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Gazeta Volume 27, No. 1
Spring 2020
Main Market Square in Kraków during the pandemic.
Photograph by Edyta Gawron. Used with permission.
A quarterly publication of
the American Association
for Polish-Jewish Studies
and Taube Foundation for
Jewish Life & Culture
Editorial & Design: Tressa Berman, Fay Bussgang, Julian Bussgang, Shana Penn, Antony Polonsky, Aleksandra Sajdak,
Adam Schorin, William Zeisel, LaserCom Design, and Taube Center for the Renewal of Jewish Life in Poland Foundation.
CONTENTS
Message from Irene Pipes ................................................................................................ 1
Message from Tad Taube and Shana Penn .................................................................... 2
SPECIAL REPORTS
Academia during the Pandemic
Edyta Gawron ......................................................................................................................... 3
Zygmunt Stępiński Is New Director of POLIN Museum
Antony Polonsky ..................................................................................................................... 5
Statement of New Director of POLIN Museum ................................................................ 9
SPECIAL FEATURES IN RESPONSE TO SHELTERING-AT-HOME
Sunday Potatoes! Monday Potatoes! ............................................................................. 10
COOKING IN CONTAINMENT
Jewish Food Is Grounding, Especially Now
Jeffrey Yoskowitz ............................................................................................................. 12
Quarantine Cooking Tips from Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett ............................... 17
Celia Ores on Pierogi and Horseradish .................................................................... 19
From Kasia Leonardi’s Kitchen .................................................................................. 20
Essential Kneads from the Kitchen of Sharon Bernstein ......................................... 22
Historians Cooking the Past ....................................................................................... 24
Things to Do While Sheltering-at-Home: Online Cultural Resources .......................... 25
EXHIBITIONS AND MUSEUMS
In Real Times. Arthur Szyk: Art and Human Rights at the
Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life
Francesco Spagnolo ............................................................................................................. 27
Cities of Peace Illuminated at the Galicia Jewish Museum .......................................... 31
#GaliciaOnline
Jakub Nowakowski ............................................................................................................... 32
POLIN Museum at a Distance
Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett ................................................................................................ 36
II n GAZETA VOLUME 27, NO. 1
REPORTS
Commemorating Thirty Years of the Jewish Culture Festival
Letter from the Director, Janusz Makuch ........................................................... 40
The Jewish Culture Festival through Photographs ............................................. 41
One Thousand Stories About Yiddish Language and Culture:
Wexler Oral History Project at the Yiddish Book Center
Christa P. Whitney ................................................................................................................. 43
The Great Synagogue of Oświęcim
Maciek Zabierowski .............................................................................................................. 45
FestivALT Moves Online
Adam Schorin ...................................................................................................................... 47
ANNOUNCEMENTS
BOOKS
Anti-Jewish Pogroms on Polish Lands in the Nineteenth and Twentieth
Centuries (Pogromy Żydów na ziemiach polskich w XIX i XX wieku)
Antony Polonsky .............................................................................................................. 49
Chasydyzm. Źródła, Metody, Perspektywy, the Polish-Language
Version of Studying Hasidism. Sources, Methods, Perspectives.
Edited by Marcin Wodziński ...................................................................................... 50
Polacos in Argentina: Polish Jews, Interwar Migration, and the
Emergence of Transatlantic Jewish Culture. By Mariusz Kałczewiak .................... 51
Voices from the Białystok Ghetto. By Michael Nevins ............................................. 52
Autobiography. Literature. Culture. Media: A Journal of the
Faculty of Humanities at the University of Szczecin
by By Inga Iwasiόw and Jerzy Madejski .................................................................. 53
Theodore Bikel’s The City of Light. By Aimee Ginsburg Bikel with
Illustrations by Noah Phillips ...................................................................................... 54
Strażnicy Fatum (Guardians of Fate). By Bożena Keff ............................................ 55
From Left to Right. Lucy S. Dawidowicz, The New York Intellectuals and
the Politics of Jewish History. By Nancy Sinkoff ...................................................... 56
The King of Warsaw. By Szczepan Twardoch .......................................................... 57
GAZETA SPRING 2020 n III
HONORS AND AWARDS
National Jewish Book Council 2019 Awards ............................................................ 58
2019 National Translation Award in Poetry for Pan Tadeusz: The Last Foray
in Lithuania. By Adam Mickiewicz, translated by Bill Johnston .............................. 59
Museum Worlds Honors Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett
Editors: Sandra Dudley and Conal McCarthy .......................................................... 60
Devilspel Wins Literary Prize ...................................................................................... 61
POLIN Award 2019 to Natalia Bartczak .................................................................... 62
CONFERENCES AND SEMINARS
Conference at the Polish Embassy in London to Launch POLIN: Studies in
Polish Jewry, Volume 32
Antony Polonsky .............................................................................................................. 63
Biographies and Politics: Involvement of Jews and People of
Jewish Origin in Leftist Movements in 19th and 20th Century Poland
Antony Polonsky .............................................................................................................. 65
IN BRIEF
Newly Released on Amazon: Raise the Roof
by Filmmakers Yari and Cary Wolinsky ..................................................................... 68
Midrasz Closes Its Doors
Editorial Board of Midrasz ................................................................................................ 69
Contemporary Jewish Art and Artists in Poland
Fay Bussgang ................................................................................................................. 71
OBITUARIES
Krzysztof Penderecki
Antony Polonsky ................................................................................................................... 73
Mikhl Baran
Samuel Norich ...................................................................................................................... 77
Walentyna Janta-Połczyńska
Antony Polonsky .................................................................................................................. 78
Jerzy E. Główczewski
Julian Bussgang ................................................................................................................... 80
Dr. Łucja Pawlicka-Nowak
Jewish Heritage Europe ......................................................................................................... 81
IV n GAZETA VOLUME 27, NO. 1
President, American Association
Message from for Polish-Jewish Studies
Irene Pipes Founder of Gazeta
Dear Friends,
Greetings from Cambridge, where I am waiting out the pandemic. I hope
you are comfortable and safe in this unprecedented situation.
As this issue of Gazeta shows, we are determined to carry on our
important work in spite of the difficulties created by the COVID-19
virus. We congratulate Zygmunt Stępiński on his appointment as director
of POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews. We are glad that the
long-running dispute over the directorship has been brought to an end
Irene Pipes
and look forward to its future flourishing. We are very impressed that the
museum has used the resources of the Internet to continue its activities
while it is forced to close to the public.
