Mazel tov october 24, 2016

Mazel Tov Celebrating good times!

Supplement to Jewish News October 24, 2016

Celebrate Your Mazel Tov At

MAZEL T OV

Dear Readers, Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending a friend’s daughter’s Bat Mitzvah. The pretty, petite 13-yearold stood on a stool to be seen. She conducted the entire service and clearly had worked hard to get to that moment, delivering a meaningful and at times, heartbreaking speech. All of her cousins and aunts and uncles participated, as did her parents, grandparents and older siblings. At the luncheon, which was attractively decorated, tasteful and tasty, family and friends posed for photographs and all obviously delighted in being there and in being together. The day was everything a Bat Mitzvah service and celebration should be and cause to exclaim, Mazel Tov!

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Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus of the Tidewater Jewish Community 5000 Corporate Woods Drive, Suite 200 Virginia Beach, Virginia 23462-4370 voice 757.965.6100 • fax 757.965.6102 email news@ujft.org Terri Denison, Editor Germaine Clair, Art Director Hal Sacks, Book Review Editor Sandy Goldberg, Account Executive Mark Hecht, Account Executive Marilyn Cerase, Subscription Manager Reba Karp, Editor Emeritus Sherri Wisoff, Proofreader Jay Klebanoff, President Alvin Wall, Treasurer Stephanie Calliott, Secretary Harry Graber, Executive Vice-President www.jewishVA.org The appearance of advertising in the Jewish News does not constitute a kashrut, political, product or service endorsement.

The articles and letters appearing herein are not necessarily the opinion of this newspaper.

While not every event contains the planning and attention to detail that my

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friend and her family did for that Bat Mitzvah, we are surrounded each day with plenty of reasons to celebrate…a birthday, a family dinner, a walk with a

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friend, a good first date, a wedding, an anniversary and even the end of the 2016 election!

Since we never really know when that Mazel Tov moment is going to appear, QR code generated on http://qrcode.littleidiot.be

we just need to be ready to grab it. The article on page 17 about a recent reunion of area sorority sisters and the reaction to one of the attendees is a perfect example.

Other articles in this section profile a show about dating Orthodox-style, different approaches to B’nai Mitvah and a few fall kosher recipes for celebrating at home. We hope you enjoy!

Mazel Tov!

Terri Denison Editor

16 | Jewish News | Mazel Tov | October 24, 2016 | jewishnewsva.org

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M A Z E L T OV

A reunion worth celebrating began to cry. Emburgh did not know that her mother had

assistance. Her son Stewart lives four houses away and

been the chapter’s first chancellor.

checks on her throughout the day. She also has a son

The week following the reunion, several sorority sisters drove to Nelson’s home in Portsmouth to hear her story.

Nelson wanted to go to college and applied to the University of Pittsburgh during the war, but her father

Estelle Nelson

I

day and God.” She says she always says to herself “I think I can” when things are tough.

Nelson was the treasurer of Hadassah for seven years

then to Portsmouth to live with her aunt and uncle. She

and managed the gift shop at Gomley Chessed syna-

was introduced to Sam Nelson by her Aunt Bunny in

gogue. She stopped driving at the young age of 92 years

1945 on April 1 and married him on May 12. Married for

old. She says she loves to stay active.

the Sterling Point section of Portsmouth.

ota Gamma Phi, a high school sorority that

in good health, she says, “going up and down the steps all

discouraged her. Instead, she moved to Richmond and

52 years, she still lives in the same three-story house in

Beth Dorsk

Rick who resides in Florida. When asked what keeps her

Without a doubt, her presence at the reunion was a most unexpected present for the sorority sisters.

Nelson continues to care for herself with no real

existed in Tidewater for decades, held its first reunion last month.

Almost 90 Iota sisters attended the

luncheon at the Cavalier Hotel in Virginia Beach on Sunday, Sept. 11. The women ranged in ages from 50 to 100. Many hadn’t seen each other in 30 years or more, while some had never met.

The 100-year-old sorority sister who attended was Estelle Nelson, also known as Sissy. She read about the Iota reunion in the Jewish News. She told her son, Stuart Nelson, that she had to attend and tell the story of how it all began in Norfolk. A story, the sorority sisters did not know.

Nelson was a member of Iota Gamma Phi, Mu chapter, in Philadelphia. In 1934, she moved to the area and started the Rho chapter. Nelson inducted the very first chancellor of the Norfolk chapter of Iota, Estelle Imberg.

