Pashtida…. the Israeli Frittata. As I recently learned, pashtida is a very simple traditional Jewish dish that’s been used since the Middle Ages.  Pashtida, similar to a quiche or frittata, is a baked dish composed of eggs, cheese, veggies, or meat, or any combination of therein you think would be tasty.  You can choose to make it without the crust if you want to keep it easy and simple, or add a crust for a little something extra.  Cheese-based pashtidas like this one are a staple in most Israeli homes.

I, like Marc, usually don’t mess around with dairy too much but I know for most people it’s a tummy pleaser.  As this is so commonly found in Israel I almost felt obliged to come up with a recipe that felt traditional but with a fresh flip to it as I find them typically to be extremely heavy.  Not eating dairy somewhat of a trick in this dairy and egg based recipe, but thankfully my parents both cheese lovers were much willing recipe testers. This recipe has three types of cheeses, goat cheese, cottage cheese (to keep it creamer but on the lighter side), and “bulgarit” cheese, which is a hard salty cheese similar to feta but melts really well… I’m not sure what the American equivalent would be.

What  I love about the pashtida is that you can really stick anything you want in there, get creative with your veggies, cheeses, and spices. Throw in whatever you think will taste good together. This recipe is a good simple base, very delicious, comforting and familiar flavors, but nothing out of the ordinary.

What you’ll need:

2 onions

2 leeks

green onions

2 eggs

goat cheese

“bulgarit” cheese (go with something semi hard and salty)

1 heaping spoon of cottage cheese (I used 1%)

2 tablespoons Flour

What to do:

In a frying pan with olive oil fry the finely chopped onions, leeks, and at the end the green onions. Let cool slightly.

In a bowl you mix the eggs, grilled onions, the cheeses, and flour.  Salt and pepper to taste.  The mixture with look thick and creamy. Pour into a small baking dish (so the mixture is about an inch and a half tall in the dish). Bake at 350 for half hour or until the pie is steady when you shake the dish.

According to Claudia Roden in her masterwork The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey from Samarkand to New York cheese cake was one of the first foods that Jews assimilated from their central European neighbors. And if we stop to consider the way in which we think of cheesecake in America (leaving the eponymous factory out of it) then we see those Jewish roots. New York cheesecake is almost the textbook definition of what a cheesecake is expected to be. Dense, rich, with a hint of citrus or vanilla and able to support a topping of fresh fruit with aplomb.  The Jewish origins of the “New York” cheesecake are outlined by Joan Nathan in Jewish Cooking in America there she posits that the best known of the original deli cheesecakes was made by Lindy’s on Broadway. Later the recipe was included by Kraft (another Jewish business) in a promotion for their Philadelphia brand cream cheese. Of course it goes without saying that up to perhaps 20 years ago the best known cheesecake in the country was made by Sara Lee- originally named for the daughter of its baker, Charley Lubin.

My own pivotal cheesecake experience came not in New York, but rather within the confines of my humble little apartment on Milwaukee’s fashionable east side (as we said to ourselves). My parents honored the occasion of the anniversary of my birth with about half a cheesecake from Regina’s. Now you might say to yourself “what, only half!” but it was a fair judgment given the weight and girth of the thing. The cheesecake stood roughly 4-5 in tall, was topped with apricot jam and then covered in a rich dark chocolate shell. Even with the aid of my roommate (a man who regularly ate two meals in a sitting) it took us the better part of a month to polish it off. Thank god for the freezer.

Since then I have been on a quest to create a rich, dense cheesecake without all the frou-frou and additions that pass for sophistication at the shopping center. I tried a number of recipes including the rather interesting process that Alton Brown uses in I’m Just Here for More Food. I had a number of nice cheesecakes but not the white whale I sought. Then I found a new recipe in of course Cook’s Illustrated and tried that.