We welcome the publication of volume 32 of Polin: Studies in Polish
Jewry, which has as its theme “Jews and Music-Making on the Polish
Lands.” It deals with an important theme and is divided into five
sections, Cantorial and Religious Music, Jews in Polish Popular Culture,
Jews in the Polish Classical Musical Scene, The Holocaust Reflected in
Jewish Music, and Klezmer in Poland Today. Preparations for volume 33
are well underway and we look forward to its publication.
We hope you will find some comfort in the resources our editors and
contributors have collected for this special issue, and that the crisis will
soon be over so that we can resume normal activity.
With best wishes,
Irene Pipes
President
GAZETA SPRING 2020 n 1
Message from
Chairman and Executive Director,
Tad Taube and Taube Foundation for Jewish Life
& Culture
Shana Penn
This issue of Gazeta differs considerably from the one we planned.
When we began working on it in early February, COVID-19 was
rampaging in faraway China, on the periphery of our awareness in the
United States. We focused instead on collecting articles about matters of
concern to our readers, like the leadership transition at POLIN Museum,
new books and awards, recent conferences, and plans for the Jewish
Culture Festival’s thirtieth anniversary celebration in Krakόw.
In mid-February, as the virus began ripping through Europe, we welcomed
POLIN Museum’s Chief Curator Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett to the
Tad Taube
San Francisco Bay Area, where she gave the keynote at the opening of an
Arthur Szyk exhibition organized by the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art
and Life at the University of California, Berkeley (reported in this issue).
By March, the faraway virus had reached our shores and was causing
alarm, from Washington state down the coast to the Bay Area and beyond.
Meanwhile, our Polish colleagues and Gazeta contributors began telling us
about the advent of the virus in their communities and the health measures
being taken in universities and other public institutions and places in
Warsaw, Krakόw, and elsewhere. Clearly, the pandemic’s momentous
events were demanding our attention.
Shana Penn This revised spring edition of Gazeta presents, as always, topics and
events of primary concern to you, our readers, while also recognizing
the global health and economic crises confronting us today. Like many
previous generations, we live in times that can be difficult, even deadly.
We are grateful to be in conversation with you as we move together into
an uncertain future.
Tad Taube and Shana Penn
Chairman and Executive Director
2 n GAZETA VOLUME 27, NO. 1
SPECIAL REPORTS
Edyta Gawron
Academia during the Pandemic
J agiellonian University in
Kraków started its spring
semester on February 24,
2020. The first week of classes,
usually busy and exciting,
was already marked by some
uncertainty. We received
recommendations regarding
travel abroad (destinations
to avoid) and international
visitors (visits from COVID-19
affected countries had to be
cancelled or postponed). At
the Institute of Jewish Studies,
following the new restrictions,
the visit from a Japanese
delegation was cancelled
at the last minute. Soon
after, questions arose about
upcoming important public
events underway. For example,
what would happen to the
Polish-Israeli ambassadors’ Kraków, March 2020
debate, marking thirty years Photograph by Edyta Gawron. Used with permission.
of reestablishing diplomatic
relations between the two situation there, we asked her e-learning in response to the
countries? to self-isolate and refrain from coronavirus. The quarantined
attending classes for the next Italian student was offered
A few days later, one of two weeks. Our colleagues Skype access to Hebrew
the students enrolled in the in the institute were asked to classes, and a few days later,
international educational assist her with materials and with events moving so quickly
program Erasmus+ returned provide individual mentoring. and dramatically, this would be
from Italy. Knowing the This was when we introduced required for all of our classes.
GAZETA SPRING 2020 n 3
Within the first month The Institute of Jewish University classes remain
of the new semester, we Studies is located in suspended as of this writing.
found ourselves displaced New security measures have
the heart of the Jewish
and working from home as been implemented in all of
all classes transitioned to quarter, where we had Poland, such as directives to
online teaching. Fortunately, just attended Purim walk around neighborhoods
Jagiellonian University or take public transportation
celebrations. We were
already had programs and only for reasons essential for
online platforms to facilitate expecting dozens of health or work.
remote teaching. student groups to arrive
The streets of Kraków are
We miss Kazimierz, though. in March, mainly from almost completely empty.
The Institute of Jewish Israel, the United States, From time to time, the
Studies is located in the voice from the loudspeakers
and Europe, but all visits
heart of the Jewish quarter, installed on police cars
where we had just attended were cancelled at the reminds inhabitants to stay at
Purim celebrations. We were last minute. home—Zostań w domu! n
expecting dozens of student
groups to arrive in March, lift the spirits of our students. Edyta Gawron, PhD, is
mainly from Israel, the United Working on a regular schedule Assistant Professor at the
States, and Europe, but all and seeing each other online Institute of Jewish Studies,
visits were cancelled at the helps us all to focus on Jagiellonian University
last minute. Within a few days, teaching and learning. in Kraków. From 2009 to
Kazimierz, together with other 2017, she was director of
Most of my classes this the Centre for the Study of
parts of Kraków, resembled
semester are on the Holocaust the History and Culture of
a ghost town. Suddenly, all
or Holocaust-related topics. Kraków Jews. She is president
of the tourists were gone and
Some of my students had of the Management Board
the locals had to comply with
experienced stressful travel of Galicia Jewish Heritage
strict lockdown protocols.
back to their respective Institute Foundation (Galicia
All public activities were
countries. Unfortunately, we Jewish Museum in Kraków)
cancelled, including the
did not have time to say good- and served on the team
March of Remembrance, held
bye. Luckily, we will continue that designed the historical
annually on the anniversary
working together online, and museum in Oskar Schindler’s
of the liquidation of the
one of the first topics to be Factory in Kraków.
Kraków Ghetto.
discussed is survival strategies
Confronted with all the in a time of catastrophe. How
depressing news, we want to ironic, yet also fitting!
4 n GAZETA VOLUME 27, NO. 1
Zygmunt Stępiński is New Director
of POLIN Museum of the History Antony Polonsky
of Polish Jews
I n a statement issued to
the press on February 14,
2020, the Polish Ministry
In response, the mayor of
Warsaw, Rafał Trzaskowski,
expressed his satisfaction
Professor Dariusz Stola that
he renounced his rights as
winner of the competition for
of Culture and National at the agreement while also the post of director of POLIN
Heritage announced that it expressing regret that it had Museum of the History of
had “reached agreement with not been reached earlier. Polish Jews, on condition
the co-organizers of POLIN Its conclusion was the that the parties running the
Museum—the mayor of result of the “responsible museum reached agreement
Warsaw and the executive of and exceptional gesture of on another candidate.” They
the Association of the Jewish Professor Stola, who for the nominated Zygmunt Stępiński
Historical Institute—on good of POLIN Museum has as the “common candidate
the position of director and renounced his legal right to of the Association of the
intends to appoint Zygmunt the position of director … We Jewish Historical Institute
Stępiński, who has held the are happy that the deadlock and the City of Warsaw.”
post of acting director since has been broken and such They reached this decision
February 2019, for a three- an important institution after consulting with “Jewish
year term.” It further stated will now finally have an circles, friends of the Museum
that “in accordance with the administration which will and donors.”
regulations laid down in the ensure the realization of its
The dispute over the position
law of October 25, 1991, programs and secure its future
of director began in February
on the organization and development.”
