family. The problem was, my family got an overwhelmed, exhausted, and depleted version of me. That Ali is not fun at all!
When I began spending just a few minutes a day on myself and filling up my reserves, I was able to bring a more joyful, centered, and energized version of myself to my family and the world.
Q: How has your life changed with meditation?
A: This article would be ten pages long if I got into all of it, so I will highlight a few things that were the most life-changing. I definitely became less reactive and more responsive. This means that I stopped yelling so much and then feeling horrible for hours afterward. Instead I learned how to pause, breathe, and move forward in a situation. Since I am human though, I am not perfect at this one hundred percent of the time! Self-compassion and compassion for others has become a huge part of my life. I realize now that every situation and experience, good or bad, is helping me to become the best version of myself. I have to learn the lessons I am supposed to from the hard ones, and celebrate the good ones.
Meditation helped me to feel more confident and connected to my intuition. My sleep improved, and my feeling of overall wellbeing. I tell people that meditation is the best thing that ever happened to me! This is why I became so passionate about sharing and teaching this incredible self-care and self-help tool. When I saw the transformation in my own life and family, I knew these tools were too good to keep to myself. I had a burning desire to share them so I became a certified meditation teacher.
Q: In your newest book “One Minute to Zen” you talk a lot about one-minute meditations. What are they exactly?
A: Life is never going to stop being stressful. It doesn’t matter if you are a stay-at-home mom, a working mom, or a meditation teacher. Life never stops. It is impossible to never feel stressed or overwhelmed, and putting that expectation on ourselves is pointless, and, frankly, not fair. The most important thing is how quickly you can recover from stress. Does it send you into a tailspin for hours, or can you quickly come back to center?
I like to say that all hell can break loose in one minute, so we need tools to come back to center as quickly as possible. That is where one minute meditations come in. We can have a few tools in our back pocket to use anytime we feel stressed, anxious. overwhelmed, depleted, angry or frustrated that can help us come back to center quickly. My new book “One Minute to Zen” has thirty-five one-minute meditation tools so there is something for everyone.
One-minute meditations are the glue that bind my days together. I use them whenever I feel stressed, if my kids are fighting, someone cuts me off on the freeway, or I pick the slowest line at the grocery store. I use them all the time because they work! They help you to recalibrate body, mind and spirit, and to bring your attention back to the present moment.
Q: How do these tools help parents looking to be more present in their day-to-day life?
A: With practice, one-minute meditations become second nature. The more you use them, the faster you can pull them out of your toolbox when you need them. Here’s an example - I used to quickly yell a consequence when my kids were acting up, without thinking if it made sense. I was so reactive, and then I felt like I was stuck with whatever I said. I almost always regretted my choice!
Now, if I occasionally need to give my kids a consequence, I will tell them I need a minute. I will do a one-minute meditation to calm my body down, in order to think more clearly. I can then choose a meaningful consequence that actually makes sense.
There are times, even as a teacher and practitioner of all of these tools, that I find my mind wandering when my kids are telling me a story, or we are playing a game. It happens to all of us! I will immediately use a tool to come back to center quickly so I can be as engaged as possible. In a few years my kids may not care about sharing every detail of their day with me, so I want to soak up every single second now. In these situations I use the mantra “this moment.” On the inhale I silently repeat “this” and on the exhale “moment” a few times. It reminds me to be here now and to truly enjoy this moment.
Q: What are one or two one-minute meditations that can really help parents?
A: You really can’t go wrong with any of them in the book. It’s really so personal which you gravitate toward, but I’ll share two of my favorites, one for parents, and one to use with your kiddos.
For parents: Do a quick body scan
When I feel stress, I immediately feel my shoulders tense. You too? You may also feel your tummy tighten or your hands clench. This is our body talking to us.
When I feel stress in my body, I know it’s a perfect time to do a body scan. Focusing on each part of my body helps me to release tension and come back to center rather quickly.
You can do this at a traffic light, as a stressful meeting is kicking off, or before bed, to release any tension that has built up in your body during the day.
Doing a body scan is simple—start at your head and work your way toward your toes. As you run through each body part, you simply focus on relaxing that part of you. You will spend approximately three seconds on each major body part, allowing you to relax your whole body in about one minute.