Nelson brought a picture from a national convention in 1938 at the Warwick Hotel to the reunion. Bonnie Emburgh, who was at the reunion at the Cavalier, spotted her mother in the photograph from 1938 and

Estelle Nelson, Beth Dorsk, Sharon Leach, Linda Spindel and Sally Kocen.

Photography by Steve Budman. jewishnewsva.org | October 24, 2016 | Mazel Tov | Jewish News | 17

M A Z E L T OV

The beautiful meaning behind my daughter’s nontraditional Bat Mitzvah Julie Wiener

(Kveller via JTA)—At my daughter’s bat mitzvah this spring, hundreds of people spread out to form a large circle and, together, carefully hold a completely unrolled Torah scroll.

With the scroll spread out so that its entire contents were visible, my daughter found the spot on the parchment where the Torah portion corresponding to her Hebrew birthday was located. So did eight other 12- and 13-year-olds.

Standing with parents at their Torah portion (helpfully indicated in advance with Post-It notes) and going in order from Genesis to Deuteronomy, each child then recited one line from his or her portion.

It’s no surprise that my own daughter’s bat mitzvah would be more meaningful to me than any other bar/bat mitzvah, and of course, the novelty of this new ritual added to the specialness. But it was also just a powerful moment—one that while nontraditional also felt respectful and authentic.

Having each child physically stand by his or her Torah portion reinforced the idea that each child has a place in the Jewish story. It empowered all the assembled family and friends to touch the sturdy, yet fragile Torah and feel a sense of ownership over it. And it quite literally offered a new and different way of looking at the Torah.

Perhaps most important, however, was that this was a group ceremony, not an individual show. And, in contrast to the lavish, wedding-like parties that follow many contemporary American bar/bat mitzvah ceremonies, this was followed by a shared party: a simple but tasteful (and tasty) brunch reception.

Called a Brit Atid—Hebrew for covenant of/with the future—the ceremony was a culmination of my daughter’s

participation in the Jewish Journey Project (JJP), an alternative Jewish education program that describes itself as “experiential Jewish education for the modern New York City kid.”

Launched in 2012 out of the JCC in Manhattan, JJP enables kids to choose their own classes according to their interests and scheduling needs. Students can, like my kids, enroll through the JCC, or through one of the five partnering synagogues. The synagogue kids have a traditional bar/bat mitzvah at their congregation, while the JCC ones can either plan a private bar/bat mitzvah or participate in the Brit Atid program.

The Brit Atid ceremony was preceded by a year of monthly parents-and-kids Torah study sessions together, along with monthly one-on-one sessions with our teacher, Jeremy Tabick (a doctoral student at the Jewish Theological Seminary).

Each child then came up with a creative project to interpret/present his or her portion. My daughter, who loves filming intricate stop-motion animation sequences starring Playmobil figures and Barbie dolls, created a short and somewhat irreverent film about her Torah portion, followed by a speech addressing the portion’s many problematic aspects.

(Not hard, given that the text starts out with God exhorting the Israelites to kill all the Canaanites and show them no mercy!)

Although both my daughter and I worried the Brit Atid would feel like a dumbed-down bat mitzvah—after all, learning to chant trope is a demanding process—this approach felt more relevant for us than a long performance in a language most of our friends and family do not understand. Since we are not regular Shabbat service-goers, learning to chant trope just is not a skill my daughter is going to use, at least not in the near future, and it’s not really what

18 | Jewish News | Mazel Tov | October 24, 2016 | jewishnewsva.org

being Jewish is about to us. So like most kids, she’d probably have forgotten the trope within months of the bat mitzvah. And learning to chant trope just for the sake of proving that she could master it (and then forget it), seemed like cramming for a big test only to forget all the material immediately afterward.

Having a group ceremony had its disadvantages: We were allowed to invite only 30 guests; the ceremony was not anywhere near my daughter’s birthday; and we didn’t get to customize the ceremony or party. However, these were offset by the many advantages, both practical and symbolic.

On the practical end, I’m not much of a party planner, and my husband and I did not want to spend tens of thousands of dollars and countless hours planning a big event.

Early on, even before we knew about the Brit Atid option, we’d decided, with my daughter, that we’d rather put money toward a family trip to Israel than toward a bat mitzvah party.

