AI2010_03_25_PASSOVER

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Anna Schneider, 10, Rockwern Academy

Jessica Gallop, 11, Rockwern Academy

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2010 PASSOVER COVER COLORING CONTEST HONORABLE MENTIONS

Emma Schneider, 9, Rockwern Academy

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THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 2010

PASSOVER

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This Passover, decorate your table with beautiful flowers from Oasis Florist.

What to put on your seder table

by Jeanette Friedman Guest Author NEW YORK (JTA) — Seder night is a challenge. There’s just so much to do and so many things to put on the table!

With so much “stuff” there, who is going to notice those gorgeous new napkin rings or your gleaming flatware and crystal glasses?

In addition to a formal setting — charger, dinner plate, appetizer plate, water glasses and wine glasses, four kinds of forks (salad, fish, meat and dessert), two knives (one for fish, one for meat), three spoons (appetizer, soup and tea), and dinner napkins — there are ceremonial foods and objects that need to be available to the seder leader.

Sometimes making enough room means adding leaves to the table, putting two tables together or putting a round table at the end of a rectangular one.

Keep things as simple as possible. Use rectangular tables and get the smallest folding chairs you can find. You can get sturdy folding tables at Home Depot or Lowe’s, or use hollow core doors on sawhorses.

Where to start? Make a list of the things you will need for the ceremony itself: Candle sticks on a tray to catch melted wax. Use disposable aluminum bobeches to catch drips.

After you light the candles, move them to the sideboard. It’s simply safer to keep burning candles away from a crowded table.

Some people use a three-tiered matzah holder that comes with a seder plate on top; some use embroidered matzah bags with dividers. In either case, they are placed directly in front of the leader. The matzahs go underneath the seder plate, which is marked to let you know where to put what.

Ceremonial foods placed near the leader so that s/he can assemble the seder plate. If you love your silver heirlooms, keep the horseradish, eggs and charoset in porcelain

Lots of bottles of wine, kiddush cups and matzah plates. Passover does feel special when everyone gets to make kiddush together and drink four cups of wine. If you don’t have silver cups, small wine glasses will do nicely. or glass bowls. Saltwater should go in a glass dish, too. You can put potatoes, greens and romaine lettuce in silver bowls, but you’ll work harder later trying to get out the water spots.

Lots of bottles of wine, kiddush cups and matzah plates. Passover does feel special when everyone gets to make kiddush together and drink four cups of wine. If you don’t have silver cups, small wine glasses will do nicely. Well-balanced, stable glassware is best.

Stemware tends to tip over when the table shakes. Be sure to put a saucer underneath each cup to catch spills. There’s lots of moving around and the saucers help, but don’t necessarily prevent accidents — so keep plenty of cheap paper napkins or paper towels nearby.

Haggadahs. Each person needs to read from one. You may want to pick up some at the supermarket, or perhaps you have special editions; family members may have their favorites. Put the Haggadahs on top of the appetizer plate, under the dinner napkin.

Elijah’s cup usually sits right in the middle of the table, where your flowers normally go. Put the flowers on the sideboard or in the living room, where they can be beautiful without getting in the way. Extra wine and the ice bucket can go on the sideboard, too.

Now that we know what goes on the table, it’s time to set it in a most attractive way.

When putting two tables together, make sure they are on the same

level. If that’s impossible, use two separate tablecloths, or everything will tilt and fall if the cloth is pulled. You can customize your tables by choosing yardage from your favorite fabric store. One family bought a brocaded stripe in red, gold and black, cut the cloth to the lengths needed, and it looked great against gold-trimmed ivory china and gold-plated flatware with ivory napkins.

Make a matching cloth for a small TV table to set up next to the leader without interfering with your seating. It can hold most of the ceremonial foods, extra matzah and some of the wine bottles (which also can be placed on the floor below the table, along with other beverages.)

Finally, the question de tutti questions: Should you put a plastic table cloth over the fabric cloth?

A good white linen damask table cloth will be ruined forever by red wine. Stain-resistant fabrics are available, but you need another set for the second night, and you do spend time cleaning them. There are different grades of plastic, and you can sponge and wipe heavier kinds. Or use a thinner sheet, lift off, toss and replace.

Be creative — one family built a pyramid!

They must’ve had more room than most.

(Jeanette Friedman is co-author with David Gold of “Why Should I Care? Lessons from the Holocaust.”)

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PASSOVER

THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 2010

Use of ‘shmurah matzah’ Happy Passover spreads beyond Orthodox

by Sandra Mandel Jewish Telegraphic Agency

from the Gettler Family Foundation

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NEW YORK (JTA) — When Harriet Schachter goes to her friends’ home for Passover seder in Milwaukee, she’s not certain how many of her four young adult children will be coming with her.

But one thing she knows for sure she’ll be taking along: a large, cardboard box filled with six flat circles of matzah, each the size of a small pizza. “We always take our ‘shmurah matzah,’” said Schachter, who describes herself as a Reform Jew and who does not currently belong to a synagogue.

The matzah is called “shmurah” because all its components are “guarded” by a Jew from the moment the sheaves of wheat are sown until weeks or months later, when the finished product rolls slowly out of the oven, 18 minutes or fewer since water first touched the flour. While all matzah, including the more familiar square variety, is required to be completed within that 18 minutes, extra care is given to ensure that no stringency is spared with the shmurah kind.

Mixing and rolling utensils are cleaned after each use with shmurah matzah to ensure that no moisture from a previous batch touches flour later. This way, no batch is mixed for longer than the prescribed time. Human eyes watch over the entire shmurah process carefully, while a machine monitors most other matzah varieties.

Shmurah matzah is prized by its devotees, the bulk of whom are Orthodox but whose numbers include a growing number of nonOrthodox Jews, for its ritual and esthetic purity. And because it is made by hand, by people doing it with the intention of fulfilling the commandment to eat matzah on Passover, some view it as a more exalted way to fulfill the mitzvah.

While it has always been used by the fervently Orthodox, in recent years it has become widely used by modern Orthodox Jews as well.

While some use it throughout the eight days of the festival, others use it only for the seders and rely on conventional matzah for the rest of the holiday. Some claim that it tastes better than the square kind sold in supermarkets, though many others say that it tastes more

like cardboard than the typically eaten matzah. Some shmurah afficionados even say they can distinguish between the taste of matzot made by different bakeries.

“It has to do with the fineness of the flour, the gluten content, and also the thinness of the matzah,” said Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald, the creator and director of the National Jewish Outreach Program, which sets up basic Hebrew courses and Shabbat experiences in synagogues of every denomination. Buchwald, who is Orthodox, takes his extended family to visit the matzah bakery run by Popov Chasidim in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, N.Y., a few weeks before Passover each year.

There, in the bakery crowded with 50 or 60 people, each person mixes, shapes and bakes his or her own matzah. Down the street is a bakery, run by the Satmar Chasidim, which is packed with as many as 200 people, Buchwald said.

And in another Brooklyn neighborhood populated primarily by the fervently Orthodox, Borough Park, even more bakeries run at their highest capacity to meet the growing demand. The Lubavitch community’s local shmurah matzah bakery in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn is small by comparison.

Yet the Lubavitch may have had more to do with the growing popularity of shmurah matzah than any other group. In the weeks before each Passover, 3,500 Lubavitch emissaries around the world distribute packages of shmurah matzah to people in their communities, generally not asking for money in return — even though the matzah sells for about $13 per pound.

Last year they handed out 3.5 million pounds of the ritual cracker, said Rabbi Zalman Shmotkin, a spokesman at Lubavitch headquarters in Brooklyn. It has been a priority for the emissaries since 1954, when the late Lubavitcher rebbe, Menachem Schneerson, instructed his followers to bring other Jews closer to their tradition by sharing the matzah with them.

Many of the emissaries also run model matzah bakeries in their community to which they invite Jewish children of all affiliations.

For Schachter, as for many of those who use shmurah matzah, the connection is more emotional than halachic — or according to Jewish law.

“Even though the Lubavitch shaliach had a sense my seder wasn’t exactly like theirs, they wanted me to have shmurah matzah, wanted me to celebrate the holiday in solidarity with other Jews. “I really felt a connection to ahavat Yisrael [love for fellow Jews] by this gesture,” she said. “It has also provided all sorts of interesting things to talk about, since many of the people at our seders had never seen shmurah matzah.

“They always ask what it is, why it is, and it opens lots of interesting discussions.” Shmurah matzah “is like fruitcake,” said Rabbi Debra Orenstein, who is affiliated with the Conservative movement and based in Los Angeles.

“There are lots of jokes about breaking teeth on it, but at the same time there’s a lot of affection for it.

This is one of the few times that my ultra-Orthodox cousins in Borough Park send us anything. It’s one of the few points of connection.”

At Reform Congregation Beth Elohim in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y., a member of the congregation was raised in a Satmar Chasidic family and her brother is one of that community’s shmurah matzah bakers.

When the Hebrew school committee was trying to come up with new fundraising ideas about six years ago, she asked her brother to send some over. That first year, the dozen pounds he sent over “was gone in two seconds,” said Randi Jaffe, the congregation’s religious school administrator.

Now the 530-family congregation sells about six dozen boxes each year. “Most Beth Elohim members don’t care that it’s shmurah” or ritually perfect, Jaffe said.

“It’s the fact that it’s round and bumpy and doesn’t look like the square, perfect ones.

“It’s a much more palpable connection to the ancient tradition” that makes it so appealing, she said. “You can really imagine it going on someone’s shoulder and baking in the desert sun” as the biblical Exodus story tells us the original matzah did while our ancestors fled their slavery in Egypt, heading for a new world.

THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 2010

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Remembering the Holocaust while celebrating the Exodus Jewish Telegraphic Agency NEW YORK, (JTA) — Must we choose between remembering the Exodus and remembering the Holocaust? In recent years, there has been a drumfire of criticism that American Jewish commemoration of the Holocaust constitutes the substitution of a death fixation for Judaism’s central message of life. The Passover seder gives the lie to this false choice.

There is no question that Passover is the core Jewish holiday. The Ten Commandments open with, “I am the Lord Your God who took you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” Deuteronomy tells us that the Exodus is the source of Israel’s status as God’s very own — chosen — people. Central ethical Jewish teachings such as treating the stranger with love and justice, helping the poor and taking care of the widow and orphan are validated and mandated by the event of the Exodus.

Passover itself retells and reenacts the great Biblical Exodus. The one ritual that every Jew had to participate in was the annual Paschal lamb-feast. Failure to join constituted cutting one’s self off from Jewry. Thus, the core teaching of Judaism became that there is a God who cares.

That is why the Israelites who were enslaved were led to freedom and a promised land where they could live in dignity and equality.

Still, when the rabbis set out to create a ritual of memory to reenact the Exodus, they insisted that the tale cannot focus only on life and deliverance. They determined that the seder must begin by telling the shameful stories and conclude with celebration.

In the Gemara, the great teacher Rav suggests that the telling should start with the admission that the Israelites themselves were originally idolaters. But his colleague, Samuel, makes clear that the account of liberation must begin by narrating the slavery — and the genocide — that preceded the Exodus.

In fact, the Haggadah tells of the forced labor and agony of the Jews and of the drowning of the male children before it gets to the remarkable deliverance and the wonders in the desert.

There are three primary reasons why the message of the Exodus

cannot be understood properly unless one first grasps the injustice which is the backdrop of the liberation.

First, there is a tendency on the part of people of good will to underestimate the force of evil in the world. Particularly when one tells the story of a great victory for the downtrodden, such as the Exodus, there is a danger that the continuing power of evil in the status quo will be minimized or overlooked. Then good people will not organize sufficient power to overcome oppression or they will criticize and belittle those who use necessary force to defeat evil. This has often been the State of Israel’s fate when it defended itself.

Second, given Judaism’s optimism that good will triumph, there is a danger that its affirmations will be heard as Pollyanna truths that veil the reality of evil and pain in the world. Many religions have fled this world by dismissing it as an illusion or by looking beyond to a “better,” “higher” spiritual realm rather than confront the extent of human suffering that needs to be corrected in the here and now.

Faith in God should not encourage naivete vis-a-vis evil. Torah is not some simplistic belief that denies the innocent suffering and injustice in this world or claims that people deserve what they get.