Here’s how:
Scalp
Forehead
Eyes
Cheeks
Jaw
Mouth
Shoulders
Left arm
Right arm
Left hand
Right hand
Chest
Belly
Hips
Right leg
Left leg
Right foot
Left foot
4. Take a nice deep breath in and out, and if your eyes are closed, open them.
The great thing about a body scan is that you cannot mess up. If you miss a body part, it’s no big deal. This is a low pressure tool. It’s always interesting to see where you are holding tension. I never thought of my cheeks as I place I would need to relax, but it’s amazing how much tension I am always holding there. Keep an open mind, and let your body do its thing.
For kids: Balloon in the Belly
I instruct my clients, during parts of meditation, to really breathe into their belly, or to take “belly breaths.” The easiest way to understand how to do this is to imagine you are blowing up a balloon in your belly on the inhale, and then let all the air out of the balloon on the exhale. This ensures that you are taking a full, deep breath.
Kids love balloons so it’s a great visualization for them. They can pick their favorite color balloon, or pick a color based on their feelings in the moment. They can simply practice blowing up and releasing the balloon for a minute, or you can guide them to extend this practice two ways.
Let go of a worry
If they have something weighing on their mind, or they are feeling anxious, frustrated, overwhelmed, or stressed in any way, on the last inhale of the practice they can imagine putting their worry inside of the balloon. On the exhale they can imagine their balloon floating into the blue sky with their worry inside, carrying it far, far way. This can feel like a great release.
Make a wish
They can also imagine a wish filling their balloon on their last inhale, and on their last exhale the balloon can carry their wish up into the sky.
Everyone can benefit from bringing more mindful pauses into their day, and using one-minute meditations as a way to come back to center in the face of stress.
I hope everyone gets a copy of “One Minute to Zen” so that they can live their very best, most joyful life!
Ali Katz is a best-selling author, motivational speaker, self-care and mindful parenting coach, and a meditation expert.
Her mission is to inspire mothers across the globe to leave overwhelm, stress and guilt behind, and to embrace a life full of balance, presence, and joy.
Ali's latest book, One Minute to Zen: Go From Hot Mess to Mindful Mom in One Minute or Less, comes out November 4th. Grab your copy to get Ali's tip for dealing with stress in one minute, the same amount of time it can take for all hell to break loose!
To learn more visit hotmesstomindfulmom.com
Rosh Hashanah, which starts this year on the evening of September 9th and ends on Tuesday September 11th, is perhaps the most important holiday in the Jewish religion. The two-day holiday, the only one that’s celebrated as two days both in Israel and the Diaspora, is a celebration of the Jewish New Year, during which we recognize the day that G-d created Adam and Eve. In addition to being a celebration of our creation, it is also a time for accounting and judgment of our actions. And, as with most Jewish holidays and customs, we celebrate and mark the occasion with food.
On the Jewish New Year we greet one another with the words Shanah Tovah or Shana Tova u'Metukah, Hebrew for “a good year" or "a good and sweet new year!” As a result, our table is deliberately filled with foods that symbolize sweetness, blessings, and abundance and reflect a hope for happy, prosperous days to come.
If your family is anything like mine, you’ve been discussing, or at least contemplating, the menu for weeks now.
Here are a few of our favorite ingredients to include in your feast, along with JEW-ishly-approved recipes that should impress even the most critical of Jewish mothers or mothers in law.
You’re welcome.
Sweet challah
The Challah is round on Rosh Hashanah, symbolizing the circle of life. It is also symbolic of a crown, alluding to the desire to crown G-d as king. The challah is then dipped in honey instead of salt, our typical Shabbat tradition.
We battled with our parents yearly to find, or bake, raisin-less challah for the holiday. Now that we're in charge, we're team Sans-Raisin-Challah! Challah at us if you agree.
Here is the sweet and salty challah from Smitten Kitchen: it's got figs AND salt, and will make for a fantastic french toast if there are any leftovers.
Apples dipped in honey
One of the most well-known traditions of the Jewish New Year that's been passed down for centuries is eating apples dipped in honey.
The sweet treat symbolizes more than just the sweet new year Jews hope to be blessed with. The apple also represents Gan Eden, or the Garden of Eden, as we celebrate the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve.
Fish head (yes fish head!)
Since Rosh Hashanah means “head of the year” in Hebrew, many Sephardic Jews will feast on the head of a fish. In Jewish culture, fish represents fertility and abundance, and metaphorically the head represents being a leader and not a follower.