2019, when the Minister of
management of cultural affairs,
This followed an earlier Culture, Piotr Gliński, refused
the minister will seek to obtain
statement by the mayor and to renew Stola’s five-year
from trade unions active in
the executive of the Jewish appointment, which held
the museum and professional
Historical Institute. Acting “in the option of extension. The
and cultural associations their
accordance with the interests minister never made clear the
opinion of the candidate for the
of the institution and of grounds for his action, but
post of director to the Museum
Polish-Jewish relations,” they he seems to have objected to
of the History of Polish Jews.
said, “as well as the image the fact that Stola protested
The new director of POLIN
of Poland in the world, after against the amendment of
Museum should be appointed
the difficult but exceptionally the 2018 law on the Institute
by the end of February 2020.”
responsible statement by of National Remembrance
GAZETA SPRING 2020 n 5
(Instytut Pamięci Narodowej- Recent years have seen Żydowskiego-FODŻ). In
IPN), which made May, the selection committee,
claiming that the Polish
an attack on history as chaired by Deputy Minister
state or the Polish nation a scholarly discipline of Culture Jarosław Sellin
bore responsibility for the that has threatened the and made up of two
Holocaust a criminal offense. representatives each of the
(The law was subsequently great progress made ministry, the municipality of
amended to remove these in understanding the Warsaw, and the Association
criminal penalties.) of the Jewish Historical
complex problems of
Institute, and nine members
Further conflict arose over the history of Jews in representing independent
Obcy w domu (“Estranged,”
Poland and of Polish- bodies, among them Jewish
the museum’s translation), one
organizations and institutions
of the museum’s temporary Jewish relations. engaged in education,
exhibitions, marking the
contribution to Polish-Israeli including several senior
fiftieth anniversary of the
relations of Lech Kaczyński, professors, voted in May,
anti-Zionist campaign of
former president of Poland, 11 to 3, with one abstention,
1968, which the Ministry of
who died in the Smoleńsk to reappoint Stola.
Culture and National Heritage
plane crash of April 2010.
had refused to fund. A huge Stola had certainly been a very
success, the exhibition drew Minister Gliński was successful director. According
116,000 people. It included unwilling to reappoint Stola, to Tad Taube, chairman of
a final section comparing but under pressure from the Taube Foundation for
the hate speech which had the representatives of the Jewish Life and Culture and
marked the events of 1968 two other bodies involved one of the main supporters
with that which had become in running the museum, he of the museum, Stola is “the
increasingly prevalent since agreed to an open competition most outstanding scholar
the amendment of the law for the post of director in and director we could ever
on the IPN. Minister Gliński which Stola could participate. get for that museum. He
also seems to have been Only one other candidate has been responsible for
angered by the failure of the applied, Monika Krawczyk, all the positive things.” His
museum administration to then Chair of the Union of views are shared by Barbara
turn over any part of a large, Jewish Religious Communities Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, the
multiyear education grant in Poland and former Chair chief curator of POLIN’s core
that it received from the of the Foundation for the exhibition, Professor Emerita
Norwegian government and Preservation of Jewish of Performance Studies at
its alleged failure to sponsor Heritage in Poland (Fundacja New York University, and
a conference devoted to the Ochrony Driedzictwa a 2020 recipient of a Dan
6 n GAZETA VOLUME 27, NO. 1David prize for her work at Stępiński “has a very the creators of the publishing
the museum. She observed house MURATOR (now
that “all the success of the
deep connection to the ZPR media S.A.) in 1982, as
last five years is his [Stola’s] history of Polish Jews. well as the social programs
doing. All the awards, all of He is loyal, capable, and “Available Housing” and
the visitor numbers—all of it “Housing Without Barriers.”
is his doing.” dedicated, and he has He was also active in Polish-
been with the museum Jewish life and has worked
They were right to talk of
in service to POLIN Museum
numbers. Since it opened in since it opened.”
since 2012, and as one of its
2013, the museum has been – Barbara Kirshenblatt-
three deputy directors was
visited by 3.75 million people, Gimblett
responsible for education,
while nearly 2 million have
communication, sales, and
visited the core exhibition, The minister again failed marketing.
which opened in October to appoint Stola, and by
2014. Around 44 percent February 2020 the situation His appointment has been
of these visitors come from had become critical, since welcomed by many of the
abroad, the largest group Zygmunt Stępiński could only museum’s key supporters,
coming from Israel, followed hold the post of acting director who are concerned to
by the United States. Under until the end of the month. It safeguard its institutional
Stola’s leadership, the was then that the compromise autonomy. According to
museum was awarded the solution of appointing him Warsaw Mayor Trzaskowski
title of European Museum director for a three-year period and Piotr Wiślicki, the head
of the Year in 2016 and the was adopted. of the Association of the
EMA (European Museum Jewish Historical Institute,
Academy Award), and in Stępiński graduated in history Stępiński “has many years
2017, it received the Europa from the University of of experience in the field of
Nostra Award, the most Warsaw and became active in management, including in the
important award in Europe for politics after the introduction field of cultural institutions,
outstanding achievement in of martial law in December [and] he enjoys the trust of the
the protection, research, and 1981, when he became team and the museum’s donors
promotion of cultural heritage. secretary of the editorial board and Jewish communities in
According to the award, the of the underground publishing Poland and abroad.” Barbara
museum “created a safe haven house CDN (Ciąg Dalszy Kirshenblatt-Gimblett
to engage in an intercultural Nastąpi, “To Be Continued”). agreed: “He has a very deep
dialogue, thus offering a vital The son of a celebrated connection to the history
lesson to today’s world.” architect, he has worked as of Polish Jews. He is loyal,
a journalist and was one of capable, and dedicated, and
GAZETA SPRING 2020 n 7Stola is “the most perhaps the next best-known
outstanding scholar and Jewish landmark in Poland.
Built on the site of the former
director we could ever get Warsaw [G]hetto it celebrates
for that museum. He has the thousand-year history of
Poland’s Jewish community
been responsible for all
and is a place where you can
the positive things.” learn about past and present
– Tad Taube Jewish culture, confront
continue to contribute to the stereotypes, and consider
preservation and informed perils from today’s world—
appreciation of the history such as xenophobia and
Professor Dariusz Stola, former
and accomplishments of the nationalistic prejudices.”
