http://www.jstandard.com/content/item/ en _JStandard@js.com Copyright 2012 2012-04-06T08:00:05+00:00 /content/item/22740 http://www.jstandard.com/index.php/site/passover_recipe_book_offers_creative_options/#When:08:00:05Z Notice: Undefined offset: -1 in /var/www/vhosts/jstandard.com/httpdocs/system/core/core.functions.php(663) : eval()'d code on line 43 Released just in time for Pesach is “The No-Potato Passover” by Aviva Kanoff. Interesting, colorful, and most important, easy-to-follow, the book offers photographs to accompany every recipe, which are not too involved, have few ingredients, and are healthful. Here are a few dishes sure to be a hit with families and friends.Released just in time for Pesach is “The No-Potato Passover” by Aviva Kanoff. Interesting, colorful, and most important, easy-to-follow, the book offers photographs to accompany every recipe, which are not too involved, have few ingredients, and are healthful. Here are a few dishes sure to be a hit with families and friends. Baked “ziti” 1 small spaghetti squash (about 4 cups) — baked, seeded, and shredded1 onion, diced2 cups tomato sauce (can use prepared or a recipe is also included in book)1 package ricotta cheese (16 ounces)3 tablespoons Parmesan cheesesalt and pepper to taste Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix all ingredients together. Spread in a greased 9 x 12 baking dish. Bake uncovered, for 30 minutes, or until cheese is melted. If you prefer the cheese to be browned, it will need a little more time in the oven. Cajun carrot fries 8-10 large carrots, peeled and cut into thin slices, like fries1 tbsp. olive oil1/4 teaspoon cayenne peppersalt and black pepper, to taste Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Grease and/or line a large cookie sheet. Toss the sliced carrots with olive oil, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper. Arrange the fries in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Flip the fries over and bake for another 10-15 minutes, until crisp. Serve warm. Mushroom spinach quinoa 2 cups fresh spinach, chopped1 cup quinoa2 cups mushrooms, diced1 large onion, dicedsalt, pepper, and garlic powder, to season Cook quinoa according to package and set aside. In a large frying pan, brown onions. Add mushrooms and spinach. Saute for 3 minutes until fully cooked. Mix quinoa together with spinach, mushrooms, and onions. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic. 2012-04-06T08:00:05+00:00 /content/item/22665 http://www.jstandard.com/index.php/site/seder_thoughts_2012/#When:07:56:36Z Notice: Undefined offset: -1 in /var/www/vhosts/jstandard.com/httpdocs/system/core/core.functions.php(663) : eval()'d code on line 43 “Why do we eat matzah on Passover?” asks Rabbi Reuven Kimelman, professor at Brandeis University, author of several books on Jewish liturgy, and scholar-in-residence at the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades in Tenafly. I sense that this is a trick question, and decline to answer. He presses me. “Why do we eat matzah?” he repeats. I reluctantly answer.“Why do we eat matzah on Passover?” asks Rabbi Reuven Kimelman, professor at Brandeis University, author of several books on Jewish liturgy, and scholar-in-residence at the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades in Tenafly. I sense that this is a trick question, and decline to answer. He presses me. “Why do we eat matzah?” he repeats. I reluctantly answer. “Because the bread did not have time to rise when our ancestors fled Egypt,” I say. I was right. It was a trick question. “That explanation,” responds Kimelman, “which almost everybody gives” — so, at least, my answer wasn’t unreasonable, even if it seems as if it’s going to prove to be less than correct — “appears in the middle of the haggadah.” Rabbi Reuven KimelmanThen, he adds, “But that’s not the reason given in the beginning of the haggadah.” It turns out that my SAT-style nervousness about answering a pop quiz — my fear of guessing wrong, or of a trick question — reflects a quintessential misunderstanding about the meaning of meaning when it comes to the seder’s symbolism. “People think it’s like a philosophical essay and things have one meaning,” says Kimelman. Instead, matzah has multiple meanings. At the beginning of the seder, he notes, we point to the matzah and call it “lachma anya” — Aramaic for bread of affliction, poverty, or slavery. The Torah uses the Hebrew version, “lechem oni” (see Deuteronomy 16:3.) In any language, it’s a negative symbol. By the middle of the seder, Kimelman points, out, the explanation I gave, of matzah as the original fast food, comes to the fore. At this point, “it symbolizes the event of freedom.” What was a symbol of degradation “has undergone a major transformation.” The symbol itself symbolizes the move of the seder from slavery to freedom. And the story doesn’t end there, says Kimelman. “Matzah comes up a third time when it’s eaten as the afikomen” — standing in for the Passover sacrifice that was supposed to be the lingering taste in the mouth. “That’s quite a sacrifice for a little piece of dough,” says Kimelman. The four cups of wine have also evolved in meaning. “Most people will say the four cups of wine will reflect the four expressions the Torah uses to describe going out of Egypt. But initially, they just symbolized the four parts of the service,” says