Pomegranates
The pomegranate, or rimon, is special for several reasons. The Torah consists of 613 mitzvot. It is also said that the pomegranate consists of 613 seeds, which is why we eat it on Rosh Hashanah. But there's another link between pomegranates and the Jewish New Year -- just as the fruits are full of seeds, we hope we'll be similarly full of merits in the coming year.
We love Yotam Ottolenghi’s “Jerusalem” cookbook for many reasons, and this delicious Roasted cauliflower, hazelnut and pomegranate seed salad is no exception.
Beets
The Hebrew word for beet is Selek, to remove, and is eaten to express that we hope our enemies are removed.
This beets and carmelized onion recipe can serve as your base: you can add sauteed mushrooms and anything else you like to dial it up or down. Feel free to take out the feta and pine nuts if you don’t like those. And you can, of course, use fresh beets, rather than canned. Many grocery stores now sell cooked beets in the produce section for lazy people, like me.
Dates
The date, tamar, shares sounds with the verb “finish” (tam) in Hebrew and comes with the wish that there come an end to our enemies, haters and those who wish evil upon us.
Figs
Though mentioned often in the Bible, figs are probably most famously associated with the story of Creation. When Adam and Eve have to leave the Garden of Eden, they cover themselves with fig leaves. Some have even argued that the forbidden fruit was actually a fig, not an apple.
I love figs! they're one of my favorite foods to eat on their own or with cheese, when in season. They're sweet and full of flavor and make a perfect sweet addition to your feast. They also look beautiful and can serve a dual purpose as a centerpiece.
Honey cake
In our family, no one skips dessert! This Honey Cake, also from Smitten Kitchen is a perfect combination of sweet and spicy, not your mother’s dry, barely edible honey cake.
Wishing you, and yours, Shanah Tovah u’Metukah. May we all be inscribed in the Book of Life, and may we be blessed with many simchas in the coming year.
My sister Meirav recently called me from a business trip and announced she was getting a tattoo. I, of course, gave her all the reasons this was not a good idea, to quickly realize it was not my decision to make. Meirav did listen THIS TIME, but it also had me wondering whether or not a tattoo can be kosher in today's Judaism.
My sisters and I were always told that tattoos were not allowed. Not only frowned upon by our Iraqi father, like short skirts and revealing tops, but by Judaism. We believed Jews with tattoos on their bodies would be denied burial in a Jewish cemetery. One modern reason cited by many is the holocaust and its close association with branding, which I fully understand and respect, but if that were true did it mean that those who have survived the holocaust could not be buried in a Jewish cemetery? That couldn't be true and needed some more research.
Not surprisingly, I found out that the views differ widely, as is true with so many other things in Judaism. Different rabbis hold different opinions, and the old adage about tattoos in a Jewish cemetery also appears to be not so true. So, what's a Jew to do?
Like many other practices and customs, the prohibition is rooted in the text. Leviticus 19:28 states, “You shall not make gashes in your flesh for the dead nor incise any marks on yourself: I am the Lord.” Clear as day, right? There is widespread discussion on whether this is simply a prohibition of tattoos that refer to G-d or all tattoos. In addition, back when the text was written, tattooing was done to mark slaves, often the name of a slave’s owner would be tattooed or branded on his hand or forehead. Some now argue that as tattooing has evolved, Leviticus is no longer valid.
And what about the Jewish symbols, Hebrew words, and other Jew-ish tattoos that one could argue help tie Jews together as a community? in recent years, the tattoo has emerged as a tool for younger Jews to connect to their past and express their personal identify, and many very talented tattoo artists have dedicated their work to do just that.
Some Jews have even begun to tattoo themselves with the Auschwitz numbers of relatives so that the world remembers the atrocities done to their loved ones. Because Holocaust survivors are now dying, the descendants who memorialize them do so because they want to make sure that the world never forgets the suffering their family endured.
Once again, as is often the case, we, as Jews, have the opportunity to adopt the halachic interpretation that most relates to our family and lifestyle. Most who know me well know I'm very much a traditionalist, but I'm also a realist: we live in a world where some of the rules for Judaism, especially non-Orthodox Judaism, have evolved, and will continue to evolve. If we want to be seen as a modern religion where all Jews feel welcome, we need to continue to ask questions, rethink, read between the lines, and try our best to include, not exclude, others.