Only by telling the extent of slavery and suffering that preceded the Exodus — and that continued in other places after the liberation from Egypt — will people grasp the mixture of fragile hope, hard bitter realism and tenacity that is needed to realize the Torah’s promise of redemption. Knowing full well the power — past and future — of evil, Judaism stands up for hope and liberation. But it makes clear that only the passionate committed partnership of God and Israel, and God and humanity, can overcome evil and perfect the world.

Finally, the rabbis understood that people take life and good times for granted. Once freedom becomes the norm, there is a real danger that its beneficiaries will live it routinely and fail to savor its depth and wonders. Only as people remember the life of slavery under tyranny, will they be inspired to fight passionately against freedom’s enemies.

If people do not remember or compare the present liberty

embodied in democracy to alternative systems, they will not appreciate or maximize the benefits of freedom. The Passover seder teaches us that the dance of life takes place on the thin bridge of hope and vitality that we build over the abyss of death and despair that looms below.

“Love [and life] is more powerful than death,” says Song of Songs. But you will underappreciate life and underestimate death unless you come to life with eyes open and in full awareness of the power of death. Intuitively, American Jews have understood that Israel’s life pulses more fiercely when you come to Jerusalem by way of Buchenwald and Auschwitz.

The memory of the Holocaust liberates us from the illusions of shallow universalism or complacent liberalism. Many Jews include passages of Holocaust testimony in their seder and it deepens Jewish witness to life.

The taste of maror (bitter herb) frees us to experience the intensity of the deliverance meal. The harshness of the matzah of slavery plays off the ease of our current situation and enables us to drink deeply and to savor the wine of liberation.

In every generation, we must embrace the painful but dynamic dialectic of tragedy and triumph — bayamim hahem — in those days in Egypt and — bazman hazeh — in our time.

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THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 2010

Shmerl’s Seder

by Tuvia Bolton chabad.org

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It was well past midnight on the first night of Passover, and the great Chassidic master Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berdichev had just concluded enacting the Passover Seder in the presence of his disciples. They had recited the Haggadah, recounting the story of the Exodus and discussing the deeper meanings implicit in each of its passages; they drank the four cups of wine, dipped the karpas in the salt water and the bitter herbs in charoset, ate the matzah, the korech and the afikoman, sang the psalms of praise and gratitude — all in accordance with the letter of the Shulchan Aruch (Code of Jewish Law) and the esoteric principles found in the awesome mystical works of the saintly “Ari.” Rabbi Levi Yitzchak’s disciples had participated in many of their Rebbe’s seders in the past, but this one surpassed them all. The Rebbe and all those present felt transported into a different world, as though they had risen above their bodily limitations and into a world of pure G-dliness.

Suddenly the room filled with the sound of a deep rumbling like thunder, and from within the thunder an awesome voice announced: “Levi Yitzchak’s seder was pleasing to G-d, but there is a Jew in Berdichev called Shmerl the Tailor whose seder reached even higher!”

The Rebbe looked around him.

It was obvious that only he had heard the heavenly announcement.

“Has anyone heard of a tzaddik (righteous person) called Shmerl the Tailor?” he asked his Chassidim. No one had.

After several minutes of silence one of the elderly Chassidim offered: “There is one Shmerl here in Berdichev that I know of, and he used to be a tailor about thirty years ago, but he’s certainly no tzaddik.

In fact he’s pretty far from that.

They call him now ‘Shmerl the Shikker’ (drunkard) and he lives with his wife in an old large shipping crate near the railroad tracks.”

But Rabbi Levi Yitchak was thinking to himself, “Ahah! this must be one of the hidden tzaddikim. And he lives right here, in Berdichev, while I knew nothing about him!”

It was two o’clock in the morning when the Rebbe stood at the door of old Shmerl’s hovel.

An old Jewish woman answered his soft knock. “Good Yom Tov!” said Rabbi Levi Yitzchak quietly.

“Please excuse me for the late hour.

Is your husband Shmerl at home?”

“Good Yom Tov,” she answered.

“Just wait one minute please, Rebbe, wait right here.”

She disappeared into the house, and the unmistakable sound of a bucket being filled with water was heard from inside. Then a minute or

two of silence and suddenly...

SPLASH! She threw the bucket of water on her sleeping husband.

“Aaahh! Oyyy! Where am I? Ooiy vai!” he screamed, and then his wife was heard shouting, “Get up you drunk! The Rebbe has come to punish you! Wake up, you goodfor-nothing!”

Poor Shmerl staggered, sopping wet, to the door. When he saw that it really was the Rebbe standing there at his door in the middle of the night, he fell at Rabbi Levi Yitzchak’s feet and began weeping, “Please, Rebbe don’t punish me.

It’s not my fault... I didn’t know any better... Please, have mercy...”

The Rebbe of Berdichev was completely astounded at this bizarre scene. Could it be that this man’s seder was loftier than his own?

He bent down, lifted poor Shmerl to his feet and said, “Listen, Shmerl, I didn’t come to punish you. In fact I don’t even know what you are talking about. Please let me in, let’s sit down and talk. I only want to ask you something. Go put on a dry shirt and we’ll talk.”

Minutes later they sat facing each other over Shmerl’s small table. The Rebbe looked at him kindly and said: “Shmerl, listen. I want you to tell me how you conducted your seder last night. Don’t worry, I promise that I’m not going to punish you, I promise.”

“Oy!” moaned Shmerl and began weeping again. “My seder!

But Rebbe, I really didn’t know any better... Oooy!”

Gradually he calmed down and began speaking. “Early this morning, that is... yesterday morning, I’m walking in the street and suddenly I notice that people are rushing about.

This one has a broom over his shoulder, that one is carrying a box, the other one something else, everyone is scurrying about — except me.

“So I stopped someone I recognized and asked him, ‘What is everyone rushing for? Where are they all going?’

“So he answers me, ‘Oy Shmerl, are you so drunk that you forgot that tonight is Pesach? Tonight is Pesach!

Do you remember what Pesach is?’

“I tried thinking but my mind wouldn’t work. Pesach, Pesach, I... I can’t remember. It sounds very important though; I remember something about Matzos... and Egypt.

‘Please,’ I begged the man, ‘do me a favor and tell me what it is again.’

“The man looked at me in a strange way, and answered ‘Listen, Shmerl, tonight you have to make a seder. You know, recite the Haggadah, eat three matzos, bitter herbs, four cups of wine. You’ll enjoy the wine Shmerl,’ he said with a sad smile, ‘though I guess you won’t enjoy abstaining from your foul vodka for eight days...’ “‘Eight days!’ I cried. ‘Why? Why can’t I drink for eight days?’ I

was trembling and beginning to remember a little. “‘Because that’s the law!’ he answered. ‘For eight days, if you’re a Jew, no chametz (leaven) passes your lips. Vodka is chametz.

If you can’t hold out for eight days, maybe go to Israel,’ he laughed, ‘there chametz is only forbidden seven days...’

“I was stunned. No vodka for eight days! I rushed home, took all the money I had, bought a big bottle of vodka, poured myself eight large cups one after the other, and drank them down... hoping that that would help me make it through the holiday.

“The next thing I remember is that I’m sleeping soundly in my bed when suddenly my wife throws a bucket of water on me — you saw how she does it — and starts screaming, ‘Shmerl, you bum! You drunk! You good-for-nothing! All Jews all over the world are making the seder tonight, and you are lying there like a drunken ox. Wake up and make a seder!’

“So I staggered to my feet, put on some dry clothes and sat down at the beautifully set table.

“The candles were shining brightly and making the plates and silverware sparkle so nicely. Everything was new, clean. I felt so different, almost holy. The wine and the matzos were on the table, the Haggadah was open in front of me. My wife had even set up the seder plate with all its things like she remembered from her father. She herself was sitting in her place opposite me like a queen, and was even smiling.

Everything was so beautiful.

“But then — I looked around me and didn’t know what to do. The vodka was still swirling in my head, but, to be honest, Rebbe, even sober I don’t know how to make a seder.

“So I took a large bowl, and put everything in there. The three matzos, the bitter herbs, the dish of charoset, all those little items my wife had set up on the seder plate, I poured in the four cups of wine, and swirled it all together.

“Then I lifted up my seder bowl and started talking to G-d. Just like I’m talking to you now. I started talking to G-d and I said, ‘G-d, listen... I don’t know You, but You know me.

You know that after my father got killed I had to work all the time and I never had a chance to learn, right? So I don’t know how to read this book, in fact I can’t read anything! And I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with all this stuff either. But one thing I do know... I know that a long time ago You sent Moses to take us out of Egypt, and I’m sure that you will send Moshiach to take us out of all our troubles now!’

“And then I gulped down the whole thing.”

(Reprinted with permission from chabad.org)

PASSOVER

THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 2010

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Ask the Expert: New Seder Question: I am a Reform Jew invited to attend an Orthodox seder.

What differences in beliefs and practices am I likely to encounter?

—Eve, Wellesley Answer: It sounds like you might have a really fun and different Passover coming up, Eve! I can give you some ideas about how different things will be, but the truth is no seder is exactly like another, and there is diversity within Orthodoxy, so it’s hard to anticipate what kind of experience you’ll be walking into. One way to prepare is to ask your host what Haggadah they’ll be using and try to look it over beforehand. This can give you a nice way of feeling out what kinds of things you’ll be talking about and what texts will be at the center of the discussion.

I asked Rabbi Asher Lopatin of the Anshe Sholom B’nai Israel Congregation in Chicago what advice he would give to someone coming to an Orthodox seder for the first time.

“Main thing: Don’t come too hungry!” he responded. “Don’t expect to eat for at least an hour — possibly two!”

This is a great point. One thing that is typical of Orthodox seders is their length. It’s not uncommon for

seders to last well past midnight, and while this isn’t a guarantee, it’s worth it to be prepared for a long night. But, Rabbi Lopatin says, “don’t be disappointed if they just race through the Haggadah and don’t have much discussion.

Orthodox seders vary widely.”

As with anything, some families and groups get much more gung-ho about the ritual conversation than others.

Rabbi Lopatin had more advice.

“Don’t be nervous: They will have a Haggadah for you, and almost certainly it will have English as well, and if everyone takes a turn reading, they won’t mind if you take your turn in English,” the rabbi said.

“Just come ready for fun and remember that families are families — Reform or Orthodox — with all their joys and warts.”

Now that Rabbi Lopatin has eased some of your anxiety, let me give you a couple of more tips on the practical differences you’re likely to encounter.

You may be surprised at how late the seder is called for. Because Jewish days and holidays begin at sundown, a traditional seder cannot officially begin until sundown, which in some parts of the world makes for a pretty late start time.

This is another incentive to eat a little something before you arrive, because if the seder doesn’t begin until 8, you might not get your matzah ball soup until 10 or later.

During the seder, when it’s time to drink wine, or eat matzah or maror, you’re probably accustomed to taking a little sip, eating a cracker-sized piece of matzah and helping yourself to a dab of horseradish, right?

Well, traditional Jewish law has some guidelines about how much wine one should drink, and how much matzah and maror one needs to eat — and the amounts might strike you as surprisingly hefty.

Jewish law also requires that the matzah and maror be eaten within a certain timeframe, so it’s possible that at some point in the seder a hush will come over the crowd as everyone tries to eat lots of matzah and maror relatively quickly.

Don’t worry, it’s not you — it’s the matzah. Most families aren’t very strict about these guidelines, but it’s possible they will come up, so it’s good to be warned.

But really, go expecting to eat and learn and have a good time.

That’s what a good seder is all about, no matter its participants or their background.

What’s with the fours?

by Rabbi Avi Shafran Contributing Columnist Despite the late hour and exhaustion (not to mention wine), many a Jewish mind has wondered long and hard during a Passover Seder about all the Haggadah’s “fours.” Four questions, four sons, four expressions of redemption, four cups. There’s clearly a numerical theme here.

While some may superficially dismiss the Haggadah as a mere compendium of random verses and songs, it is in truth a subtle and wondrous educational tool, with profound Jewish ideas layered through its seemingly simple text. The rabbis who formulated its core, already extant in pre-Talmudic times, wanted it to serve as a tool for planting important concepts in the hearts and minds of its readers – especially its younger ones, toward whom the Seder, our tradition teaches, is aimed. And so the authors of the Haggadah employed an array of pedagogical methods, including songs, riddles and puzzles, as means of conveying deeper understanding.

And they left us clues, too.

