From the Editor // March/April 2015
The ground is lurching beneath the feet of European Jews, with anti-Semitism rising up around them. We American Jews are rightly concerned at this alarming turn of events. We fear the spread of this new, especially virulent form of anti-Semitism to our own shores. We feel disgusted but helpless. What can we do?
The Sweet Story of Charoset
Charoset, that aromatic ensemble of fruits, nuts, spices and wine, may be the tastiest traditional food on the Seder plate, but why it is there...
Passover Quiz | Test Your Haggadah IQ
Test your knowledge of Passover trivia, from oldest known complete Haggadah manuscript to Barack Obama's White House seder.
Thousands of Little Pharaohs: The Plight of the Agunah
By Martin Berman-Gorvine
In this Passover season, consider the plight of Jewish women whose marriages have ended but whose (former) husbands refuse them a get (bill...
Escape from Freedom?
By Martin Berman-Gorvine
As Passover approaches, I have been reading the psychologist Erich Fromm’s 1941 work, Escape from Freedom. Writing when Nazi Germany was at its...
Not the First (or Last) Jew in Spain
by Hilary Weissman
While studying abroad in Spain this spring. I found myself unintentionally making numerous trips to the southern town of Córdoba– it served as...
Passover Remixed
by Amanda Walgrove
For thousands of years, the Passover Seder has evoked universal themes of personal liberation and religious freedom. Each generation tells and retells the...
For Refugees, a Modern Exodus
By Adam Chandler
Before escaping to Israel in 2003, Ephraim lived in a camp with 15,000 other Eritreans. Like a growing number of refugees...
Seders, and the Last Supper, and Jesus! Oh, My!
By Michelle Albert
A recent article on Slate raises the question of a possible connection between the Last Supper and Passover, dredging up a long-standing source...
The Seder: Not Just for Jews Anymore
By Symi Rom-Rymer
Did you know that the three pieces of matzo used during Seder represent the holy trinity? Or that a leg of lamb on...
Cupcakes: A Potential Passover Food
By Michelle Albert
Cupcakes are a long-ranging phenomenon—nay, obsession—here in the States. Ever since Carrie Bradshaw frequented Magnolia Bakery on Sex and the City, people all...
Passover Chocolate Orange Tart with Almond Praline
By Jenna Huntsberger
Chocolate, almond, orange - perfect for Passover.
If you're really looking to rile up your Jewish friends, ask them about their most detested Passover...