Kimelman. There are the usual two cups — a cup for kiddush, beginning the meal, and a cup drunk with the grace after meals. “The seder adds two things: The recitation of the haggadah, and the recitation of the Hallel.” That’s four cups of wine right there. But while that may be the origin of the four cups, that was only the beginning of assigning meaning to them. Early on, says Kimelman, it was noticed that “ancient banquets used to require three cups of wine. By adding a fourth, the seder was really luxuriating in freedom.” And while the explanation that the four cups correspond to the expressions of freedom is found in the Talmud, the Talmud has three other explanations for the number four. Those explanations haven’t proved as popular. Why? “This explanation has to do with freedom. The theme of freedom remains relevant,” says Kimelman. A more recent interpretation concerns the drops removed from the wine cup when the 10 plagues are recited. “We want to sympathize with the Egyptians who suffered,” says Kimelman. “People will say it’s a classic explanation, when it first appeared in a commentary [only] in the 1500s. Because it fits into contemporary sensibilities, it’s what is recalled. “It’s interesting to understand the seder as a process of transformation of meanings rather than a transmission of old meanings. The haggadah is always being reinterpreted. Every century has contributed its own element to the seder.” Kimelman will be exploring these meanings in the hagaddah and the meaning of Passover itself at a public seminar at the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades on Wednesday, April 4, at 8:15 p.m. 2012-03-30T07:56:36+00:00 /content/item/22513 http://www.jstandard.com/index.php/site/in_need_of_a_seder/#When:07:56:36Z Notice: Undefined offset: -1 in /var/www/vhosts/jstandard.com/httpdocs/system/core/core.functions.php(663) : eval()'d code on line 43 A listing of synagogues hosting communal feasts If you are in need of a seder to go to, the first place to turn is the rabbi of your local synagogue. He or she may be able to help. There also are a number of synagogues hosting s’darim this year, with reservations on a first-come basis. What follows is a list of those s’darim of which we are aware. There are fewer possibilities this year because of the difficulties created by the second seder night falling out at the end of Shabbat.A listing of synagogues hosting communal feasts If you are in need of a seder to go to, the first place to turn is the rabbi of your local synagogue. He or she may be able to help. There also are a number of synagogues hosting s’darim this year, with reservations on a first-come basis. What follows is a list of those s’darim of which we are aware. There are fewer possibilities this year because of the difficulties created by the second seder night falling out at the end of Shabbat. FIRST SEDERFRIDAY, APRIL 6 The Jewish Learning Experience of Bergen County has a seder at Congregation Beth Abraham in Bergenfield, 7:10 p.m. Rabbi David Pietruszka, (201) 966-4498 or rabbi@jle.org. Chabad of Fair Lawn hosts a seder, 7:50 p.m (201) 794-3770, or rabbi@flchabad.com. Chabad of Upper Passaic County in Haskell offers a community seder at the Haskell Towne Centre, 7 p.m. (201) 696-7609 or Rabbi@JewishHighlands.com, http://www.JewishHighlands.com Friends of Lubavitch of Bergen County hosts a seder at the Chabad House in Teaneck, 8:10 p.m. Second seder at 8:30. (201) 907-0686 or rabbisimon@aol.com. Lubavitch on the Palisades in Tenafly offers a seder, 8 p.m., also on Saturday at 8. (201) 871-1152, ext. 545 or http://www.chabadlubavitch.org/seder. SECOND SEDERSATURDAY, APRIL 7 Chavurah Beth Shalom in Alpine hosts a seder, 6:30 p.m. (201) 294-8028 or rabbinatbenjamin@aol.com. Chabad of Fair Lawn hosts a seder, 8:25 p.m. (201) 794-3770, or rabbi@flchabad.com. The Glen Rock Jewish Center hosts a seder, 7 p.m. (201) 652-6624 or http://www.grjc.org. Beth Haverim Shir Shalom in Mahwah offers a seder, 6 p.m. (201) 512-1983. Reconstructionist Temple Beth Israel in Maywood hosts its annual community seder, 6:30 p.m. http://www.rtbi-online.org/events. Temple Beth El in North Bergen holds a seder, 6:30 p.m. (201) 869-9149 or templebethelofnorthbergen.org. Friends of Lubavitch of Bergen County hosts a seder at the Chabad House in Teaneck, 8:30 p.m.. (201) 907-0686 or rabbisimon@aol.com. Temple Emeth in Teaneck offers a seder, 6 p.m. (201) 833-1322 or http://www.emeth.org. Lubavitch on the Palisades in Tenafly offers a seder, 8 p.m. (201) 871-1152, ext. 545 or http://www.chabadlubavitch.org/seder. Temple Beth Tikvah in Wayne holds a pot luck second seder, 6 p.m. (973) 595-6565. Temple Beth Rishon in Wyckoff has a seder, 6:15 p.m. (201) 891-4466. 2012-03-30T07:56:36+00:00 /content/item/22666 http://www.jstandard.com/index.php/site/seder_thoughts_20121/#When:07:55:20Z Notice: Undefined offset: -1 in /var/www/vhosts/jstandard.com/httpdocs/system/core/core.functions.php(663) : eval()'d code on line 43 “It would have been enough for us.” That phrase of the haggadah — in Hebrew, the more concise word “dayyeinu” — reflects the sort of gratitude that Rabbi Henry Glazer believes to be the central message of Judaism, and the soul of every ritual from a funeral to the Pesach seder. “Freedom can be understood as the capacity to say thank you, to appreciate the giftedness of life,” he says. With his new volume, “Dayenu: The gratefulness haggadah,” Glazer, who before his retirement served as rabbi at the Fair Lawn Jewish Center, has applied the principle of gratitude to every aspect of the seder.