More importantly, I am not a big fan of the individualism of many bar/ bat mitzvah celebrations—the professionally produced invitation videos, the myriad speeches praising the child, the “theme” and the photo montage. What’s nice about Judaism, and organized religion in general, is that it provides a counterweight to the individualism and narcissism of modern life, and a group

bar/bat mitzvah conveys a message to the newly minted Jewish adult and the guests that Judaism is a collective, participatory endeavor and not just another performance.

Shortly before the Brit Atid, we attended the more traditional bar mitzvah of a close friend—the first one we’ve been to in years— and both my daughter and I had a few pangs of wondering if she, too, should have done the chanting Torah-ina- s y n agog ue- onSaturday-mor ning route.

On the plus side, the second-guessing got her competitive juices flowing and motivated her to improve her speech. And in the end, she said she was very happy with how it went—and is excited about our upcoming trip to Israel.

Now we just have to convince her almost-10-year-old sister to go the Brit Atid route, as well. Which, given her social butterfly personality and current obsession with planning the perfect Warriors book-themed birthday party, just might be a challenge.

—Julie Wiener is the managing editor of MyJewishLearning.com.)

Kveller is a thriving community of women and parents who convene online to share, celebrate and commiserate their experiences of raising kids through a Jewish lens.

Visit Kveller.com.

The

Brit Atid

ceremony was

preceded by a year

of monthly parents-

and-kids Torah study sessions together,

along with monthly

one-on-one sessions with our teacher.

M A Z E L T OV While planning my son’s bar mitzvah, I decided to start planning my own Stacey Steinhart

(Kveller via JTA)—I didn’t grow up in a very religious home. That said, my parents gave me the option to attend Hebrew school and have a bat mitzvah. Obviously, as a kid, my friends were shocked that I had a choice and told me not to do it.

I opted out. It wasn’t until I became an adult that my spirituality kicked in.

My faith was truly tested when my oldest son was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, a form of high-functioning autism. He has sensory issues along with a high level of anxiety. His meltdowns tore me to pieces. While he cried, I cried.

While he raged, I tried to stay as calm as possible…then I cried. I cried for him and his struggles, I cried for the people he hurt or offended, I cried for my family. I cried because on the surface, he is the epitome of a kind, sweet, typical kid and you can’t see the volcanic infernos bubbling up inside him.

He is 12 now, about to turn 13—a pivotal moment in the life of Jewish children as they start to get ready for their bar or bat mitzvah. My son has attended several bar and bat mitzvahs, and we have discussed them at length. Talking about things with him and front-loading him helps him cope with his anxiety.

He has a difficult time with the crowds (party guests) and the loud music of the DJ. Typically, his choice is to wait outside the party area until our family is ready to leave.

On one particular occasion, he was invited to a classmate’s party. I was to drop him off and pick him up later.

For several reasons he had a complete meltdown and insisted on leaving. We thanked the hosts and apologized for our abrupt departure.

It was while we were driving home that we had a most special moment.

After he calmed down, I told him that he was going to have to deal with a similar situation when he has his bar mitzvah.

He promptly told me he wasn’t going to

have one. I gave him the option of having a small ceremony and luncheon in New York with just the immediate family (our family is all on the East Coast, while we live in California) or here at our synagogue. He was still reluctant, although he did like the idea of just the grandparents and immediate family there. His fear of getting up in front of all those people would send him into a downward spiral.

I thought for a moment and realized that we have been on this journey together as a team since he was just a baby. I am his mother, his advocate and his coach. We are teammates. We should do this together. So I proposed to him that I would do this with him. He loved the idea. Of course I don’t want to take away from his special day. It is still about him.

But the idea of having someone there with him puts his mind at ease—somewhat anyway.

As for me, I have always felt that I missed out on something big not having a bat mitzvah—I never became a part of the world that my friends all know, a special club. I wish I had learned Hebrew as a child. I would have loved to have understood the whats and the whys of the traditions in synagogue. I’m glad I’m getting my chance now.

Our b’nai mitzvah is scheduled. We set the wheels in motion. I have been taking Hebrew lessons. We are both preparing to learn our Torah portions, and we practice together. I have to say he is definitely doing a better job than I am.

We have embarked on this journey together. It has brought us closer, and even though I am doing this for him, I can’t help but feel the blessings that he has given me. He has taught me so much; he has no idea.

—Stacey Steinhart has a degree in design and a degree in journalism.

