Religion

21 posts

The Little Quaker at Zuccotti

When I first drafted this article, the Mean Young Liberal, age 4, was busy constructing “Occupy Wall Street” out of Lego figures. I guess he was impressed with the display of Occupy Lego Land.  As I finished it two days later, the NYPD had evicted Occupy Wall Street from Zuccotti Park and were, at that moment, apparently being directed to defy a court order that had permitted the Occupiers back into the park with their equipment.

This past Sunday, I brought the MYL (my nickname for my four-and-a-half year old son) to visit Occupy Wall Street. You see, my husband and I had decided to raise our son in the Religious Society of Friends. (“Hicksite”  version). Due to some logistic oddities, we travel from Westchester County to the East Village to attend Meeting and First Day (what Quakers call Sunday) School.   Typically, I try to make those days into adventures for the MYL and that Sunday would not be an exception, at least I hadn’t planned it to be.  It turned out to be a fairly exceptional day indeed. Continue reading

Is ‘The Wire’ Anti-Semitic?


I finally finished watching all five seasons of The Wire. It’s unquestionably a great show, but after the months I spent with it the series left me not wanting to discuss everything it does right, but one thing it does very wrong: Why, in a show so concerned with race and ethnicity, is the only identified Jewish character a stereotypical money-grubbing, scumbag lawyer?

Continue reading

What Does the Bible Say About Homosexuality?

I’m sure you’ve heard or come across people who sit there and talk about how the Bible condemns homosexuality. I’m here to tell you that those folks are . . . misguided at best. Some of them are just plan full of it, but I’d like to think that most of them just haven’t actually looked it up. I’d really like to think that they’ve just followed what other people have told them, like so many other popular culture things in America. So, hopefully this will be a quick(ish) guide to what the Bible really says about homosexuality. Continue reading

What the Heck is Holy Week?

When one thinks of Christians and their religious celebrations, one tends to think of Christmas as the ultimate Christian holiday. In fact, they’re wrong.

As a Catholic Christian, I really am an Easter person. Huh? What do I mean by that? Catholics celebrate Easter each and every week at Mass. Easter is all about the sacrifices and Resurrection of Jesus. Each week at Mass, Catholics receive Communion which celebrates and makes real for us Christ’s resurrection. Not all Christian religions celebrate Communion each week; for many it is reserved for only certain times per year.

Bustedhalo is a great Youtube channel that explains Christian religious practices or beliefs in highly visual, brief clips.  Below is the one for Holy Week, the final week of Lent which is also the week before Easter.

Holy Week is an especially reflective week of Lent. Christians contemplate the sacrifices Jesus made for us, the betrayal he must have felt by Judas’ actions, as well as the promise of everlasting life for us. Easter Day ends the Lenten period.  Easter is coming out of the darkness of Lent and into the celebration of Life and light.

I especially love the fact that on Easter we sing Hallelujah again after the forty days of Lent where we do not say it. My father used to joke that we didn’t say Hallelujah during Lent because on Easter, when you could finally eat/drink/do whatever you gave up, you would say “Hallelujah!” Actually, it is much cooler than that.

During Lent, we are focusing on the “Kingdom coming” (Jesus’ resurrection), but rather than the fact the Kingdom already came. As my priest wrote: “The readings in the Masses for Lent and in the Liturgy of the Hours focus heavily on the spiritual journey of Old Testament Israel toward the coming of Christ, and the salvation of mankind in His death and resurrection. We, too, are on a spiritual journey, toward the Second Coming and our future life in Heaven. In order to emphasize that journey, the Church, during Lent, removes the Alleluia from the Mass. We no longer sing with the choirs of angels; instead, we acknowledge our sins and practice repentance so that one day we may again have the privilege of worshiping God as the angels do.”

Hallelujah returns to the Mass on Holy Saturday, the Easter Vigil — a Mass in which I never attend because it is sooooo long — because Jesus has risen. I enjoy the Hallelujah on Easter Sunday.

Hallelujah indeed.

Passover Recipes: Matzo Ball Soup, Charoset, and Macaroons

One week from today, my home will be filling up with the smells of Seder dinner.  Chicken soup will be simmering on the stove.  Brisket will be roasting in the oven.  The food processor will be chopping up apples and walnuts.  My husband will be snacking on macaroons.

What is a Seder Dinner?

