Why is night different?
It was the first night of Passover and I was feeling miserable. By now, I recognize the ache. It’s the one I get when I am thousands of miles away from my family. Away from the days of being young…
Celebrating the Holidays
Grilling kebabs for Lag b’Omer
Grilled skewers make great Lag b’Omer fare. (photo from pixabay.com) Lag b’Omer, which this year starts on the eve of April 29, is not mentioned in the Torah. The holiday isn’t mentioned anywhere, actually, until the 13th century, and no particular…
Spreading joy on Purim
In the kitchen, left to right, are Stacey Kettleman, Leah Reghatti, Francie Steen, Deborah and David Freedman, Shelley Ail and Linda Rothberg. (photo from Beth Tikvah) This Purim, Beth Tikvah Congregation packaged more than 240 holiday bundles, delivering one to…
Childhood memories
Chicken soup with matzah balls is a staple of the Ashkenazi Passover seder; for meat-eaters, at least. (photo from onceuponachef.com) My father used to start the seder with a joke. One I remember was: Abe goes to see his boss…
Symbolisms of the afikoman
Ask any young child, and even some of the older ones, what is the best part of the seder, and the answer will probably be – looking for the afikoman. The afikoman is the name of the middle of the…
A Pesach like never before
Cabbage matzah never tasted so … good? (photo from pixabay.com) Have you ever eaten cabbage matzah? Probably not. But, in Chelm, the village of fools, they still talk about it…. Many winters ago, to battle an outburst of influenza, the…
Pyramids on the Mind
An image from the author’s 1941 Passover Haggadah by Saul Raskin. Although they are not specifically mentioned in either the Haggadah or in the Torah, Egyptian pyramids have come to be associated with the Pesach story. That many modern Haggadot…
When we unmask matzah
(photo from pngkey.com) Imagine that you are sitting at your kitchen table, sewing masks for your family so that you can go outside. There are no more masks left in stock in any store near you so you are left…
JI makes for regal crown
Aaron Dewitt put the Feb. 12 issue of the Jewish Independent to good use on Purim – after reading it from cover to cover, we trust. (photo by Rahel Halabe)
Happy Purim!
“Queen Esther Revealing Her True Identity” by Lilian Broca. “Queen Esther Revealing Her True Identity” is the last mosaic of artist Lilian Broca’s Queen Esther Mosaics Series in chronological order. A mature and confident Queen Esther in her most expensive…