When it comes to the ubiquitous “fours,” we might begin by pondering the essential fact that Passover is when the Jewish people’s identity is solemnly perpetuated; the Seder, the ritual instrument through which each Jewish generation inculcates our collective history

and essence to the next. Which is likely a large part of the reason so many Jewish parents who are alienated from virtually every other Jewish observance still feel compelled to have at least some sort of Seder, to read a Haggadah, or even – if they have strayed too far from their heritage to comfortably confront the original – to compose their own. (I once joked before an audience that a “Vegetarian Haggadah” would likely appear any year now, and someone in attendance later showed me precisely such a book – though it lacked the “Paschal Turnip” I had imagined.)

And so the role we adults play on Pesach night, vis a vis the younger Jews with whom we share the experience, is a very specific one. We are teachers, to be sure, but it is not information per se that we are communicating, but something more: identity.

At the Seder we are seeking to instill in our children the realization that they are not mere individuals but rather part of a people, members of a nation unconstrained by geographical boundaries but linked by history and destiny all the same. We seek to impress them with the fact that they are links in a shimmering, ethereal chain stretching back to the Jewish nation’s birth, to when it was divinely redeemed from mundane slavery in Egypt and entered a sublime servitude of a very different sort – to God – at Sinai.

So, on Passover, as we celebrate the birth of the Jewish nation and plant the seed of Jewish identity in the minds of smaller Jews, we are in a sense ourselves “birthing” –giving life to the Jewish future. And, while it may be the father who traditionally leads the Seder, he is acting not as teacher but rather in something more akin to a maternal role, as a spiritual nurturer of the children present.

Jewish identity, indeed, is dependent on mothers. According to halacha, or Jewish religious tradition, while a Jew’s tribal genealogy follows the paternal line, whether a child is a member of the Jewish people or not depends entirely on the status of his or her mother.

It’s only speculation, but might the recurrent numerical theme in our exquisite Haggadah, employed each year to instill Jewish identity, be reminding us of that? After all, the book has its own numberdecoder built right in, toward its end, where most good books’ keys and indexes are found. It’s a little hazy once it’s reached, after four cups of wine, but it’s unmistakably there: “Echad Mi Yodea” or “Who Knows One?” – the song that provides Jewish associations with numbers.

“Who knows four?”

If you don’t, you can look it up.

(Rabbi Avi Shafran serves as director of public affairs for Agudath Israel of America.)

HAPPY PASSOVER from

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PASSOVER

THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 2010

Seder invite for that special someone: When’s the right time?

by Suzanne Kurtz Jewish Telegraphic Agency

HAPPY PASSOVER MR. AND MRS. SAM BOYMEL, CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN STEVE AND CAROL BOYMEL, JONAS AND EVAN ALEX, ASHLEE, BECKHAM AND SKYE BARRY AND PATSY KOHN LAURYN AND PAUL SCHUMAN CHASE AND MICHELLE JONATHAN AND DEBRA, JORDYN AND JAKOB HAROLD AND FAYE SOSNA, ROBBIE, JEFFREY, JENNIFER, JORDAN, ZACHARY AND BRANDON

HAPPY PASSOVER From the Youkilis & Schwartz Families Midwest Diamond Distributors Inc. Gold & Diamonds Inc. Blue Ash and West Chester OH 513-769-7222 • 800-900-6139

WASHINGTON (JTA) — A few years ago I accepted an invitation to share a Passover seder at the home of my then-boyfriend’s parents.

Since we were becoming more serious as a couple, I was excited to experience this penultimate sign of family acceptance. I bought a cute new dress to wear and some gourmet kosher-forPassover chocolates for his mom.

I prepped by asking for short bios on second cousins I’d be meeting for the first time and, in case I was asked, I practiced the Four Questions.

Shortly after the seder began, it became apparent that this night indeed was going to be much different from all other nights.

I learned quickly that in this family, the actions of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh could spark a hot debate on current U.S. Middle East policy. I witnessed a Haggadah reading enhanced by the insertion of several scratchy musical recordings — a lovely albeit seder-lengthening touch.

And not surprising, I discovered, no one makes kugel better than my mother.

In truth, it was a perfectly wonderful evening and few experiences provided as intimate a window into the theater of my boyfriend’s family. Their Passover hospitality, and peccadilloes, would set the bar for my relationships to come.

Hospitality is more than encouraged on Passover; it is required. We are commanded to leave the door open for Elijah the prophet as well as to invite all who are hungry to come and eat.

But when you are dating, the hungry can often interpret a comeand-eat invitation as more symbolic than the shank bone on a seder plate. And your family can become either a boon or a liability.

“For me it’s an investment,” says Tara Chantal Silver, 32, a publicist in Washington. “Passover is a very big deal in my family. I don’t bring every guy home, just the ones who are special.”

So how do you know if it’s the right time to extend an invitation to that someone special?

“The first question to ask yourself is, do I want this person sit-

ting beside me?” says relationship expert Andrea Syrtash. “But it doesn’t have to be a specific answer, like I want them to be the mother of my children. It’s a gracious thing to invite someone for the holiday. No one normal or healthy would freak out being asked.”

Dating coach Evan Marc Katz says to consider “the strength of the relationship over an arbitrary timeline.”

If you think the relationship has the potential to become long-term or serious eventually, Katz says, at some point you’re going to have to meet the family — and Passover is as good a time as any.

Adina Matusow, 28, and her fiance, Ben, took it slow spending the holiday together.

“As far as Passover, we weren’t so interested in sharing,” says Matusow, who lives with her fiance in Stamford, Conn.

By the time she went to his aunt’s house for Passover, they had been dating for nearly two years.

Matusow says the experience was different from what she was used to with her family. His family was smaller and less noisy, and the seder plate looked amiss.

“I thought, where is the celery?

They were using parsley [as a leafy green vegetable] instead,” she recalls. “I didn’t say anything; I didn’t want to be rude. It’s not a big deal and it was a really nice experience.”

Sometimes, though, a divide in ritual observance can be more significant than celery over parsley.

In 24 years of marriage Robbie Wagner, 48, says most arguments with her husband stem from the differences in their holiday traditions.

Wagner, who lives in Dallas, grew up with an Orthodox Passover seder conducted in Hebrew, a “command performance with 50 to 60 people there, everyone in their best clothes, both nights.”

In contrast, she says, her husband’s family held a small, intimate dinner with no extended family and no reading of the Haggadah. She recalls being particularly disappointed that the afikomen wasn’t hidden for the grandchildren to find.

Over the years, Wagner says she and her husband learned to negotiate and compromise to cre-

ate meaningful Passover traditions for their children.

Syrtash, author of “How to Survive Your In-Laws” and the upcoming “He’s Just Not Your Type (And That’s a Good Thing),” says couples should try to “have an open mind and remember there’s no such thing as normal.

What’s weird to you is normal for him. Try not to have judgment.”

When he was unable to get back to his native Montreal for Passover, architect Ian Roth, 35, accepted an invitation to spend Passover with his girlfriend Katy and her family in Denver.

The seder was less traditional and more interpretative than his family’s and the meal was less extravagant than his mother’s, says Roth, but “it was nice just being welcomed. It helped me have a warm feeling towards her and her family.”

Syrtash suggests couples discuss in advance what Passover looks like in their family’s home.

Give a head’s up if expecting a nosy aunt and, if the relationship is serious, discuss what customs you hope to retain or discard in the future, she says.

For couples with a non-Jewish partner, this is especially important. Syrtash recommends preparing the non-Jewish partner on what to expect at a seder.

“Approach it with enthusiasm, and go over a few things like the rituals and story of Passover before he or she gets to the table for the first time,” she says. “It’s a fun, festive holiday and it should feel light.”

In preparation for hosting their own seder someday, Katz and his wife, a Catholic, took an introduction to Passover class as well as a Passover cooking class at a synagogue near their Los Angeles home.

“Different people make it easier to share your customs,” he says, “and those are the people you should be with anyway.”

When you are dating, navigating Passover can become a representation of the relationship, says Syrtash, and it can “signify a lot.”

But she also says to keep in mind that “Passover is not a wedding.

You don’t need a plus one.”

Because if the relationship doesn’t work out, it’s important to remember there’s always next year in Jerusalem. And mom’s kugel.

THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 2010

PASSOVER

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Passover story illuminated as Delaware governor affixes mezuzah

Michelle Effron Miller

Delaware Gov. Jack Markell places a mezuzah on the doorframe at his official residence, Feb. 23, 2010.

by Michelle Efron Miller Guest Author DOVER, Del. (Jewish Voice) — Woodburn, the governor’s mansion in Dover, is a place rich with history. Built in 1798 by Charles Hillyard III, the home has been owned by gentlemen farmers, two doctors, a dentist, a judge, an abolitionist, two U.S. senators and eight Delaware governors.

It is believed that as part of the Underground Railroad, the mansion’s secretive closets hid slaves seeking freedom.

Seeking his own religious freedom, Delaware’s first Jewish governor left his indelible mark on Woodburn by affixing a mezuzah to the parlor doorframe.

“I do this for the kids at the Albert Einstein Academy, for Jewish kids around the state, and for all children,” Gov. Jack Markell told a standing room only crowd on Feb. 23. “To see a mezuzah hang-

ing at the governor’s mansion in Dover is a pretty amazing thing.”

Among those joining Markell in the ceremony were Rabbi Peter Grumbacher, rabbi emeritus of Congregation Beth Emeth in Wilmington; Rabbi Steven Saks of Adas Kodesch Shel Emeth in Wilmington and head of the Rabbinical Association of Delaware; and Glenn Engelmann, president of the Jewish Federation of Delaware.

During the ceremony, Engelmann talked of the symbolic importance of the day not only for Delaware’s Jews, but for Jews around the world.

“My relatives left Europe just ahead of the Nazis. We have children of Holocaust survivors here today,” Engelmann said. “To think about where we came from, to affix a mezuzah to the executive mansion of one of the 50 states of the wealthiest country in the world speaks well of the country. This is a

joyous occasion.”

Saks said that historically when Jews rose to a position of power, they typically hid their Jewish identity or downplayed it altogether.

“Only in America would you have a governor put a mezuzah on the door and publicly do so,” he said.

Commenting on the meaning of the mezuzah, a small case containing a scroll of parchment with two chapters from the Torah, Saks said that some people mistakenly believe it is a good luck amulet. The mezuzah, he explained, comes from the story of Exodus.

“When God struck down the Egyptians, he told the Israelites to place the blood of a paschal lamb on the doorpost,” Saks said. “So when God ‘passed over’ he would know this is an Israelite’s home and this is an Egyptian home.

“But does God really need a marking on the door to tell Him who was Egyptian and who was an Israelite? No. It was a symbol for the Jewish people. They were being reminded that they were being freed to do the will of God. So to you, Governor Markell, I say ‘yasher koach’ for following in the footsteps of your ancestors and publicly proclaiming that you’re Jewish.

And that mezuzah will remind you that you have been elevated to that position to continue God’s work, making Delaware a better place.”

Grumbacher, of the governor’s synagogue and a longtime family friend, helped Markell affix the mezuzah in place. The son of a Holocaust survivor, Grumbacher said that “This speaks volumes of a country that would elect a Jew as governor and an African American as president.”

The mezuzah, which literally means “doorpost,” is traditionally hung on the doorposts of Jewish homes as a reminder of the commandments. The governor’s mezuzah was given to Markell as an inauguration gift.

Markell is not the first governor to hang a mezuzah. In 2007, according to the Associated Press, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist put a mezuzah on his office door at the state capitol in Tallahassee.

The Delaware mezuzah could be the first affixed to a U.S. governor’s mansion.

(Michelle Effron Miller is the editor of the Jewish Voice of the Jewish Federation of Delaware.)

Wishing Everyone a Happy Passover

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PASSOVER

THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 2010

At Passover, finding a kosher path out of Egypt Reisenfeld & Associates, LPA, LLC ATTORNEYS AT L AW Wishing All Our Family and Friends a Happy Passover Sylvan & Beryl Reisenfeld Bradley & Constance Reisenfeld and Children

Happy Passover Hattenbach & Co. CPA 8595 Beechmont Ave. #205 Cincinnati, Ohio 45255 (513) 474-5650

by Edmon J. Rodman Jewish Telegraphic Agency LOS ANGELES (JTA) — With lots of matzah, boxes of the right flat stuff required for the making of everything, are you kosher for Passover? What about the day after; then what happens?

Last Passover I began a personal exodus that saw a departure from the diet I’d been using since my earliest days. What better time to begin? Passover is a celebration of the “going out” from Egypt, of the search for a Jewish identity that can be found on the way.

