Food for the Soul

Featured RecipeBlintzes with Raspberry Sauce

Recipe submitted by A Foodie at Central Synagogue

We celebrate the holiday of Shavuot or the Festival of Weeks in this spring season. It is the anniversary of the day the Torah was given by God to the Israelites at Mount Sinai. The Torah mandates the seven-week counting of the Omer, beginning on the second day of Passover and immediately followed by Shavuot. Passover represents the time of freedom from slavery and Shavuot celebrates the time the Jews received the Torah and became a nation. Shavuot is also a celebration of the wheat harvest which is the last of the grain to ripen and the commencement of the first fruit harvest.

One tradition observed on Shavuot includes preparing and eating dairy food. This custom, in part, relates to the fact that after the Torah was received, the Israelites were commanded to separate meat from dairy and it was easier for them to prepare dairy meals. The custom is also associated with the phrase “honey and milk under thy lips” as spoken by King Solomon in the Song of Songs (4:11). These words are interpreted as meaning that the Torah is as sweet and nourishing to the spirit as honey and milk are to the body. Springtime is also associated with the large production of milk from domestic animals.

Ashkenazi Jews have traditionally prepared blintzes on Shavuot. Blintzes are comprised of an outer layer of dough and contain a sweetened cheese center. They are served hot, often with a sweet fruit sauce on top. Some people prefer the tartness of sour cream to the sweetness of the fruit.

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About Food for the Soul

Welcome to our newly launched Food for the Soul webpage. It is our hope that congregrants will enjoy submitting and making recipes that are part of our Jewish experience, family history or prepared during holidays and life cycle events throughout the year.

Jewish cooking has simmered in every corner of the world since the Diaspora many centuries ago. Congregant-submitted recipes will likely represent the cultural diversity in our community and can be a common bond among members of Central Synagogue, as well as the community beyond our own Synagogue “walls”.

We anticipate the Food for the Soul initiative will enhance:

• interactions between new and old members and might even lead to cooking classes, dining events, lectures and more
• the Jewish experience for converting or newly converted Jews who are interested in learning about the traditions in Jewish cooking
• religious school education by teaching our students about Jewish diversity and how food is connected to ritual and biblical events
• our experience with the CSA program many of us access during the summer months
• inter-generational activities through the use of preparing these recipes and providing an opportunity for bonding, learning and a Jewish experience among all generations of our community
• our outreach beyond Central Synagogue by allowing Jews and non-Jews in the larger community to participate with us in this initiative.

Submitting and Making Recipes

We welcome our congregants to submit recipes (yes, even more than one!) to this webpage by accessing and completing the Recipe Submission Form (on this website). We will be featuring one recipe at a time but all recipes will be archived and remain available to you on the webpage.

We encourage you to submit favorite family recipes, especially those you cherish making for Jewish holidays, life cycle events or those that bring back fond memories of growing up in a Jewish home.

The recipes will not be “tested” in our kitchen so please be as accurate as possible when submitting them. It is also our understanding that submitted recipes are original or otherwise in the public domain.

Central Synagogue cannot be responsible for any adverse events as a result of making or eating these foods. Please avoid eating any ingredients that might cause known allergic reactions.

So, let’s begin!!