Recipe after the break

Cheesecake

from Cook’s Illustrated The New Best Recipe: All-New Edition

Crust

5 tb butter

8 whole graham crackers

1 tb sugar

9 inch spring-form pan

Filling

2.5 lbs cream cheese (room temp)

1/8 tsp salt

1.5 cups sugar

1/3 cup sour cream

2 tsp lemon juice

2 tsp vanilla

2 egg yolks + 6 eggs (all at room temp)

Crust: Preheat oven to 325. Pound or process crackers to a fine crumb. Combine with melted butter (reserving some to grease the spring-form pan) and sugar. Press into the pan using a small ramekin to make an even surface. Place in oven for 12-15 min until brown at the edges. Remove to cool and turn oven up to 500.

Filling: Chunk cream cheese and place in a stand mixer. Beat cream cheese until smooth scraping as needed on low. Add the salt and half the sugar beating until well blended at low-medium. Add the rest of the sugar scraping as you need to. Then add the lemon, vanilla and sour cream, continue to mix. When these have been incorporated add the eggs, starting with the yolks and working in two at a time until the final product is smooth and even in color.

Baking: Pour filling into pan, place on a rimmed sheet pan to catch any leaks and place in oven. Bake at 500 for 10 minutes. Turn heat down to 200 (without opening the door) and cook another hour to 90 minutes until the cake is 150 measured at the center.

Allow to cool 3 hours on a counter, another 3 hours in the fridge. Serve with fruit or a small drizzle of liquor.

Este Blog tem por objetivo divulgar o JUDAÍSMO e a Filosofia Judaica CHABAD LUBAVITCH.

YECHI ADONEINU MOREINU VE RABEINU MELECH HAMASHIACH LEOLAM VAED

Shofars over Jerusalem

Cargado originalmente por Oren Rosenfeld (oreng)

A la entrega de la Ley, la revelación más delicada y vital, sigue la vida de un hombre nuevo que debe sobreponerse a su condición temporal mediante el instrumento eterno que le fue entregado. En la Torá, la revelación de boca de Di-s y en el B’rit Jadashá, la vida renovada por medio del poder del Di-s Viviente.

Sobreponerse significa una brega. Bregar, es ya, a través de la revelación, ser astuto como serpiente y manso como paloma. Inteligencia, destreza para hacer la obra del poder de Di-s en el que cree; mansedumbre para demostrar que ese poder sigue otras leyes que las que los hombres esperan en cuanto a la justicia, la verdad, el bien.

Bregar, haciendo morir al viejo hombre y vivir en el poder divino para que Él manifiesta Su grandeza. Pero las cosas no giran tan convenientemente. Israel hizo el becerro de oro y se quejó. El viejo hombre surgió y trató de devorar al nuevo, para ser terminado por los que guardarían la ley, los levi’ím.

Los levitas son, pues, el hombre nuevo. Moisés y sus hermanos, los que sobreviven o, mejor, se sobreponen a la desviación, le representan. Ahora bien. Moisés regresa para decepcionarse. Pone el orden y regresa a Di-s, una forma extraordinaria de ver cómo la prefiguración del Mesías en él está en llegar desde lo alto para descubrir el pecado, terminarlo e interceder por el nuevo hombre que ha caído. Y finalmente regresar el Día del Perdón.

Mientras, 40 días más en espera del regreso de Moisés, el pueblo busca arrepentirse, tal y como es entendido por la tradición hebrea. No es casualidad que cuando se habla de la venida de Yeshúa, se hable de ser diligentes en el amor y la abundancia de buenas obras antes de Su regreso. Él mismo dice: “Cuando venga el HIjo del Hombre, ¿hallará fe en la tierra?”

Fe = fidelidad. Pedro urge a corregir nuestra vida y alejarnos del mal; a tener un comportamiento ejemplar. No habla de destacar por encima de otros, ni en conocimientos, estirpes, éxitos, capacidades personales, logros, etc. Habla de buenas obras y de obediencia, sometimiento a Di-s. Habla de vivir el Reino de los Cielos. Yeshúa lo promete: “recibiréis poder”. Éste, para andar conforme a los caminos de la Verdad, encontrados en escritura tan antigua como el Tanaj.

