questions about Jewish food.

[angels4u]

Hi ,

I have to make a Jewish dish for next Sunday.

After church we have a pot lock supper with Jewish dishes.

Can somebody please give me some favorite recipies? ( Not too complicated, but good!!)

I know I'm going to make the recipe I got from Shiloh for humus, but I know that not everybody likes humus...

We have a speaker in our church who is connected with "Friend for Israel" and he is going to speak about "Hanukka".

Sounds all very interesting doesn't it??

(Also can somebody tell me what matzo meal is?

Thanks, Angels

[Guest shiloh357]

Hi ,

I have to make a Jewish dish for next Sunday.

After church we have a pot lock supper with Jewish dishes.

Can somebody please give me some favorite recipies?  ( Not too complicated, but good!!)

I know I'm going to make the recipe I got from Shiloh for humus, but I know that not everybody likes humus...

We have a speaker in our church who is connected with "Friend for Israel" and he is going to speak about "Hanukka".

Sounds all very interesting doesn't it??

(Also can somebody tell me what matzo meal is?

Thanks, Angels

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Matzo meal is made from the same flour that unleavened bread is made from. Think of it as unleavened cracker crumbs. It is used for breading chicken or in making matzah ball soup.

As for a easy recipe... I will assume that this is in connection with Chanukkah.

These are couple of favs of mine that I have made before:

Raisan Rugalekh

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 pound butter

2 cups cottage cheese

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup raisins

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

2. Mix butter or margarine, cottage cheese and flour together.

3. Roll the dough into a circle about 1/4" thick. Cut dough into triangular wedges.

4. Sprinkle raisins into the broad end of the wedge along with cinnamon & sugar.

5. Roll from the broad edge toward the pointed edge to form crescents.

6. Sprinkle the crescents with cinnamon and sugar.

7. Arrange the cookies on an ungreased baking sheet.

8. Bake for 12 minutes.

Serves 18

Or

Cheesy Potato Kugel

INGREDIENTS:

3 pounds peeled and shredded potatoes

4 eggs

salt and pepper to taste

5 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 1/2 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.

2. Place potatoes in a colander and squeeze out moisture.

3. In a large bowl combine eggs, salt, pepper, oil and onion. Place potatoes and cheese in the bowl and mix well. Pour mixture into the prepared loaf pan.

4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour. Raise heat to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C) and bake for 5 to 10 minutes until browned, serve hot.

Serves 12.

If you want, I can adjust the recipies to account for the number of people you want to serve.

[angels4u]

Thank you, thank you!!!!!

I'm going to make both recipies , they sound very good!!~

And I will let you know next week how everybody liked it!

I'm really exited about it and look forward to the sermon of what Chanukkah is all about ,only born again Jews celebrate is right?

When did they start this tradition? Am I right its celebrated after Christmans?

Thanks again , Angels

[Guest shiloh357]

Thank you, thank you!!!!!

I'm going to make both recipies , they sound very good!!~

And I will let you know next week how everybody liked it!

I'm really exited about it and look forward to the sermon of what Chanukkah is all about ,only born again Jews celebrate is right?

When did they start this tradition? Am I

[angels4u]

wow, this is a neat story which show Gods power big time!

Do you have a paper on it on your computer which you could cut and paste so I can maybe print it out and bring it Sunday to the church?

Is there more indept information of how its exactly celebrate these days?

Thanks, Angels (love to learn more about it!)

[Guest shiloh357]

Here are some good basic writings on Channukah. Keep in mind that these are written by Jews who are not believers, but they serve to give a good understanding about what Channukah is, and what it means to Jewish people in general. It is not a stamp of approval on Jewish theology. I will post some more stuff on what Messianic Jews have to say about Channukah in a bit.

What is Chanukkah?

By Marshall Roth

The Hebrew word Chanukah means "dedication." In the 2nd century BCE, the Syrian-Greek regime of Antiochus sought to pull Jews away from Judaism, with the hopes of assimilating them into Hellenism -- Greek culture. Antiochus outlawed aspects of Jewish observance -- including the study of Torah -- which began to decay the foundation of Jewish life and practice. During this period, many of the Jews began to assimilate into Greek culture, taking on Greek names and marrying non-Jews.

