Barbara Kline's Challah
This makes 2 small/medium size challahs.  I find that it's usually enough for 4-6 people.

First, make the yeast "sponge"

1/2  tumbler size glass hot water
1 tbls. yeast (or 1 envelope) regular not rapid rise
1 tbls. sugar

Stir together and let it do its thing while you combine the other ingredients.

Next, In large mixing bowl, combine:

4 cups unsifted, UNbleached flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsps. Salt

Make a well in the center of the flour and pour sponge (frothy head, liquid, and all) into it.  Cover sponge with some of the flour mixture.

Add to this . . .

2 beaten eggs
2 tblsp. vegetable oil (canola, sunflower, etc.)

Combine well with wooden spatula or spoon.  Begin to knead by hand, adding water until all flour can be absorbed.  Add water a little at a
time.  The weather (dampness) determines whether you need a little or a lot.  Remove from bowl and continue kneading on a formica or stainless steel counter until the dough is smooth and springy (like a baby's bottom).

Scrape the bowl clean.   Pour a little oil into the bowl and return kneeded dough to it, lightly coating all the dough with the oil. Cover with wax paper and let sit for at least four (4) hours.
. . . . . .
When dough has risen double its original size, remove from bowl and punch down to get the air out.  Kneed a little more.   Divide into two equal amounts for two challahs.

Braiding the challah:

Starting with one section of your dough, divide into four equal amounts.  Set the biggest lump aside and roll out three ropes with the remaining three lumps of dough. Braid these three ropes beginning in the middle, stretching the dough as you get to each end.  This will give your challah a lovely shape. Repeat this process with the fourth lump that you had set aside, dividing that piece into three parts, rolling them into ropes, and braiding from the center out.  Now you have one large braid and one small one.  Center the small braid on top of the large one, pressing the two edges deeply into the larger braid below. Secure ends, and let rest for approximately 20 minutes on a greased cookie sheet.  Preheat oven at 350 degrees.

After this second rise, paint the challahs with beaten egg and sprinkle with poppy seeds or sesame seeds if desired.

Bake for 1/2 hour.  Remove from cookie sheet and continue baking for another 10 minutes, or until challah sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Remove from oven and let cool on baking rack.

Shabbat Shalom!
Eat and enjoy!!!

By Shira Kline, based on a folk tale, origin unknown.
Please let me know if you have the source!

Chana was just about that age. That age when she wanted to know everything, felt like she should know everything, and sometimes got a little mad if someone else knew everything. Chana did very well in school and was often heard saying, “I know, I know.” When her mom asked her if she would like to go to the museum to see the new exhibit on ancient Egypt, Chana just said, “I already know about all that stuff.” And when Chana’s dad asked her if she would like some help with her writing homework, she said, “Dad! I know how to do this. I don’t need any help!” And so, Chana’s mom and dad let her do her thing and sometimes tried to stay out of her way.

One day, something came up that Chana did not know.

Her Religious School teacher asked, “How can we see God?” At first Chana thought, “Well everyone knows that God is everywhere. That’s a weird question.” And when one student suggested, “Maybe we can see God in heaven,” Chana thought, “You can’t see heaven!” She listened to a few other answers from her class mates, but none of them seemed to make sense. See God in a mountain? See God in the ocean? This started to make Chana feel upset! How do we see God?

Later that evening at home, Chana told her parents about her dilemma. She was truly puzzled by this question.

Chana’s mom smiled and said, “Well, what do you think God looks like?” The last thing Chana wanted to do was admit that she didn’t know, so instead she crossed her arms, furrowed her eyebrows and pursed her lips.

“Well,” said Chana’s mom, “I’ll tell you what I know. God looks like love.” Chana’s eyebrows shot up with surprise and her chin pushed forward. She looked away, silently considering what in the world her mother could be talking about. “I think,” Chana’s mom continued, “ that God looks like shining light and warmth.” Slowly Chana’s lips formed a frown as she doubted that her mother even understood the question. Chana’s mom didn’t seem to notice. “God looks like life!” she went on. “And life is full of color and questions and laughter and even crying. God looks like all of these things.”

Finally Chana could hold it in no longer. “But Mom! How? How do we see God? That’s the question!”