The Seder dinner is a tradition for the first night, or for some people the first two nights, of Passover.  Seder, which is a Hebrew word meaning order, is an evening of rituals, such as eating matzo and bitter herbs, drinking four cups of wine (many of us have adapted that ritual to four sips), telling the story of Exodus and eating the Seder meal.

Yehuda Matzos: flickr

During the Seder, and the following eight days of Passover, we remember the Exodus when our ancestors escaped from being slaves in Egypt.  We eat matzo and refrain from eating other grains because our ancestors did not have time to let their bread rise.  We eat bitter herbs to remember the bitterness in their lives.  We eat charoset to remember the mortar they used to build the pyramids.

What Is Not Eaten?

I could write an entire post on what is or is not kosher for Passover.  This is the quick overview.

The foods that can not be eaten on Passover are called chametz: wheat, spelt, oats, barley, and rye.  Many Jewish people of European descent, including me, also do not eat kitniyot: corn, rice, legumes and some seeds.  The reason?  The quick answer is we deny ourselves foods our ancestors were not able to eat during the Exodus and the only food containing grain we eat is matzo.  Matzo is unleavened bread, almost like a large cracker, made from only flour and water and baked for less than 18 minutes.  Matzo can be ground into matzo meal to be used in many recipes during Passover.  A fine matzo meal is similar to a course flour, while a course matzo meal is similar to bread crumbs.  There are a few reasons many of us refrain from eating kitniyot, but it is basically to prevent accidentally eating chametz.

Many Jewish people who do not keep regularly keep kosher follow the general rules of Kashrut, dietary law, during Passover.  That means we do not eat pork or other meat from animals with cloven hooves that chew their cud.  We do not mix meat and dairy.  We only eat seafood that has fins and scales, which means we do not eat shellfish.  This website has a good overview.

Seder Plate: flickr

Some Traditional Recipes

I am sharing with you a few of my favorite traditional  Passover recipes.  I’ll be making these and many other foods for my Seder dinner.  Please share your own favorites in the comments.  Maybe you can help me decide what side dish is missing from my menu.

My Mom’s Chicken Soup

Whether you are making this soup for Passover or just everyday enjoyment, the recipe depends on using kosher chickens.  Kosher chickens are soaked and salted before packaging and that makes a significant difference in the taste.

Makes 12 cups of soup

  • 2 kosher chickens, each 3 lbs plus, cut into quarters (include the neck and any organs – they will add lots of flavor)
  • About 14 cups water
  • 3 large carrots, cleaned and cut in thirds
  • 1 large white turnip, cleaned not peeled; cut in half
  • 1 large parsnip. cleaned
  • 4 stalks celery, each cut in half
  • 1 whole onion, peeled
  • 3 leeks
  • 1-1/2  bunch parsley
  • 1 -1/2 bunch dill
  • Salt to taste (about 2 teaspoons to one tablespoon)

Clean chicken thoroughly. Cut away excess fat and discard. Pour boiling water over chickens prior to putting in pot.  Put chickens in a large stock pot and pour water up to about ¼ of an inch over the chickens.  Bring to a boil and skim off fat and scum during the first 10 minutes of boiling.  Lower heat to allow stock to simmer.  After one hour, remove about half the chicken. (This chicken will make great chicken salad, the chicken that cooks the whole time will have lost most its flavor.)  Add carrots, white turnip and parsnip.  Bring back to boil, lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes before adding celery, onion and leeks.  Bring to a boil once again, lower heat and simmer for another 10 minutes before adding parsley and dill.  Bring to a boil for a final time and simmer for 30 minutes.

Strain the soup before serving so you have a clear broth.  I strain it from the ladle as I pour each bowl.  In my family, we serve the soup with one large matzo ball and a piece of carrot.  Some people like to shred some of the chicken and add it to the soup.  As a child, it was a treat to get the neck or the gizzards.

For the matzo balls, my mother always told me there is no better recipe than the recipe on the side of the box of Manischewitz matzo meal.  We are a family that believes matzo balls should float, not sink.

Charoset

Adapted from The Complete Passover Cookbook, Frances R. AvRutick

  • 4 apples, cored and cut into 1 inch chunks (many people peel the apples, but why cut away all that fiber?)
  • 1 cup chopped or ground walnuts
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 6 teaspoons kosher red wine or grape juice

Put all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until very finely chopped.  Ideally, the charoset should resemble a chunky mortar, as it should remind us of the mortars used to build the Egyptian pyramids.  Some people prefer a chunkier charoset.