“It would have been enough for us.” That phrase of the haggadah — in Hebrew, the more concise word “dayyeinu” — reflects the sort of gratitude that Rabbi Henry Glazer believes to be the central message of Judaism, and the soul of every ritual from a funeral to the Pesach seder. “Freedom can be understood as the capacity to say thank you, to appreciate the giftedness of life,” he says. With his new volume, “Dayenu: The gratefulness haggadah,” Glazer, who before his retirement served as rabbi at the Fair Lawn Jewish Center, has applied the principle of gratitude to every aspect of the seder. Rabbi Henry GlazerGlazer’s focus on gratitude as a spiritual path emerged from a five-day silent meditation retreat 10 years ago. At the end of the retreat, “I had the experience of a very profound sense of gratefulness for being alive,” he says. “I decided I would take this experience and use the insight as a way to revisit what Judaism means to me and can mean to anybody.” According to the haggadah, the slavery of the Jews in Egypt was ordained by God. So why be grateful to God for ending an oppression that God created? “Essentially, that’s the question of why be grateful when there’s so much tsuris in the world,” answered Glazer. “Why do you thank God when you wake up in the morning if there’s so much tzuris in the world? “I don’t think we have an alternative. There’s only one alternative to complete despair and pessimism, and that’s seeing the goodness of life,” he said. Glazer acknowledged that gratitude “is a very hard approach to cultivate and arrive at. Especially if you’re suffering, it’s hard to touch gratitude. Thank God I’ve been spared real suffering, because I don’t know if I’d be able to follow this approach.” Still, Glazer does have experience applying the teachings of gratitude to hard situations. “Since I’ve entertained this way of thinking Jewishly, I’ve made use of it at funerals. Time and again, people approached me and said how helpful it was, how it helped them go from grief to gratitude.” He quotes playwright Thorton Wilder: “The highest tribute to the dead is not grief, but gratitude.” What usually happens at a funeral, says Glazer, “is that people are angry. I tell them, thank God there’s the capacity to grieve, to weep. It helps us come to a kind of conclusion that these things are inevitable.” Glazer, however, tries to go beyond that anger to a point of gratitude, where the mourners can say, “I’m really thankful for this person’s life, I’m thankful for the moments I’ve shared with this person.” Glazer says this is the underlying, if often unspoken, message of the traditional Jewish funeral ritual. “We end the funeral not by crying, not by wailing at God, not by coming to a conclusion of indifference. We end the funeral by praising God with Kaddish. Kaddish is praise. I cannot get a better proof for the necessity of gratitude in Judaism than Kaddish itself, because praise is gratitude. “One of the reasons we do that is to reiterate in our mind, to gain the perspective that no matter how bad things are, somehow God is there and God has given us something to be grateful for.” Said Glazer, “Jews find it extremely hard to hold on to this idea, because they’re caught up in a certain way of thinking. Jews like to kvetch. (Maybe human beings in general like kvetching.) Particularly Jews who have gone through the Holocaust. There’s so much anger and bitterness. Don’t we have to go beyond it? Can we stay mired in that bitterness indefinitely? There has to be a way to go beyond it. And one way to do it is to grasp on to gratitude. “Each day, try to find ways to be grateful. It’s a way of capturing hope. And if you don’t have hope, you’re left with despair and a lot of hurt feelings.” The Gratefulness Haggadah by Rabbi Henry Glazer can be purchased from Xlibris at http://bit.ly/js-glazer, or downloaded for free from http://scr.bi/js-grateful. 2012-03-30T07:55:20+00:00 /content/item/22667 http://www.jstandard.com/index.php/site/seder_thoughts_20122/#When:07:54:55Z Notice: Undefined offset: -1 in /var/www/vhosts/jstandard.com/httpdocs/system/core/core.functions.php(663) : eval()'d code on line 43 Meditation on kindling the festival lights: Closing our eyes, we recall the darkness in the world — hunger, disease, poverty, loneliness, and war — and the human causes for this darkness: greed, envy, hatred, and fear. We quietly resolve to take the gratefulness we feel at the moment — gratefulness for life, for health, for sustenance, for the love of family and friends, for our home, for the peace we enjoy, for our freedom — and translate these gifts into offerings of chessed, of compassionate generosity, so that our light will bring a ray of hope in the darkness of others.Meditation on kindling the festival lights: Closing our eyes, we recall the darkness in the world — hunger, disease, poverty, loneliness, and war — and the human causes for this darkness: greed, envy, hatred, and fear. We quietly resolve to take the gratefulness we feel at the moment — gratefulness for life, for health, for sustenance, for the love of family and friends, for our home, for the peace we enjoy, for our freedom — and translate these gifts into