In response, a band of Jewish settlers took to the hills of Judea in open revolt against this threat to Jewish life. Led by Matitiyahu, and later his son Judah the Maccabee ("The Hammer"), this small band of pious Jews led guerrilla warfare against the Syrian army.

Antiochus sent thousands of well-armed troops to crush the rebellion -- but the Maccabees succeeded in driving the foreigners from their land.

Jewish fighters entered Jerusalem in December, 164 BCE. The Holy Temple was in shambles, defiled and desecrated by foreign soldiers. They cleansed the Temple and re-dedicated it on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev. When it came time to re-light the Menorah, they searched the entire Temple, but only one small jar of oil bearing the pure seal of the High Priest could be found. Miraculously, the small jar of oil burned for eight days, until a new supply of oil could be brought.

From then on, Jews have observed a holiday for eight days in honor of this historic victory and the miracle of the oil.

Today, the observance of Chanukah features the lighting of a special Chanukah menorah with eight branches (plus a helper candle), adding one new candle each night. Other customs include spinning the dreidel (a top with Hebrew letters on the sides), eating "oily" foods like potato latkes (pancakes) and sufganiyot (jelly donuts), and giving Chanukah gelt (coins) to children.

The Triumph Of Channukah

by Jeff Jacoby

Because Chanukah usually occurs in December, it is sometimes thought of as the "Jewish Christmas." It isn't, of course. And yet it is fair to say that the reason for Chanukah's popularity -- especially in America, where it is the most widely observed Jewish holiday after Passover and Yom Kippur -- is precisely its proximity to Christmas.

Chanukah used to be regarded as a minor half-holiday, cheerful but low-key. It has become something bigger and brighter in response to Christmas, which transforms each December into a brilliant winter festival of parties, decorations, and music. Attracted by the joy of the season, not wanting their children to feel left out of all the merriment and gift-giving, American Jews in the 20th century began to make much more of Chanukah than their grandparents ever had. Today Chanukah is well established as part of the annual "holiday season," complete with parties, decorations, and music of its own. Its enhanced status is a tribute both to the assimilating tug of America's majority culture and to the remarkable openness of that culture to Jewish customs and belief.

Ironically, Chanukah was established to commemorate the very opposite of cultural assimilation. It dates back nearly 22 centuries, to the successful Jewish revolt against Antiochus IV, one of the line of Syrian-Greek monarchs who ruled the northern branch of Alexander the Great's collapsed empire. Alexander had been respectful of the Jews' monotheistic religion, but Antiochus was determined to impose Hellenism, with its pagan gods and its cult of the body, throughout his domains. When he met resistance in Judea, he made Judaism illegal.

Sabbath observance, circumcision, and the study of Torah were banned on pain of death. A statue of Zeus was installed in the Temple in Jerusalem, and swine were sacrificed before it. Some Jews embraced the new order and willingly abandoned the God and faith of their ancestors. Those who wouldn't were cruelly punished. Ancient writings tell the story of Hannah and her seven sons, who were captured by Antiochus's troops and commanded to bow to an idol. One by one, each boy refused -- and was tortured to death before his mother's eyes.

The fight to reclaim Jewish religious autonomy began in 167 BC. In the town of Modi'in, an elderly priest named Mattathias refused a Syrian order to sacrifice to an idol. When an apostate Jew stepped forward to comply, Mattathias killed the man and tore down the altar. Then he and his five sons took to the hills and launched a guerrilla war against the armies of the empire.

When Mattathias died, his third son, Judah Maccabee, took command. He and his band of fighters were impossibly outnumbered, yet they won one miraculous victory after another. In 164 BC, they recaptured the Temple, which they cleansed and purified and rededicated to God. On the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev, the menorah -- the candelabra symbolizing the divine presence -- was rekindled. For eight days, throngs of Jews celebrated the Temple's restoration. "All the people prostrated themselves," records the book of Maccabees, "worshipping and praising Heaven that their cause had prospered."

In truth, though, their cause hadn't prospered -- not yet. The fighting went on for years. It was not until 142 BC that the Jews regained control of their land. Geopolitically, that was the moment of real triumph.