At Passover, each of us is commanded to eat and drink, but to “esn un trenken,” in prescribed order from a very particular menu. Only last year, the prescription seems to have had a side effect.

Call it KP syndrome: eye and brain strain from searching labels for KP (kosher for Passover). For whatever seasonal reason, as I sit down to the seder this year, it will mark a one-year journey that has caused me to part ways with things that I loved and fondly remember.

As the sun sets on the first seder, I will mark one year of not eating treif, non-kosher food, and of extending the choice of kashrut that my wife and I have kept in our homes since 1980 finally to the last treif frontier — restaurants.

The Haggadah, the ultimate in interactive books, asks us to take the exodus personally; to project with imagery, tastes, questions and song the feeling that we were there.

It’s a book that wants you to have some take-away.

Did I come away last year with the line: “The more one tells the story of the departure from treif, the

Edmon Rodman

For Passover, a shift in diet as the haggadah’s focus on the departure from Egypt can lead you down a path of change.

more one is to be praised?”

No. But the seder did inspire me to turn the page.

Last year, after going through the process of preparing the house for Passover — bringing the dishes from the basement, even koshering a few pots by boiling water and placing a stone in them — I finally confronted something a friend said to me several years ago: “Edmon, your dishes are more kosher than you are.”

That truth hurt. Yet dishes were way easier to change than my lifestyle. Not that I didn’t try.

Though growing up in a Conservative Jewish home, my family did not keep kosher. Not until my second year of college, when I lived with a couple of more observant guys, did I give keeping kosher a try. But outside our apartment, I ate what I wanted.

When I married, my wife wanted to keep a kosher home, so I signed on. I still ate treif in restaurants, though that began to change over time.

First, no bacon or pork. Then shellfish, too, when at a New Orleans restaurant, one of our 8year-olds declared, after I announced that I was ordering a shrimp dish, “But daddy, that’s not kosher.”

Still, it was not simply a kosher coincidence that I began my exodus from treif at Passover, the holiday that more than any other puts Jews at odds with American gastronomic culture. The unleavened thing, I think, after eight days of struggle, flattens the field of choices, opening up a new perspective from which to view our eating habits.

It starts with no bread. What does it mean? At the restaurant, coffee shop or party, you turn it down.

And then you also forego other foodstuffs containing leaven. Even those who don’t usually pay much

attention to this can become obsessed for a week with the holiday search for substitution.

It’s as if you’re being prepared for something besides a week of queasy unease.

That’s why after eight days, two seders and a book full of blessings, I was on the exodus road, leaving behind the world of unkosher steaks and BBQ and brochettes.

Once on the road, I found these objects in the mirror do appear closer than they appear. Even in the Bible, the children of Israel recall longingly the leeks and onions and yes, the meat of Egypt.

It has not been an easy journey.

Though we eat in kosher restaurants as often as possible, we eat in non-kosher ones as well. Every menu there is a kind of treif Haggadah, with its own order of temptation: Appetizers: “Does that have meat?”

The soup: “What kind of broth is it in?”

The entrees: “Can you leave the meat out of the ___ (fill in the blank)?”

Not that I didn’t get lost on my journey. There was the night in a dimly lit Italian restaurant when my eggplant parmigiana was mixed with another diner’s veal parmiagiana. I discovered the error at first bite.

My journey this year is not for everyone. For years it wasn’t even for me. (Barbecue sandwiches in particular remain a plague of temptation.)

As I prepare for another Passover, even before hearing the exhortations of the Haggadah, I hope to imagine myself trekking in the desert with B’nai Yisrael — a “ben horin,” a free person who freely made a choice to go kosher.

I’m on the road out of Egypt and I’m not going back.

PASSOVER

THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 2010

A Pesach visitation

by Ted Roberts Guest Author Did your rabbi ever tell you the tale of the 36 Tzadiks who circulate in our world? Outside, they look like me and you. Inside, they glow with righteousness. To put it plainly, they are the spies of G-d; their mission is surveillance of the human heartscape. Filed directly with the Creator, their annual report determines the world’s fate the following year. If all is ethically well, the fruit trees bow low with their harvest, the S&P 500 index zooms, the Winter is mild and the Summers are balmy.

But the Berg family at 2822 Mendel Circle in Fairlawn, N.J. had no time for rabbinic tales.

They were busy planning their Passover. They would have a guest this year, they decided —some homeless stranger. A real mitzvah it would be.

The next morning found Sarah Berg dialing around to several Jewish agencies until she found her man. Sure, they had a candidate. A young, rootless fellow passing through town.

What a glorious Passover it would be, thought Sarah. A sumptuous meal, the Seder ceremony, and the added mitzvah of the indigent guest. Just as the Hagaddah says; “let all who are hungry come and eat.” But so much preparation and post-meal cleanup. She cringed at the thought of dirty dishes piled in the sink, crusted with the remains of five courses. She’d get a maid. A small luxury.

Now, it’s Seder night. The doorbell rings. It’s him, the guest. He’s in torn jeans, plaid shirt, and a Bull’s sports cap. He smells of bourbon. A derelict, with an attitude. And a vacant look in his watery eyes.

But the Bergs welcome him into their home with smiles.

Uncomfortably, they make small talk as the stranger sits stiffly at the table. They proceed with the Seder, but he seems to have no understanding of the service and his face reflects distaste at the ceremonial blessings. He’s the rejected suitor at the wedding feast. Nor is he interested in Daniel Berg’s Passover anecdotes directed at both him and the children. “When do we eat?” he says as they pass the matzoh and moror sandwiches around the table.

The guest eats steadily as the family participates enthusiastically in the service. They talk of ancient miracles as he enthusiastically

devours the brisket and roast chicken. The children swing their heads from the derelict to their parents in silent wonder at the sullen guest.

In the middle of this tension there is a horrible crash of china from the kitchen. The floor is littered with the shards of Sarah Berg’s wedding china; a gift from her mother, who had died the month before.

The maid had slipped and upset the card table holding the dirty dishes. She stared down at her clumsy handiwork. A silent tear ran down the old lady’s cheek as Sarah looked at her mother’s heirloom, now splintered china, all over the kitchen floor. A great sadness seized her heart. The failed holiday, the memory of her mother, this incompetent human being who couldn’t even clear the table without disaster. But she swallowed the lump in her throat when she saw the remorseful tears in the eyes of the old lady.

“That’s OK, that’s OK.” She patted the shoulder of her Passover helper as the maid swept the remains of Sarah’s mother’s Lenox china into a brown paper grocery sack.

Sarah returned to the table determined to crown the evening with ceremony appropriate to the holiday. Fitfully, they resumed the singing. And soon, mercifully, the evening came to an end. The maid, still red-eyed, was paid handsomely, in deference to the holiday, and sent home early with a plastic bag full of roast chicken. The kids — sleepy, irritable, appalled by the rude guest — were ordered upstairs to bed. The family went upstairs to an uneasy sleep where Sarah’s dreams were strangely lighted by the tearful eyes of the clumsy maid.

A miserable night.

Ah, but what a golden year followed for the Berg family: and the world they inhabited. With a soft flute-like sound in the trees, a warm wind blew over the face of the earth and unlocked the cold heart of humanity. The earth smiled. The fruit trees bowed low with their harvest, the S&P 500 index zoomed, and the Winter was mild and the Summer was balmy.

And all for the price of a pat on the shoulder, a plastic bag full of leftover chicken, and a set of dishes. Who would suspect that a Tzadik’s duties included sweeping the kitchen floor.

(Ted Roberts — The Scribbler on the Roof — is a freelance writer.)

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WISHING ALL OUR FAMILY & FRIENDS A HAPPY PASSOVER Barry and Patsy Kohn Chase and Michelle Kohn Lauryn Kohn and Paul Schuman Jonathan and Debra Kohn, Jordyn and Jakob

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PASSOVER

Forget cleaning for Passover and instead head to a luxury hotel for the holiday

by Jennifer Garfinkel Guest Author

THE COOPER FAMILY Wishes the Jewish Community a Happy Passover!

• Kenwood Town Center

• Florence Mall

• Tri-County Mall

• Northgate Mall

• Tower Place Mall

• Eastgate Mall

THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 2010

NEW YORK (Tablet) — “Next year in Jerusalem” is, of course, the traditional conclusion of the Passover seder. But “Next year in Aruba” may be gaining ground.

Passovers spent away from home are a long-standing tradition. Instead of hauling boxes of dishes out of storage, performing bedikat chametz and spending days or weeks preparing kosherfor-Passover meals, observant East Coast Jews who could afford it once spent Passover at resorts in the Catskills and the Poconos.

Guests would spend up to 10 days there, enjoy two seders, eat three hearty kosher-for-Passover meals a day and work in a few wet rounds of golf, or some pinochle, or both. Not incidentally, cooking and cleaning were covered in the price of admission.

Most of those storied resorts are now closed, but Passover getaways are more popular than ever. Some are still held at modest facilities in places like suburban New Jersey, but well-to-do Jews are increasingly spending the holiday in high style, eating sophisticated food and engaging in exotic activities in faroff, luxurious places.

“The evolution of Passover is to really start creating more resort experiences rather than just catering experiences,” said Jeff Klein, vice president for food and beverage at the Fontainebleau Resort in Miami Beach, which hosts one of

South Florida’s premier Passover packages.

These resort experiences are offered everywhere you can think of, including Israel, Miami, Arizona, Costa Rica, the Caribbean, Mexico, even Turkey. The organizers — generally an outside company that teams up with a resort property — might provide day camp for the kids and evening entertainment like comedians and singers, as well as the know-how and equipment required for an all-around kosherfor-Passover experience.

The program at Miami’s Fontainebleau, for example, is organized by Lasko Family Tours, said to run “the Cadillac of Pesach programs,” which also puts on Passover programs at the swanky Eden Roc next door and at the nearby Hyatt Regency Bonaventure.

The hotels generally provide most of the staffing and overlay their own exacting standards of hospitality.

“Every detail is accounted for,” says Klein, whose Fontainebleau chefs work alongside those from the kosher caterer hired by Lasko.

“They may say we want it plated this way, and we say it doesn’t fit our brand, so we do it our way.”

The food on those plates isn’t limited to Eastern European classics — some may say tired — like brisket and gefilte fish. Menus are traditional for the seders, but then comes the American-style barbecue, the sushi (made with quinoa instead of rice), and the afternoon tea rooms overflowing with kosherfor-Passover biscotti and cakes.

The range of entertainment also has evolved. In Miami, the 20somethings spend quality time with their grandparents by day and go clubbing at night thanks to a New Yorker named Dave Shine. During the week of Passover, Shine teams up with fellow promoters to throw huge, kosher-for-Passover parties at the city’s top nightclubs.

“One night there are celebs, models and VIPs, and the next night we cover the bar with plastic and tablecloths, take every item off the shelf, and put up potato vodka and kosher-for-Passover wine and champagne,” Shine says. The corkscrews, cutting boards and pourers are all new for the occasion.

The parties — happening this year at Louis (in the Gansevoort South) and Klutch (formerly Opium Garden) — often pull in 1,000 people, many looking for potential mates.

“At 5 a.m. when the lights go on, we still have to ask 400 people to exit the premises,” Shine says.

One’s choice of hotels depends, in part, on level of observance.

Sam Lasko, who heads his family-owned business, says more Orthodox guests tend to end up at the Bonaventure, where the pool, for example, has designated times for women and men to swim separately. (At the Fontainebleau and Eden Roc, everyone swims together.) At the Eden Roc, the hotel is dedicated entirely to Passover vacationers, which many customers prefer. But ultimately every family has to find the right fit.

Happy Passover

WISHING ALL OUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY A

Happy Passover Ed and Nina Paul Lainey, Maxwell, Jacob Zac, Nic and Amanda, & Ali

PASSOVER

THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 2010

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hurrah for the Tuscany-inspired property overlooking manmade Lake Las Vegas. Thirty minutes from the glam of The Strip, this relaxing respite has luxurious rooms with comfortable beds and flat-screen TVs, a spa, impeccable service, nearby shopping and even a small beach.

Prices: Starts at $4,774 per adult MEXICO: Fairmont Mayakoba Nestled in a gated community 42 miles south of Cancun, this hotel offers a luxurious return to nature and serenity. The beach sits along one of the world’s largest reefs, the Willow Stream offers massages among the treetops, and guests are transported around the property in lancha (covered boats).

