AppleTree
Cover Story
TRUE TALES OF PESACH from page 78
activity book for us adults.
The Tifereth Haggadah (in English
and Hebrew). Copyright 1993 by
Feldheim.
The text of this book is completely tra-
ditional and make no mistake, it is not
politically correct or modern or filled
with fun questions.
Yet there is an extraordinary charm to
this Haggadah: the photographs.
Opening The Tifereth Haggadah is
like being in another world. The pic-
tures and illustrations will make you
think of life in a shted, of another cen-
tury. Even the contemporary photo
essay at front, showing how matzah is
harvested and produced, seems to
belong to a different time.
Another great benefit to this
Haggadah is that its authors started
from the concept that "the child
should be the focal point of the
evening and all should be directed at
him."
The Tifereth Haggadah is simply
written with easy-to-read-text (it is,
the introduction says, "aimed specifi-
cally at youth'').
No matter what your religious lean-
ings, you will enjoy having this at
your Pesach seder.
Thanks to Cabbage-Patch Kids, the
word "cute" has become about as
appealing as leftover cholent
(Shabbat stew). But if you can get
past all negative associations for a
moment (it's hard), imagine a really
good, cute Pesach book for small
children. Mah Nishtanah is it.
Appropriate for those about 3-5
years old, this contains an abbreviat-
ed version of the traditional
Haggadah, along with pictures and
drawings on every page. Invariably,
the text is just right for little ones
("Daddy puts down the bottom
matzah and then says [the blessing].
Now Daddy gives everybody a piece
of matzah to eat.").
Certainly, no one should expect
tiny tots to sit quietly at the seder
table the entire evening. But give
them this book and they should, at
least, be able to manage 15 minutes.
A Children's Haggadah (in English
and Hebrew) by Howard Bogot and
Robert Orkand, illustrations by Devis
Grebu. Copyright 1994 by the Central
Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR)
Press.
Also for younger children, check out
My Very Own Haggadah. Thanks to
the great illustrations by Chaya
Burstein (best known for her Jewish
Kids Catalogue), this gives boys and
girls a chance to color in pictures
that tell the Pesach story. There are
lots of fun song lyrics, too, like the
perennial favorite, "One morning
when Pharaoh woke in his bed,
there were frogs in his bed and frogs
on his head."
One of the nicest aspects of Pesach is
that you can happily invite so many
Haggadot and book "guests" to your
table, and be pleased with all.
The Tifereth Haggadah (above)
comes from a publisher of Orthodox
books; the CCAR is Reform. Both of
these books are great.
Howard Bogot is man dedicated to
Jewish education, and that's clear in A
Children's Haggadah. It's not just a
primer for how to get involved in
social action, or a journey for self-dis-
covery, or a way to have fun at the
seder; this Haggadah tells the story of
the Exodus from Egypt and it does so
simply and amazingly well. If you
have never been to a seder, or need a
refresher on what to do, this is as
good as it gets.
A Children's Haggadah also is won-
derfully illustrated (check out the pic-
ture of Jerusalem, with designs of
matzah, on the cover).
4/11
Mah Nishtanah: A Passover
Haggadah for Children (in English,
with a little Hebrew) edited by Shaul
Meizlish, published by Adama Books of
New York:
My Very Own Haggadah by Judyth
Saypol Groner and Madeline Wikler,
illustrations by Chaya Burstein.
Copyright 1974 by Kar-Ben Copies.
The Passover Journey (in English) by
Barbara Diamond Goldin, illustra-
tions by Neil Waldman. Copyright
1994 by the Viking
Press.
Why is this Haggadah different
from all other Haggadot?
In a word: art. Neil Waldman has
created illustrations for many Jewish
books. If you haven't seen them, this
is a good place to start.
