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The Lilith Blog
April 14, 2020 by admin
All-of-a-Kind Seder in the Time of Covid-19
In the unfolding of COVID-19, while some friends were frantically dashing back to Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven or Ling Ma’s Severence, I reached for All-of-a-kind Family, by Sydney Taylor. It’s an old children’s book, doubly old—published in 1951 and set in 1912—about the five all-of-a-kind sisters, dressed alike and running around in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, surrounded by their fellow Jews. It was the confluence of two events that brought it to mind—quarantine and Passover.
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April 13, 2020 by Yona Zeldis McDonough
Making Jewish Life in 15th Century Spain Come Alive for Kids
Loma—short for Paloma—is a Jewish girl living in 15th century Spain and the clear hero of this middle-grade historical novel, (A Ceiling Made of Eggshells, HarperCollins, $17.99). Clever with words and even more clever with numbers, Loma captures the attention of Belo, her stern and commanding grandfather. To her surprise, he decides that she will accompany him on his travels and she discovers she has an important role to play in determining the future of her people. Newberry award-winning author Gail Carson Levine talks to Fiction Editor Yona Zeldis McDonough about bringing significant episodes in Jewish history to life again.
Yona Zeldis McDonough: What sparked your interest in this period in Jewish history and what kind of research did you do?
Gail Carson Levine: My father is the culprit! Soon after his death, because I missed him so much, I wrote my first and only other historical novel (so far), Dave at Night, which is loosely based on his childhood in the Hebrew Orphan Asylum in New York City. A Ceiling Made of Eggshells comes indirectly from that orphanage experience, too, because it separated him from his Sephardic roots.
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April 6, 2020 by admin
Passover Treats from a Chef and Fridge Forager
Passover is the ultimate food holiday, from the essential symbolism of foods on the Seder plate to what we eat and don’t eat for these exceptional eight days of the year. And then there’s the fact that this is not a go-to-synagogue holiday, but observance takes place at a meal, imbuing our tables themselves with holiness.
During these last few days before the first Seder, Jews – mostly Jewish women, if we’re honest – from all levels of religious observance are usually making final tweaks to menus for the Seders and the rest of the week. The cooking is gaining speed and intensity, too, in preparation for the typically large gatherings of relatives, friends and even strangers who will come together to re-tell and celebrate the story of the liberation journey of the ancient Israelites.
But this year, as we are all too aware, is quite different. (more…)
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April 6, 2020 by admin
Turning Days of Distancing into Days of Reflection
Progress is an American value. We are acculturated to propel—socially, professionally, economically—which makes sheltering in place excruciating. For me, not moving forward is as good as moving backwards.
So, how can we navigate this temporary suspension of life as we know it? Some folks are turning this time into an opportunity to begin exercising, bond with family and pets, clean closets, or garden. Others are re-hanging holiday lights. I am reliving the Days of Awe.
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April 6, 2020 by Nechama Liss-Levinson
Food for Thought on Passover
In some ways, I have always been a gastronomic Jew, that is, my Jewish identity intertwined with eating and enjoying traditional Jewish foods, like chicken soup with knaidels, noodle kugel and mandelbread. I knew in my heart that for some of us, these foods were our “madeleines,” the tastes, smells and memories that connect us with our past.
Years ago, after my mother died, I would wander down the aisles of the supermarket at Passover, looking at the lovely stalks of fresh asparagus, the bags of tiny marshmallows, the chocolate covered orange peels and the matzah redolent of matzah brei and I would silently weep, missing her presence.
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April 4, 2020 by admin
ZoomWear: A Virtual Fashion Guide
Zoom meetings, Zoom teaching, Zoom Seders, Zoom Zumba; your Pandemic calendar is full but what do you wear? Lighthearted tips to help the modern social isolate shine on screen!
Make-up:
Your face is key! Zoom Professional allows meetings of unlimited length; you are going to get bored and sleepy but no-one has to know. Pencil those brows into arches of amazement. (Fireplace ash works in a pinch.) Lighten the skin around your eyes with bleach wipes for an alert demeanor. Blusher masks indoor pallor. When you run out of blush, cut a beet in half and apply to cheeks. When you run out of fresh produce, smear maraschino cherries in a “C” curve starting 9mm from the bottom of your eye socket to the hollow beneath your cheeks. When you run out of red food, slap yourself in the face.
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April 3, 2020 by Michelle Brafman
Desperately Seeking Yeast
On day nine of Governor Hogan’s quarantine, I embarked upon a journey to find yeast. My daughter, uprooted from her college life, had decided that she wanted to make challah for Shabbat before Passover began. What a way to connect with her faith! What a perfect project for a quarantine! What a life skill!
My weekly trip to Whole Foods coincided with this particular Friday morning, so I armed myself with a packet of my precious stash of anti-bacterial wipes and hit the crowded store. With some clever maneuvering of my cart, I made my way to the baking aisle. No yeast to be found.
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April 2, 2020 by Yona Zeldis McDonough
Fran Is Just Fine
Fran Drescher is once again having a moment. And she should be: in this dark, uncertain moment, her brand of humor is exactly the flavor we need.
As one of the stars in the new NBC sitcom, Indebted, the 62-year-old comic actress is trading on the fame she gained during the run of The Nanny, which aired from 1993-1999. I started watching that show because of my daughter Kate, who chortled her way through the reruns that aired every weeknight just after dinner time.
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April 1, 2020 by Rebecca Katz
Migraines in Quarantine: A Comic
I’ve never tried to draw my migraines before. Then again, I’ve never lived during a pandemic before, so there are so many new things happening in my life. I found my couple of weeks working from home busier and more stressful than before the crisis, but without my normal valves to control my anxiety. It all erupted in a fantastic migraine that kept me company for many days.
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March 31, 2020 by admin
I Attended a Jews for Jesus Seder in France: Here’s How It Went
Before embarking on my French sojourn I hadn’t contemplated what Jewish life abroad might look like or the compromises I might make. Living in France throughout my 20’s, was more accidental than planned – I was never a refugee fleeing persecution, but a student, an aspiring artist who fell in love with a landscape; the light, the sounds and smells of Aix-en-Provence. Eventually, an intended summer stay stretched into a decade.
The landscape was that of Cezanne and Van Gogh, the scent, wafts of lavender and thyme, mingling with the aroma of freshly baked bread that permeated the 18th century town.
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