The Maccabees' war against the Hellenists was ultimately a war against a worldview that elevated the physical above all, that venerated beauty, not holiness; the body, not the soul.

But Chanukah isn't about political power. It isn't about military victory. It isn't even about freedom of worship, notwithstanding the fact that the revolt of the Maccabees marks the first time in history that a people rose up to fight religious persecution.

What Chanukah commemorates at heart is the Jewish yearning for God, for the concentrated holiness of the Temple and its service. The defeat of the Syrian-Greeks was a wonder, but the spiritual climax of the Maccabees' rebellion occurred when the menorah was rekindled and God's presence among his people could be felt once again.

Chanukah is the only Jewish holiday not found in the Tanach and the only one rooted in a military campaign. And yet its focus is almost entirely spiritual, not physical. For example, there is no feast associated with Chanukah, the way there is with Passover and Purim, the two other Jewish festivals of deliverance. Its religious observance is concentrated on flame, nothing more. And the menorah's lights may only be gazed at; it is forbidden to use them for any physical purpose -- not even to read by.

The lack of a physical side to Chanukah is unusual but appropriate. For the Maccabees' war against the Hellenists was ultimately a war against a worldview that elevated the physical above all, that venerated beauty, not holiness; the body, not the soul. The Jews fought to preserve a different view of the world -- one with God, not man, at its center.

Because they triumphed, the Jewish religion survived. More than 2,000 years later, the Hellenists and their pagan gods are buried in the dust of history. But the wisdom and insights of Judaism continue to enlighten the world.

Historic Timeline

The following charts are designed to give you a sense of the flow of events that took place during the period of Chanukah and to place them in the broader context of Jewish history.

If the mention of a clash between the Trojans and the Spartans evokes images of the Rose Bowl, if the word Acropolis reminds you of your favorite Greek restaurant, and if you can't remember if it was Antiochus, Achashverosh or Aristophanes who married Queen Esther - then you will find the following historical overview helpful.

OVERVIEW OF JEWISH HISTORY DATE

Abraham and Sarah 1671 BCE

Egyptian slavery begins 1428 BCE

Exodus and Torah at Mt. Sinai 1312 BCE

Jewish People enter Israel 1272 BCE

First Temple built 825 BCE

First Temple destroyed;

Babylonian exile begins 422 BCE

Purim Events 355 BCE

Second Temple built 352 BCE

Miracle of Chanukah 165 BCE

Second Temple destroyed;

Roman exile begins 70 CE

Babylonian Talmud compiled 500 CE

First Crusade 1096 CE

Expulsion of Spanish Jewry 1492

Rise of Chassidism 1772

First Zionist Congress 1897

Holocaust 1939

Rebirth of Israel 1948

Reunification of Jerusalem 1967

OVERVIEW OF CHANUKAH PERIOD DATE

Athens defeats Persia at Marathon 490 BCE

Plato; Greek philosophy 400 BCE

Sparta defeats Athens 352 BCE

Philip of Macedon rules Greece 338 BCE

Alexander the Great rules Greece 336 BCE

Alexander dies;

Ptolemies control Egypt and Israel 323 BCE

Selucid Syrian/Greeks conquer Israel 199 BCE

Greek decrees against Judaism;

Desecration of Temple 168 BCE

Matitiyahu begins revolt in Modi'in 167 BCE

Matitiyahu dies; Judah Maccabee leads

War against Greeks 166 BCE

Temple recaptured;

Miracle of oil occurs 165 BCE

Jewish war against the Greek continues 165-140 BCE

Hasmonean dynasty 140-36 BCE

Rome conquers Jerusalem 63 BCE

[angels4u]

This is extremely interesting, I will print it all out.

It said somewhere there is special music involved with it too?

Thank you for taking the time to look for this information. I will share it with our church!!

Angels

What Chanukah commemorates at heart is the Jewish yearning for God, for the concentrated holiness of the Temple and its service. The defeat of the Syrian-Greeks was a wonder, but the spiritual climax of the Maccabees' rebellion occurred when the menorah was rekindled and God's presence among his people could be felt once again.

This is great!

[Guest shiloh357]

This is extremely

[Guest yod]

the traditional hannukkah songs are kinda lame....

I had to write my own.

[nebula]

Recorded?