Here, Waldman's pictures are sim-
ply breathtaking, especially the
cover, which shows Israelites in the
desert against a blue-purple back-
ground. ❑
LET'S GET COOKING from page 79
How WE CELEBRATE from page 77
APPLE KUGEL
#9) Pesach is the most widely observed of
all the Jewish holidays. What do you like
most about Passover?
4 pieces matzah
4 eggs
3 large apples, sliced
1 T. lemon juice
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. salt
4 T. margarine
4 pkg. sugar substitute
Break matzah and place in colander.
Soften with four cups of boiling water
and drain. Beat eggs with lemon juice,
then add sugar, salt and cinnamon and
apples. Place margarine in 10x12" pan in
375 degree oven. When margarine starts
to bubble, pour kugel mixture in dish
and cook 35-48 minutes.
ORANGE NUT CAKE
9 eggs, separated
1/3 c. orange juice
1 1/4 c. sifted matzah cake meal
1/2 t. cinnamon
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 t. grated orange rind
1/4 t. salt
1/2 c. finely chopped nuts
In large mixing bowl, beat egg whites
until foamy. Continue to beat, gradually
adding 1/2 cup sugar. Beat until stiff
peaks form when beater blades are with-
drawn. This mixture should fill the bowl
almost to the top of the beater blades.
Set aside.
Beat together egg yolks and sugar until
thick and very light in color. Blend in
orange juice and orange rind.
Sift together matzah cake meal, salt and
cinnamon. Stir in finely chopped nuts.
Blend dry ingredients into egg-yolk
mixture. Fold in beaten egg whites by
hand. Turn into ungreased 10" tube pan.
Bake at 325F for one hour.
ORANGE SAUCE FOR CAKE
2 T. potato starch or flour
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 t. grated orange rind
2 c. orange juice
Blend potato starch or flour and sugar
in a sauce pan. Stir in orange rind and
juice. Cook, stirring over direct heat, until
thickened and boiling. Served hot over
orange nut cake. Makes two cups of
sauce.
BROWNIES
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate squares
2 sticks margarine
4 eggs
2 c. sugar
1 c. cake meal
Melt chocolate and margarine in
microwave. Mix with remaining ingredi-
ents and place in 9x13" pan. Bake at
350F for 20 minutes or until toothpick
comes out dry ri
Nancy: I enjoy preparing for Passover
with my kids. Adena and Max pull
things out of cupboards all year, but at
Passover they can help to get the
kitchen ready.
John: I like the themes of Pesach. The
themes of liberation and redemption are
timeless.
Diane: I love that everything is clean
and fresh at Passover. All that Pesach
cleaning is cathartic, and indeed it is
symbolic of getting rid of one's yetzer
harah, the evil inclination.
The house looks totally different on
Passover — it sparkles. We've even
cleaned all the messy little fingerprints
off light switches, walls and doors. The
kitchen surfaces are covered and look
clean and pristine; and we've changed
all the dishes and put on beautiful, spe-
cial tablecloths.
Staci: I love the traditions and rituals —
the process: the cooking, the cleaning,
the seders and leading the seder.
Roberta: I love having the family and
guests all together. (Since my husband
and I both work full time, it's definitely
not the cleaning, taking out dishes, and
putting everything away.)
Ione: Probably my personal experiences
in life have demonstrated that whatever
one's problem, however sobering, if we
have faith and get into a positive action,
we will find ourselves nearing a solu-
tion. To me, Passover is a good time for
soul searching.
#10) What do you remember about child-
hood seders?
Nancy: My childhood seders took place
at my bubbie and zaydie's (grandma and
grandpa's) house in Pittsburgh. I
remember fondly sitting at the far end
of the table and giggling with my
cousins. I also remember how my zay-
die, a baker, would make a pesachdik
(kosher for Passover) birthday cake for
my brother during our Passover visit. It
looked great!
John: When I was a child, many of the
people at our seders were survivors of
the Holocaust, like my father. I remem-
ber how very real the ideas of slavery
and liberation were to these people and
How WE CELEBRATE on page 84