Kveller is a thriving community of women and parents who convene online to share, celebrate and commiserate their experiences of raising kids through a Jewish lens.

Visit Kveller.com. jewishnewsva.org | October 24, 2016 | Mazel Tov | Jewish News | 19

M A Z E L T OV

Why I won’t allow my kids to have personalized Bar/Bat Mitzvah t-shirts Jordana Horn

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20 | Jewish News | Mazel Tov | October 24, 2016 | jewishnewsva.org

(Kveller via JTA)—I am about to present a highly controversial opinion. Thankfully it has nothing to do with the upcoming election.

Here it is: Down with the bar/bat mitzvah sweatshirt/T-shirt.

If you have a middle schooler, or know a middle schooler, or have been near a middle school with Jewish students, you know what I’m talking about. You are well aware of the phenomenon. The kids in our local middle school, like in many Jewish neighborhoods, go to almost weekly bar or bat mitzvahs. As a party favor, they receive a T-shirt or sweatshirt with the bar/bat mitzvah kid’s name on it, a logo (yes, that’s a thing) and the date of the event.

These are so prevalent that my son’s middle school principal recently wrote the following in a parent association newsletter: “Something to Think About … It’s Monday morning and you are 13 years old and you walk into school, homeroom, the lunchroom, or the auditorium and everywhere you see a group of your peers wearing the same color sweatshirt or pants marking the occasion of a student’s bar or bat mitzvah from the past weekend.

And the scene repeats itself virtually every Monday throughout the year.

It is a practice that divides and hurts … repeatedly. It fosters a culture of exclusivity and a competition for the greatest number of friends. It is a way of saying who is ‘in’ and who is ‘out.’ Wear the shirts and the pants, but not as a group on the same day. When the group intentionally wears the clothing on the same day, it sends a statement about who was invited and who was not. As a school we hope to create a culture of inclusivity, tolerance, and acceptance at a critical time in the development of our students, but we need

the support of parents to change this practice. Thank you for your consideration.”

Look, I realize I’m an outlier in a lot of ways. But my oldest son’s bar mitzvah is coming up, and while it will be an amazing simcha, an extremely nice kiddush lunch and a fun night party for his friends, it won’t be lavish by local/ global standards. And don’t look for favors because there aren’t going to be any.

What? Blasphemy! But here are my reasons: 1. The only purpose of these shirts is to exclude people.

If you think it through, it is hard to come to any other conclusion. The whole idea of these shirts is so kids will proudly wear them—to school, on weekends, wherever.

As our middle school principal rightly noted, how does this make the kids who didn’t get invited feel? I agree with him— battalions of 13-year-olds wearing the same sweatshirt on the same day creates a bad environment at school.

However, I’ll take it a step further: I happen to think that wearing these shirts anytime is kind of gross. The entire purpose of the shirt is to show that you were invited to a party. For those who weren’t invited, having that shoved in your face can hurt just as much two months later as it does the day after.

2. Have. Enough. Shirts.

I live in a well-off suburb. Many of these kids possess enough clothes that they could go for a significant amount of time without repeating an outfit. Most of these “favor” sweatshirts and T-shirts, after a wearing or two, are discarded at the back of the closet—or appropriated by the moms, who then unintentionally rub my previous point in other parents’ faces at the supermarket.

M A Z E L T OV 3. Do a real mitzvah project.

If it weren’t beyond chutzpahdik/obnoxious, I would suggest that my kid do a mitzvah project of collecting everyone’s worn-once sweatshirts and T-shirts and donating them to people who actually need them.

But in all seriousness, can’t people spend the money they would spend on these favors in a better, more long-lasting way that would actually underscore the commitment kids are supposed to be making when they become a bar or bat mitzvah? For example, here are two things I’d love to see: • Synagogues asking that instead of favors, families give the money they would have spent on favors to a fund at the synagogue that will be used to send young kids to programs in Israel.

• Families deciding to spend the money earmarked for favors on their kids’ mitzvah projects instead—whether it’s advertising for a fundraiser, or simply

giving the money to the cause the child has selected.

And, in any event …

4. Let’s talk about this.

Part of being an adult means not going along blindly with what everyone else is doing, but rather analyzing our choices.

Sit down with your middle schoolers and discuss this issue with them. You might be surprised by what you hear.

—Jordana Horn is a contributing editor to Kveller who has written for numerous publications including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Forward and Tablet. She has appeared as a parenting expert on NBC’s Today show and Fox and Friends.