Hannah, Zach, and Mia, if you're interpreting this as an invitation to go and get inked, read again. But I'm happy to discuss and debate it with you around the dinner table if and when you're ready to do so.
I was sitting in a Broadway show this week for my son’s 5th grade field trip and staring into space when he asked me if I was okay. It is that time of year—finals! Elementary graduation! Camp Packing! All good and wonderful things, but trying to balance them with work and life and all the emotions that come along, is taxing and my eyes were closing during School of Rock. Sorry, School of Rock. I blinked away the sleep and told him I was fine. Just tired. He took my hand in his and held it for the rest of the show. I teared up and held on tight. In a week, he and my daughter will be at sleep away camp for 7 weeks.
They will decorate their area with all of the vital bunk-bed accoutrements we’ve collected over the years, and a collage I almost forgot to make. They will yawn through morning prayers, sing and dance over breakfast, and walk around linked arm in arm with their favorite people in the world, painting their faces and cheering with great ruach as they stumble—their legs tied together as three, their hearts tied together as one. They will work on their Hebrew, folding words like agam and kikar into their vocabulary and they will wear white and look out at the lake on Shabbat and I will count the minutes until Sunday when I will—G-D willing—discover a picture of them in their Shabbat smiles and wet hair, fresh off a camp week steeped in sunshine and sweat and lake water.
They will make new friends but keep the old.
I will cry at the first traffic light I hit after their bus leaves. I will remember that I cried when my mom left me at the top of the hilltop at my own beloved camp, after making my bed just right and hugging me tight and shmushing my face in her hands, squinting back her own tears. I will remember that I got over it the minute a counselor took me to back to the bunk for more unpacking and a dance party.
I will make loads of doctor appointments and I will run and write and eat dinner outside by the water in my town, which I appreciate and breathe in more in the summer. I will take evening walks with my husband and we will go on long weekend hikes and maybe check out a city we’ve never visited, have a conversation we’ve been meaning to have.
Summer camp is a collage in its own right. Snapshots taped up in my memory of best friends and enemies and girl drama and crushes and color war and heat stroke and homesickness and carnivals and bobbing for apples. It was a camp out of time where we would gather under a giant oak tree after Saturday morning services, and sing a resounding When the Saints Go Marching In, played by cute counselors in tie-dye and guitars, and a folksy camp director wielding an acoustic guitar, too, and a hankering for the simple pleasures of summers past. There were wreck hall dances to the soundtrack of 80’s pop and a raucous Born to Run would leave us dripping with sweat and euphoria. We would part ways afterwards, maybe with a quick kiss at the end of a bridge—girls to the left and boys to the right. It would all culminate in a last night of camp bonfire set to Leaving on a Jetplane and the wails of teenage girls afraid of what would come next.
I loved it and I hated it. Some of your kids will love it and some will hate it, too.
The kids will come home and they will maybe even put their laundry in the hamper without being asked and clear their dishes and ask to do Birkat after our first Shabbat reunited. And then summer will fade away with the beginning of a new school year and we will be propelled forward through algebra and lunchroom shenanigans and bat mitzvahs and hopefully, fingers crossed for us all, more good things than bad. Somehow, my son will not be in elementary school anymore and my daughter will be finishing off middle school, and heading in the direction of high school and I will carpool a lot and we will angst a little over book reports and tennis tryouts and lunch packing and it will be hard to get in some writing or even a quick run.
But I will make time for holding their hands tight when I can. I will stifle my yawns when I can, grateful that they lived somewhere without me in a screen-free cocoon of Judaism and song, and that they came back to me—stronger and taller and bronze with memories, and let us say Amen.
Passover (Pesach in Hebrew) commemorates our liberation from slavery in ancient Egypt. Each spring, Jews around the world recount Passover's story at a festive meal called the seder, surrounded by family and friends.
Passover without a seder is like a football game without a quarterback. And the MVP at the Passover table is the seder plate. Nothing on the seder table is randomly selected; the plate is rich with symbolism, meaning, and history. From Zeroa and Maror to Charoset and Chazeret, Passover foods reconnect the seder participants with historical events that happened more than 3,000 years ago.
So what exactly is a seder plate?
In theory a seder plate could be any plate on which you place the symbolic foods of the meal, but many people use a plate made specifically for the Passover seder.
If you have kids, get them involved by decorating a paper plate with pictures of the events or things the seder foods symbolize. If you’re not creative, don’t worry. They’ll probably bring at least one a year from Hebrew School.