Director of the POLIN Museum of the
History of Polish Jews. Jews of this region and of To see the public statement
Photograph by Omar Marqes. Getty Images.
their descendants all over issued by Dariusz Stola,
he has been with the museum the world. former director of POLIN
since it opened.” Museum, on February 10,
Recent years have seen an
attack on history as a scholarly 2020, go to: http://szih.org.
The general consensus
discipline that has threatened pl/en/dariusz-stola-statement-
was well expressed by Tad
the great progress made in regarding-polin-museum/. n
Taube. Calling the solution
“a bittersweet pill,” he said understanding the complex
Antony Polonsky, PhD, is
it was “much better than problems of the history of
Chief Historian at the POLIN
having Minister Gliński Jews in Poland and of Polish-
Museum of the History of
appoint the director without Jewish relations. In these
Polish Jews.
the agreement of his partners.” conditions, the importance
Praising Stępiński as an “able of the museum in fostering a
administrator,” he concluded nuanced and balanced attitude
that the most important thing to the past is all the more
is that “we now have a leader important. One can only echo
for a great museum that was the sentiments of Arkady
heretofore in a state of flux Rzegocki, Polish ambassador
for almost a year.” to the United Kingdom in the
Jewish Chronicle of February
The museum has gone 19, 2020: “The POLIN
through a difficult period. Museum of the History of
It is to be hoped that under Polish Jews in Warsaw is
Director Stępiński it will
8 n GAZETA VOLUME 27, NO. 1Statement of New Director of
POLIN Museum of the History
of Polish Jews
O ver the past year POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews has been
going through the worst crisis since its inception. The crisis was caused by
the conflict between the museum’s co-founders regarding nomination for the
post of director. As you all know, a competition for the post was held in May
2019. It was won convincingly by Professor Dariusz Stola—my mentor, my Zygmunt Stępiński, the new
superior, and a dear colleague. Director of the POLIN Museum
of the History of Polish Jews.
It would be inappropriate to comment here on the process of nominating, Photograph by M. Starowieyska.
or rather on the failure to nominate, Professor Dariusz Stola for a new term Courtesy of POLIN Museum of
the History of Polish Jews.
as POLIN Museum director. I myself was put in a rather difficult position,
serving as acting director. I was striving to fulfill my role to the best of my abilities, yet with full
awareness of its interim nature. POLIN Museum was molded by Professor Stola, who was about to
return and occupy again his empty office in the museum building.
Alas, that never happened. According to the common intention of the Association of the Jewish
Historical Institute and the City of Warsaw, and with the approval of the Ministry of Culture and
National Heritage, I received the nomination for a three-year term as POLIN Museum director. I have
decided to accept it. I am sure you are all aware how awkward the position I was put in has been,
notwithstanding the fact that my candidature was supported by all three museum co-founders, many
different milieus and authority figures, including those that the museum holds in the highest regard—
first and foremost the donors, but also the Nationwide Workers’ Initiative Trade Union in operation at
the museum, as well as POLIN Museum staff council.
Above all else, my nomination was supported by Professor Dariusz Stola.
Darek, I would like to address these words to you directly. They say no one is irreplaceable. Perhaps
it is true. What is also true, however, is that there are people among us who are truly unique and
extraordinarily clever; people who change the course of events and thus shape our history. We have had
a great honor and privilege to work with such a person. POLIN Museum is one of the most important
institutions of culture in Poland and it will follow the course that you have mapped out for us. I am sure
that our paths will cross along this course, and more than once at that.
Today I have entered the building as the Museum Director, overwhelmed by most ambivalent feelings.
Nonetheless, I wish to pass on this message to you all: I will make every effort to further develop the
potential of POLIN museum—the institution which Professor Stola held dear and where he left a piece
of his heart. The museum will continue to fulfil its mission of preserving the memory of Polish Jews,
of retelling their history in an engaging, captivating, and authentic way. It will continue to teach about
the tradition, culture, religion, and patriotism of the Jews who have always been and will always remain
an inseparable part of the multinational and multiethnic Republic of Poland—the home of people of
various denominations, viewpoints, traditions, and customs.
Zygmunt Stępiński
Director of POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews
GAZETA SPRING 2020 n 9SPECIAL FEATURES IN RESPONSE
TO SHELTERING-AT-HOME
Sunday Potatoes! Monday Potatoes!
Editor’s Note: You can sing this while washing your hands for 22 seconds!
Zuntik – bulbes Sunday, potatoes
Montik – bulbes Monday, potatoes
Dinstik un mitvokh – bulbes Tuesday and Wednesday, potatoes בולבעס
Donershtik un fraytik – bulbes Thursday and Friday, potatoes זונטיק – בולבעס
Ober shabes in a novine But on Shabbes something special מאָנטיק – בולבעס
A bulbe kigele! A potato kugel! דינסטיק און מיטוואָך – בולבעס
דאָנערשטיק און פריי ַטיק – בולבעס
Un zuntik vayter – bulbes And Sunday—and so on—potatoes !אָבער שבתּ אין אַ נאָווענע – אַ בולבע קוגעלע
. און זונטיק ווייטער – בולבעס
.און זונטיק ווייטער – בולבעס
Broyt mit bulbes Bread with potatoes
Fleysh mit bulbes Meat with potatoes ברויט מיט בולבעס
פלייש מיט בולבעס
Varemes un vetshere – bulbes Noon meal and evening meal potatoes וואַרעמעס און וועטשערע – בולבעס
Ober un vider – bulbes Here and there potatoes אָבער און ווידער – בולבעס
איינמאָל אין אַ נאָווענע
Ober eynmol in a novine But now and then, a novelty !אַ בולבע קוגעלע
A bulbe kigele! A potato kugel! און זונטיק ווייטער – בולבעס
.און זונטיק ווייטער – בולבעס
Un zuntik vayter – bulbes And Sunday—the usual—potatoes
. אָבער – בולבעס
ווידער – בולבעס
Ober – bulbes Here potatoes נאָך אַ מאָל און אָבער אַ מאָל – בולבעס
Vider – bulbes There potatoes הײַנט און מאָרגן – בולבעס
Ober un vider – bulbes Here and there potatoes
אָבער שבתּ נאָכן טשאָלנט
!אַ בולבע קוגעלע
Vider un ober – bulbes There and here potatoes און זונטיק ווייטער – בולבעס
Ober shabes nokhn tsholnt But on Shabbes after the chulent .און זונטיק ווייטער – בולבעס
A bulbe kigele! A potato kugel!