offerings of chessed, of compassionate generosity, so that our light will bring a ray of hope in the darkness of others. Gratitude for order The highlight of Passover is the Seder — the meal of remembrance, fellowship and enhanced awareness of the Divine. Seder, meaning “order,” is a term that taps into the depth of the human psyche and its awareness is itself reason for gratefulness. Without the notion of order, our physical and psychic worlds would dissolve into places of chaos and terror. As the human mind proceeds to discover dimensions of order in physical space — natural changes in the seasons, the ebb and flow of the oceans’ tides, laws of gravity and magnetism that maintain the sensitive equilibrium of earth and the planets around us, the cycles of birth, life, decay and death, laws of cause and effect — all phenomena that lend some predictability to the complexity of the cosmos, we cannot help but feel only grateful wonder for the marvelous fragility of human existence. Consider the mechanisms of the mind. Perhaps the most basic definition of psychosis, of human insanity, is inextricably connected to the experience of psychological chaos and disorder. Imagine the inability to perceive the world around you in terms that are predictable and understandable; we can barely conceive of the sheer panic of psychic isolation and its utter confusion. It is the awareness of order that renders us sane, confident, even happy. One can succinctly say: “I am, therefore I thank!” On Yachatz, breaking the middle matza: Judaism does not insist on perfection. In all of Jewish sacred texts, nowhere do we come across the divine demand: Thou shalt be perfect. Recognizing that perfection belongs exclusively to God, pursuing it would be construed as an act of hubris. Judaism did, however, hold out the expectation that we strive for holiness, to emulate Godʼs deeds of compassion and justice, but never to entertain the prospect of becoming God. Human life is incomplete, imperfect, in a state of fragmentation and brokenness. We break the matzah, putting one part aside and hiding it for later, with the knowledge that the divided piece will suffice for our current celebration. Wholeness, perfection, the ideal, is something hidden, “zafun” — as yet undiscovered. The ultimate transcends our awareness; all we can do is imagine and reach for that which we conceive of as God — the Source of perfection, unity, “Shalom.” To engage in the journey toward greater God consciousness, we can only break up the wholeness of life into understandable segments, partialize reality and grasp, if blessed, only momentary glimpses of God. The matzah over which we conduct our seder is a broken matzah, “lechem oni,” the food of humans whose mortality and creatureliness render us insignificant, almost desperate in our search for the divine. It is poor man’s bread, as we emerge spiritually impoverished, a faulty facsimile of Godʼs Image and likeness. Yet, it is precisely by way of a broken heart that we arrive at an awareness of greater proximity to God. Can we pray when feeling smug about life, perfect and complacent? The mature heart is not perfectionist; it rests in the compassion of our being instead of the ideals of the mind. Before we seek the piece that fits the puzzle of our bewilderment, and restore the hidden piece to our fuller awareness and knowledge of God, we bless, praise God for the partiality of life, and discover gratefulness in every bite of this bread of affliction. We are left with the shattered pieces of our lives, with the fragments of our history as a people still struggling to unify Godʼs name in this world. What remains as we continue our ritual is the broken matzah, and the story of lives, unleavened and incomplete. 2012-03-30T07:54:55+00:00 /content/item/22668 http://www.jstandard.com/index.php/site/seder_thoughts_20123/#When:07:53:43Z Notice: Undefined offset: -1 in /var/www/vhosts/jstandard.com/httpdocs/system/core/core.functions.php(663) : eval()'d code on line 43 It is important for children to be involved in the seder. However, at the risk of being labeled a Litvak Grinch, I must state that the seder, like the rest of Judaism, is not primarily a pediatric enterprise. Certainly we want children to participate and, yes, we do many things to stimulate their curiosity and keep them awake for as long as possible. Nevertheless, the memories we seek to create should be more significant than where did daddy hide the afikoman, or how tasty was grandma’s brisket. As a teenager, I once attended a relative’s seder with many children in attendance. The adult discussions and hermeneutical pyrotechnics — with appropriate digressions and questions for the children — were deliriously and deliciously way above my head. I could hardly follow the give-and-take debates and the learned analyses as each part of the haggadah was dissected and passages were explained with creativity and ingenuity.It is important for children to be involved in the seder. However, at the risk of being labeled a Litvak Grinch, I must state that the seder, like the rest of Judaism, is not primarily a pediatric enterprise. Certainly we want children to participate and, yes, we do many things to stimulate their curiosity and keep them awake for as long as possible. Nevertheless, the memories we seek to create should be more significant than where did daddy hide the afikoman, or