Kveller is a thriving community of women and parents who convene online to share, celebrate and commiserate their experiences of raising kids through a Jewish lens.

Visit Kveller.com.

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M A Z E L T OV

Modern Orthodox dating gets a close-up in new web series

Gabe Friedman

NEW YORK (JTA)—“There’s no such thing as a bad date—there’s just a funny story,” says Jessica Schechter, a 28-yearold modern Orthodox woman who teaches acting in New York City and lives on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.

There’s the guy who took her to the action figure section of a Toys “R” Us after dinner and ranted about why Batman was the best superhero. Or the one whose panic attack in the elevator at a hotel in Times Square forced her to walk him down 42 flights of stairs—while he farted the entire time.

But these aren’t just tales Schechter collects to share with girlfriends over cocktails, a la Sex and the City. She and fellow actors Leah Gottfried and Danny Hoffman are busy writing, producing and acting in a web series on the subject.

Soon by You—the phrase is one of well-wishing—is generating considerable buzz in New York City’s modern Orthodox community. A pilot episode, originally devised as a short film, garnered more than 30,000 views on YouTube in its first two weeks online and is now up to more than 85,000. It won for best short at the Washington Jewish Film Festival and played at Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival.

The trio is squeezed together on a crowded couch in the lobby of the Ace Hotel in Manhattan, a dimly lit spot

that could be summarized through the smartly dressed hipster couple making out a couple of couches away. The Soon by You team fits right in with the other twentysomethings packing the joint—well, those who aren’t kissing or fondling each other—which doubles as a happening happy hour spot.

“Now I’m like, if [a date] is good, that’s great—but if it’s bad, that’s even better,” Gottfried says. “Because then I get a story.”

The series’ first episode, titled “The Setup,” follows Hoffman’s character, David, through the streets of New York City into a kosher restaurant, where he is supposed to meet a blind date named Sarah (played by Gottfried). In a rush, David mistakenly sits with another Sarah, who is expecting a blind date of her own—and, well, comedic consequences ensue.

It’s an entertaining take on the perils of the insular, high-stakes world of modern Orthodox dating—one that resonates deeply with the series’ creators along with a large portion of its audience.

“For a lot of [young modern Orthodox Jews], they’re not dating for fun—they’re dating with a specific goal of marriage in mind,” says Gottfried, 25. “A lot of people have a checklist of things. And there’s pressure from family members and friends, especially when all of your friends are getting married at a really young age.”

Plus, within the community, “there’s a little bit of a stigma attached to single

M A Z E L T OV people at a certain age if you’re not married,” she adds.

Gottfried, the initial creator of the series and its director, came up with an idea for the show a few years ago after graduating from Yeshiva University, where she initiated the school’s first film studies major. For one scene in the first episode, in which one of the Sarahs tells her date she’s a painter and gets an insensitive response, Gottfried drew upon a real-life experience—just substitute film for painting.

Gottfried met Hoffman, a 29-yearold actor who also works in marketing at the WE cable channel, on the set of a Jewish parody of The Office. Schechter, who met Gottfried at an arts conference, initially didn’t land a part in Soon By You, but she stayed on as a production assistant—and Gottfried eventually wrote a new character into the show with her in mind. The three now develop and write all the episodes together.

With an initial five-episode run, the team hopes to gain a significant online following—but the aim is to get a deal with a network or streaming service like Netflix or Hulu.

For now, Soon By You is brought to you via grassroots fundraising efforts, including a campaign through the Jewish Entertainment Network LA, a networking and support group for Jews in the industry. The team is also looking for product placement deals—it’s already inked one with Shabbat.com, which runs a Jewish dating app that will be featured in future episodes.

Gottfried, Hoffman and Schechter have finished filming a second episode and are in the process of editing it, but their fundraising efforts and busy schedules will largely dictate when subsequent episodes are produced.

Soon By You has received an unexpectedly warm reception. Hoffman, the only married member of the team, says

he’s already being recognized by people in his Washington Heights neighborhood, which is home to a sizable modern Orthodox population.

The group points to Srugim—a shortlived, but wildly popular Israeli show about five single Orthodox characters, which had a second life in the U.S. through Hulu—as a main source of inspiration. In fact, as Soon By You got going, Gottfried reached out to Srugim creator Laizy Shapiro, who imparted some sage advice: Don’t explain Orthodox Judaism to a broader audience. Instead, focus on creating nuanced characters.

