We wanted to speak to some famous Jews about Passover. Joshua Ostroff, music editor of Spinner Canada and also a sweet husband, devoted dad and flash dancer, weighed in.
What does your family do for Passover?
My immediate family is out on the west coast, so I spend every Passover with my Toronto relatives who brought me back into the seder fold after a haggadah-less decade or so.
What are your favourite parts of the seder meal?
Matzo ball soup and gefilte fish, hands down. But I like its ritual nature. I’m no Channukah fan—a good deal on oil is a crappy basis for a holiday—but Passover is about as epic as holidays get. Read more...
Making your own Matzah seems easy enough, if you can work quickly. The key is to get it all done before the dough has a chance to rise! We found this straight-forward video on Youtube that breaks down the whole baking process.
We wanted to speak to some famous Jews about Passover. Our pal Eva Glettner, who knows all the cool kids music, happily obliged.
What does your family do for Passover?
Passover is all about family! We sit around, talk about the past, break some bread, er, matzah, and drink some vino. The good stuff, folks. The kids usually run amok and everyone has a gay old time.
What are your favourite parts of the holiday?
My favorite part by far is all of the symbolism at the Seder. For example, dipping parsley in salt water reminds us of the tears of the slaves. Matzah, after all, is the bread of affliction. The best line in the entire Haggadah has to be “all who are hungry, let them come and eat.” It is a mitzvah to get down with your homies. I love that. Read more...
We wanted to speak to some famous Jews about Passover. Playwright Daniel Goldfarb shares his family’s traditions.
1. What does your family do for Passover?
Very old fashioned. One seder with my wife’s side of the family and one seder with my side. The Goldfarb seders are enormous, and in fact my mom makes two. She’s literally had more than 40 people per night. We just keep growing. It takes a week for her to prepare it all.
2. What are your favourite parts of the seder meal?
I love the four questions. As a newish dad, I find them really moving. I love the Manischevitz. And I love the actual meal. My mom is an amazing cook and she also makes a lot of non Passover recipes that my Nanny and Bubby made, so it’s more than just a seder, it’s a historical family nostalgia feast. Read more...
Make the Jewish holiday fun and meaningful for kids without breaking your Matzo balls
The lengthy seder may not be your kids’ idea of a good time. The problem of keeping little ones in their seats has been tackled with varying degrees of success in homes throughout the world, ranging from plague performances to beating them with scallions. We looked to some of the coolest Jews we know to offer their tips on how to make seder interesting, educational and complete with some humour. But first’s thing’s first, you got to start with a cool Haggadah.
GETTING FRESH WITH MATZAH
There’s something for everyone in our 5 recipe Matzah round up. We have some seriously creative ways to make this Passover staple more kid friendly: matzo meatloaf, vegan matzo, and chocolate toffee matzoh candy. Who ever said Matzah has to be boring? Read more...
There are basically a million versions of the Haggadah out there so how do you choose the right one? Do you go with the holiest, most solemn and serious book you can find (no), or maybe something a little shorter and way more fun to make sure your kids are as into the seder as everyone else (yes)?
This site lets you build your own Haggadah according to your family’s needs. All you do is answer a few questions and then print out the pages you need! And if you don’t want to print anything out, just bring your iPad to the table. As the title suggests, DIY Seder is for those who like to be a little creative, so if building a matzah house or showing your kids a Passover word cloud is the kind of thing you dig, go with this. Read more...
