In 1990, a Stanford University graduate student named Elizabeth Newton earned her Ph.D. in psychology by studying a simple game in which she assigned people to one of two roles: “tappers” or “listeners.” Each tapper was asked to choose a well-known song, such as “Happy Birthday,” and tap out the rhythm of that song on…
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Holidays
Editorial
Dayenu. But is it really enough?
If God had brought us out from Egypt and not given us the Torah, Dayenu. It would have been enough. If God had given us the Torah and not the Temple in…
Passover
Is this Berkeley seder ‘plate’ the world’s largest?
Berkeley artist Judy Massarano has an ongoing disagreement with the people at Guinness World Records. She believes that she has created — with the help of…
Passover
After Israeli election, what do I mean by ‘next year in Jerusalem’?
L’shanah haba’ah biYerushalayim – Next year in Jerusalem. This last line of the traditional haggadah challenges me this year more than ever. What does it…
Passover
Why this S.F. man’s seder features a Pharaoh piñata
To say that retired San Francisco lawyer Al Rosen is a fan of Mexican folk art would be an understatement. The Inner Sunset home where he and his wife,…
Organic Epicure
Firefly chef Brad Levy’s family food tales — and his 2019 Passover menu
Firefly chef-owner Brad Levy is the first to say his Reform Jewish upbringing in the St. Louis suburb University City (known by residents as “Jew City”)…
Passover
Passover is a time to practice empathy for ‘the stranger’ among us
The Passover seder is a brilliant teaching mechanism in which we not only retell the story of the Exodus but relive the story with ritual foods and…
Recipe
Make-ahead casserole packs stuffed cabbage flavor without stuffing
Yearning for stuffed cabbage for a Passover meal? Enjoy the flavors of the dish without having to actually stuff and roll it with this Unstuffed Cabbage…
Passover
4 families’ Passover foods from Iran, Iraq, Latvia — and the East Bay
If there are dishes more closely associated with Ashkenazi Passover cooking than matzah ball soup and gefilte fish, we can’t think of them. But as Jews…