Counting of the prophetic omer begins with June 1967, the recapture of Jerusalem. Click here for more

According to Jewish tradition the festival of Shavuot is referred to as “the time of the Giving of our Torah”, as appears from the Amidah for the festival (cf. the ArtScroll Siddur, p. 665). Remarkably, this association between the date of the festival and the date of the Giving of the Torah (Matan Torah) is not made by the text of the Torah itself. It is never said in the Chumash that the Theophany on Mount Sinai happened on the date of Shavuot. 

In Ex. 19:1 it is said: “In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai”. The words “the same day” seem to signify that the arrival at Sinai happened on the 15^th of Sivan. In rabbinic exegesis (e.g. Rashi’s Chumash commentary) it happened on Rosh Chodesh Sivan, but this reading cannot be taken for granted. Ex. 19:1 seems to refer back to Ex. 12:41, and thus to the day on which the Exodus from Egypt (which happened on the 15^th of the first month — Nisan) did take place, and to Ex. 16:1, the day when the Israelites arrived at the wilderness of Sin (the 15^th of the second month — Iyyar). If the first day of the month was meant one would expect the wording of the text to be different, and more like Ex. 40:2, 17. 

If the three days mentioned in Ex.19:10-11 began immediately on Sivan 15, and if the counting of these days should be inclusive, then the 17^th of Sivan was the earliest possible day for Matan Torah. This is a day that is completely incompatible with the rabbinic date of Shavuot on the 6^th of Sivan. It should be noticed that it is also incompatible with a Sadducean reckoning of Shavuot, which has this festival always happening between Sivan 5 and Sivan 12. The only way the 17^th Sivan could be a possible date of Shavuot is by admitting that Shavuot according to Dt. 16:9 was determined agriculturally and was dependent upon the state of the fields, i.c. the ripening of the barley. This is in accordance with the stipulations given in Lev. 23:9-11 about the Omer. In Lev. 23:9 a new section of the text begins that has no immediate connection with what was said before, and from Lev. ch. 23 alone a direct relation between Pesach and the counting of the Omer cannot be proved. 

In normal circumstances, however, the barley would be ripe around the time of Pesach. And I guess that only in times of bad and late harvests it could happen that Shavuot would be as late in the year as Sivan 17. 

While in the Tanach we never see a direct relation, as far as I know, between Shavuot and Matan Torah, in rabbinic literature, from the second century CE on, we find the two identified. There may have been an earlier oral tradition, though, because in the Apostolic Writings this identification appears to be alluded to. There are in fact interesting comparisons. In Ex. 32:28 we have three thousand people dying because of the sin of the golden calf, a sin which happened almost immediately after Matan Torah. In Acts 2:41 we have three thousand people being baptized and the Body of Messiah formed by the Ruach HaKodesh as a new and distinct group within Israel. Another similarity is to be noticed between the fire on Mount Sinai and the fiery tongues descending upon the Apostles. (Both events mark a new beginning and show a certain resemblance to what happened on the first day of creation, when the Ruach HaShem was above the waters and the light was created.) 

Thus the conclusion might be justified that qua theological content there is a relation between Shavuot and Matan Torah but not qua calendrical date. The fact that Shavuot is the only yearly festival which has no fixed date in the Torah may already point in this direction. The rabbinic idea that Matan Torah happened on the 6^th of Sivan should perhaps be considered a forced attempt to emphasize the celebration of Matan Torah in a diaspora situation in which the agricultural aspects of Shavuot could no longer be given due weight. To be clear, this rabbinic idea is only to be regarded as “forced” in relation to the actual date of Sivan 6, not in relation to its thematic content. Israel is the firstfruits of mankind, a nation dedicated to HaShem and which received its constitution at Mount Sinai. The Messianic Assembly is that part of Israel which has the firstfruits of the Spirit as the Apostle says in Rom. 8:23, and which was constituted on the Shavuot day of Acts ch. 2. 