Charoset is my favorite Passover food.  Every Passover, I wonder why I don’t make charoset throughout the year.  It is simple and delicious.  But I know that, in my heart, I want to keep charoset special so I only allow myself the cinnamon apple goodness during the eight days of Passover.

Coconut Macaroons

This recipe is adapted from Alton Brown’s Toasty Coconut Macaroons.

  • 4 large egg whites
  • A pinch of salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 cup of sugar
  • 8 ounces unsweetened coconut
  • 12 oz semi-sweet dairy-free chocolate chips
  • 1 oz vegetable shortening

Bring eggs to room temperature.  Whip eggs, a pinch of salt and vanilla until they stiffen.  Add sugar in three parts and continue to whip until very stiff.  Fold in the coconut, being very careful not to over mix.  You want to keep the mixture as light and fluffy as possible.

Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.  Drop batter onto paper using a teaspoon.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, checking periodically to makes sure they do not burn.  You want a nice golden color on the top, but the cookie won’t be too firm.

In a double broiler, or a metal bowl over a pot of about 2 inches slightly bowling water, melt the chocolate chips with the shortening.  Dip the cookies in the chocolate so the chocolate covers about half the cookie and let dry on parchment paper.

(Special thanks to DahlELama for making sure this Reform Penguin didn’t make any mistakes)

Matzoh Ball Photo: Flickr

The Fish Stick Season of My Dismay

This is in honor of my Mom, who passed away this year. I will always, always remember Lent.

My mother, Mildred, was a master at rooting out and punishing misdeeds. She was legendary among her children. She died when I was 38 and even at that age, I would not have considered talking back to my mother. I was terrified of her. But I also thank her because I know I will be able to scare the dickens out of my children. I look at my children and think, “Don’t cross me because I was trained by a master. If you get into trouble, I will punish you in a horrifying way.”

Lent was rough at our house every year. My mom was a hardcore Catholic and she took the Pope’s directives seriously. We didn’t have meat on Wednesdays or Fridays (ugh, so many fish sticks) and we had to fast between meals on those days. We went to all the required holy days during the Lenten season (there are a lot) and we had to give up something good for lent like chocolate, comic books or happiness. On Good Friday, the television and radio were off. We were supposed to reflect on the cross and we spent most of the day at church. Gah, I spent so much time at church when I was a teenager. This was probably a good call on my mom’s part but it seemed like an endless cycle of boredom to me. I can tell you that about 95% of the time, I was not thinking about whatever the priest was talking about.

One of her all time greatest punishments was what I liked to call “The Fish Stick Season of My Dismay.” One Lenten season, she decided to take it to the next level for me. I don’t know what specific thing I did to set her off. I hated everyone and everything when I was 13, so spending time with me was as pleasant as ripping off toenails. I assume my general attitude was Mom’s primary issue with me. Her remedy? Church – everyday, for the entire duration of lent. That’s six weeks of daily church attendance. I attended 42 individual masses that lent, each of which lasted at least 45 minutes which means I spent a bare minimum of 1,890 minutes in church that Lenten season and believe you me I remember every second of it.

I had 1,890 minutes to think about how much I resented my mother and how I would tell her – in detail – about how unbelievably unfair and stupid she was for inflicting this punishment on me. Not that I told her any such thing, I was way too afraid of her. I had 1,890 minutes to check out the rest of the daily mass attendees. There were a couple of unbelievably old people, a few mourners, and someone training to be a nun. Occasionally someone who looked really, really guilty floated in but not often enough. I was the only constant representative in my family. I also had time to read the missal from cover to cover and ruin any surprises in the upcoming mass for myself.

What did I learn? I learned that you can ask the Virgin Mary for favors. Some Catholics say special prayers to the Virgin Mary on Tuesdays, called novenas and they believe she will intercede for them. I read a little booklet about them. One woman wrote in to say that her son had married a divorced woman and she prayed that the Virgin Mary would convince her son to divorce this shameless hussy. And he did! Doesn’t that make him divorced now too?

I learned that 45 minutes can seem like an unbelievably long amount of time. I learned that once my mom decides on a course of action, there is no talking her out of it. I was seeing my sentence out, like it or not. I learned that if I ever had children that my greatest weapon would be my ability to create a punishment so annoying that my children would in fear of my ability to inspire my creativity.

Novena image Wikipedia.