Prices: Starts at $5,000 per adult Fontainebleau Resort Miami Beach

For families willing to spend five figures on a Passover vacation, the Fontainebleau Resort Miami Beach boasts a recent $1 billion facelift, nine pools and a phenomenal spa.

Here are some Passover vacation options in the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean. Prices are based on a 10-day (nine-night) stay from March 29 through April 7, double occupancy, and include taxes, tips and service charges. Be sure to inquire about last-minute discounts, as well as about family and children’s rates, which vary depending on age and room occupancy.

MIAMI, FLORIDA: Fontainebleau Resort Miami Beach This Miami mainstay is more chic than ever after a $1 billion facelift in 2008; the gorgeous design spreads across 1,504 new rooms, nine pools and a phenomenal spa.

Prices: Starts at $4,999 per adult Eden Roc: A Renaissance Resort & Spa A $200 million renovation last year left this beachfront hotel looking stylish and hip but not flashy, with three infinity pools, a bustling boardwalk and 631 comfortable rooms.

Prices: Starts at $4,624 per adult Marriott Doral Golf Resort and Spa Sitting on 650 acres in suburban Miami, this true resort is a city within a city. Five golf courses, five pools and a full-service spa with 52 treatment rooms means there’s something for everyone here. And it’s all graced with warm, friendly service in a scenic setting.

Prices: Starts at $3,714 per adult Biltmore Coral Gables Florida Built in 1926, this iconic hotel in Coral Gables (a national landmark) exudes timeless luxury and,

although it’s far from any beaches, offers doting service, a pool, a prestigious golf course and a catalog of amenities. Unfortunately its residential neighborhood can get boring.

Prices start at $4,350 per adult.

Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort & Club The Fairmont is a true luxury retreat set on 300 acres in suburban Miami. Although it’s just minutes from the Aventura Mall, it offers an award-winning golf course, beautiful pools, elegant rooms and a spa, which means there’s no reason to leave the premises.

Prices: Starts at $5,000 per adult.

ORLANDO, FLORIDA: Regal Sun Resort in Walt Disney World Kids will love staying across the street from Downtown Disney, where families will find shops, Cirque du Soleil and DisneyQuest’s virtual rides. The hotel has a pool playground and game rooms for kids, and it runs a free shuttle to the parks.

Prices: Starts at $3,218 per adult Waldorf-Astoria Orlando Just opened last October, this pristine luxury resort on 482 acres is the first hotel to bear the flagship name outside New York.

There’s a golf course, the Spa by Guerlain and a free shuttle to the Disney parks (all of which are 10 to 20 minutes away).

Prices: Starts at $3,749 per adult LAS VEGAS: Ritz-Carlton Resort & Spa, Lake Las Vegas With the hotel set to close in early May, this Passover is one last

ARIZONA: Arizona Biltmore A Phoenix landmark opened in 1929, the Biltmore caters to a sophisticated set and has played host to its fair share of celebrities and presidents over the years. In addition to having 36 holes of golf, eight pools and a spa, the hotel is close to Camelback Mountain and the art scene in Scottsdale and Phoenix.

Prices: Starts at $5,186 per adult JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa Classy but family friendly, this Phoenix hotel offers a lazy river, an 89-foot waterslide and poolside entertainment for kids, not to mention family activities like bike rentals and stargazing. For “bigger” kids, the hotel has all the usual features: tennis courts, a 28,000-squarefoot spa and two golf courses.

Prices: Starts at $4,774 per adult Fairmont Scottsdale Princess A stately white lobby and beautifully manicured grounds greet guests at this upscale resort set against scenic mountains. By day, guests have seven tennis courts, five pools, two golf courses and a top-notch spa. Rooms all have terraces and oversized bathrooms.

Prices: Starts at $5,000 per adult ARUBA: Westin Resort The Westin lacks the glitzy decor and elaborate frills found at other Aruban resorts, which for most people is a good thing. A clean, modern beachside hotel, the Westin impresses with prompt services, a curvy pool and the supremely comfortable Westin Heavenly beds.

Prices: Starts $3,749 per adult (Jennifer Garfinkel is an editor at Oyster Hotel Reviews.)

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PASSOVER

HAPPY PASSOVER TO OUR FRIENDS COUNTRY FRESH FARM MARKETS M-F 9AM-8PM • SAT 9AM-7:30PM • SUN 10AM-5PM 8425 VINE STREET • (513) 821-5335

THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 2010

The spring situation: Juggling matzah balls and Easter bunnies

by Suzanne Kurtz Jewish Telegraphic Agency

- Builds Bridges - Advances Security - Promotes Human Rights - Suppor ts Israel - Strengthens Jewish Life

Best wishes for a Happy Passover Patti Heldman, Chapter President

Barbara Glueck, Executive Director

WASHINGTON (JTA) — When Stephanie Mattei was dating her husband, Angelo, she knew there was nothing more appropriate to make her South Philadelphia-bred Italian beau for dinner than pasta.

But since it was Passover, and she is Jewish, there was only one option.

“To this day, he still teases me about it!” said Mattei, 37, a psychologist in Havertown, Pa. “To him, it tasted like construction paper put through a shredder and boiled slowly in water. It was less than ideal. And he thought I had no culinary skills.”

In the years since the kosherfor-Passover pasta debacle, the couple, married for 11 years and raising two daughters Jewishly, has learned to navigate a common conflict for many interfaith families: the confluence of Passover and Easter.

Mattei says it’s always stressful when Easter falls during Passover.

Her husband’s grandmother has good-naturedly substituted matzah meal for breadcrumbs in the meatballs, she said, “But I know they feel bad and I feel like I am insulting them when I can’t eat the food.”

Such tensions generally are associated with conflicts surrounding the Christmas and Chanukah season, the so-called “December dilemma.” In fact, several Reform and Conservative rabbis involved in outreach and conversion say they have never been asked about issues that arise regarding the Passover-Easter season.

But Ed Case, president and publisher of the Web site InterfaithFamily, an online resource for interfaith families, says the spring season has the potential to remind couples of their differences. Recognizing the conflicts caused by the timing of the two holidays, InterfaithFamily began surveying interfaith families six years ago to determine attitudes and behaviors during Passover and Easter.

“The reason we focus on [Passover and Easter] is because it’s an obvious area of conflict,” Case said. “And over the past six years, the survey results have remained consistent.”

Of visitors to the InterfaithFamily Web site who

participated in the 2009 online poll and are raising their children exclusively Jewish, 97 percent were planning on either hosting or attending a seder. Thirty-six percent also were planning to host or attend an Easter dinner.

As with the Mattei family, when Easter falls during Passover, it becomes especially complicated.

Stacey Frank, 37, a teacher in her synagogue’s religious school in New Hope, Pa., says Passover and Easter holiday conflicts were “really not a problem” before she and her husband, John, had their two children — a son, now 10, and a daughter, 8.

Married for 13 years, their home is “strictly Jewish,” Frank said. Her husband’s family, however, is Catholic and “old-school Polish.” Visiting them during Passover has presented many challenges over the years, she says.

“At first I was very inflexible. I brought my own food to my inlaws when it was Passover,” Frank said. “I thought giving in a little would be wrong.

“It was torture,” taking away a candy-filled Easter basket while trying to explain the laws of kashrut to a 3-year-old who only wants to eat a chocolate bunny.

Explaining to children why their family was taking part in an Easter celebration, the InterfaithFamily poll found there was an area where non-Jewish and Jewish spouses were not totally on the same page. Non-Jewish spouses tended to cite open-mindedness and tolerance, while Jewish spouses cited a desire not to upset the inlaws.

To better negotiate the issue, Karen Kushner, executive director of the Jewish Welcome Network in San Francisco, suggests interfaith families teach their children about the different holidays early on — and point out both the similarities and differences in religious beliefs.

Even synagogue movements and many Jewish organizations engaged in outreach to intermarried families often draw a line at participating in activities connected to non-Jewish religious observances.

Kushner, whose organization bills itself as a non-denominational operation providing outreach consultation and resources to synagogues, Jewish schools and agencies, says you need to differentiate between family gatherings and church services.

Sometimes she will ask families, if they are leading a Jewish life all-year round, then what’s “corruptive about going to your mother-in-law’s for Easter?”

“Grandparents shouldn’t have to hide who they are and what they believe,” Kushner said, “but they shouldn’t try to convert the [grandchildren] either. Learning to go to other people’s celebrations is completely different from taking the kids to Mass.”

These days, Frank says, she’ll bend on certain issues.

“I realized now it really is only a piece of chocolate,” she said. “If you have a strong Jewish identity, it’s not going to change who you are.”

Before they visit her in-laws for Easter, Frank says her husband explains to the children about the holiday and what his parents believe. If Easter falls during Passover, she reminds the children in advance of a visit, “so they know what to expect” and “there’s no discussion [of what they can or cannot eat] once we’re at [their grandparent’s] house.”

“This way, it’s not confusing for anyone, and it’s also respectful to John and his family,” she said.

Respect was a key value for participants in the InterfaithFamily survey. Sixty-two percent of the respondents pointed to respect for the non-Jewish partner and 67 percent said respect for the nonJewish partner’s extended family were the primary reason for their family’s participation in Easter celebrations.

Rachel Baruch Yackley, 49, says when her daughter, Rebecca, was little, she had no problem letting her participate in the Easter egg hunt at her “very traditional Catholic” mother-in-law’s home.

Yackley, a freelance journalist and teacher in St. Charles, Ill., says her mother-in-law took pains to respect the Jewish upbringing and education of her granddaughter and recast the girl’s Easter basket as a “Spring basket” devoid of any religious decorations.

“It was wonderful and extremely touching,” Yackley said. “No matter how traditional you are, it can be OK as long as you respect the differences.

“People can get caught up in thinking about matzah and the food, but if you make a space in your family for respecting other people’s belief systems and teach your kids that, it can work.”

THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 2010

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H A P P Y PA S S O V E R from

James A. Volz, CPA 9900 CARVER ROAD, STE. 100 CINCINNATI, OH 45242 • (513) 794-1551 Jewish Telegraphic Agency Seder at a restaurant

by Ami Eden March 18, 2010 From the Forward: “A Seder in a restaurant? To many, that would be unimaginable, because the event is normally synonymous with the hospitality of a Jewish home. Of course, synagogues and catering halls have long offered communal Seders to all comers, and ecumenical and “theme” Seders now abound — even at the Obama White House, to the tune of the generic Maxwell House Haggadah.”

“Yet, relatively few chef-centered, tablecloth restaurants have taken the Passover plunge, though they have customarily served Thanksgiving turkey to singles, travelers and exhausted homemakers alike. There are exceptions: In Los Angeles, Wolfgang Puck’s flagship, Spago, started hosting Seders 26 years ago — his gefilte fish had chives, shallots and cayenne pepper — and the Beverly Hills incarnation continues the tradition as a charity event.

Some may be surprised that the upscale Rosa Mexicano, best known for its table-assembled guacamole, also welcomes celebrants by offering a Mexican Passover plate at its nine national locations. Called Passover a la Mexicana, the event offers dishes like tropical haroset and red snapper gefilte fish. Patrons can even request an additional Seder plate upon making a reservation.”

“But the East Coast’s most thoughtful, palate-centered restaurant Seder is almost certain to be found at Manhattan’s properly praised Savoy.”

Good to the last stain-dropped page

by Suzanne Kurtz March 18, 2010 The ubiquitous Maxwell House Hagaddah may have originated as a sales promotion for the instant coffee brand, but for many Jewish families the tattered copies they pull out every year hold both poignant memories, and splotches, from sedarim past.”

The Washington Jewish Week’s Richard Greenberg has the story: “Eventually, they will be splotched with seder-table stains that spin an eloquent generational

narrative. “On the pages of my copies, I can see my family history,” said a recent posting on the Jewish genealogical Web site Tracing the Tribe. “Each stain of wine, charoset, drops of saltwater or vinegar, marks a gathering of Jews retelling the ancient story.”

Matzah balls and strikes

by Edmon J. Rodman March 18, 2010 Matzah balls won’t be the only spheres being served up on Passover — the Major League Baseball season opener is on April 4: Mariners vs Giants and Yankees vs Orioles. But what to eat if you’re going to the game? A hot dog on matzah? There’s a great children’s book (ages 5-9) on just this theme, “Matzah Ball: A Passover Story,” by Mindy Avra Portnoy and Katherine Janus Kahn.

“Aaron can’t pass up a chance to attend an Orioles game at Camden Yards, even though it’s during Passover and he’ll have to bring special food.”