Un zuntik vayter – bulbes A Sunday, here we go again, potatoes
https://musicalexplorers.savannahmusicfestival.org/2019-19-curriculum/unit-
5-klezmer-music/lesson-1-learning-bulbes/
10 n GAZETA VOLUME 27, NO. 1Cooking in Containment
O
Editor’s Note:
nce many of us realized we
would be sheltering at home
for a month if not longer, we made our
shopping lists for durable groceries
and household supplies, applied
research zeal to culinary creation, and
transferred commute hours to cooking
hours. Gazeta readers reported to us
that after teaching their classes on
Zoom and reading students’ exams,
after researching and sharing online
reputable sources about the pandemic,
they were passionately reading
cookbooks, exchanging recipes,
and creating feasts for their mostly
modest-sized households. It seems
many of us are now thoroughly
occupied with cooking—and wherever
there is cooking, eating is sure to
follow. Here are some personal
culinary stories, helpful tips and
recipes for cooking in containment.
GAZETA SPRING 2020 n 11Jewish Food Is Grounding, Jeffrey Yoskowitz
Especially Now
Pickles and gefilte don’t always was building a value-added place to start since it’s
get the same level of attention products business and pickles often the butt of jokes—
by scholars and cultural were at the heart of it (the and yet, when it’s made
activists as, say, literary works farm’s slogan: “Young Jewish right, with fresh ingredients,
of Sholem Aleichem or the farmers changing the world one an eye to freshness and
revival of the Yiddish language. pickle at a time”). I learned to with deference to tradition,
In recent years, however, that’s make the old-fashioned method it can be transcendent.
been changing. Food is “in”––at of saltwater pickles, which, I launched a venture called
least as an entry point into the it turns out, are actually good The Gefilteria to spread
folk history of Jews in Eastern for you. The Jewish/Slavic gefilte fish appreciation.
Europe. As a matter of fact, pickling method is a live- We manufacture an artisanal
in the age of coronavirus, as cultured process of fermentation (read: gourmet) gefilte fish
restaurants remain shuttered and that doesn’t just preserve a and produce culinary events
much of the world is sheltering- cucumber but improves it: it and workshops that explore
in-place, cooking has become sours it and makes it pro-biotic the breadth and history of
a survival skill as well as a such that it aids in digestion and Eastern European Jewish
deserved object of study. More strengthens immune systems. cooking. Gefilte fish, for
than ever, we can learn from better or worse, became the
I see much of Jewish history
Jewish cooks who navigated venture’s symbol. To this day,
and culture like a sour pickle.
scarcity and short growing we travel the world, cooking
Rather than just preserving
seasons with artistry and skill. and teaching, and continue
it, I think culture needs to
to manufacture our signature
For over a decade I’ve ferment––to transform itself
gefilte fish for major holidays.
straddled both the culinary and from within.
scholarly worlds, as a writer, a My work in the world of
I left the farm and moved
researcher, culinary revivalist, Ashkenazi cooking converged
gefilte fish manufacturer, and to New York City where I
with my work as a writer and
an entrepreneur. began working in the food
researcher. Soon, my focus
world. I turned my attention
turned to the lost and distorted
I began my journey into to the negative perceptions
histories of Jewish cooking
Jewish food when I moved of Ashkenazi cuisine among
and eating. When writing
onto an organic Jewish farm my peers in the food world.
my cookbook, The Gefilte
called Adamah in northwest Gefilte fish was the natural
Manifesto: New Recipes for
Connecticut. That year, the farm
12 n GAZETA VOLUME 27, NO. 1Old World Jewish Foods, innovative digital food
I became obsessed with programming, opened May
the dishes that I didn’t 19 and ran through May
know about. What was 28. (Participation is free for
lost in the Old World? most events, except for a
Through reading those few that are by donation for
Sholem Aleichem stories, COVID-19 relief efforts).
it became clear to me that
As so much of our world
very little of Ashkenazi
remains in question, as
foodways is represented
countries grapple with
by the Jewish delicatessen
the reality of the
in New York. I’ve been
coronavirus and the need
writing and researching
to stay indoors, Jewish
and investigating a The Gefilte Manifesto: New Recipes for Old World
Jewish Foods by Jeffrey Yoskowitz and Liz Alpern, culinary narratives and
deeper, richer food published by Flatiron Books in 2016.
traditions have the power to
tradition ever since.
tie it all into the thousand ground and comfort us. Food
I’m proud to have worked years of Jewish history in is much more than sustenance;
with the Taube Jewish the region. now, more than ever, the wisdom
Heritage Tour team to and recipes from generations
develop “History, Heritage, As the food world is struggling past are especially relevant.
and Herring,” Taube’s first- now with restaurants unable to
serve customers in-house, and Herbed Gefilte Fish
ever Jewish culinary heritage
tour. Our focus has been much of the world sheltering- At its most basic, gefilte is
understanding Ashkenazi in-place, I realize we can use a cold fish appetizer served
material food culture and digital tools to eat and cook before Ashkenazi holiday
connecting to the mindset and together. We also can find and Shabbat meals, and is
the wisdom of Jewish cooks new ways to support those made by mixing freshwater
of the past. We eat together especially hard hit by the fish with eggs, onions, and
and meet chefs and relevant pandemic. With that in mind, spices. One of the things that
food producers in the region. I’ve been producing “The drew us to gefilte fish was
We also examine the climate, Great Big Jewish Food Fest: that it stood as a symbol of
the seasons, and the land as Online & In The Kitchen,” resourcefulness—how far a
we taste the fresh currants, along with a team of culinary single fish could be stretched
gooseberries, and bilberries professionals and food thinkers. to feed an entire family. It had
in the summertime, or the The festival—a collection of a practical aspect, too. On the
foraged mushrooms in the book talks, films, workshops, Shabbat, Jews are prohibited
autumn. And, of course, we culinary talks, panels, and from separating bones from
GAZETA SPRING 2020 n 13flesh, so by finely grinding
the fish, the proscription
was circumvented. We love
thinking of ways to restore
gefilte to its rightful place on
the table, especially for the
Passover seder, when gefilte
is often front and center. This
recipe has a classic base, but
we’ve added herbs to give it a
taste of spring and a touch of
color. There is also no matzo
meal or bread crumbs in this
recipe, giving it a lighter
texture and removing any Herbed gefilte fish terrine, as per the recipe below.