“Oh! That’s the easiest part” Chana’s mom said with a smile. Chana sighed and looked up at her mom impatiently. She watched as her mom got up from the table and went into her bedroom. She came back with a mirror in her hand and offered it to Chana. With a slight roll of the eyes, but curious eyes at least, Chana accepted the mirror and did what anyone does with a mirror. She gazed into the mirror and saw her own reflection. Chana’s mom sat back and smiled an even bigger smile. “See?” she asked.

“See?” repeated Chana. “See what?”

Her mom looked patiently over Chana’s shoulders so that she could see her daughter’s face in the mirror. “See the shining light in your eyes?” Chana’s eyes widened and she held the mirror closer. “See that expression? Wondering, questioning, guessing? See how your face is so full of life?” By this time, Chana was holding the mirror so close to her face that her breath fogged the mirror just a bit. “See that? See your breath?” her mom asked excitedly. “That’s how we see God! We see God in our ourselves!”

Suddenly Chana burst into laughter and she smiled a big wide grin up at her mom. “How did you know all that?” she asked. Her mom’s eyes twinkled and she answered, “Oh, these are the things that a mother knows.” Together they looked into the mirror and saw as their own reflections radiated love and warmth and color and questions and laughter and even some crying.

“Thanks mom,” Chana said quietly with a hug.

Happy Mother’s Day!

When God Made Moms
by Erma Bombeck
 

By the time the Lord made mothers, he was into his sixth day of working overtime. An Angel appeared and said "Why are you spending so much time on this one"? And the Lord answered and said, "Have you seen the spec sheet on her? She has to be completely washable, but not plastic; have 200 movable parts, all replaceable; run on black coffee and leftovers; have a lap that can hold three children at one time and that disappears when she stands up; have a kiss that can cure anything from a scraped knee to a broken heart, and have six pairs of hands."

 

The Angel was astounded at the requirements for this one. "Six pairs of hands! No Way!" said the Angel.

The Lord replied, "Oh, it's not the hands that are the problem. It's the three pairs of eyes that mothers must have!"

"And that's just on the standard model?" The Angel asked.

The Lord nodded in agreement, "Yes, one pair of eyes are to see through the closed door as she asks her children what they are doing even though she already knows. Another pair in the back of her head, are to see what she needs to know even though no one thinks she can. And the third pair are here in the front of her head. They are for looking at an errant child and saying that she understands and loves him or her without even saying a single word."

The Angel tried to stop the Lord. "This is too much work for one day. Wait until tomorrow to finish."

"But I can't!" the Lord protested, "I am so close to finishing this creation that is so close to my own heart. She already heals herself when she is sick AND can feed a family of six on a pound of hamburger and can get a nine year old to stand in the shower."

The Angel moved closer and touched the woman, "But you have made her so soft, Lord."

"Yes, she is soft", the Lord agreed, "But I have also made her tough. You have no idea what she can endure or accomplish."

"Will she be able to think?", asked the inquisitive Angel.

The Lord smiled and replied, "Not only will she be able to think, she will be able to reason, and negotiate."

The Angel then noticed something and reached out and touched the woman's cheek. "Oops, it looks like you have a leak with this model. I told you that you were trying to put too much into this one."

"That's not a leak." The Lord objected. "That is a tear!"

"What's the tear for? the Angel asked.

The Lord said, "The tear is her way of expressing her joy, her sorrow, her disappointment, her pain, her loneliness, her grief, and her pride."

The Angel was impressed. "You are a genius, Lord. You thought of everything! Truly, You do all things well… Moms are truly amazing!"

Happy Mother's Day!

..Erma Bombeck

from the site, www.angiesrealm.com

All my life I've heard people say, "I hate Passover, you can't eat ANYthing!" And I've always shaken my head and said, "You need to come over to my house." Passover is straight up my favorite holiday because the food is SO GOOD! A large part of my Jewish identity was clearly formed by the gustatory traditions for each and every holiday of the year. My mom went to town creating our family's food rituals mixing her Hungarian roots with a heavy handed cup of her love for Sephardic food. She also had the task of cooking almost entirely meatless menus for my vegetarian family.

