By Rabbi Jeffrey Schesnol Tu B’Shevat is the New Year of the Trees, Rosh Hashanah Haaitzim in Hebrew, or Jewish Arbor Day. Tu B’Shevat occurs in late January or early February, the eleventh Hebrew month of Shevat, this year beginning Sunday, Jan. 16 at sunset. The minor holiday of Tu B’Shevat translated means the…
Shavuot begins the evening of May 16, 2021 Shavuot is a one-day holiday (two in the Diaspora) with many names, dozens of traditions and recipes galore. The hype surrounding the holiday – agricultural festivals at kibbutz and moshav communities, special lectures at synagogues and community centers, sales on everything white at shopping malls, cheaper…
Photo: A family sits down to the seder in the Sarajevo Haggadah. (COURTESY OF NATIONAL MUSEUM OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA.) It’s always there, printed or photocopied, and as much a part of the Passover Seder as wine, bitter herbs and matzah – but have you ever thought of the origins of the Haggadah? The…
Photo: Student Paul Horowitz pictured with a transport of matzah, grape juice and siddurim. 110 Jews at Javits Center celebrate Passover courtesy of a partnership between OU-JLIC, Met Council and NY Board of Rabbis. As Passover began Wednesday evening throughout a world suffering from a pandemic, a night truly like no other was celebrated at…
Orthodox Union (OU) Kosher, the world’s largest kosher certification agency, has confirmed that the supply chain for kosher for Passover food has not been disrupted due to the COVID-19 outbreak. OU Kosher is certifying more than 7,400 products for Passover 2020, which are available both in the United States as well as overseas. Despite the…
Purim is March 10 and the traditional treat for the holiday is baked hamantaschen, or “oznay Haman” (Haman’s ears). Follow along as ISRAEL21c’s Jessica Halfin shows you how to make Nutella-filled hamantaschen cookies from scratch, in an edition of their cooking series Tayim. Nutella Hamantaschen recipe Dough ingredients: 1 cup butter ½ cup sugar 1…
Passover has passed. Shavuot is still to come. Food, food and more food! As I sat at my friend’s seder table I was surprised at how different our customs were. We had a roasted shank bone on the seder plate, she used a raw bone wrapped in aluminum foil. We made charoset from walnuts, apples,…
Passover is one of the most compelling Jewish holidays. Jews have struggled to observe it during the most difficult of times and circumstances – whether in grinding poverty, on the battlefields of wars or at the peril of their lives in concentration camps.
In late winter, Tu B’Shevat events pop up like the first crocuses in Jewish communities everywhere, and Portland is no exception. On Feb. 12, about 30 people gathered at the Kenton Community Garden to celebrate the holiday, known as the “Birthday of the Trees.” Co-sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland and Moishe House,…