As Hoffman explains, Srugim uses concepts like Shabbat restrictions and a “tefillin date”—a romantic sleepover that involves laying tefillin the morning after—that would seem like insider knowledge to some. But the show allows viewers to figure out the concepts on their own and, more important, even if a religious theme goes over most viewers’

SAY

heads, the show remains entertaining to a more secular audience.

“As far as modern media and pop culture go, you don’t really see much modern Orthodox,” Hoffman says. “You either see ‘the Orthodox,’ which people associate with Hasidic stuff, or you see the more secularized [people] and not so much the people who are in between.”

The next episodes of Soon by You will follow the four characters introduced in the first episode, plus two new ones. There will be plenty more funny dates, but the team wants to use that premise to showcase other aspects of authentically modern Orthodox characters, such as their professional and spiritual aspirations.

“As much as this show is about dating, we want to show also that this world isn’t just about that,” Gottfried says. “There’s really more to everybody. It doesn’t define them, even though for a lot of people it feels like it does.”

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M A Z E L T OV Cooking for company to celebrate

Pumpkin Crumb Cake Miriam Pascal

(The Nosher via JTA)—Who can resist a crumb cake? The only thing better than the dense cake on the bottom is the thick layer of cinnamon crumbs on top. It’s full of

Pumpkin Crumb Cake Yield: 10 to 12 servings Ingredients For the crumb topping 1 ⁄ 3 cup sugar ¾ cup brown sugar 3 teaspoons cinnamon pinch salt 1¾ cups flour ¾ cup vegetable oil

spices, pumpkin, but no sour cream, so it’s non-dairy and just a touch less caloric than traditional coffee crumb cake.

Note: Be sure to use canned pumpkin puree, not canned pumpkin pie filling, as it has ingredients not needed here. You can also use homemade pumpkin puree.

Plan Ahead: This cake freezes well in an airtight container. For best results, freeze the whole cake and cut into squares just before serving.

How will YOU assure Jewish tomorrows?

For the cake 1 cup vegetable oil 1 cup sugar ½ cup brown sugar 2 eggs 1 cup canned pumpkin purée (see Note) 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda ½ tablespoon salt 2½ cups flour Directions Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 9-by-13-inch pan; set aside.

To prepare the crumbs: Combine sugars, cinnamon, salt and flour in a small bowl. Add oil and mix until combined and crumbs form. Set aside.

To prepare the batter: In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together oil and sugars on medium speed until smooth.

Add eggs, pumpkin purée, vanilla, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Beat until combined.

Reduce mixer speed to low. Add flour gradually, beating until just combined.

Do not overmix.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Cover entire surface of the cake with prepared crumbs (there will be a very thick layer of crumbs).

Bake for about 1 hour, until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

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—Miriam Pascal is the founder of OvertimeCook.com, one of the world’s leading destinations for kosher recipes.This recipe appears in her recently published cookbook, Something Sweet: Dessert, Baked Goods and Treats for Every Occasion.

The Nosher food blog offers a dazzling array of new and classic Jewish recipes and food news, from Europe to Yemen, from challah to shakshuka and beyond. Check it out at www.TheNosher.com.

M A Z E L T OV Cooking for company to celebrate

Apricot Pistachio Babka Recipe Miri Rotkovitz

(The Nosher via JTA)—Babka is having a major moment, and why not? There’s lots to love about the loaves of twisted dough, generously interspersed with a filling that usually involves lots of chocolate. Many professional bakers behind babka’s renaissance are working with laminated doughs—yeasted dairy doughs turned with lots of butter. I thought about doing the same, but the challenge of creating a delicious pareve babka made without margarine won out. I couldn’t shake thoughts of my grandmother’s love of apricots, so I built the filling around them. I love the cheeky marriage of Sephardic flavors wrapped in a quintessentially Ashkenazi pastry.

This recipe is excerpted from Bubbe and Me in the Kitchen: A Kosher Cookbook of Beloved Recipes and Modern Twists.

