JTA: The Global News Service of the Jewish People

That Aching Matzah Belly

By Edmon J. Rodman · April 22, 2011

0 Comments | Share This | Bon Appetit, matzah, matzo, Passover |

What, You Took Us Seriously?

By Sue Fishkoff · April 22, 2011

After the transaction took place and shortly before the holiday began, however, the gentile arrived with his vehicle and proceeded to take the goods, which were legally his. Objecting to his actions was not an option, since that would prove that the deal was not sincere, which would mean that the hametz would have belonged to the Jews.

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Whatsamatta with Quinoa?

By Sue Fishkoff · April 18, 2011

Q: What about quinoa?

A: As mentioned previously, Ashkenazic Jews refrain from consuming kitniyos because: 1) kitniyos can be confused with chametz and 2) kitniyos might be mixed with any of the five grains. Although quinoa is not a grain (it is actually a chenopod), it looks very similar to grain. Additionally, quinoa can be ground into flour and is often processed at factories that handle wheat or other grains. Therefore, if we assume any item that meets these two criteria should be considered kitniyos, quinoa should therefore be prohibited as well. That is why a number of rabbinical authorities believe that it is kitniyos.

However, there are a number of other great rabbinical authorities who believe that kitniyos is not an abstract, all-inclusive category. According to these opinions, the custom only applies to particular species that Ashkenazic Jews have traditionally decided to refrain from. Therefore, since there was never such a widespread custom to refrain from quinoa, it should be acceptable.

Since there varying opinions amongst many rabbinical authorities, it is best to ask your local rabbi which opinion you should follow. However, if you follow the opinion that quinoa is permitted, care should be taken before cooking to sift through it and ensure that there are no chametz grains mixed in.

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Pass Go, collect frogs

By Edmon J. Rodman · April 18, 2011

Searching for a way to get your game on at the Seder? There's a new Jewish board game called Matzakoman, where players free the slaves and gather resources to make matzah. It's created and published by a Long Beach game designer, Flaster Siskin, who has designed and published three other Jewish board games:

Help Moses free slaves and gather resources to make matzah for the long journey ahead while the ten plagues ravage the land making it all the more difficult and dangerous. Gather water before it turns into blood or swarms of frogs invade, save livestock before wild beasts devour them and even fight slave drivers to free fellow slaves. Great dangers are ahead but your people need you to save them and deliver them to freedom.

 

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Are Christian Seders kosher?

By Sue Fishkoff · April 18, 2011

A growing number of churches and other Christian institutions hold Passover Seders, usually as a way of reconnecting with Jesus’s Jewish roots.

On USA Today’s “Faith & Reason” blog, Cathy Lynn Grossman questions the  integrity of the practice:

At Brigham Young University, Mormons offer a series of elaborate 'traditional" Seders, starting last weekend. The Salt Lake Tribune says these events with a Mormon spin started in 1973 by Professor Victor Ludlow, a specialist in Jewish studies at BYU... He says Seders enrich "appreciation of the ancient Old Testament," and help Christians better understand Easter.

Not surprisingly, on the four occasions during the service when guests must drink "the fruit of the vine," the mostly Mormon group sips grape juice, not the traditional wine.

Cute. But is it kosher, so to speak? Or is it distorting Christian history and ripping off Jewish spirituality?

0 Comments | Share This | Cathy Lynn Grossman, Christian Seders, Passover |

Matzo or ciabatta?

By Sue Fishkoff · April 17, 2011

The hardest part of Passover? Giving up wheat for a week, hands down.

But as Rachel Neiman reports for Israel 21C, Israelis this year can buy a gluten-free ciabatta bread that’s kosher for Passover – if you follow Sephardic customs, which permit eating pulses.

And ciabatta’s quite the fashion in Israel.

Some years ago, Israelis took a liking to an Italian bread known as ciabatta. Since then, the local version of these small, elongated loaves has — like a lump of out of control sourdough — morphed into something so wildly different from the original that visiting Italians barely recognize that which most Israelis today call a “jepata” or, worse yet and more embarrassingly, “Geppetto.”

Most Jews observing Passover, however, will continue to munch on matzo, like this made by Matzot Aviv in Bnei Brak.

And for the more observant, shmura matzo like this version made by Manischewitz in Newark, N.J.

1 Comment | Share This | Israel 21C, manischewitz, Manischewitz, matzo, Matzot Aviv, Passover, Rachel Neiman |

A Fifth Question

By Sue Fishkoff · April 15, 2011

Alef, a webzine from Birthright Israel NEXT, asked a number of Jewish organizations to pose a fifth question for the Passover Seder.

Here’s what the Jewish Outreach Institute proposes:

On this night we celebrate proud Jewish traditions with friends and family, but who else in our lives might find meaning and value in our Passover Seder that we haven’t yet invited to join us?

And this, from Repair The World:

God could have just taken us out of Egypt without having to see the suffering of the Egyptians. Why was it important for us to actually be witness to the plagues inflicted upon the Egyptians?

Join the conversation here.

0 Comments | Share This | Birthright NEXT, birthright next, Jewish Outreach Institute, Passover, Repair the World |

Virtual seder, real kids

By Sue Fishkoff · April 13, 2011

Host a virtual Seder to help sick kids being treated at the Schneider Children’s Medical Center of Israel.

Log on, pay $36 to be a host, and invite your friends to pony up for each item needed to set the table -- matzah cover, plate of gefilte fish, each one costs $18.

It’s a fun, easy way to raise money for a good cause.

The table you host is virtual.
The children you help are real.

2 Comments | Share This | Passover, Schneider Children's Medical Center, Seder, seder |

Top ten Mah Nishtanah videos

By Adam Soclof · April 13, 2011

Thanks to YouTube, seder-planners around the globe have an inside look at one of Judaism's most high-pressure Passover rituals. Mah Nishtanah (a.k.a. the four questions) is the part in the Haggadah when the youngest child asks, in song, "Why is this night different from all other nights?"

In honor of all the hard-working kids out there, here are ten standout renditions of Mah Nishtanah (in no particular order). Shout out your favorites in the comments section below!

  1. Harmonica-Nishtanah

2. Potty training your child? Kill two birds with one stone!

3. In Yiddish! (Need a tutorial? Teach yourself here.)

4. In Chinese!

5. Instrumental by students of the dual-language (Hebrew/Arabic) school in Jerusalem:

6. Sung according to the tradition of the Jewish community of Kochin, India (via Jewish music site http://piyut.org.il):

7. "Slap"-stick rendition:

8. Fill-in-the-blank baby:

9. The fifth son: the active child remix

10. ¡Muy bien, Samuel!

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Tips for non-Jews at their first Seder

By Sue Fishkoff · April 12, 2011

 In some families, bringing a boyfriend or girlfriend home for Passover indicates a strong level of commitment. In other families, holiday tables are open to everyone, and the more the merrier; your partner may not intend to signal anything by bringing you home.

1 Comment | Share This | InterfaithFamily.com, interfaithfamily.com, Passover, Seder, seder |