Photograph by Lauren Volo. Courtesy of Jeffrey Yoskowitz.
gluten. You have two options
for how to cook and serve
Note: The whitefish we use 2 tablespoons coarsely
your gefilte fish. Poaching
here refers to the species chopped fresh watercress
quenelles in a fish broth is
Coregonus clupeaformis from (or spinach)
a classic method used by
the Great Lakes. If you can’t 2 tablespoons coarsely
generations of Jewish cooks,
find whitefish, substitute any chopped fresh dill
and baking the fish in a
one of the following: hake,
terrine is a quick and 1 teaspoon kosher salt
sole, flounder, whiting, tilapia,
contemporary approach that ¹/8 teaspoon freshly ground
or halibut.
will slice and plate beautifully. white pepper
Liz and I both prefer the baked Baked Terrine
1 tablespoon sugar
terrine, but enough friends Makes 1 small terrine; serves
and family members request Horseradish relish, store-
8 to 10
the poached option that we bought or homemade,
1 small onion, coarsely for serving
couldn’t ignore the pull of
chopped
tradition. The first stage of the
If there are any bones left in
process for this gefilte fish is 12 ounces whitefish fillet,
your fillets, remove the larger
nearly identical to the Smoked skin removed, flesh coarsely
ones by hand, but don’t fret
Whitefish Gefilte Terrine and chopped
about the smaller ones since
the Old World Stuffed Gefilte 1¼ tablespoons vegetable or they’ll be pulverized in the
Fish until it gets stuffed into grapeseed oil food processor. You can buy
the skin.
1 large egg your fish pre-ground from a
14 n GAZETA VOLUME 27, NO. 1fishmonger (usually a Jewish with parchment paper and fill 4 medium carrots
fishmonger) to ensure all the the pan with the fish mixture. 3 tablespoons sugar
bones are removed, but try to
Smooth out with a spatula. Gefilte terrine mixture from
cook your fish that day
Baked Terrine recipe (see
since ground fish loses its Place the loaf pan on a baking
steps 1 and 2)
freshness faster. sheet on the middle rack of
the oven and bake for 40 to Horseradish relish, store-bought
Place the onion in the bowl or homemade, for serving
45 minutes. The terrine is
of a large food processor and
finished when the corners Place the fish parts, salt,
process until finely ground
and ends begin to brown. The onions, carrots, sugar, and
and mostly liquefied. Add
loaf will give off some liquid. water in a large stockpot and
the fish fillets to the food
Cool to room temperature bring to a boil. Reduce the
processor along with the rest
before removing from the heat to maintain a simmer,
of the ingredients, except
pan and slicing. Serve with cover, and simmer for at least
for the horseradish. Pulse in
horseradish relish. 45 minutes before poaching
the food processor until the
mixture is light-colored and Poached Gefilte Quenelles the quenelles. Skim off any
evenly textured throughout. foam that rises to the surface.
Makes 10 2-ounce quenelles
Scoop into a bowl and give
Heads, bones, and tails from Wet your hands and form the
it an additional stir to ensure
a fish (see Note) gefilte fish mixture into about
that all the ingredients are
10 quenelles the size of an
evenly distributed throughout. 4 quarts water
egg, with a similarly oblong
Preheat the oven to 350 F. 1 tablespoon kosher salt shape. They will expand as
Line an 8 x 3-inch loaf pan 2 onions, coarsely chopped they cook.
A s a culmination of much of my Ashkenazi food research, I’ve spent the past year co-producing
with YIVO Institute for Jewish Research an online course of Ashkenazi culinary history
called “A Seat at the Table: A Journey into Jewish Food,” which launched May 1. The course
features a trove of archival objects that illuminate Yiddish-Jewish history in the kitchen, a collection
of cookbooks that trace the Jewish recipe’s evolution over time, lectures by leading scholars
(including Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett on bagels, and more), and plenty of cooking demos
by Joan Nathan and other cookbook writers and chefs. I serve as the guide for the course, so
you can find me cooking and kibitzing throughout. The course is free for a limited time.
Register before August 31 for free tuition; take the class at any time, at your own pace.
GAZETA SPRING 2020 n 15Place them one by one into
the poaching liquid. When
all the servings are in the
pot, make sure the heat is
on low and cover the pot.
Poach for 30 minutes.
Remove the quenelles with
a slotted spoon and place
them in a bowl or deep
serving dish. Spoon enough
poaching liquid over to cover
the quenelles and let cool
slightly before refrigerating.
The poaching liquid will gel
slightly as it chills.
To serve, remove the carrots
and cut them into 3-inch-thick
rounds. Serve the quenelles
chilled, with the carrot
pieces and fresh horseradish
relish. If you’re old-school
or adventurous, serve with
spoonfuls of the poaching
gel alongside.
Note: If poaching, a fishmonger
can save the head, bones, and
tail for you if he/she sells A photograph of classic sour dill pickles from The Gefilte Manifesto by Jeffrey
Yoskowitz and Liz Alpern.
you the fillet—just ask. The Photograph by Lauren Volo. Courtesy of Jeffrey Yoskowitz.
poaching liquid can be made
without these fish parts, but the shares his special recipes for The Gefilte Manifesto, which
gefilte quenelles will be slightly gefilte fish, one of his specialties he co-authored with Liz Alpern.
less flavorful. at The Gefilteria, which he co- Reprinted with permission
founded as a hub for innovation from Flatiron Books.
Jeffrey Yoskowitz, a Brooklyn- in Jewish food. The recipes
based writer, food entrepreneur, below are excerpted, with
pickler, and public speaker, permission, from the book
16 n GAZETA VOLUME 27, NO. 1Cooking in Containment: More Tips and Recipes
Quarantine Cooking Tips
from Barbara Kirshenblatt-
Gimblett
Barbara Kirshenblatt-
Gimblett, the Ronald S.
Lauder Chief Curator of the
Core Exhibition at POLIN
Museum of the History of
Polish Jews, in Warsaw, and
professor emerita at New York
University, shares her special
tips for shopping, stocking,
and cooking while “sheltered-
in-place” during COVID-19.
The following “principles”
and recipes were originally
posted on her Facebook
page and are reprinted here Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett’s mushroom barley soup.
Courtesy of Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett.
with permission.