Ask The Expert: Selling chametz to your non-Jewish college roommate

by The Expert March 18, 2010 Question: I’m a college student and I want to sell my chametz for Passover. One of my suitemates isn’t Jewish. Can I just sell my chametz to her? How do I do it?

Shayna, College Park Answer: Did you know that during Passover an Arab man in Abu Ghosh owns almost all of the bread in Jerusalem? I like to imagine him frolicking with bagels and pasta while the Jewish quarter suffers through another sheet of matzah.

As you may know, on Passover, Jewish law prohibits a Jewish person from owning or deriving any benefit from anything made out of five major grains (wheat, barley, spelt, oats, and rye) (Exodus 12:19, 13:7). Collectively, these grains are known as chametz. For years, people got rid of all their chametz before the holiday began.

If this is easy for you to do, by all means, eat or toss your granola bars and crackers and then you don’t have to worry about arranging any sale.

But as early as mishnaic times in the third century CE, if a person didn’t want to use up or throw out

his chametz before Passover, he could sell it to a non-Jew, provided the sale was permanent (Pesachim 21a).

In Poland in the late 16th century, many Jews worked in the liquor industry, and used fermented grain to make their product. At Passover, they didn’t want to sell their grain permanently to a nonJew, because it was the source of their livelihood. So Rabbi Joel Sirkes, a halakhic authority of the time, began allowing people to sell their chametz to non-Jews without removing the chametz from their own homes, and without selling the chametz permanently. However, Rabbi Sirkes made sure to stipulate that the sale of the chametz must be a real sale, and not a legal fiction: during Passover, you must really think that the chametz isn’t yours, and the non-Jew who buys it must really think that he can use it however he wishes.

Today, there are a lot of organizations and synagogues that will sell your chametz for you.

Basically, you fill out a form about where your chametz is going to be during Passover, and the shul or group sells it to a nonJew on your behalf. You can even fill out forms and do it online (link). Easy peasy.

But you asked about doing it yourself, and that’s a great idea, so I got in touch with Rabbi Josh Feigelson, campus rabbi and senior director for educational initiatives at Northwestern University.

The rabbi emphasized that what is most important is that both you and your suitemate take the sale seriously: “As both Maimonides and the Shulhan Arukh make clear, the most important aspect of these procedures is that one truly believe that one no longer has any ownership of the chametz in one’s possession — that the chametz belongs to someone else.”

He also weighed the benefits of going through an institutional sale vs. doing it yourself: “Many halakhic authorities would hold that there are specific formal requirements of kinyan, acquisition, that need to be satisfied, and if one is concerned about these, one should perform an institutional sale. But in an important way, selling chametz to someone you know might actually be preferable to an institutional sale. While an institutional sale certainly is halakhically BLOG on page 21

HAPPY PASSOVER

HAPPY PASSOVER To All Our Friends and Customers

HAPPY PASSOVER!

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Elijah’s visit — a family tradition

by Ted Roberts Guest Author

Happy Passover

The Millman Family WISHING YOU A HAPPY PASSOVER Stanford Lang, Heather Shapiro, Barry Rubinstein and Alan Zeff from Lang Financial Group, Inc.

We’re About People, Providing Solutions, Service and Satisfaction

It’s a family tradition, this game with Elijah we play every Pesach.

It’s for the kids. A little stardust in their shining eyes to waken their sense of wonder at the holiday.

First, with ceremony we open the door for Elijah, who visits the table of every Jewish family.

He’s invisible, they say, because he enters through your heart, not your living room door.

As my son, Joe, gazes at the empty doorway, one of the family conspirators takes a deep gulp from the prophet’s cup of wine.

“Look, Joe, he was here — half of the wine in his cup is gone.” A harmless deception no worse than hiding the afikomen under the dining room rug.

The child is impressed. And as the Seders roll by, and his worldliness spoils the magic, there are always grandchildren with wide eyes to take his place. Each, in his turn, graduates from spectator to conspirator — but there’s always a novice to take his place.

“Think Elijah will come by this year, Zayde?” asks my grandson, Ezra.

“Think he’ll drink his wine like last year? Remember?”

“Sure, he’ll come again. I’m positive.” Sometimes, since I’m jaded with 30 Pesach repetitions of the same game, I freshen the illusion. “You know, Ezra, Elijah’s had a long trip and a sip of wine, even a small one 3 million times, could make him dizzy. This year maybe, instead, he’ll sample one of Mama’s kneidlach — put a little

something in his stomach for that long trip.

“Maybe we ought to set up a bowl of soup and matzoballs just for him and watch to see if he takes one.” (This is gonna be tough, I think — a whole kneidlach — a “cannonball” we call ‘em in my family, in ONE bite.)

Well, on the other hand, I think, why don’t we just leave it up to Elijah — let’s see what he chooses.

So, here are the typical Passover food groups, along with a few culinary secrets that will divert the prophet’s attention from the wine goblet to the delicacies.

1. The obligatory Chicken Soup with matzoballs. First, understand that a floating dumpling is a violation of nature like a parted Red Sea. We like chewy submarine matzoballs. Ivory Soap should float, not matzoballs.

2. Chopped Liver — never, never mince the liver in a food blender. Only an old fashioned cast iron grinder that turns your arm into a wet noodle will do. No strain — no gain. Bring your Christian neighbor a mound garnished with celery and crackers.

Call it pate — on Christmas she’ll bring you a roasted kosher goose.

3. Boiled eggs in saltwater.

Here is the real miracle of Pesach.

Why are they mouth watering only on Pesach — why are they digestible only on Pesach? Try ‘em in November. They’ll stick in your throat like a lie.

“Waitaminute,” say the kids. “You want us to eat a couple of hard boiled eggs in salt water? We’d rather have a chunk of Horseradish in vinegar.” Then you explain the

imagery. The life force in the egg, its curved design expressing infinity, the salty, teary sea it sits in.

“Zayde, this is great! Can we have it tomorrow too, for breakfast?” (A tip; never yield to this request. Only on Pesach.)

4. The main course.

All depends on what kind of a year you’ve had? A Prime Rib Roast year or a hamburger year. If the market’s up and you’ve married off Malka and the doctor says that lump on your arm is a watery cyst, have a majestic nine bucks a pound Standing Rib Roast.

5. Gefilte Fish. Straight from the jar. Advice to the guest; never praise the fish, since it weakens your subsequent tribute to the cook. The fish compliment means nothing to her since she only decanted it from the jar. In fact, here’s the chance to be cunningly critical. “Hmmm, a little too sweet for my taste” thereby demonstrating honesty; and enhancing your praise of that “magnificent — perfectly garlicked rib roast.” (A tip; if your cat is kosher for Pesach, give him the Gefilte fish jelly and juices.

He’ll flip for joy and never return to Treyf cat food.)

But whatever your menu, Elijah, Eliyahu HaNovi, the sweet harbinger of the Messiah will be at your Seder table if you’ll only open your front door and your heart.

Elijah, they say, will precede the Messiah like buds on the Forsythia bush herald the Spring. Be sure and explain this to the kids.

(Ted Roberts — “The Scribbler on the Roof” — is a free lance writer.)

Crossing the sea every day to confront life’s challenges

by Katy Z. Allen Guest Author WAYLAND, Mass. (JTA) — Three thousand years ago, the Israelites crossed the Sea of Reeds — once. Today, the Haggadah instructs us to experience the seder as though we are leaving Egypt — every year of our lives.

Why is it that the Israelites had to face that sea, with the Egyptian soldiers in fast pursuit, only once, yet we are supposed to experience that exodus and extract ourselves from between a rock and a hard place again and again, year after year? It hardly seems fair.

From the moment we enter this world, we are constantly changing.

An infant groans and complains as he flails his arms and struggles to

inch along on his belly. He whines and whimpers as he raises himself to his knees and rocks fruitlessly back and forth, going nowhere.

Then, immediately upon beginning to crawl, he is freed. His groans and complaints, his whines and whimpers all cease. But the infant’s pleasure in crawling is short-lived.

Before long, this mode of transport is no longer satisfactory, no longer sufficient. A speedier method beckons. The crawling baby pulls herself to a stand. She wants so badly to take a step, to navigate that distance upright, but her body lacks the strength.

It refuses to cooperate. How to deal with the frustration? How to overcome this obstacle? How to reach that seemingly unattainable

goal? She tries and tries, again and again and again, all to no avail.

And then one day — a miracle!

Her body has changed, strengthened, grown, and she is able to take that step. With one step and then a second, her confidence increases, and so she keeps on struggling and trying, until one day she can walk with ease, she can run, she can jump. Her confidence soars. As the years go by, the growing child constantly meets new challenges — physical, intellectual, emotional, spiritual.

The child struggles and ultimately crosses new barriers. As adults, our lives are also filled with new unexpected barriers.

Obstacles arise before us and, like CONTINUED on next page

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Diverse observances give new twist to ancient story Jewish Telegraphic Agency ST. PAUL (JTA) — Passover has been observed continuously for some 3,300 years. One of the longest unbroken observances in the history of religion, Passover has an established ritual. Yet, it is a very different night.

Every Passover has its own uniqueness stamped by its historical context. Although the master story is the same, each telling is unique to its generation, and its flavor is different for every family.

The Bible tells how Passover was first observed.

The Haggadah text was created about 2,000 years ago in Palestine.

The first known printed Haggadah appeared in 1482 in Spain. Some Haggadot have only 32 pages, while others are massive 440-page volumes.

Over the past 12 years, attorney Stephen Durschslag has amassed 3,500 Passover Haggadot.

Durschlag’s collection stretches from floor to ceiling in the library of his Chicago townhouse. This year he can add to it the No Cholesterol Haggadah, the Vegetarian Haggadah, the Women’s Haggadah, the Holocaust Haggadah, the Gay and Lesbian Haggadah and the Puppet Haggadah, among others.

In another development, the story of the Exodus can now be found in cyberspace. Beginning at 4 a.m. on the day before Passover, Temple Emanu-El in New York CONTINUED from previous page the groaning baby and the Israelites beside the sea, we often feel stuck, with no solution in sight.

An irrepressible inner urge may propel us toward a mid-life career change, risking previous financial security. A child may be born to us with a physical, mental or emotional disability, forcing a change in our vision of our future.

We may make a serious mistake, on the job or at home, and unintentionally cause physical or financial harm to an undeserving person, perhaps even a loved one. Each time such a situation arises, it hurls us — for a moment, a day or a year — back to Egypt. In order not to get stuck in that emotional wasteland, in order to continue to go forward with our lives, we must leave behind our spiritual slavery.

We must, with our kneading bowls and our unleavened bread, set out from Egypt. And when we find ourselves at the edge of the sea,

will transmit a reading of the Haggadah to reach Jews at sundown in Australia. People with personal computers around the world with Internet sound links will be able to hear the reading and commentaries in their own homes.

This program, which is called “Cyber Seder,” will include 33 color illustrations that show scenes such as the baking of matzah, taken from Haggadot from the 15th to the 18th centuries.

Another insight into the Passover story is a recent research article by Dr. John Marr, an expert in tropical diseases, and Curtis Mallory, titled, “Epidemic Analysis of the 10 Plagues in Egypt.” Their article, which appeared in a journal of the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, postulated that a combination of algae, bacteria, insects, viruses and molds could have caused the plagues.

My preference is the metaphor and midrashic interpretation of the 10 plagues.

Blood: the blood of innocent men, women and children shed by criminals.

Frogs: the expressions of antiSemitism that leap up everywhere.

Vermin: the rodents that prowl our slums.

Beasts: the fear that we will lose our endangered species.

Pestilence: AIDS, substance abuse and the many diseases we have not yet learned to control.

Boils: the oil spills that leave us boiling in rage.

Hail: the pollution in the atmosphere that continues to rain down on us.

Locusts: the repression of freedom that continues to bug us.

Darkness: the lack of the guiding light of idealism that darkens our vision.

Slaying of the First Born: the possibility of nuclear holocaust that threatens us.

One of the highlights of the seder is Elijah’s Cup because the prophet is the herald of the Messianic era. Rabbi Naftali of Ropschitz used to pass an empty goblet and ask each person to pour some wine into it.

His ritual was to demonstrate that each of us must share in creating a better world. It is a community effort. A Jewish speaker was once concluding a talk on Passover at the Harvard Club. He was approached by an elderly black gentleman who said, “Seeds.” The encounter was rather mysterious, like the man in the movie “The Graduate” who counseled Dustin Hoffman with the word “plastics.”