To this day, every holiday throughout the year has a specific set of dinner entrees, side dishes, noshes, and desserts. But none more than Pesach! It's always been a goal of my mom to make the holidays extra special by creating a wonderland of delicious and memorable foods. During Pesach she keeps the cupboards stocked with Pesadig candies and chocolate from Israel. As a child, when there was a birthday party to attend during the holiday, she sent us along with our own amazing treats. This also really helped to curb the difficulty of going through the American Easter holiday season with all the Easter baskets piled high with (non-Pesadig) chocolate.

Let's see, a typical Passover day's meals might include:

Breakfast:
The Grown-up Breakfast. This is broken up matzah in a bowl with coffee and warmed milk and sugar carefully poured over it. A Hungarian tradition. My brother, sister and I still cannot understand why any grown-up would choose this over the best pancakes every invented.

The Kids Breakfast. Matzah meal and egg white pancakes, each one a puff of love served with pure maple syrup - special for Passover.

Lunch:
Matzah Brie. Now every family has a different recipe, my mom's is a loose scramble of sliced carmelized onions, whipped eggs, salt and pepper, and quickly soaked matzah broken up into large pieces so it stays crunchy.
OR
Moroccon Omelet. Diced potatoes, carrots, parsley and garlic baked into an egg omelet spiced with tumeric, salt and pepper.
OR
Lotsa Matzah! with a spread of cheeses and salads. Steamed artichokes left over from the artichoke petals served at seder with my mom's home made mayonnaise - special for Pesach. My mom usually ate cottage cheese toped with diced fresh carrots, scallions, tomatoes and cucumbers so she could splurge on one whole matzah liberally spread with sweet butter and sprinkled with kosher salt. I can still picture her face as she prepared this exceptional treat for herself.

Oh yes, and the U-Bets chocolate milk! Growing up, chocolate milk was a special treat reserved only for Shabbat (no wonder I love Shabbat so much) and on Pesach we always had the jar of U-Bets Chocolate Syrup which lasted far longer than the holiday but just was not as interesting or appealing after those eight days. Special for Pesach: Brown Cows, a yummy drink of chocolate milk mixed with soda water.

NOSH:
Frequent refrigerator raids for matzah brickle (see below), chocolate covered strawberries or whatever other left overs we could slice off or dig into.
OR
Compote. A sweet dish of cooked dried fruits in their own thick syrup. One time she poured chocolate into paper muffin cups, creating chocolate shells and served the compote in those! I'm telling you, my mom holds nothing back when it comes to holiday food prep!
OR
More Matzah! with anything you can imagine on top, especially leftover charoset from the seder.

Dinner:
Matzah Ball Soup. Now my mom always makes two kinds of matzah balls. One for my dad, the traditional heavy German "cannon ball" matzah balls, a recipe passed down from his great-grandmother. And the 2nd kind is a lighter mixture based on a Hungarian recipe mixed with chopped almonds, parsley, fresh ginger and soda water. Also, because of the vegetarians at the table, French onion soup (no cheese) replaces the more traditional chicken soup.
OR
Kubeh (KU-beh)! This one we would fight over. One of the few exceptions of meat in the house, this is a Sephardic treat of thick breaded (matzah mealed) dumpling stuffed with spiced ground lamb and fried.
OR
Edam Cheese and Spinach Souffle, my sister's and my favorite.

Desserts:
The Brickle. Quite possibly every chocolate lover's fantasy, the brickle is a delectable sheet of broken up matzah, topped with toasted almonds, topped with home-made caramel, and topped off with a swirl of milk and dark chocolates.
OR
The Seven Layered Matzah Cake. 7 matzot soaked in wine and layered with a sauce of chocolate combined with rasberry jam, egg, butter, and brandy. One year, I completely O.D.'d on this cake and haven't really been able to eat it since.
OR
Fresh Strawberries Dipped in Chocolate
OR
Coffee Flavored Meringues (most of these can be made non-dairy to go with the seder meal of lamb.)
OR
Flourless Chocolate Cake
OR
Pecan Bonbons. These may be a little over the top, but what else is a holiday for? They are pecan halves filled with butter cream laced with brandy, topped with a pistachio, and then dipped in chocolate.

Door's always open, come on over!

Every year, our children learn to sing the "Four Questions". The Haggadah is actually filled with questions for the young and old alike. Let this holiday dinner (seder) be the opportunity to let all question run free. Sometimes it's hard to address children's questions on abstract topics and the harder parts of our history. This is the Passover challenge.