If you are not going out to the pleasure. No need to stock beans, chickpeas, and more),
shop or cannot find what you the fridge, freezer, and pantry pasta (white, whole wheat,
want locally, you can order with prepared food. gluten free), oatmeal (rolled
most everything online and and steel cut), and grains of
Principle #2: Water expands
have it delivered. all kinds: millet, buckwheat,
everything. Dried goods are
quinoa, barley, cornmeal,
Principle #1: Cook from much better than tins, more
polenta. And, flour, about
scratch. Healthier, tastier, compact for storage, cheaper,
which more below. In addition
more economical. Great and healthier (less fat and
to all the ways you already
activity to share with salt). This is the time for rice
cook these grains, you can
homebound family. Chance (brown, jasmine, basmati,
also sprout them for highly
to up your game, experiment, black, and more), beans (split
nutritious fresh greens.
and share the experience and peas, brown lentils, black
GAZETA SPRING 2020 n 17Beans are an adventure: Principle #5: For the pantry, for a simple classic spaghetti
order the freshest and most nuts of all kinds, nut butters, dish, with bread crumbs and
interesting from Rancho seeds (sunflower, pumpkin, grated Romano), tinned tuna,
Gordo https://www.rancho flax), raisins, prunes, figs, and sardines, and salmon. Wasa
gordo.com/. Speaking of crystalized ginger for those whole-grain crackers.
water, add powdered milk to yearning for something sweet.
Principle #6: For the
the list, a good solution in a You will have what you need,
refrigerator: tofu. Infinite
pinch. And how could I have with rolled oats, to make
ways to prepare soft, firm,
forgotten dried mushrooms! gorgeous granola. Let me
extra firm. This recipe cannot
know and I will post a great
Principle #3: Always wanted be beat, https://tinyurl.com/
recipe. And olive oil, vegetable
to bake? Now is the time. You qthnm72. I already have
oil with a high smoke point for
are home working, caring for pickles and sauerkraut that I
frying (sunflower, safflower,
family, so why not bake? Time made in the fall. You can still
peanut), unpasteurized apple
for sourdough. You don’t need make your own sauerkraut
cider vinegar, honey, maple
yeast, just flour and water. with nothing more than
syrup, all-fruit conserves (no
An alchemical adventure, cabbage and salt (Diamond
added sugar), and, if you cook
and I bet kids would love it. kosher salt, no additives).
Chinese dishes, soy sauce and
Delicious fresh bread on hand Hard cheese in a block, not
sesame oil. Tinned tomatoes:
all the time. Out of butter? sliced, and if you are so
I always have lots of them
There is always olive oil. inclined, miso, butter, eggs,
on hand—crushed, chopped,
herring, smoked fish.
and whole. And, nutritional
Principle #4: Vegetables
yeast, a good substitute for Principle #7: Cook for a few
and fruit that keep, which are
cheese. And, TVP (textured days at a time (soup, beans,
the ones in season, so roots
vegetable protein), a terrible grains, stews, bread). Freeze
(potatoes, turnips, beets,
name for a byproduct of soy some for a day when there is
carrots, rutabaga, daikon,
oil extraction. Bob’s Red no time to cook.
onions, parsnip, parsley
Mill is a good source. TVP is
root, sweet potatoes, garlic, Principle #8: Sign up for your
versatile and nutritious, great
among others), cabbage, favorite food blog. One of
substitute for ground beef
kohlrabi, kale, winter squash mine is Woks of Life, https://
in a red bean or kidney bean
of all kinds, ginger root. And, thewoksoflife.com/. If you love
chili. My favorite black bean
apples, Bosc pears, lemons, Chinese food, this is the go-
chili: http://bit.ly/2IOY765.
oranges, grapefruit, avocado. It’s flexible, so don’t worry if to place. You can order pretty
You can stock up for weeks at you don’t have all the different much everything you need
a time. Consider signing up chilies. No chipotle? Substitute online and much of what you
with Misfit for home delivery smoked paprika. You can order need is not perishable—dried
of imperfect organic produce all the chilies and paprika mushrooms, bean threads,
at reduced price: http://bit. online. And, if you are so rice noodles, dried tofu sticks,
ly/2vo5qPb. inclined: anchovies (perfect cloud ears, tiger lily buds,
jujubes, kombu, and much
18 n GAZETA VOLUME 27, NO. 1more. Don’t feel like cooking?
Social distancing at home and
avoiding restaurants? Order
food from your local Chinese
restaurants. They are hurting
and need our business.
Mushroom Barley Soup
2 cups of barley, rinsed
Long white part of one leek,
thinly sliced
Celia Ores and her grandson Marc Schorin prepare potato-and-onion pierogi.
2 medium carrots, diced Photograph by Michelle Ores. Used with permission.
3 stalks of celery, diced recipes for potato and onion
Celia Ores on Pierogi
Start with 2 quarts of water and and Horseradish pierogi and horseradish.
add more as soup thickens.
Celia Ores, age 92, is a Potato & Onion Pierogi
After 45 minutes, add sliced
Holocaust survivor from Prepare the potato onion mix
fresh mushrooms. I used
Dubienka, Poland, and first as it has to cool off.
shiitake, but any will do. I also
now resides on the Upper Potato Onion Mix:
used Polish dried mushrooms
West Side of Manhattan.
(porcini / boletus), which are Sauté 1 large onion separately
She spent the war years in
nothing short of divine. until brown. Add some salt.
Siberia in a labor camp,
Salt and pepper. Cook 6 peeled russet (large
then in Kazakhstan; after
white) potatoes until soft.
Simmer till thick and barley the war, a DP camp outside
is soft. of Frankfurt, Germany, and Mash the potatoes and mix
completed medical school with the sautéed onions.
In normal times, I would have
at the University of Berne, Let cool.
added a small piece of celery
root, a small parsley root, and Switzerland. She published To Make the Dough:
I would have served it with her memoir, Reading Pushkin For the dough, combine
chopped fresh dill (or parsley). in Siberia, and Other Tales of 8 cups flour, 2 eggs, and
Survival, in 2015. 2 cups of water.
Perfectly vegan, whole grain
(organic barley), no fat. In addition to being a full- Mix until you have the
https://www.jewishfoodsociety. time pediatrician and full-time right consistency. Let sit
org/posts/2018/1/15/bkg-soup, mother, Celia also found time for 20 minutes.
“A Soup From Poland Travels to be a full-time chef, bringing Cut the dough into 4 pieces.
Thousands of Miles— her family recipes from Poland Roll out the dough a piece at a
Only to Return Home” with love, care, and a lax time (cover the other pieces).
Shared by Barbara understanding of “I can’t have Make 3-inch circles. Put in a
Kirshenblatt-Gimblett another bite!” Here are her dollop of potato onion mix.
GAZETA SPRING 2020 n 19Fold over and pinch and crimp
the edges. Make sure they are
sealed well.
Boil the pierogi in water for
a few minutes. Let pierogi
cool. Then cook the pierogi
in vegetable oil until browned
on each side. Serve with
sour cream.
Horseradish:
Kasia Leonardi teaches a cooking workshop.
