Sustainable Tzedakah

By Steven Philp Now that we have entered the month of November, many of us look forward to the prospect of spending time with loved ones for Thanksgiving. Yet during times of celebration, Jews are also called to remember the needy through the commandment of tzedakah. Tzedakah often takes the form of charitable giving–small donations to help the less fortunate meet their most basic needs. Yet many people continue to struggle to make ends meet, and every year we are given the difficult task of counting our blessings in the face of endemic poverty. It is written in the Talmud that the highest forms of tzedakah are those gifts that enable another person to become self-sufficient. As Jews, we ask ourselves: how can we give in a way that contributes toward a permanent solution? In 2009, activist...

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Add pomegranate to your Thanksgiving menu

By April N. Baskin I still remember the taste of the fresh cup of freshly squeezed pomegranate juice I bought from old Chasid pushing a tiny wooden cart on a chilly day in Tzfat last winter. I love the tangy flavor of fresh pomegranate and with it being the pomegranate season, there are endless opportunities to indulge. In our September/October issue, cookbook author Joan Nathan explored the rich history of the ever-appealing pomegranate, taking special note of its presence in Persian cuisine as well as her family’s favorite ways of enjoying the treasured fruit: “I remember my children’s delight when a Persian family taught us the technique of drinking the juice straight from the hard shell. They rolled a pomegranate along a countertop until all the crunchy sounds stopped, then pierced it with a skewer, inserted a straw...

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Put Some Matzah on that Turkey!

By Benjamin Schuman-Stoler Hey there InTheMoment readers. Hope you're liking the blog so far. Remember, if there's anything you want to tip us on to, or have some input to contribute, get in touch with us at editor@momentmag.com. We love hearing from our readers. One such reader, Nancy Rosenberg, recently contacted us to see if the magazine had ever written something in honor of Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, Nancy, we're in the middle of putting Moment's back issues online (as an electronic archive) so we can't yet do a simple "Thanksgiving" search and see what Moment issues mentioned the holiday. That being said, perhaps there are some readers who remember seeing a Thanksgiving piece in Moment. So, readers, anyone remember seeing a Thanksgiving piece in Moment?

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