Does it matter where the foods are placed on the plate?
Most seder plates label which food goes where, so most people just put each item in the designated spot on the plate.
So..what goes on the seder plate?
There are six traditional foods that go on the seder plate:
1. Zeroa or shank bone:
One of the most striking symbols of Passover is the roasted lamb shankbone (called zeroah), which commemorates the paschal (lamb) sacrifice made the night the ancient Hebrews fled Egypt. Some people say it symbolizes the outstretched arm of God (the Hebrew word zeroah can mean “arm”).
While a roasted lamb bone is traditionally used to represent the zeroa, any piece of roasted meat may be used. Some families use chicken or turkey neck. Growing up we only used the bone, there was no meat on it, so this really does depend on your upbringing and your family's traditions.
2. Beitzah or egg:
Like the zeroa, the egg (beitzah, in Hebrew) stands in for a holiday sacrifice once offered at the Holy Temple. The egg is also a universal symbol of springtime, new beginnings and rebirth -- all themes that are echoed in the story of the Exodus.
The egg is not eaten during the ritual part of the seder; however, many families preempt their main course with an appetizer of hard boiled eggs, which they serve with salt water. This first course reminds those who eat it of the hardships that brought them here.
3. Maror or bitter herbs
Maror, or bitter herbs, symbolizes the bitterness of slavery. Different families use different foods to represent the maror, but it is most typically horseradish or romaine lettuce. Like the Jews' time in Egypt, romaine lettuce is sweet at first, but becomes more and more bitter as time goes on.
4. Karpas or vegetable
Karpas is a green leafy vegetable, usually parsley, used to symbolize the initial flourishing of the Jews in Egypt. According to the Book of Genesis, Joseph and his family moved from the biblical land of Ca'anan down to Egypt during a drought. Once in Egypt, Joseph quickly rose to power as the Egyptian pharaoh's second-in-command -- a revered position that extended special protection to the Israelite people for several generations.
However, when a new pharaoh came to power, he was threatened by the growing size of the Israelite community and enslaved them. This turn of events is commemorated during the seder by dipping the karpas into bitter salt water, which represents the tears shed by the Israelites.
Karpas also symbolizes springtime — which is appropriate since Passover is called Hag Ha'Aviv or the holiday of spring. Some families use boiled spring potatoes, continuing a tradition from Eastern Europe where it was difficult to get fresh green vegetables.
5. Charoset
There’s nothing further from maror than charoset (“kha-ROH-set”).
A paste-like mixture of fruits, nuts and sweet wine or honey, charoset (also spelled haroset) is symbolic of the mortar used by the Israelite slaves when they laid bricks for Pharaoh’s monuments. The word charoset is derived from the Hebrew word for clay, cheres.
Jews from Eastern European descent (Ashkenazi) make their charoset from apples, walnuts, sweet red wine and a generous dash of cinnamon. Families from Sephardic descent use dates, figs, almonds and honey to make charoset.
6. Chazeret
Similar to maror, chazeret is a bitter food (usually lettuce or a root vegetable). The sixth symbolic Passover food on the seder plate, chazeret is not used by all families. Chazeret is more commonly included on seder plates in Israel, where romaine lettuce typically stands for the chazeret and horseradish for the maror.
What else is on the seder table?
Salt water: Salt water symbolizes the tears and sweat of enslavement. Often a single bowl of salt water sits on the table into which each person dips their karpas during the seder. Then, it’s traditional to begin the actual seder meal with each person eating a hardboiled egg (not the roasted egg!) dipped in the bowl of salt water.
Matzah: Perhaps the most important symbol on the seder table is a plate that has a stack of three pieces of matzah (unleavened bread) on it. The matzot (that’s plural for matzah) are typically covered with a cloth. People have come up with numerous interpretations for the three matzot. Some say they represent the Kohen class (the Jewish priests in ancient times), the Levis (who supported the priests), and the Israelites (the rest of the Jews).
The top matzah is referred to as Kohen, for the Kohen takes precedence in all matters.
The middle matzah Levi is broken into two at the beginning of the seder. The smaller piece is left on the plate and is later eaten along with the Kohen matzah in fulfillment of the mitzvah of matzah; the larger piece is put away for use as the afikoman.
