Happenings

By Michelle Azar
Published on April 10, 2013

Killing Children and Eating Matzah

By Beit T'shuvah
Published on March 28, 2013

The chametz within

Published on March 28, 2013

Rejoice! Spring has arrived, and Pesach is here. The time of our liberation is at hand. The Exodus from our narrow straits is re-enacted once more.

On slavery and memory

By David Suissa
Published on March 21, 2013

Judaism is a religion that likes symbols. The Passover Seder table is full of them: There’s the salt that can represent tears or bitterness, the wine as metaphor for blood, the unleavened matzah as a symbol for humility, and so on.

Egyptian exodus comes to Westwood

Published on March 21, 2013

With focused eyes and wide smiles, a sea of preschoolers in white baker’s hats worked slowly, carefully kneading and flattening the dough that would soon emerge from a brick oven as that classic Passover food: matzah.

Matzah: Simple cracker, detailed story

Published on March 21, 2013

The matzah aisle in any local kosher supermarket — even some nonkosher ones — is increasingly more likely to resemble a cereal aisle with its myriad options rather than the modesty and simplicity that is matzah itself.

Save the self-pity, choices abound for Passover meals [RECIPES]

Published on March 11, 2013

For the many who feel overwhelmed by Passover because of the demands of cooking without leaven, a word or two: That should not be an obstacle.

This year, more Angelenos than ever get Passover aid from local agencies

By Ryan Torok
Published on April 11, 2012

This year, more than 1,000 Los Angeles families in need received food from organizations that provide assistance specifically for Passover.

Mishap leaves Israeli brigade with seder meal of matzah and salami

Published on April 9, 2012

Israeli soldiers in the Kfir Brigade ate salami and matzah for their seder meal after a base chef heated up the real seder food inappropriately, rendering it unkosher.

Passover Rhapsody - A Jewish Rock Opera

By Shmuel Rosner
Published on April 5, 2012

Liberation

By David Suissa
Published on April 4, 2012

It’s fashionable to look at Passover as a universal idea. This makes sense; after all, how much more universal can you get than the theme of human freedom? Also, it’s a lot easier these days to be outer-directed and feel outrage at injustice.

Questionable behavior for after the seder

Published on April 3, 2012

Why is the day after the seder different from all other days? Is it because we are exhausted? Or our clothes no longer button? Possibly. More likely, I suspect the day after is different because of all the newly minted questions that drop into our brains like zuzim.

How not to feel like a matzah ball on Passover

Published on April 2, 2012

It's April and steel shopping carts clang and collide like bumper cars in the kosher-for-Passover aisle of my local supermarket. Even in this mob I find soul mates, shoppers who share my angst about eating many of the hechshered-for-the-holiday packaged foods. Foods made with what blogger Lisa Rose calls the "four food groups of Passover: cottonseed oil, MSG, white sugar and potato starch."

Q&A with pastry chef Chris Hanmer

By Julie Gruenbaum Fax
Published on March 29, 2012

Award-winning pastry chef Chris Hanmer doesn’t let a little matzah meal scare him. Hanmer, who, in 2011, came in first in the second season of “Top Chef: Just Desserts,” has been pastry chef at catered Passover programs at Ritz-Carlton hotels in Lake Las Vegas, Nev., and Naples, Fla.

Valentine’s Day: Use what you’ve got

Published on February 14, 2012

Valentine’s Day can be a tough time for a young Jew. Fancy restaurants do not cater well to our people. The last time I took a lady to a snooty eatery, the special was baked swiss-cheese-topped-pork stuffed into a lobster served on a picture of Jesus.

Beyond matzah and couscous

By Ryan E. Smith
Published on November 17, 2011

Ataste of Israel is no farther away than your local grocery store — and not just in the kosher aisle.

Judge rules U.S. inmate has no right to matzah

Published on August 11, 2011

A U.S. federal judge has ruled that a Jewish inmate in a New York jail does not have a constitutionally protected right to matzah and grape juice.

Top 10 Uses for Leftover Matzah

By Lauren Bottner
Published on April 25, 2011

Passover in Prison

By Jonah Lowenfeld
Published on April 12, 2011

A few weeks before Passover, there was a moment when Shirley Friedman looked worried that there might not be enough food for everybody. Friedman, who calls herself “a full-time grandmother,” is expecting to feed three dozen people over the first two nights of Passover at her table at home — but on that Thursday morning, she wasn’t worrying about a problem that could be solved by another trip to the supermarket.

Hypochondriacs are We!

By Julia Bendis
Published on December 6, 2010

RECIPE: The Fluffiest Matzah Balls

By Judy Zeidler
Published on March 25, 2009

3 eggs, separated, About 1/2 cup water or chicken stock, 1 to 1 1/2 cups matzah meal

Get ready to sing . . . Hatikvah!

By Shoshana Lewin Fischer
Published on April 24, 2008

In 1886, Naphtali Herz Imber, an English poet originally from Bohemia, wrote the words to Israel's national anthem, "Hatikvah." Samuel Cohen, an immigrant from Moldavia, wrote the melody

L.A. Jewish girl joins the African Jewish matzah dance

By Nili Salem
Published on April 24, 2008

My Pesach preparation, like that of so many Americans, usually involves walking to my local supermarket and loading a cart full of Manischewitz products...

Missing Matzah? It’s a Chain Store Problem

By Adam Wills
Published on April 24, 2008

The hunt for matzah stretched beyond the afikomen this year. A matzah shortage this week left many Southern California shoppers driving to multiple supermarkets in search of the unleavened bread, which plays a leading role during Passover seders and is used throughout the week.

