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How often do we wish that what we treasure in our lives could last forever:
a loving glance, a passionate kiss, the melodic, high-pitched trill of our
children's laughter, or a day when our joyful mood seems to be matched by
all that surrounds us? Knowing that the next moment will come with a
relentlessness we can't control, we clutch the present one to us, savoring its
sweetness before it becomes one more treasured memory.

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Inevitably, the end of Sabbath comes with the
appearance of three bright stars in the heavens.
An ordinary day will follow, but first there will be
a sip of wine, a look at the bright light from the
braided candle of Havdalah, and a breath of
aromatic spice that will come from a little cache
of cloves, mace or perhaps cinnamon, held in a
delicately crafted holder, the HADAS. Before the
ceremony is over, every sense will have been
satisfied in order to emphasize that, yes, Judaism
is religion of prayer but also of action, pleasure,
and joy.

So it is with the Sabbath, an all too short twenty-five hour day when all of
these, life's most tender experiences, are possible. Contemplating Sabbath's
end is a bittersweet burden. We beg for time, wishing that tomorrow could
be held at arm's length, if only for a few more minutes, just as the Jews did
many centuries ago when they lovingly created the ceremony of Havdalah.
With its blessings, wine, braided candles and spice box forged into a short
ceremony at Sabbath's end, Havdalah has the power to distract us with its
beauty from the inevitable pain that comes with the loss of something much
loved and cherished.

One small culinary treasure comes to us as having been part of the Havdalah
ceremony of Middle European and Eastern European Jews several centuries
ago. Its origin is impossible to date, but its raison d'etre is easily understood.
Called simple ZIMSTERNE (zim-stern-eh), "to the stars" in Yiddish, it is a sweet,
spicy morsel, an attempt to momentarily confine the Sabbath's spiritual
sweetness and piquancy to a tidbit which will evanesce on the tongue just as
surely as day becomes night. It was also the custom to eat Zimsterne to break
the Yom Kippur fast. Shaped like a star and tasting of honey and cinnamon,
ginger and cloves, the Zimsterne's pleasant taste and all that had gone before
it, it was hoped, would provide the spiritual and physical sustenance needed
to face the days ahead.

RECIPES

ZIMSTERNE

Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and beat at medium
speed until mixture is well blended. Add honey. At low speed, add 4 cups of
flour, a cup at a time, beating until mixture is thick and flour has been
completely absorbed. Add the last cup of flour and spices by hand. Refrigerate
dough for 2 hours. Preheat oven to No• Roll out dough on floured board or
cloth. Cut into star shapes. Make glaze with beaten egg yolk to which a few
drops of food coloring has been added. Line a greased baking sheet with wax
paper. Place cookies on baking sheet; brush or smear a little of the glaze over
the tops. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove cookies from wax paper while they are
still warm.

Shabbat Recipes

4 tablespoons butter or margarine (1/2 stick)

i

cup sugar

3 eggs

1/3 cup honey

5 cups flour, sifted

3/4 teaspoon baking soda
i i/8 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground mace or nutmeg
i egg yolk plus food coloring