The bottom matzah, Yisrael is used for korech, so that every one of the matzot is used for the performance of a mitzvah.
Wine cups and wine (or grape juice): Everyone at the seder has a small cup or glass from which they drink four cups of wine. Traditionally, the four cups represent the four biblical promises of redemption: “I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you from their slavery, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm, and with great judgments. And I will take you to me for a people . . .” Others say the four cups represent the four letters in the unspeakable Name of God.
Looking for some ideas for presents for Passover? You can shop our Seder Plates, Presents for Passover, and Kids' gifts here.
Chag Pesach Sameach.
If you have young kids attending a secular school, then you know the rituals: make valentines for the whole class; attend a Heart Hop at school, or a party celebrating friendship with painted cookies and the like. Even I, whose children have always attended Jewish Day Schools, have always marked the day with chocolates and little tokens for my kids. But in the back of my mind I’ve often wondered, is Valentine’s Day in keeping with my Jew-ish roots?
Orthodox Judaism discourages us from celebrating Valentine’s Day, due to the Catholic or Pagan origins of the holiday. But, in truth, nothing regarding the modern traditions of Valentine’s Day is overtly religious.
Little is known regarding St. Valentine. It is widely believed that the traditions tying love themes to February 14th have little to do with the life of St. Valentine himself. Some believe that Valentine’s Day is a Christian reconstruction of the pagan fertility festival of Lupercalia. 20th-century literary scholar Jack B. Oruch attributes the themes of love and romance on Valentine’s Day to Geoffrey Chaucer in the late 14th-Century England. The oldest formal greeting can be traced to the 1500s.
So what’s a Jew-ish girl to do?? There are apparently Jewish laws to help me decide!
We first need to answer if the debated activity has a secular origin or value, and whether the ritual can be rationally explained outside of the event. In the case of Valentine’s Day, today’s rituals of gifting chocolates and corny Hallmark card are logical expression of love, friendship, and appreciation independent of the holiday. Also, the Church doesn’t recognize it as a Christian holiday, and there is plenty of evidence refuting its pagan origins. Next, we need to question if there are idolatrous origins that still exist and whether there are activities that contradict Jewish tradition. We answered the first part, as popular opinion is that Valentine’s Day does not have pagan roots. As for the final question, the desire to express love and offer tokens of love and affection are consistent with Jewish values. So much so, that there is a Valentine’s Day equivalent on the Jewish calendar! Tu B’Av (in 2018 on July 27th), which when said aloud is Tu-Av and very similar to Toe-Av, or the command love, is a day dedicated to matchmaking and fertility.
I’m convinced! I will shower my children and my husband with chocolates, silly cards, and tokens of affection that will make them roll their eyes. Because, after all, how can anyone be against a day that celebrates love?
Wishing you all, today and every day, love and gratitude.
Made you look! But seriously, what’s up with the flower garlands for Shavuot? How did a holiday commemorating Matan Torah, Jews receiving the commandments at Mount Sinai, come to look like a music festival in the California desert?
And why can't I ever remember that I need flowers around Shavuot, and always end up torturing my child, as above, with homemade workarounds using the likes of cupcake liners?
There are a few theories. One is a legend that teaches that the Israelites found the barren desert bloomed with flowers as the earth rejoiced at the giving of the Torah.
Another, more modern, explanation is that Shavuot is a harvest holiday commemorating bikkurim. Bukkurim translates to visits, and refers to the biblical custom of visiting the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and bringing offerings of First Fruits, specifically the Seven Species of the Land of Israel: wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and dates. Jews living in the diaspora were unable to celebrate the agricultural aspect of the holiday, and pivoted the focus to the land and its fruits when they reestablished settlements in Israel. Secular Kibbutzim and Moshavim celebrated with ceremonies comprised of parades of wagons bearing the fruits of the fields, including children dressed in spring attire and floral garlands.
Whatever the reason, bringing the outdoors in is now a major component of the celebration of Shavuot, with decorations of plants and flowers in our homes and on ourselves. But don't prep your famous brisket, because Shavuot is the only Jewish holiday celebrated with a dairy menu, symbolizing the land of milk and honey. Some believe that when the Israelites received the Torah, they were immediately obligated to follow its (kashrut) laws. Since there was no time to prepare kosher meat before their celebratory feast, the Israelites ate a dairy meal.
Wishing all a happy, hippy, and lactose tolerant, Shavuot!