The matzah challenge…VideoJew’s blind taste test

By Jay Firestone
Published on April 10, 2008

Chametz and matzah symbolize internal slavery struggle

By Reb Mimi Feigelson
Published on March 29, 2007

When my student Adam confronted me recently with this question "In a post-Freudian world, how can we trust the honesty of our intentions?" my response was, "Our conscious and subconscious can be likened to matzah and chametz."

Japanese video—- ‘Improve your matzoh handling technique’

Published on March 23, 2007

Breaking matzoh clean

I Ate the Whole Thing!

Published on August 31, 2006

Circuit News.

7 Days in the Arts

By Keren Engelberg
Published on August 17, 2006

7 Days in the Arts

PASSOVER: Try to Avoid Asking the Fifth Question

By Rabbi Stewart L. Vogel
Published on April 6, 2006

While there are only four questions posed in the haggadah, most seders struggle with the unasked fifth question, "When are we going to eat?" It is asked, not only by hungry children, but also by adults who feel disconnected to the rituals of their ancestors.

PASSOVER: Prague’s Matzah Metamorphosis

By Dinah Spritzer
Published on April 6, 2006

An anonymous source breathes heavily on the other end of the receiver, softly intoning that the only way to get the goods is from an inside contact. Through friends, I discretely discover my intermediary, who leads me through several dark corridors for an encounter with an angry man.

Yeladim

By Abby Gilad
Published on April 21, 2005

How many times can you say "Passover" during the seder? For instance: "Pass over the salt." "Please pass over a soup spoon." Keep count and decide what the winner gets for a prize!

Blintzes, Cupcakes and Pasta—Oh My!

By Kelly Hartog
Published on April 14, 2005

Back in the day, Passover meant meat, matzah and potatoes for eight days of the Passover.

Afikomen, Afikomen Wherefore Art Thou?

By Shoshana Lewin-Fischer
Published on April 14, 2005

The afikomen: dessert or simply a ploy to keep children -- and some adults -- awake through most of the seder? Most people probably favor the latter, and tend to choose one of two techniques to make finding the half-piece of matzah interesting:

When You Care Enough to Send Matzah Love

By Amy Klein
Published on April 14, 2005

Picture our forefather Moses as a child, standing outside a swimming pool, waving to other children in the pool. They look confused because the pool waters have been parted.

We Were Slaves in Westwood

By Nancy Sokoler Steiner
Published on April 7, 2005

Southern Californians can travel from Pharaoh's palace to Midwestern wheat fields to a rain forest -- all without leaving Westwood.

Matzah Masters Write About Every Nook and Cranny

By Elli Wohlgelernter
Published on April 8, 2004

Ari Greenspan knows his matzah. It's not the only thing he knows, but he definitely knows his matzah.

Q &  A With Moshe Wein

By Julie G Fax
Published on March 25, 2004

All-inclusive Passover hotel programs cost anywhere from $1,200 to $3,000 per person and take place all over the country -- from ski resorts in Utah to the legendary scene in Miami. Most have one thing in common: Lots and lots of good food.

A Match Made in Ratner’s Restaurant

By Naomi Pfefferman
Published on March 18, 2004

Laurie Gwen Shapiro is not, repeat not scion to a matzah fortune, like the heroine of her hyperkinetic new novel, "The Matzo Ball Heiress."

Community Briefs

Published on April 24, 2003

The faces of The Jewish Federation's main fundraisers are changing.

A Date With Passover Memories

By Rahel Musleah
Published on April 17, 2003

Once a year, soon after Purim, my parents lug down the hydraulic press from their attic.

Kids Page

By Abby Gilad
Published on April 17, 2003

Kids Page

Sweet Memories of Broken Matzah

By Lisa J. Solomon
Published on April 3, 2003

My great-grandmother, Gouda, escaped Germany by boat at night when she was in her 60s. My grandfather, Opa, fled with her and his wife and two small children when he was 42. Both lived long, energetic, brave lives in their adopted country: she, chasing her great grandchildren around in a playful hide-and-seek when she was 95 years old; he, establishing a synagogue in the Bronx after abandoning one in Grebenaou, Germany. Both also had elaborate Passover breakfast rituals involving broken pieces of matzah.

"Gouda lined her half-full coffee cup, with thin strips of matzah," my mother told me. Then, in the order they went in, she lifted each piece out, sprinkled it with sugar and ate it.

The Matzah Bull

By Carin Davis
Published on December 19, 2002

Christmas Eve 2001. Bing Crosby's on my radio, Jimmy Stewart's on my television and I'm on my couch.

Ghosts of Passovers Past

By Amy Klein
Published on March 28, 2002

I have never quite gotten used to celebrating two seders.

After doing only one seder for each of the nine Passovers I was in Israel, the second night now seems like religious deja vu, a "Groundhog Day," where I'm setting the table yet again, rereading the haggadah and singing the same songs, thinking that if only I get it right this time, I won't have to relive the night once more.

Jewish Art Makeover

By Julie Wiener
Published on September 6, 2001

A women's tefillin set with a beaded velvet box and blue satin straps.

A silver "Kiddush" cup in which ceremonial wine passes through a delicately crafted silver net formed from the Hebrew word for "blessed."

A sukkah with brightly painted walls made of the long, plastic

strips found in industrial-sized refrigerators -- and furnished with stools and a mirrored table symbolizing the self-reflection expected during the High Holy Days.

Raising Eyebrows

By Naomi Pfefferman
Published on February 18, 1999

It's not always easy to contend with an artist who decides to bite the hand that feeds him.