“Seeds,” he said. “That’s the word for the ’90s. We’ve had enough of roots. Roots don’t take you anywhere. Roots keep you where you are. Seeds take you into the future. Think about it.”

Passover is a time to think of the past, but it also is a moment to pass over to the future.

pursued by the soldiers of Pharaoh, like the Israelites, we cannot just stand and gape and wait for God’s help. Like the Israelites, in order to go forward, we must walk into the water, even if we don’t know how to swim, and keep on walking.

Then, only when the waves are splashing at our noses, and we are almost completely submerged, almost completely overwhelmed by what is happening to us and around us, only then will some unseen and inexplicable power part the waters, and only then will we see a clear way in front of us, a clear path ahead into the future. At that moment of miracle, we will find the strength to trust ourselves in our new careers and take those financial risks.

We will discover previously untapped depths of love that enable us to deal with our child’s apparent handicap in a way that frees us rather than burdening us. We will, slowly but surely, find the ability to forgive ourselves for our mistakes,

no matter how horrendous their ramifications.

The journey to freedom and away from spiritual enslavement does not happen in a day. It is a constant, ongoing and never-ending process. If, for even a moment, we fail to take notice or we lose our alertness and our watchfulness, we may miss the next crossing of the sea. In that moment, our spirits can die. We can lose that chance, be forced to wait for the next and end up spending longer than necessary in Egypt.

And so it is wise for us to heed the instructions to feel as though we are leaving Egypt each year at Pesach, for the holiday provides a way for us to stay in shape, alert and ready for the next time in our lives, tomorrow or next week, next month or next year, when we will once again have to make that exodus in reality.

(Katy Z. Allen is a Jewish storyteller and freelance writer)

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Kashering for Passover Courtesy Orthodox Union One of the many preparations one must make for Pesach is kashering, a process to prepare chametz vessels for Pesach use. (Although most people only kasher their utensils in preparation for Pesach, the following directions apply to kashering utensils all year-round as well.) As with all areas of halachah, those who are unsure of how to apply the rules of kashering to their situation should consult their local Orthodox Rabbi.

GENERAL RULES There are two steps in kashering: 1. Cleaning—removing all tangible traces of chametz, and 2.

Purging—using heat to remove all absorbed chametz flavor.

Cleaning All chametz utensils that will be used for Pesach must first be thoroughly cleaned.

This involves the removal of all food, rust, dirt, calcium deposits and anything else that protrudes; it does not include the removal of discolorations. Items which have narrow cracks, crevices, deep scratches or other areas that cannot easily be cleaned, cannot be kashered for Pesach. Therefore, the following, for example, cannot be kashered: • Colanders • Decanters or baby bottles (due to their narrow necks) • Filters/screens over drains in sinks • Graters • Knives (or other utensils) where food or dirt can get trapped between the blade and handle • Slotted spoons • Sponges • Toothbrushes Additionally, the common custom is to cover tables, counters, refrigerator shelves and other areas where one might not have been able to clean away every trace of chametz.

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Purging In addition to cleaning, most items require some form of hot purging in order to remove the flavor that has been absorbed. As a rule, any utensil that came in contact with hot food, was washed with hot water or was used to store liquids, requires hot purging. A comprehensive analysis regarding when hot purging is required and how one determines which form of purging is effective is beyond the scope of this article. Rather we will describe the standard method of purging flavor from the most common items.

Utensils made from the following materials cannot be kashered: • Ceramic—all types—including brick, china, coffee mugs and enamel. • Glass—all forms— including Corning Ware, Corelle, fiberglass, porcelain enamel (for example, porcelain sinks and enamelized pots), Pyrex or Thermoses. • Plastic—Rabbinical

authorities disagree as to whether it is possible to kasher plastic and other synthetic materials (including Teflon, rubber, Formica). You should consult your local Rabbi. If a synthetic material is a minority component of a substance (like Silestone), many rabbis believe that one may kasher it, even if one does not normally kasher artificial materials for a number of reasons.

As a rule, materials such as fabric, metal, wood, rubber and stone (for example, granite and marble) can be kashered.

SPECIFIC ITEMS All methods of kashering noted in this section presuppose that the equipment was thoroughly cleaned, as described above.

Silverware, Pots and Other Small Items Small items are kashered with hagalah, which involves: 1. Not using the utensil for anything, including non-chametz, for 24 hours. This also applies to the (non-Pesach) pot in which the hagalah water will be boiled. 2.

Submerging the utensil in boiling water that is over the fire. The water must be at a rolling boil before the utensil to be kashered is put into it, and the water must touch every surface of the utensil.

Therefore, each item should be kashered individually, and the water should be allowed to return to a boil before the next item is placed into the pot. Large utensils may be submerged in the water one part at a time. 3. Removing the utensil from the water and rinsing it in cold water.

Ovens Kashering a Self-Cleaning Oven: 1. Remove any visible pieces of food (or other items) from the oven; 2. Go through one complete self cleaning cycle with the racks in place.

Kashering a Non-Self-Cleaning Oven: 1. Clean walls, floor, door, ceiling and racks thoroughly with an abrasive cleaner (for example, Easy-Off ) to remove tangible chametz. Pay special attention to the temperature gauge, the window in the door and the edges of the oven chamber. Black discolorations that are flush with the metal do not have to be removed.

2. Once the oven is clean, it is preferable that it remain unused for 24 hours. 3. Place the racks back into the oven, and turn the oven to broil for one and-a-half hours. 4.

Pesach food or pans may be placed directly on the door or racks once the oven has been kashered.

If the oven has a separate broiler chamber, it should be kashered in the same manner as the oven chamber. A broiler pan that comes in direct contact with food cannot be kashered.

Note: The method of kashering described above is based on the ruling of Rav Aharon Kotler zt’l.

However, Rav Moshe ruled that the oven must either be kashered with a blowtorch, or that an insert should be placed into the oven for the duration of Pesach. Consult your own Rabbi for guidance.

Stovetops The grates of a gas stovetop should be kashered in the oven chamber in the same manner described above. For an electric stovetop, just clean the coils and turn on high for ten minutes. If you have a glass-topped stovetop, you should consult your Rabbi for directions on if/how it can be used for Pesach.

For a gas or electric stove, it is preferable to replace the drip pans that are under the burners; if this isn’t possible, the area should be covered with aluminum foil. The work area between the burners should be cleaned and covered with aluminum foil. The knobs and handles of the oven and stovetop should be wiped clean.

Sinks Kashering a Stainless Steel Sink: 1. If the filter covering the drain has very fine holes, remove the filter and put it away for Pesach with the chametz dishes. If the holes are larger, the filter may be kashered with the sink. 2. Clean the sink, faucet and knobs, and don’t use the sink for anything other than cold water for 24 hours. 3. Boil water in one or more large pots (clean pots that have not been used for 24 hours). The pots may be chametz pots. 4. Dry the sink, then pour the boiling water over every spot on the walls and floor of the sink and on the faucet. One may kasher part of the sink and then boil more water for the rest of the sink. Extreme care should be taken during this type of kashering to ensure that none of the boiling water splashes onto the person doing the kashering or others who are nearby. 5. Rinse the sink and faucet with cold water. 6. Put a new filter over the drain. One should also purchase new sponges and a fresh bottle of dishwashing liquid.

Kashering a Porcelain Sink: Since a porcelain sink cannot be kashered, one should kasher the faucet and knobs as outlined above and, for the duration of Pesach, place a basin (or insert) into the sink. All dishes, silverware, etc., should be washed in the basin, and wash-water can be disposed of through the sink’s drain. One should be careful not to allow the sink to fill with hot water while the basin is in the sink.

Microwave Oven Wait 24 hours since using the

PASSOVER

THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 2010

microwave and make sure that the microwave is clean. One should then heat water in the microwave for 20 minutes and then also pour boiling water over the bottom of the microwave oven. If one cannot pour boiling water over the bottom of the microwave oven, then after heating water for 20 minutes one should move the container to another spot and repeat the heating procedure again. The glass plate should be either covered or replaced for Passover.

Dishwashers To kasher a dishwasher, one should wait 24 hours, make sure that the dishwasher is clean, and

then run two cycles. If the dishwasher is plastic, there is a debate as to whether one may kasher it, and an Orthodox rabbi should be consulted.

Ceramic dishwashers cannot be used for an entire year before they are kashered. Therefore, we cannot recommend a way of kashering a ceramic dishwasher for Passover.

Refrigerators, Freezers, Food Shelves and Pantries These areas should be thoroughly cleaned—paying special attention to the edges where crumbs may get trapped—and the shelves lined with paper or plastic. The refrigerator and freezer will oper-

ate more efficiently if one pokes a few holes in the lining.

Tablecloths, Kitchen Gloves, Aprons and Other Items Made of Fabric Any item made of fabric can be kashered by washing it in a washing machine set on ‘hot’ and then checking to make sure that no pieces of food remain attached to it. Vinyl and plastic-lined tablecloths cannot be kashered.

Chag kasher vesame’ach! May you have a kosher and an enjoyable Pesach!

(Reproduced with permission from The Orthodox Union.)

Eggs: What would Passover be without them?

by Linda Morel Jewish Telegraphic Agency NEW YORK (JTA) — I start Passover food shopping by buying six dozen eggs, but it’s never enough. Inevitably I return to the store at least twice, purchasing two or three more cartons of eggs each time.

Matzah garners most of the attention in Passover fare because of the unleavened bread’s prominent role in the Exodus story.

Eggs, however, are the unsung heroes, working behind the scenes, enhancing nearly every recipe consumed during the holiday’s eight days.

Without fanfare, eggs perform the binding and heavy lifting usually accomplished by flour, the

silky powder ground from cereal grains that are forbidden during Passover.

With great prowess, eggs hold together the ingredients that go into Passover kugels, matzah brie and matzah farfel casseroles.

When egg whites are whipped to a frenzy with electric beaters, they increase in volume six to eight times, lending structure and leavening to many baked goods.

Egg whites singlehandedly add loft to cakes and other pastries, encouraging them to rise without a boost from the usual sources — flour and baking soda.

Eggs play a pivotal role during seders. Spherical and white, they symbolize the rebirth that occurs in the spring. Every seder plate reserves a place to display a roast-

ed egg to remind us of the burnt offerings, the daily roasted sacrifices in the Temple. These sacrifices can no longer be offered because the Temple was destroyed centuries ago.

In addition, the roasted egg on the seder plate is a symbol of the new life the Jewish people acquired in attaining their freedom from Egyptian bondage.

During seder ceremonies all over the world, Jews consume an egg course. Ashkenazim partake in eggs that have been hard boiled and chilled. During the seder they pour heavily salted water over the eggs, a symbol of the tears shed by our ancestors during slavery.

EGGS on page 20

A HAPPY PASSOVER to the

Southern Ohio Jewish Community SPECIAL WISHES TO OUR GOOD FRIENDS SAM & RACHEL BOYMEL Rabbi Yisroel & Chana Mangel C HABAD J EWISH C ENTER www.ChabadBa.com

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PASSOVER

EGGS from page 19 As a child, I looked forward each spring to the taste of hardboiled eggs in a salty bath. When I was 12, I prepared the combination for lunch one day during October.

But as I took a bite of boiled egg doused in salty water, it tasted so terrible I couldn’t eat it. I was crushed by the disappointment and concluded at that young age that you have to wait for Passover to appreciate this special dish resonating with so much history.

During Passover, many Sephardim eat an egg dish called Huevos Haminados in Spanish, or oven eggs. The recipe is prepared by layering eggs among onion skins and coffee grinds in a pot of water. The mixture is then warmed in the oven on a low temperature for many hours. This slow cooking method not only gives egg yolks a satiny texture, but also turns their shells a splendid brown color, reminiscent of roasted eggs.

Many Huevos Haminados recipes suggest saving the skins from the onions used in Passover cooking. However, I find that method does not produce a large enough yield. In preparation for making Huevos Haminados, I go from supermarket to supermarket collecting skins from bins of onions. The skins of red onions lend the most gorgeous color.

Every spring my husband worries that I will be accused of shoplifting for this practice. So far, cashiers have given me nothing more than strange looks when I point out a bag full of onion skins.

While Passover is perhaps the most cherished of Jewish holidays, for many people the sheer volume of eggs used in recipes poses health issues, specifically regarding the amount of cholesterol consumed.

