Some Sephardic communities have the unique tradition of baking special cookies for Lag Ba Omer, shaped like a bow and arrow. Bows and arrows are an important part of the Lag Ba Omer celebrations. The Bar Kokhba revolt was fought with bows and arrows.

Shavuot, the celebration of the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, is a cheese lover’s dream.

Why cheese? The laws of kashrut did not exist before the Torah, so all of the cooking utensils were impure. Jews had to learn how to perform a kosher ritual slaughter before they could consume kosher meat. Therefore, it was easier to make dairy meals.

In 1989 the Law Committee of the Rabbinical Assembly of Israel issued a responsum to the question Ashkenazi Jews ask every Passover: “Why are we not permitted to eat kitniyot (legumes), while Sephardic Jews are?” The Rabbinical Assembly concluded that this is a “mistaken custom” and that Ashkenazi Jews are permitted to consume kitniyot as well.

The first thing to do in order to get ready for Passover is a deep spring cleaning. It is time to remove all leavened products from the house. There is an ancient ceremony that is performed to check if the house if free of 'chametz' or leavened food: 'Bedikat Chametz' or Checking for Chametz.

When the Ancient Israelites fled Egypt, they had unleavened flatbreads which had been baked in tabuns, or outdoor wood fired mud ovens. They did not have matzah balls. Jews had to wait about 2,500 years, until the Middle Ages, to be introduced to the gastronomic delight of biting into a matzah ball immersed in chicken broth. What seems to be the most quintessential of Jewish foods today, was really quite a late arrival. It has gone from being a dense, filling specialty Passover food to being a light, airy, year round comfort food.

When the Israelites left Egypt more than 3,300 years ago, they were in a bit of a hurry and didn’t wait around for their bread to rise. Observant Jews still commemorate their exodus by skipping the leavening, and during the eight days of Passover, regular flour is not used in food preparation for fear that it may have come into contact with water, thereby activating the rising process. I see baking without flour ground from grains as an opportunity for creativity. In that spirit, here is a historic Jewish recipe that complies with the special rules of Passover.

One of the most fun activities for Purim is putting together gifts of food or 'mishloach manot' for friends. The legal requirement for a 'mishloach manot' is that there will be at least two types of food that are ready to be consumed immediately. This is to ensure that everyone in the community may celebrate Purim with a feast. This mitzvah is even bigger if the recipient is an orphan, widow, or financially disadvantaged.

When the Jewish holidays arrive, I sometimes reminisce about my grandmother Devorah, who I loved dearly. My children never met her. This Purim, I decided to bake her poppy seed hamantashen. This is my way of sharing with my kids what it was like to be with her.

There is a rabbinic saying (Meg. 7b) that on Purim we should become intoxicated to the point of “ad lo yada” or not being able to differentiate between “Blessed be Mordecai” and “Cursed be Haman.”  What should we become intoxicated with?  In the spirit of Purim, it seems very appropriate to indulge in exotic Persian cocktails.

Megillat Esther or The Book of Esther is part of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible).  The original manuscript was written by Esther’s uncle Mordecai.  It was added to the Tanakh by the Great Assembly in the third or fourth century BCE.

A wonderful tactile activity for Rosh Hashanah is pressing your own grape juice.

Ancient Israelite slaves did not build pyramids! They built storehouses for grain and other food. Make your own mud bricks and build an Ancient Egyptian house.