When you're discussing these questions, whether just with your children or with many generations and voices at the seder table, be sure to share your voice as well. The Four New Questions speak to the whole human story, adults and children alike. And then, please share your voice with us. We look forward to hearing about the new insights this discussion brings to your Passover experience.

1. What does it mean to be free?

The Hebrew word for Egypt is "Mitzrayim." In English, it means "narrow place." What are the narrow places in your life? How do you know when it's time to get out?
Do you think this has anything to do with the spring cleaning that many families do in preparation for Passover? Or the new spring season that bursts out of a long winter?

For young children, the concept of "free" may mostly be related to free time and free play (when they can choose whatever activity they like as opposed to structured classroom time). You can continue the discussion by asking how those times feel different from the rest of day? Can you imagine, if you never had free play?

Older children are ready to talk about America: The Land of the Free. What kinds of things make us "free"? Free to be you and me! This is a great time to talk about tolerance and justice. Are there still slaves in the world today?

How would your life be different if you weren't free?

Our ancestors were heading to Israel, the land of milk and honey. What does freedom taste like to you?

Every year we read in the Haggadah that every one of us should think of ourselves as having left Egypt. Why is it so important to remember harder times?

2. Would you have left Egypt?

Did you know that four-fifths of the the Israelite slaves stayed in Egypt? (At least according to Rashi.) Now why in the world would they do that?

Would you have left Egypt (the known/familiar) and taken a risk?

Narrow places are sometimes the most comfortable! How can you tell if something so familiar isn't actually good for you? Examples?

What kinds of risks do we take every day?
Why is it so hard to try something new?

For the youngest children:
What would have you take with you for comfort?
What would you miss the most?
What are you looking forward to?

How would your life be different if you stayed in Egypt?

3. Have you ever taken a leap of faith?

Not long after the Israelites finally left Egypt, the Pharaoh changed his mind and sent his army to chase them down. But that was only the beginning of this new drama. They had just reached the Sea of Reeds! How were they to cross? What would happen to them? With the Egyptian army rushing up from behind and the great Sea of Reeds spread out before them, what were they to do?

What would you do?

Here's one legend from the Babylonian Talmud:

"When the Israelites stood by the Sea of Reeds, each tribe was unwilling to be the first to enter the sea. Then sprang forward Nachshon the son of Aminadav from the tribe of Judah and descended first into the sea… the sea saw Nachshon and fled."

The story goes, that Nachshon, impatient and perhaps without faith in Moses, stepped into the water. Trusting that God would help them, he walked right in to the depths until it reached his chin. Then he started to pray. Words that we use in every service "Mi Kamocha ba'Elim Adonai…!" Who is like you, making wonderous miracles (now would be a good time for one. Right now!!!)… and when the water filled his mouth and he could only gargle out the prayer, then THE SEA PARTED!

A beautiful story of faith, trust, and courage.

What or who do you think gave Nachshon that courage?
For what kinds of things do we need courage? Can you think of some examples of when you were the first person to try something new?

Describe a time when you had to do something you were scared to do, but you did it anyway.

Who are the modern day heroes and heroines that have leapt headfirst and changed the world?

4. Have you ever seen a miracle?

The Sea of Reeds parting is considered to be a magnificent miracle. One of our best! Do you believe in miracles?

A story from Exodus Rabbah:

There were maybe a million people crossing the Sea of Reeds that day. It took all night long. Two people, Reuven and Shimon were deep in the crowds moving across the land. Where the waters had parted, the earth was wet and soft. Reuven and Shimon took one look at the ground and said, "YUCK! It's all muddy here! My sandals are getting dirty! Back in Egypt we had mud and bricks. Here it's just mud and water. And it's even worse! This is the wettest mud I've ever seen in my whole life! This is worse than Egypt!" Reuven and Shimon did not look up to witness the miracle.

What does it take for us to see a miracle?

What miracles, little and big, can we see every day if we are paying attention?