One horseradish root (finely
Photograph by Sebastian Rudol. Courtesy of JCC Kraków.
grated by hand or in a food
processor) JCC Krakόw’s annual summer and I like to write out the
Cook 1 beet until soft and Erev Shabbat dinner, which recipes by hand and illustrate
and then finely grate it. is held on the last Friday them. My students appreciate
evening of Krakόw’s Jewish the personal touch and a few
2 tablespoons apple cider
Culture Festival, following even collect them! Cymes,
vinegar
the day’s revelatory Ride for a classic Ashkenazi Jewish
1 tablespoon sugar the Living bicycle trek from food from old Galicia, is a
the gates of Auschwitz to diced-carrot stew that includes
Add the sugar and vinegar to
Kazimierz, where the JCC dried fruits, is flavored with
the grated horseradish root.
is located. Each year this honey and cinnamon, and has
Mix well. Then add the grated
Shabbat dinner hosts up a beautiful orange-gold color,
beet. Add a little kosher salt.
to 700 guests from around
Let it sit for a day or two always sweet and aromatic.
the world in a beautiful,
before using. The flavors need Cymes is from the Yiddish,
spacious hall, walking
to blend together. and when it became part of
distance from the JCC. After
the Polish language, it became
bicycling the 55km Ride for
From Kasia Leonardi’s a word for something good,
the Living, Kasia welcomes
Kitchen special, a delicacy, a miracle,
all to the dining hall, in her
a treasure. In this difficult
Kasia Leonardi is director characteristically warm
and relaxed manner, as if time of COVID-19, we need
of catering and events at the
supervising a 700-person something optimistic, a
JCC Krakόw. Many of us
glatt-kosher buffet is everyday miracle, a tasty golden dish
are familiar with her Erev
fare. Thank you, Kasia! that will remind us of a better
Shabbat dinners served in
tomorrow! I hope everyone
the JCC with the help of
Cymes—A Vegetarian enjoyed a peaceful and healthy
the JCC volunteers, known
Tzimmes Passover and a lot of optimism
as the Meshugoyim. Others
of us have marveled at her I often give cooking for a better tomorrow!
impressive supervision of the workshops at JCC Krakόw
20 n GAZETA VOLUME 27, NO. 1Ingredients:
1 large onion, cut into small
pieces
1 apple, cut into half-inch
pieces
4 carrots, peeled and cut into
1-inch rounds
4 sweet potatoes, peeled and
cut into half-inch pieces
1 cup dried prunes
1 cup dried apricots
½ cup raisins
3 large spoons honey
Orange and lemon zest
2 cups orange juice
1 cup lemon juice
1 cup water
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon salt
Kasia Leonardi’s hand-written and illustrated recipe for vegetarian tzimmes.
1 teaspoon pepper Courtesy of Kasia Leonardi.
Extra-virgin olive oil
the kitchen and mixing the Kale
Instructions flavors from childhood with Polish apples
Fry onions in olive oil in a new ones. I like preparing
Dried cranberries
large heavy pot. traditional Polish dishes
Apple cider vinegar
Add the rest of the ingredients like makowiec (poppyseed
cake), sernik (cheesecake) Canola oil
and stir gently.
and barszcz (borsch), but in a You can also add some
Reduce heat to a gentle but
lighter way. walnuts if you like.
constant simmer. Cover.
Kale Salad Toss ingredients together.
Cook on low heat for
It’s perfect!
45 minutes. I like all food that is fresh
Serve warm as a side dish to and easy to make, like this Coconut Macaroons
a festive holiday meal. kale salad. A Passover-perfect dessert and
I like doing experiments in All you need is: delicious year-round
GAZETA SPRING 2020 n 21Ingredients: I like to bake. With baking, So it would have been bleach
4 egg whites there are instructions, and poured on the bread, and I’m
things tend to turn out pretty sure that’s not what is
3 cups of sweetened coconut predictably (unlike the rest meant by bleached white flour.
shreds of my life). Besides, we had flour to use up
½ cup of granulated sugar before Pesach. So I decided to
To be clear, I like baking
try making a challah.
Method: pretty much everything but
Preheat the oven to 350 F. bread. Bread has always This time, however, I had a
eluded me. It’s the yeast secret weapon in my oven
In a bowl, whisk the egg thing—I could never get the mitt. My son and I are
whites until frothy. hang of it. Rise too little? ardent fans of The Great
Add sugar and mix. Too much? Is the yeast still British Baking Show, and
Add the coconut shreds and active? The couple of times my husband and I had given
mix everything with a spoon. I tried to bake challah—out him Paul Hollywood’s How
of some sense that it was To Bake last Hanukah, out of
With a rounded spoon drop
something I “ought” to do, it a completely selfless desire
dough onto the cookie sheet.
felt like a Herculean effort for on our part to further his
Bake for 15-20 minutes or something that was dry and baking skills. I looked to see
until brown on the top. yeasty-tasting. if, by any chance, there was
After they are baked, you a recipe for challah, which
Enter coronavirus. It was
can dip the macaroons in there was. It was called
the first week of Zoom
chocolate. “Cholla Loaf,” which was a
broadcasting my shul’s Friday
Melt the chocolate in a bit concerning, but I decided
night service from my living
double boiler over simmering to give it a try. I followed the
room, and I didn’t have a
water. Dip the bottom of the guidelines, allowing the dough
challah. We sometimes don’t
macaroons in the chocolate. to be a lot stickier than feels
have challah at home, reciting
Place the macaroons in comfortable, and kneading
the b’rachah instead over a
the refrigerator for about through stretching the dough
local baguette or olive bread
10 minutes. repeatedly between my hands.
that God has made spring
As I worked, something
Smacznego! (Bon appétit!) forth from the earth. But this
magical happened. The dough
week, we didn’t have even
became silky and supple, the
Essential Kneads that, as I was tentative about
rhythm a happily tactile stretch
From the Kitchen of the succulent crusts peeking
and pull. I put it in an oiled
Sharon Bernstein forth from the crisp white
bowl to rise, and, remarkably,
paper bags. I wondered, how
Sharon Bernstein, Cantor at it rose as it should, punched
many skulking molecules
Congregation Sha’ar Zahav, down as it should, and then,
might be lying in wait? And I
San Francisco, shares her though I let it rise again too
wasn’t sure about the nutritive
love of baking, mixed with her much, until the braids were
qualities of disinfecting wipes.
whimsical humor, and voila! hardly visible, it tasted as
That’s if I even had wipes!
the joy of challah. it should.
22 n GAZETA VOLUME 27, NO. 1You can also read