The thematic identification of Shavuot and Matan Torah is thus probably a later but legitimate development of the oral tradition. It appears to be based on a grown understanding of the symbolism of the festival. And in a broad sense there’s still a calendrical connection between Shavuot and Matan Torah, since both events are related to the third month.

When receiving finally the Torah and the Messiah at the 50th day of the counting of the omer, the light comes into the soul and therefore into the world. How great, how glorious, when you experience the beautiful Torah, i.e. the holiness of G-d, the salvation of the Messiah, all together planted in the heart, how then is the soul rejoicing in happiness and the restoration G-d gives by enabling the soul to walk in the image of G-d by the Messiah. How great is it to see the whole case which is the Messiah who brought salvation to us.

It came directly into the heart.

Shavuot gives us not only the remembrance of the gift onto the Mount Sinai, but also the gift of Yeshua. The former happens into the letter, the latter into the flesh. Both are the revelation of G-d. The second was a more, a greater revelation, as it comes by stages in history. When Yeshua appeared on earth he got the Divine Spirit (by John the Baptist) and then when he passed away and was in heaven, he poured out his Spirit and it came into the heart. So actually G-d spoke directly unto the heart. He didn’t need to write it down in scripture. It was direct spoken. And the power of this divine holy Word made a new being with a new desire and a new voice and a new conscience convinced with truth. That’s why the (Jewish) people (who well known the Torah) started to say “What shall we do?” (Acts2:37) Here came a correction of the diversion of the (written and oral) Torah. And not only a correction, but also a gift of repentance and remission of sins. The Torah was fulfilled here and applied to the heart. This great gift, greater than the gift of Sinai, was given in a special way. The Spirit came down and was seen as tongues of fire upon the people.

The advance of this oral word spoken directly into the heart was considered by Paul as the highest benefit, for G-d speaks now directly to us. Nobody could hear the words of G-d at Sinai except Moses. But now his people will hear the word of life. They who deserved dead, received life! This word make “dead to sin but alive because of Christ.” (Ro.6:1-14) This word of life was received directly and plainly from the highest Authority, therefore Paul was been cautious to write a letter to the Corinthians. At first sight he doesn’t want to do it. Read this:

Are we beginning again to commend ourselves? or need we, as do some, epistles of commendation to you or from you? Ye are our epistle, written in our hearts, known and read of all men; being made manifest that ye are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in tables [that are] hearts of flesh. (2Co.3:1-3)

Paul was ministering the word but not (again) with an own written word and confessions. G-d wrote the epistles into the heart.

John 14:21 – “He who has my commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me.  And he who loves me will be loved by My Father, and I will love Him and manifest Myself to him.”

I remember, not long after I had begun my walk with the Lord, I decided to go on a retreat for five days to seek Him.  I was young(translated “and dumb”) and thought it would be a good idea to climb to the top of a mountain and camp in the dead middle of winter (translated “with ice and snow on the ground”).  I thought I would only need a little water and a few handfuls of food (translated “fasting while mountain climbing in winter exposure” – told you I was dumb).  Why did I do all this – because I wanted to meet God.

Well, you can pretty much imagine what happened.  Both of my canteens of water froze to solid ice at the 3,200 ft summit, a 5.4 mile climb.  The ground was so frozen, it bent my little army shovel when I tried to dig out my tent pad.  Continually, the wind blew so hard, I could not keep a fire going because it was blowing the coals out of the fire.  (I was at least smart enough not to start a forest fire.)  I could go on, but I have already established my lack of wisdom.