A note from my Mom, Barbara Kline

Preparing for Pesach begins my spiritual journey for this holiday of freedom and renewal. That means cleaning up a storm. Articles such as "25 Ways to a Quick Passover Changeover" from Jewish Living published eons ago, rev me up for the task. As I clean each room from top to bottom, re-arrange shelves of books and photos, separate out the chametz from my pantry, and change my dishes and cookware, I feel a sense of freedom from clutter, material and spiritual. Boxes of chametz sit on the pantry floor waiting to be consumed before the holiday. By the time my kitchen is ready for preparing Pesadig goodies (I always start with the charoset), my multiple lists taped to the cabinet doors checked off as I complete each task, (And I never take these listst down until right before Seder when all that's left is one sheet with the menu and another with the timed schedule for getting everything on the table. Even so, two years in a row I left the matzah out of the matzah kugel!) I know I'm ready to welcome everyone to the table, feeling renewed and grateful that we made it to another Seder. I sit back and enjoy the tumult of the evening, our table crowded with family and friends, and laden with food lovingly prepared by my children and me.

I try to prepare as much of the food as possible before the family arrives to join in. That includes the charoset, soup, matzah balls, artichokes, eggs, and compote. Once we're together, everyone has a task. We all dice the veggies for the Israeli salad Shira always make the meringues and chocolate cake. Aliza and Shira and I'm sure this year Aliza's three and a half year old daughter Ela will dip whatever needs dipping into chocolate. The girls assign Avi and Bradley jobs in all areas including running to the store for a last-minute, forgotten ingredient.

Setting the table has its own ritual. Kiddish cups determine where we sit and every year we play musical Kiddush cups as we change our minds as to who will sit next to whom. Fresh herbs adorn each napkin and pots of herbs decorate the table. Lots of laughter accompanies all.

The entire week is imbued with the special flavors of Pesach. We hate to see it end.

Practice the Four Questions!

Click here to sing along with Shira..

And check out this new iPhone app to learn the 4 Questions!

I smile at my memories of Pesach as a child. . . counting the books in the shelves as I dusted, the mysterious search for chametz with the candle and the feather, sitting at the big grown up seder following attentively as he led us through the journey challenging everyone with questions and queries, negotiating with my dad over the afikomen (for world peace of course), the hilarious drunken singing at the very very very end of the seder night "An only kid an ONLY kid" we sang with such drama, chocolate candy bars, matzah cake, fluffy pankcakes. . . What a great holiday for a child. So much to do!

Spring Cleaning
We knew it was the season when we started eating beans and grains at every meal, coming up with more and more creative ways to eat up our chametz. And then the deep spring cleaning began. Each one of us had a very specific job assignment in addition to cleaning out our bedrooms. My favorite job was addressing the rows and rows of bookshelves. I was to take out each and every book, dust it and put it back in. I remember letting the subjects and titles of the books swirl around in my imagination where I made up stories and songs to entertain myself.

B'dikat Chametz
As we got closer and closer to the 1st night Seder, the tables filled up with our regular dishes to be exchanged for Pesach dishes, Haggadot out of the attic, and the yummy smells of Pesach food filled the house. The night before Pesach, we did a big b'diKAT chaMETZ. This is the official and final "Search for chametz." As the youngest in the family, I hid about 10 pieces of bread (the very last in the house in this point) throughout a few rooms. Being a savvy and adventurous child, I had an excellent sense of bread hiding places. Then my family would gather, with a small paper bag, a long feather, a wooden spoon, and a tall candle. First my dad would lead us in the blessing,

"Blessed are you God, Rule of the Universe, who makes us holy with the commandments, and commands us to remove the leaven."

And then, by candle light (at least thats how I remember it) my family searched for the hidden bread. When someone found a piece they called out and every gathered around for my dad to pick up the chametz with the feather and spoon and brush it into the paper bag. Eventually we would always have to resort to the "hot and cold" game for searching and usually I would actually forget where I hid all of those little pieces. But we would get them all eventually. And then with all of the chametz in the bag my father would declare,

"Any kind of leaven which remains in my possession that I have not seen nor removed or about which I do not know shall be regarded as non-existent and considered as the dust of the earth." Mishneh Torah: Hilkot Hametz u-Matzah 2.1-3; 3.6-7

Oh the drama! And the fun! I'm very excited to follow this tradition with my young niece and watch her join in the excitement.

Celebrate this wonderful holiday with all of your senses!
Listen to the story…
Taste our sweet, bitter, and salty history…
Smell the springtime…
Touch the flat, crunchy matzah…
See your friends and family around the seder table!

Click here for a Seder Plate coloring page

There are many many different kinds of Haggadas. What does yours look like?

Click here for a Haggadah coloring page