Warm Casserole of Dried Fruits

Tu'Bshvat: Happy New Year for Trees

{image_1}Tu’Bshvat is Israel’s Arbor Day, every year on the fifteenth of the Jewish month of Shvat, which falls this year on January 22. Though it is not a biblical holiday, it does have its roots in biblical law, as fruit had to be tithed according to its age, so a New Year for trees was created from which the age of all trees could be calculated.

Remembering Miracles: Meringue Cups with Strawberries

By Charleeda Sprinkle, Assistant Editor

{image_1}“In Israel, in order to be a realist, you must believe in miracles.”  David Ben Gurion

In The Land Of Shepherds:  Roasted Leg of Lamb

{image_1}Although Israel is a very modern country, one of the things that reminds me I’m living in the land of the Bible is the shepherd and his sheep. Since shepherds here are usually Arab, and Arabs often dress in a long, flowing robe and a kaffiyeh on their head, they easily resemble the pictures in Bibles of shepherds of long ago.

Spice It Up with Za’atar

{image_1} Because of Israel’s year-long celebration of their 60th and this month’s Jerusalem Day (June 2), I wanted to pick a recipe that was particularly descriptive of Israeli cuisine. But, is there really an Israeli cuisine? Because Jewish people have been making aliyah (immigrating to Israel) since the state was born, it’s hard to say what is Israeli. Immigrants have come from more than 50 nations, which makes for a very unique Israeli “soup.” Others say that there is no original Israeli cuisine because everything Israelis eat can be found in other Middle Eastern countries. So, za’atar (or zatar or zahatar) may not be a distinctive Israeli spice, but you can’t be in Israel for long without bumping into it. And once you do, you don’t want to go home without it.

Deep-fried Deliciousness: Bimuelos

By Charleeda Sprinkle, Assistant Editor

{image_1}Jewish people around the world celebrate Hanukkah (Feast of Dedication) by eating oil-soaked foods. Why? The holiday is best known for the miracle of oil that took place after the Temple, polluted by the Greeks in 165 BC, was cleansed. A single day’s oil for the golden menorah (seven-branched candelabra) lasted eight days! The oil, some rabbis say, is like studying Torah (Gen.–Deut.). Just as oil enhances our food, so the Torah enhances our lives. Also, oil illuminates, as does the Torah. And when oil and sugar are combined (as in our recipe), they make the comparison all the more significant. “How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Ps. 119:103).

Freedom—Chofesh or Cherut?

{image_1}Freedom and liberty. Some have said that these are two of the most important words in any language. Others would say that, in recent history, they are two of the most overused and misunderstood words in any language. Certainly the concepts that they represent have been in the forefront of mankind’s thinking in every generation since Adam and Eve had their unfortunate snack in the Garden. Millions have lost their lives in their defense, and others in their pursuit. World War Two alone saw the death of 72 million as Hitler’s forces sought to triumph over the free world. Today, we hear reports daily of the loss of lives virtually all over the world as those who would tyrannize humanity are confronted by those who will not be tyrannized.

Superman is Jewish!

{image_1}A unique exhibit in the Netherlands shows that cartoons may have educational value by using Superman to teach Jewish history. Keying in on comic art by Jewish artists, the “Superheroes and Schlemiels (habitual bunglers): Jewish Memory in Comic Strip Art” exhibit, coproduced by the Jewish History Museum in the Netherlands and the Museum of Jewish Art and History in Paris, added a whole dimension to youthful entertainment.

Other Recent Finds

{image_1} In 2007, Reich and Shukron found part of a Second Temple Period street and a channel that ran beside it, showing evidence of people having lived inside for some time. The channel was deliberately broken in several places where the Roman soldiers penetrated under the streets to capture and kill Jewish people hiding there, confirming the account by Flavius Josephus of the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.

Israel—Don’t Mess with Us!

{image_1} “An Iranian attack will prompt a severe reaction from Israel, which will destroy the Iranian nation…Teheran is definitely aware of our strength. Even so, they are teasing us with their alliances with Syria and Hizbullah and supplying them with many weapons, and we have to deal with that.”

—National Infrastructures Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, April 7, 2008

“Peace, Peace!”  But…There Is No Peace

{image_1}It’s around 8:30 p.m. in Jerusalem on March 6. A group of men in an upstairs classroom at the Mercaz HaRav Yeshivah (religious school) are just finishing evening prayers. The night commences the start of the Jewish month of Adar, the festive month in which Purim is celebrated, the festival that rejoices in the bravery of Queen Esther and the salvation of the Jews from destruction at the hands of their enemy Haman. But unbeknown to the men completing their prayers, an enemy of the Jewish people is walking into the yeshivah, armed with an AK-47 assault rifle. The bullets begin firing. The men in the classroom can hear the incessant shots. Jose can see into the study hall below, a separate area from where the shooting was taking place, through a window, as students are running. Jose and the other men turn off the lights, barricade the doors, and lay on the floor.

Golf Coming to Mount Arbel

{image_1} Israel will soon have a five-star luxury golf course resort on Mount Arbel [overlooking the Sea of Galilee near Tiberius]. Developer Joseph Bernstein first got the idea to open a luxury golf course in Israel when he realized that Israel is a prime market because there are nine months of great weather. It has taken 15 years, but the dream is about to become a reality. The Israel Land Authority has given the final agreement necessary and now construction can begin.

Robots Square Off in a Technological Tournament

{image_1} “Three, two, one, it’s robot fighting time!”

Thirty-six Jewish and Arab teams from various high schools and technical colleges recently gathered in Tel Aviv for a competition to display their technical prowess. Each of the teams was given six weeks to design and build a robot for entry to the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science) Israel Robotics Competition, sponsored by Microsoft, GM, Chevrolet, and other industry heavyweights. The goal of the competition was to promote excitement and interest in young people for studying technology.