Four days into my journey, the night would not sleep.  A terrible windstorm visited the darkness. The wind blew so hard, the ground beneath me began to shake.  I don’t know if one appreciates the fear that overcomes while lying flat on the ground, hugging the earth, and feeling the solid granite mountain foundation begin to stir.  I just knew that at any minute my tiny little pup tent would be caught up in the vicious crosswinds and tossed off the adjacent precipice with me inside – or the roots would give way on any of the nearby towering oaks, and one of the hardwoods would end up my tent mate.  Somehow, in the midst of the tumult, I came to the understanding of Elijah some 3.5 millennia ago and realized that God was not in the storm.  In other words, I did not need to climb to the top of a mountain to meet God.  He, in His blessed mercy and love, had descended the mountain to us.

As we celebrated only a week or so ago, on the day of Shavuot, God descended upon Mt Sinai and revealed Himself in His awesome power and wonder with earthquakes, lightening, and the thundering of His voice.  In His royal majesty and splendor, He came to meet us.  Eternity piercing through the canopy of time, Adonai embodied the pure holiness of His very being into the form of the word, Torah.  Speaking into existence the 613 commands of life, He revealed that no area of life was isolated from Him.  In other words, we could find no activity in life that does not intersect with His laws.

I am not sure we fully understand the significance of the totality of His word.  We do all kinds of crazy things in order to find a way to meet God, and yet He has put the means right in front of our sometimes blind eyes.  We climb mountains, we invent religions, we work up a frenzy of emotions, we make promises and vows, and on and on.  What we do not realize is that “He who has my commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me.  And he who loves me will be loved by My Father, and I will love Him and manifest Myself to him.”  Our Lord could not have been more clear.  When we keep His commandments, He will love us and manifest Himself to us.  In other words, we keep His commands – we meet God!

When we think about what His promise really means, it is profound!  His commands cover every area of life.  Thus, in every area of life, we choose to meet God or not.  When we work, we can meet God – or not.  When we rest, we can meet God – or not.  When we eat, we can meet God – or not.  When we have sex, we can meet God – or not.  When we assemble, we can meet God – or not.  When we watch TV, we can meet God – or not.  In how we treat our spouse, in how we treat our children/parents, in how we treat our neighbor, in how we treat a stranger, we can meet God – or not.  In our thoughts, in our emotions, in our decisions, in our bodies, in our souls, we can meet God – or not.  All of life is an opportunity to meet God, or not.

We have been fed a HUGE lie.  THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS SECULAR!  All of life is sacred, and it is our opportunity to meet God or turn away.  In essence, how we live our lives is how we actually express our worship.  Worship is not a song we sing.  It is not an emotion we feel.  It is the sum total of how we live our lives, in love with God or rejecting Him.  We can do nothing outside of our relationship with God.  It is impossible.  It is our keeping of His commands that define exactly what our relationship with God is.

So, if you are thinking about climbing a mountain to meet God, please realize, God already came down to the mountain.  It was there that He gave us Torah, our opportunity, our purpose.  Like the Syrian commander, Naaman, if most of us were told to go and do some great feat that we might be able to glimpse past the curtain and through the window to the eternal, we would stop at nothing.  However, also like Naaman, when we find out that the treasure is right there, available through the simple act of obedience, we walk away in a huff and unbelief.  The majestic King of the universe and beyond has said, “This is the way, walk ye in it…”  My question to you, “Do you really want to meet God?”

Blessings in the Name!  Pastor Mark

The kingdom of Heaven was certainly experienced by many this past weekend in Hudson, Wisconsin. First Fruits of Zion hosted their annual national conference, which traditionally corresponds with the Biblical holiday of Shavuot in late May/early June. The theme of the teachings was the Temple, it’s details, services, and prophetic significance among other things. It was a wonderful time of fellowship. The spirit was beautiful, enhanced with authentic Torah services (to answer the age old question, this is what Jesus would do), melodious prayer and liturgy that uplifted the atmosphere and provided glimpses of what kingdom living could look like. Everyone was nice and friendships were created and sustained. I may write more on this, but I wanted to put some thoughts down while they’re still fresh.