Apricot Pistachio Babka Ingredients For the Dough: ½ cup soy milk, gently warmed 11 ⁄ 8 tsp (½ packet) active dry yeast 1½ cups all-purpose flour, plus 2 to 4 Tbsp if needed 1 cup white whole-wheat flour ¼ cup sugar ½ tsp fine sea salt 3 Tbsp virgin coconut oil 2 Tbsp neutral oil, such as canola or grapeseed 1 large egg For the Filling: 1 cup tart dried apricots ¼ cup golden raisins 1 ⁄ 3 cup dry-roasted, unsalted, shelled pistachios ¼ cup sugar 2 tsp virgin coconut oil ½ tsp cinnamon ½ tsp ground ginger For the Topping: 4 Tbsp all-purpose flour 1½ Tbsp sugar 1 tsp cinnamon 1 Tbsp neutral oil, such as canola or grapeseed

Directions Make the dough: In a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, or a large bowl, combine the soy milk and yeast. Allow to stand until foamy, 5 to 10 minutes.

In another bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, and salt. Add to the yeast mixture, mixing with a wooden spoon or the mixer’s dough hook on medium speed. Add the coconut oil and canola or grapeseed oil, and continue beating until incorporated. Add the egg and mix until the dough begins to pull into a ball.

Knead with the dough hook for 5 minutes, or by hand on a lightly floured surface for 5 to 10 minutes, until the dough is slightly tacky but smooth. If the dough is very sticky, knead in the additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, just until the dough is no longer too sticky to handle. If you kneaded by hand, return the dough to the bowl. If you let the mixer knead, simply remove the bowl from the machine. Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel or plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise until doubled, about 1 to 1 ½ hours.

Make the filling: While the dough is rising, place the apricots and raisins in separate bowls, add enough warm water to cover, and soak for about 10 minutes or until soft. Drain each separately, pat dry, and return to the bowls.

Place the pistachios in the work bowl of a food processor, and pulse several times to grind to a fine flour. If you don’t have a food processor, use a mortar and pestle. Or chop the pistachios finely with a knife, then crush with a rolling pin.

Transfer the pulverized pistachios to a small dish and set aside.

Next, place the apricots, sugar, coconut oil, cinnamon, and ginger into the work bowl of the food processor (it’s fine if some pistachio residue remains). Pulse several times, until a smooth paste forms. To make the filling by hand, chop the apricots as finely as possible, place in a bowl with the other ingredients, and use your hands to mix and knead the filling into as smooth a paste as you can.

Grease a 9-by-5-by-2 ½ -inch loaf pan. When the dough has risen, punch it down and divide it in half. Pat each piece of dough into a rectangle. On a lightly floured surface, roll one portion of dough into a 9-by-15-inch rectangle about ¼-inch thick. Spread with half the apricot filling, leaving a 1-inch

border along one of the long sides. Sprinkle evenly with half the ground pistachios, then half the raisins. Starting on the long side without the border, roll the dough up tightly, jellyroll-style. Pinch the ends together gently to seal. Allow the roll to rest, seam side down, while you repeat the process with the other piece of dough and the remaining filling.

Lay the rolls side by side, seam sides down. Starting in the middle, twist the rolls together by laying one over the other until you get to the ends. Gently compress the ends between your hands to shorten the loaf enough to fit it into the loaf pan. Cover the pan with a clean tea towel or plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm place until the babka mostly fills the pan, about 1 ½ to 2 hours. (If you’d prefer, you can also cover the pan with plastic and refrigerate overnight. You will need to bring the babka to room temperature before baking.)

Make the topping: First, preheat the oven to 350°F, as you’ll want to place the babka in the oven immediately after putting on the topping. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and cinnamon. Stir in the oil until the flour mixture is moistened and small lumps form.

Sprinkle the topping over the babka. Place the loaf pan on a piece of foil on the center rack of the oven (the foil will catch any bits of crumb topping that may fall off). Bake in the preheated oven, turning the pan after 30 minutes, until the babka is golden and firm to the touch, about 45 to 50 minutes total. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Storage: The babka will keep, well wrapped at room temperature, for 5 days. Or wrap well in foil, place in a plastic freezer bag, and freeze for up to 2 months.

—Miri Rotkovitz is a food writer, editor, and recipe developer. As About.com’s Kosher Food Expert (http://kosherfood. about.com), she shares creative recipes, entertaining tips, and articles exploring kosher culture.)

The Nosher food blog offers a dazzling array of new and classic Jewish recipes and food news, from Europe to Yemen, from challah to shakshuka and beyond. Check it out at www.

TheNosher.com.

jewishnewsva.org | October 24, 2016 | Mazel Tov | Jewish News | 25

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