how tasty was grandma’s brisket. As a teenager, I once attended a relative’s seder with many children in attendance. The adult discussions and hermeneutical pyrotechnics — with appropriate digressions and questions for the children — were deliriously and deliciously way above my head. I could hardly follow the give-and-take debates and the learned analyses as each part of the haggadah was dissected and passages were explained with creativity and ingenuity. This was a seder I had never experienced before, but resolved to re-create. The following year, I spent months studying the text and (with his permission) put annotated footnotes in my late father’s haggadah. He read them, asked his own questions, and so began an annual tradition of study, analysis, and discussion at the seder on a higher level. Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, of blessed memory, taught that the haggadah has the status of talmud torah, i.e. it is to be an exercise in Torah study. The festive meal is the least important part of the seder. In fact, in order to eat the afikoman by mid-the-night (approximately 1 a.m.) when the time limit for eating the paschal lamb expires, many families have to rush the meal since so much time is taken up in discussion. A group of Sages, as narrated in the haggadah, were so engrossed in their discussions of the Exodus that they were unaware that it was time for the morning prayers. Surely then, this pre-occupation is deeper than singing Chad Gadya. The haggadah, after the Tanach and the siddur, is the most popular Jewish text, with over 5,000 published commentaries. Today’s explosion of haggadah commentaries in English offers something for everyone. It does take time to prepare, but the effort is worthwhile. Instead of just dryly reading, speed reading, or skipping some of the text entirely, discussions about the meaning of the seder symbols, talmudic passages that make up the haggadah text, the biblical narrative, and the deeper meaning of freedom, can make the seder a more experiential and participatory event. The mathematics of the seder (three matzot, four questions, four cups, four sons, 10 plagues and their exponential development) makes for interesting discussions, as well. The songs added at the end of the seder are also fruitful areas of inquiry to be mined. The Four Questions are the minimum needed to extract the basic understanding of the Exodus and the seder. This annual event should not be a dreaded ritual, but an opportunity for growth. Every level of knowledge can be accommodated, and for us in the diaspora there are two nights in which to do it. Passages can be assigned in advance and questions can be given out. That is the lesson of the Four Sons. Re-enacting the Exodus can be enjoyable and educational — for everyone. Rabbi Yaakov Lessin, of blessed memory, was fond of saying that on Pesach one must remove the chametz, the leaven, from within us. That which puffs us up like the yeast in the dough needs to be eliminated. We are still slaves today to a pseudo-sophistication that does not take our heritage seriously. We are still in a state of cerebral bondage that denies the beauty and erudition of our sacred texts. We need to free ourselves from the token and often perfunctory observance of our most precious rituals. The talmudic sage Rabban Gamliel, as we note during the Magid portion of the seder, teaches us that at the very least we must discuss and understand the meaning of three things: the paschal sacrifice, matzah, and bitter herbs. Only when we do understand them, he explains, do we fulfill the obligation of the seder. Our seder has developed over the centuries as a time when families come together to rejoice in our freedom. In the words of another sage (and from a different context), Hillel, the rest is commentary—go study. 2012-03-30T07:53:43+00:00 /content/item/22669 http://www.jstandard.com/index.php/site/seder_thoughts_20124/#When:07:52:01Z Notice: Undefined offset: -1 in /var/www/vhosts/jstandard.com/httpdocs/system/core/core.functions.php(663) : eval()'d code on line 43 Is Moses missing from the haggadah? Does his supposed absence suggest that the haggadah rejects a human role in the redemption from Egypt? What is the “Two Powers in Heaven” heresy, and what role does it play in the haggadah and its treatment of Moses? To answer these questions and one other — was there ever an attempt to deify Moses? — we begin by searching for the allegedly missing main actor in the Exodus drama.Is Moses missing from the haggadah? Does his supposed absence suggest that the haggadah rejects a human role in the redemption from Egypt? What is the “Two Powers in Heaven” heresy, and what role does it play in the haggadah and its treatment of Moses? To answer these questions and one other — was there ever an attempt to deify Moses? — we begin by searching for the allegedly missing main actor in the Exodus drama. It is widely accepted that the haggadah attributes responsibility for the redemption from Egypt to God alone and leaves no room for a human role. Two proofs are offered: • The words of the haggadah itself: “The Lord brought us out of Egypt not by an angel, not by a seraph, not by a messenger, but by the Holy One, blessed be He, Himself…” • The nearly ubiquitous belief that the traditional haggadah makes absolutely no mention of Moses. Although the haggadah certainly