In 1987, when Christopher Hitchens discovered at age 38 that he was Jewish, he was, as he later wrote “pleased to find that I was pleased.” The discovery moved the atheist to contact the only rabbi he knew personally to explore what he might be missing. His meetings with Rabbi Robert Goldburg didn’t shake Hitchens…
New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman said that he should have used a more “precise term” when he wrote that congressional ovations for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were “bought and paid for by the Israel lobby.” “In retrospect I probably should have used a more precise term like ‘engineered’ by the Israel lobby –…
The house at 29 Lily Pond Lane in East Hampton, N.Y., is not the sort of place one might associate with an ultra-Orthodox kabbalist rabbi. The oceanfront property on one of the upper-crust Long Island vacation town’s toniest streets is a few hundred yards from mansions owned by Martha Stewart and Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz….
Her followers on Twitter know that Sandra Bernhard shares a dizzying number of missives. “I mix it up, honey, tomorrow night is a vegan potato kale enchilada. That’s how we roll,” said a recent tweet. Another said simply: “7:20 is the new 10:30.” To some, the domesticity might seem surprising. After all, Bernhard is a…
Top-level Jewish fundraisers from President Obama’s 2008 campaign are sticking with the president in 2012. Despite reports that President Obama faces a loss of Jewish funders due to his Middle East policy, analysis of a list of elite bundlers from his 2008 race shows no defections among the president’s top Jewish supporters in 2012. In…
If in the coming weeks you happen to meet a young woman called Mushkie, here are a few things you should know: Mushkie is probably younger than 24. She is most likely consumed with her upcoming wedding or her young children. One more thing: “You have to say the last name when you are talking…
Courtesy of Dorie Greenspan Makes 32 cookies For the dough: 4 ounces cold cream cheese, cut into 4 pieces 1 stick (8 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon salt For the filling 2/3 cup seedless raspberry jam, apricot jam or marmalade 2 tablespoons sugar 1/2 teaspoon ground…
Reprinted with permission of Joan Nathan On the morning of Purim, Moroccan Jews decorate the table with flowers and sweets. Marzipan-stuffed prunes with walnuts and such cookies as ghouribi are a few of the delicacies. Ghouribi are easily prepared walnut cookies, which children enjoy rolling with their hands. Makes about 30 cookies 1 cup vegetable…
Courtesy The Hadassah Everyday Cookbook: Daily Meals for the Contemporary Jewish Kitchen by Lean Koenig Makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies 2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk 1 egg white 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract Scant 1/4 teaspoon orange extract 1/8 teaspoon salt 3 1/2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips 1) Preheat oven…
Courtesy of Alessandra Rovati 3 cups flour 1 cup sugar a big pinch of salt 1/3 cup cold butter or margarine (cold) 2/3 cup marsala or other sweet wine 2/3 cup honey 1 teaspoon cinnamon a big pinch of ground cloves, or nutmeg (optional) a big pinch of black pepper 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped…
Makes about two pounds of cookies 2 ¼ tablespoon granulated sugar 1 teaspoon table salt 2 large eggs 7 large egg yolks 1/4 cup vegetable oil 2 1/3 cups bread flour, unsifted 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract 3/4 teaspoon rum flavoring 1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts, almonds, pecans (optional) 1/2 cup glaceed cherries (optional) 1-2 cups flour…