There are several ways to be health conscious while observing the egg’s role during seders.

The yolk is the culprit, containing all the egg’s cholesterol and fat (about 5 grams in a large egg).

With only about 20 calories, the egg white consists of water and slightly more than half the egg’s protein.

For the seder’s egg course, I recommend preparing large eggs.

Ironically, large eggs are the smallest size available commercially, followed by extra large and jumbo.

Another way to cut down on cholesterol is to slice hard-boiled eggs in half, thus limiting portion size. For those who want to get fancy, place a tiny dollop of caviar on each half. Cover the halves with plastic wrap before serving, so the yolks don’t dry out.

For a cholesterol-free egg course, serve egg white omelets. I suggest stirring some chopped parsley into the beaten egg whites to give them spring color. This also adds the symbol of Passover greenery. Of course, egg white omelets can be served for breakfast, brunch or lunch throughout Passover.

When it comes to matzah casseroles made with vegetables or fruit, you can eliminate one or two of the egg yolks called for in recipes. Add an egg white for each yolk you discard.

Of course the highlight of any seder is a rich chocolate cake, made lofty and moist by a bevy of luscious eggs. If you’re counting calories or cholesterol, dessert is the one place to splurge with an abundance of eggs. To balance a cake’s opulence, serve it with fresh strawberries.

During Passover’s eight days, I often return to the supermarket for additional ingredients. I end up making more macaroons, either coconut or chocolate almond; matzah brei, either mushroom or classic; Passover lasagna, with or without meat; or my signature dish, peach kugel. These recipes wouldn’t exist without the most ubiquitous ingredient in all of Passover cooking — eggs.

HUEVOS HAMINADOS (Oven Eggs) (Pareve) Prepared entirely in the oven, these eggs turn sepia brown and are served at Sephardic seders as the egg course.

Equipment: A 4-quart ovenproof pot that you don’t care about, as it may get stained, or a deep ovenproof glass casserole of equal size.

Ingredients: 4 cups of tightly packed onion skins 12 eggs at room temperature 2 tablespoons coffee grinds 1 tablespoon cooking oil 1 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar 1 teaspoon salt Preparation: 1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

2. Place half of the onion skins at the bottom of the pot or casserole.

Nestle the eggs between the skins.

Don’t crowd them. Sprinkle coffee grinds over eggs. Add oil, vinegar and salt. Slowly pour enough water inside to submerge the mixture, about 2 or 3 quarts.

3. If using a pot, cover it with the lid. If using a casserole without a lid, cover it tightly with aluminum foil. Place eggs in the oven for 6-8

THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 2010

hours.

4. Remove pot carefully. Lift out eggs using a long-handled slotted spoon and place them temporarily on paper towels to drain off excess water. Eggs can be served hot or refrigerated for later.

Yield: 12 servings VEGETARIAN PASSOVER LASAGNA (Pareve or Dairy) Equipment: 2 (10-by-15-inch) ovenproof pans Ingredients: No-stick cooking spray 2 vegetable bouillon cubes 6 tablespoons olive oil, or more, if needed 2 large onions, sliced Kosher salt to taste Freshly ground black pepper to taste 9 pieces of commercially prepared matzah 2 zucchinis sliced into circles about 1/8-inch thick 6 garlic cloves, minced 2/3 cup Parmesan cheese, optional 1 pound of mushrooms, sliced 3 dried sage leaves, crushed 2 large pinches of dried rosemary needles 6 eggs Juice from half a lemon Preparation: 1. Coat 1 baking pan with cooking spray and reserve. In second baking pan, dissolve bouillon cubes in 3 cups of boiling water and reserve. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil on a medium flame. Add onions and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Saute until onion slices wilt, about 5 minutes.

Move onions to prepared pan and distribute evenly.

3. Submerge 3 squares of matzah into bouillon bath until barely softened. Gently lift matzah pieces one at a time. Cover onion layer with the first 2 pieces of matzah.

Break the third piece in half to fill in the edges on one side. (Don’t worry if matzah falls apart slightly. But if it completely disintegrates, soften additional pieces.)

4. To the skillet, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add zucchini and half the garlic, sprinkling lightly with salt and pepper. Saute until wilted, about 5 minutes. Cover matzah layer with zucchini mixture.

Sprinkle 1/3 cup of Parmesan cheese on top, if using.

5. Repeat Step 3 and cover zucchini layer with 3 pieces of matzah.

6. To the skillet, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add mushrooms and

remaining garlic, sprinkling lightly with salt and pepper, plus sage and rosemary. Saute until mushrooms wilt, about 5 minutes. Cover second matzah layer with mushroom mixture. Sprinkle 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese on top, if using.

7. Repeat Step 3 and cover mushroom layer with 3 pieces of matzah.

8. In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs until foamy. Add lemon juice and 1 cup of bouillon and beat again. Pour egg mixture over the top of the lasagna. With a spatula, press down on the lasagna to even out liquids. Bake until lasagna is firmly set and bubbles at the edges, about 45 minutes. Recipe can be served immediately or made 2 days ahead, refrigerated, and reheated. Recipe freezes well.

Yield: 24 squares PASSOVER PEACH KUGEL (Pareve or Dairy) Ingredients: No-stick vegetable spray 2 cups apple juice 2/3 cup dried cherries 2 (15-ounce) cans sliced peaches No-stick vegetable spray 3 pieces of matzah, broken into 1inch squares 6 eggs Zest and juice from half a lemon 2/3 cup sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg 2/3 cup chopped walnuts 4 tablespoons margarine or butter, melted Preparation: 1. Coat a 9-by-13-inch ovenproof baking pan with no-stick spray.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a small pot, heat 1 cup of apple juice to a simmer. Remove from flame. Stir in dried cherries and soak them while assembling remaining ingredients.

3. Place a colander over a large bowl. Drain the peaches, reserving the liquid from the can in the bowl. Dice peaches.

4. In a medium-sized pot, heat the remaining apple juice to a simmer.

Remove from flame. Soak broken matzah squares in apple juice until soft, about 5 minutes. Using the colander, drain matzah and discard the juice. Reserve.

5. With an electric beater, whip eggs until frothy. Add lemon zest and juice, sugar and salt, and beat until well combined.

6. Drain the cherries and add them to the egg mixture, along with the peaches and walnuts. On a low speed, mix until incorporated.

With a wooden spoon, add soaked

matzah and gently stir until incorporated.

7. Move mixture to prepared pan and spread evenly. Pour 1/3 cup of the reserved peach juice evenly over the top. Drizzle the melted margarine or butter over the surface. Kugel will look quite liquid.

Place kugel in the oven and bake for 45 minutes, or until edges brown and a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. Serve immediately or cool to room temperature, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for a day. Cut into squares before serving. Kugel tastes delicious with sour cream.

Yield: 18 squares MOCHA PECAN TORTE (Pareve) Ingredients: No-stick cooking spray 7 egg whites 1 cup pecans 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate bits 1 tablespoon instant espresso coffee 3/4 cup sugar Preparation: 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Coat a 9-inch springform baking pan with cooking spray.

2. In a large mixing bowl, beat egg whites until firm. Don’t overbeat or whites will become watery.

Reserve.

3. In a food processor, using a metal blade, grind pecans and chocolate bits until broken into small pieces. Mix in coffee and sugar until blended. Fold mixture into egg whites, and by hand gently stir with a spatula until well blended. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 40-45 minutes, or until cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool to room temperature and serve with sliced strawberries sprinkled with sugar and drops of lemon juice, or Coffee Whipped Cream (recipe below).

Yield: 10-12 slices COFFEE WHIPPED CREAM (Dairy) Ingredients: 1 pint heavy cream 2 tablespoons sugar 1 tablespoon instant espresso coffee Preparation: Place the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until cream forms firm peaks. Stop machine every minute or so to avoid overbeating and turning the cream to butter. To check for firm peaks, lift beaters from mixture. Serve immediately.

PASSOVER

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BLOG from page 15 valid, selling or giving your chametz to a friend or roommate makes the surrender of property that much more real — provided that your friend or roommate really does feel that the chametz is theirs and that they have full use of it during Pesach.”

So how do you actually go about selling your chametz to your suitemate? Probably the easiest thing to do is copy and paste the text of an online form for selling chametz into a document. The text probably has a place for your name, and the name of the rabbi or leader who will be selling the chametz on your behalf. Take out the rabbi’s name, and make sure to fill in your suitemate’s name as the person who will now be the owner of the chametz.

Then, you should negotiate a price with your suitemate. Don’t just choose an arbitrary number, like $5.

Actually think about everything of yours that you’re giving up, and estimate what it’s worth.

You’ll need to get your suitemate to give you either cash or a check for that amount. Make sure to show your suitemate where all of your chametz is, and make it clear that she’s really buying it from you, and will be its owner.

After the holiday is over, you can buy the chametz back from her (if she gave you cash, you can just give it right back; if she gave you a check, you can write her one for the same amount). There’s no need for a contract when you’re buying back your chametz.

Selling your chametz to your suitemate is a perfectly acceptable solution to the problem of selling chametz on Passover. Great initiative, Shayna!

Gefilte fish’s indispensable man

by Ben Harris March 16, 2010 The Jerusalem Post introduces us to the man responsible for more gefilte fish servings than any other, the former chief food scientist for the kosher food company Rokeach: Eric Freudenstein.

“Coming from a German background, Freudenstein had never had gefilte fish at home. When he came to the US as a young immigrant at the end of World War II, he smiled rather superciliously at the stories of the Jewish GI soldiers, away in Europe and the Far East, who would be invited by their chaplains and sit down to a Shabbat meal starting with gefilte fish. It was an event that, according to their New York parents, brought tears to their eyes.”

“To young Eric, this was sentimental nonsense. How vulgar, he thought, to hang your love of

Judaism on a piece of fish. But Eric’s attitude to fish was soon to change. With his family he had left Germany for England in 1936, did well at high school and went up to Cambridge University to read chemistry. When war came, the British deported him and his father to Australia – British wartime policy vis-à-vis enemy aliens did not differentiate between those Germans who could have been regarded with concern and those who could have been expected to enthusiastically oppose the Nazis – from where they eventually managed to immigrate to the US via Mexico, where Eric stayed on to complete his degree in chemistry.”

“Once in New York, Freudenstein joined the kosher food firm of I. Rokeach and Sons as a food technologist and rose rapidly to become executive in charge of production, a post he held for the rest of his working life. As he wrote, “I came to love gefilte fish, to develop recipes suitable for mass production and, as director of production for the largest manufacturer of kosher fish products for over 30 years, I was probably responsible for more servings of gefilte fish than anyone else in history.”

Passover bread?

by Ami Eden March 15, 2010 From The Jewish Star: “Your Pesach table this year may feature pierogies, pizza, chow mein noodles and, yes, bread — all leaven-free and perfectly kosher for Passover.”

The wider story is about the continuing growth of the kosher-forPassover food industry — and whether it’s good for the Jews: “The recent trend of specially formulated kosher-for-Passover foods, designed to offer more edible and sophisticated culinary choices during the holiday, has exploded this year. Kosher Today, a kashrut newsletter edited by Menachem Lubinsky, reports that there is a record number of new kosher items.”

“Manufactured in Israel, Argentina and the United States, the array of products include many snack items; gluten-free meals, including noodles, matzo ball mix, and blintzes; and items for the health-conscious, including a growing number of spelt products, senna tea, macadamia oil, and reducedsodium chicken consommé.” “”Over the last couple of years, the food industry has figured out how to manufacture foods that are tasty and consistent with kashrut requirements for Passover, including many health foods,” Lubinsky said. “Twenty or thirty years ago, we didn’t have the technology

know-how to manufacture a variety of spelt and gluten-free products, but it’s all become a lot more advanced in recent years.”” “”He estimated the number of new Passover items at 500, where-

as a few years ago, “it wasn’t more than 100 to 150.””

“Not everyone is comfortable with the endless array of new Passover foods. While it’s nice to have so many options, the thinking

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goes that, perhaps, making sure that every food craving is fulfilled on Passover dilutes what the holiday is really about: commemorating the exodus from Egypt and the Jews’ freedom from slavery.”

HAPPY

PASSOVER from

THE AMERICAN ISRAELITE and families of: Netanel (Ted) Deutsch Millard H. Mack Bob Wilhelmy Janet Steinberg Lev Lokshin Joseph D. Stange Alexia Kadish Avi Milgrom Michael McCracken Christie Halko Justin Cohen and all contributors