downplays his role in the Exodus, the traditional text has not entirely eliminated Moses: It refers to him twice, once by name and once obliquely. The two references to Moses are quite striking. They frame the Exodus, marking the beginning and the end of the redemption. The first comes at the close of Moses’ encounter with God at the burning bush — when God sets the plan in motion for redeeming the Israelites. The second comes just after the Israelites have safely crossed the Red Sea — the grand finale of the Exodus. The rod of Moses The first reference to Moses is indirect. “‘And by signs’: This is the rod, as it is said, ‘…And take with you this rod, with which you shall perform the signs’” (Exodus 4:17). The “you” here refers to Moses, because it is to him that God is speaking. This text appears in all traditional haggadot. An overt appearance of Moses’ name occurs in the section that quotes a third-century midrash known as the M’chilta d’Rabbi Yishmael. To prove a debate point, Rabbi Yose the Galilean cites Exodus 14:31 as his proof text: “And when Israel saw the wondrous power [literally, ‘great hand’] which the Lord had wielded against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord; they had faith in the Lord and in His servant Moses.” As is often the case in rabbinic literature, however, only the beginning of the biblical verse is cited; the reader’s familiarity with the full text is assumed. The full text began appearing in illuminated European haggadot from the early 14th century. Traditional renderings of the haggadah have included this single explicit mention ever since. Claims of Moses’ complete absence from the haggadah are thus erroneous. (Where do they come from? I believe the notion derives from a comment by the Vilna Gaon and probably reflects his antipathy toward the chasidic concept of the tzaddik, the holy man, who serves as intecessor with God. In his time, chasidism was considered a major heresy.) Now let us turn to the midrash “Not by an angel…,” the other source of the contention that the haggadah views redemption as a function of exclusively divine agency. The haggadah begins its midrash by citing Deuteronomy 26:8: “The Lord took us out of Egypt by a mighty hand, by an outstretched arm and awesome power, and by signs and portents.” Multiple voices then analyze the verse. [A] “The Lord took us out of Egypt not by an angel, not by a seraph, not by a messenger, but by the Holy One, blessed be He, in His glory, Himself.” [B] “As it is written: ‘I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night; I will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments; I am the Lord’ (Exodus 12:12).” [C] “I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, Myself and not an angel; “I will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, myself and not a seraph; “On all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments, Myself and not the messenger; “I am the Lord, I and none other.” A heresy challenged While this midrash remains silent on the question of a human role in the redemption, it denies a role in the last plague to supernatural beings aside from God. In fact, the most ancient layer of the haggadah’s midrash is a polemic against the ancient and not often discussed “Two Powers in Heaven” heresy. The midrash evolved over a long period of time, with all but the last word of paragraph A constituting the oldest layer of the midrash and the elaboration on Exodus 12:12 (C) apparently representing the youngest layer. Probing beneath the surface reveals a competing scriptural narrative in which God’s agency seems far from exclusive. In Exodus, we learn that God “heeded their outcry” and says, “I have come down to rescue them from the Egyptians and to bring them out of that land….” (3:7-8) Numbers 20:16 states that “He sent a messenger who freed us [literally, ‘took us out’] from Egypt.” With regard to the last plague, we read: “For when the Lord goes through to smite the Egyptians, He will see the blood on the lintel and two doorposts, and the Lord will pass over the door and not let the destroyer (ha-mashchit) enter and smite your home” (Exodus 12:23). (The problem is only compounded elsewhere in the Tanach, such as in Judges 2:1, where an “angel of the Lord” seems to be saying, “I brought you up from Egypt and I took you into the land….” Elsewhere, God acts through the “angel of the Lord” to smite Jerusalem. In another case, God acts through the same figure to rescue the besieged city.) During and after the Second Temple period, biblical passages such as these spawned Jewish theologies and literature that told the story of the Exodus in ways that vastly differed from that eventually adopted by the haggadah. Thus, for example, the late second century BCE Book of Jubilees (49:2) ascribes the last plague to the prince of Mastema (literally, the prince of “enmity”), a quasi-independent supernatural being and object of human worship to whom God had given special powers over humanity. The Angel of the Presence and his colleagues intervene at key points to rescue the Israelites from the evil Mastema and the Egyptians. In the view of Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish, a 3rd-century sage, “When the Holy One came to take Israel out of Egypt, He did not send a messenger or an angel, but He Himself came, as it is written, ‘And I will pass through the land