Oh Hanukkah, Oh Christmas, you poor misunderstood holidays! If I could, I would educate all of America about these two surprisingly recent blockbuster holidays. If their pasts were understood it would be easier to speak of them without rousing anxiety and resentment. Let’s just keep in mind that that’s the water in which we are…
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In my Mexican and Jewish extended family we are always happy to find cross over recipes. Churros are a BIG HIT! Last year we made Baked Pumpkin Churros with my friend, Laurie, aka baker par excellence. We did it in a Zoom class. Laurie altered your typical deep fried churros to baked. That meant that…
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Many years ago Christmas fell on a Saturday. My family was invited to the annual Christmas party of some friends and the party was on Friday night, AKA Christmas Eve. My husband and I typically took our kids to Erev Shabbat services. They were under ten and a short service worked well for them. But…
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My son pulled out a new box of Hanukkah candles, examined them and proclaimed, “These are not going to fit in the Hanukkiah.” So I had to laugh when I read Rabbi Larry Milder‘s email to his congregation, Beth Emek, the very next morning titled, The Candles Don’t Fit in the Menorah. Here’s what he…
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(Photo of Smashed fried plantains topped with Cuban-style pot roast make a perfect Hanukkah appetizer. by Faith Kramer) Hanukkah starts tonight. Christmas is two weeks away. Nothing about our holidays will be the same this year. No big dinners, no parties, not even a cozy coffee with a friend. No shopping, no baking and dropping…
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Rabbi Larry Milder of Beth Emek recently sent this explanation to his congregation. It’s a useful, brief history telling us why we light an additional candle each night of Hanukkah instead of the reverse. Increasing the Light in Dark Times Most Jews are accustomed to lighting Hanukkah candles by adding one candle to the…
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