of Egypt…’ (Exodus 12.12), He and his entire staff (of angels).” Rabbinic polemic These are some of the ambient theological notions to which it seems the haggadah takes umbrage. More specifically, the oldest layer of our midrash — “not by an angel, not by a seraph, not by a messenger” — belongs to a genre of rabbinic polemic against the heresy known as the “Two Powers in Heaven” (sh’tei reishuyot ba-shamayim). In briefest terms, the heresy involved a theology affirming the existence of two independent divine actors, a heresy alluded to in rabbinic texts from the first seven centuries of the Common Era, the period when the oldest layer of this midrash developed. Although the targets of rabbinic polemics are rarely explicit, most scholars agree that they included certain circles of Jews, Samaritans, Gnostics and especially Jewish-Christians and, subsequently, gentile Christians. The debate revolved around whether One or Two Powers were involved in biblical accounts of creation and revelation and, to a lesser extent, in the redemption from Egypt. Because it was feared that speculation about the nature and characteristics of angelic mediators could lead to the belief in Two Powers, the rabbis forcefully argued against any such mediation in the pivotal moments of God’s relationship with Israel. It was fine to talk about angels, but not, for example, to assign them responsibility for the Exodus. Most texts addressing this heresy appear in midrashic exegesis of scripture, but some pertain to “unorthodox” liturgical formulations that were seen as implying that God was only responsible for the good in the world, while some other being caused suffering. The M’chilta provides an important example of an explicit refutation of the Two Powers Heresy in connection with the Exodus: “I am the Lord your God (Exodus 20:2).Why is it said? For this reason. At the sea He appeared to them as a mighty hero doing battle, as it is said, The Lord is a man of war (Exodus 15:3). At Sinai He appeared to them as an old man full of mercy.…Scripture, therefore, would not let the nations of the world have an excuse for saying that there are Two Powers, but declares: I am the Lord your God. I am He (ani hu) who was in Egypt and I am He who was at the sea. I am He who was at Sinai. I am He who was in the past and I will be in the future. I am He who is in this world and I am He who will be in the world to come. As it is said, See, then, that I, I am He; there is no god beside Me….” Moses a god? This midrash takes up the question of whether the two different descriptions of God — at the Red Sea as the youthful warrior and at Sinai as the old man full of mercy — constitute evidence of Two Powers. It rejects the idea, implying that these differences simply reflect two aspects of a single divinity. (The Babylonian Talmud includes another important illustration of Two Powers thinking in connection with the role of angels. See BT Sanhedrin 38b.) Now we return to Moses. Given his prominence in the biblical exodus, the haggadah’s minimization of Moses is best understood against the backdrop of this heresy and to the existence — beyond and within Judaism — of tendencies to deify Moses. The Bible supplies fertile soil for tendencies to deify Moses. Exodus itself (4:16 and 7:1) intriguingly refers to Moses as playing the role of God (Elohim) to Aaron and to Pharaoh. At a time when nascent Christianity was constructing a religion that revolved around Jesus as a divine redeeming intermediary, the haggadah emphasized redemption through an unmediated relationship between God and humanity. The status of Moses also was one of the issues of debate in the long-simmering conflict with the Samaritans, a sect that not only revered Moses as God’s only true prophet, but elevated him to an almost God-like position: Moses served as humanity’s intercessor before God and in the future would return to bring the final redemption. Earlier Jewish sources reflect a similar tendency. “The Wisdom of Sirach” (45:2), written by a Jew in the second century BCE, says that God “made [Moses] equal in glory to the holy ones,” meaning the angels. Philo writes of a partnership between God and Moses that seems to blur the distinction between humanity and divinity. Later midrashic sources also preserve ancient Jewish notions about Moses’ divinity. “Tanna Debe Eliyyahu,” in a comment on II Samuel 7:23, actually refers to Moses and Aaron as “divine beings.” To sum up, the haggadah downplays Moses not because it subscribes to a theology in which human beings play no part in the Exodus, but as a precaution against tendencies to deify Moses. A variety of midrashim reflect the same concern when they stress Moses’ personal limitations. Summarizing these midrashic traditions, Judah Goldin concludes that “all [the sages] took great precautions in their interpretations, lest the figure of Moses be magnified beyond human proportions.” Indeed Midrash Lekah Tov asks why the grave of Moses remains unknown and answers flatly, “so that Israel would not go there and put up a Temple and make sacrifices and offer incense.” Partnering with God To those who would deify Moses, the haggadah offers a sharp rebuke. Their quasi-divine hero almost disappears from the story. For those searching for the role in the redemption played by human beings, however, the haggadah offers subtle, but affirmative support. Whatever miraculous properties the staff of Moses may have possessed, it did not walk into Pharaoh’s palace on its own. God chose a human being to bring it there. God and humanity share responsibility for redeeming the world. Moses’ staff in the haggadah reminds us of the unique role in redemptive process that we each hold in our hands. The question is whether we can overcome the reluctance, as Moses eventually did, to fully embrace the work. Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote: “The destiny of man is to be a partner of God….Every man is called upon to be a redeemer, and redemption takes place every moment, every day….The world is in need of redemption, but the redemption must not be expected to happen as an act of sheer grace. Man’s task is to make the world worthy of redemption. His faith and his works are preparations for ultimate redemption.” The redemption from Egypt was no different. And if we use the haggadah to teach our children that redemption — then and now — depends on God and humanity, dayeinu! 2012-03-30T07:52:01+00:00 /content/item/22675 http://www.jstandard.com/index.php/site/re-released_book_offers_passover_help/#When:07:50:45Z Notice: Undefined offset: -1 in /var/www/vhosts/jstandard.com/httpdocs/system/core/core.functions.php(663) : eval()'d code on line 43 “The Whole Foods Kosher Kitchen: Glorious Meals Pure and Simple” has been released. Written by kosher gourmet cooking teacher and restaurateur Lévana Kirschenbaum, the book is new, updated, and revised from a previous edition, and offers a healthy, whole foods approach to eating. In addition to her native Moroccan cuisine, Lévana’s recipes include Indian, Italian, French, and Chinese cuisine. The book with color photographs offers three indexes: general, gluten-free, and Passover, each with more than 250 recipes in each. There is also a chapter on eating and shopping policies. For Passover, here is a recipe from her book.“The Whole Foods Kosher Kitchen: Glorious Meals Pure and Simple” has been released. Written by kosher gourmet cooking teacher and restaurateur Lévana Kirschenbaum, the book is new, updated, and revised from a previous edition, and offers a healthy, whole foods approach to eating. In addition to her native Moroccan cuisine, Lévana’s recipes include Indian, Italian, French, and Chinese cuisine. The book with color photographs offers three indexes: general, gluten-free, and Passover, each with more than 250 recipes in each. There is also a chapter on eating and shopping policies. For Passover, here is a recipe from her book. Brussels sprouts and zucchini in tomato sauce Mediterranean flavors at their best. I find brussels sprouts somewhat underrated and underused in our country. They are much more exciting than they sound, and much less innocent than they look; and their pungent bite provides a nice counterpoint to the mildness of the zucchini. — LK Ingredients: 3 tablespoons olive oil1 large onion, quartered3 large garlic cloves2 large zucchini, diced1 pint brussels sprouts, the smaller the better, frozen are ok, larger ones halved lengthwise1 cup canned crushed tomatoes1/2 cup raisins1 teaspoon turmeric2 bay leaves, or 1/2 teaspoon ground1 cup waterSalt and pepper to taste1 tablespoon sugar2 tablespoons vinegar1/4 cup chopped parsley Heat the oil in a large skillet. In a food processor, coarsely grind the onion and garlic, and add to the skillet. Sauté until translucent. Add the zucchini, brussels sprouts, tomatoes, raisins, turmeric, bay leaves, water, salt, and pepper, and bring to a boil. Reduce the flame to medium, and cook covered for 10 minutes. Add the sugar, vinegar, and parsley and cook 5 more minutes. Served hot or at room temperature. Makes 8 servings. Variation: Substitute one pound sliced fresh or frozen okra, or diced frozen artichoke bottoms, for the brussels sprouts and proceed exactly as above. 2012-03-30T07:50:45+00:00 /content/item/22677 http://www.jstandard.com/index.php/site/passover_cooking_in_englewood/#When:07:48:08Z Notice: Undefined offset: -1 in /var/www/vhosts/jstandard.com/httpdocs/system/core/core.functions.php(663) : eval()'d code on line 43 Rabbi Menachem Genack of Congregation Shomrei Emunah of Englewood and CEO of kashrus for the Orthodox Union discussed Passover and Torah with a group of women at a Pesach cooking class on March 22 in Englewood. Chef Lara Szlamkowicz, founder of Grassfed Culinary, a kosher catering service, prepared several dishes including Potato Crusted Salmon with Herb Horseradish Ailoi served over Spinach and Israeli Citrus Salad with fresh Citrus Vinaigrette, created to pay homage to the journey of B’nai Israel, “M’Avdut L’Cherut,” from bitter slavery (horseradish), through the Red Sea (fish) to the Holy Land (Israeli pommelos and blood oranges). 2012-03-30T07:48:08+00:00 /content/item/22676 http://www.jstandard.com/index.php/site/passover_cooking_in_teaneck/#When:07:49:33Z Notice: Undefined offset: -1 in /var/www/vhosts/jstandard.com/httpdocs/system/core/core.functions.php(663) : eval()'d code on line 43 Chef Lea Bar-Nahum, professional chef and caterer, second from right, led a Passover cooking and tasting demonstration for Temple Emeth’s Rosh Chodesh group last week. The menu included Middle Eastern charoset and breakfast and dinner matzo roll-ups. With her from left are Sybil Silverman, Marilyn Shapiro, and Elaine Bergman. 2012-03-29T07:49:33+00:00