Lilya's Summer Beet Borscht  Liz Alpern, Co-Founder of the Gefilteria introduces this recipe: One summer day, Jeffrey and I headed to Little Odessa in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. We were visiting our business partner Jackie’s ninety-two-year-old Russian-born great-aunt, Lilya. She had immigrated to Brighton Beach from the Soviet Union in 1989. Lilya was known for her borscht, and she’d invited us to spend time with her while she salted and seasoned three varieties of the soup.  SERVES 6 TO 8 Ingredients  2...

Roast Chicken with Barley & Vegetables Liz Alpern, co-founder of the Gefilteria introduces this recipe: This dish makes for a fragrant meal that is unique enough for Friday night and simple enough for a weekday evening. While roast chicken is a classic centerpiece on the contemporary Jewish table, the earthiness of the mushrooms and barley in this recipe give it a decidedly Old World feel. SERVES 4 TO 6 Ingredients ¾ cup pearl barley 1 dried bay leaf 3½ teaspoons kosher...

There's something special about poetry. More than any other form of writing, it has the power to make us feel. Our Jewish tradition is full of evocative poems that express our gratitude, ask for help, communicate our love and mourn.  During this time of deep preparation and reflection for the High Holidays, poetry can provide a portal into introspection. This collection features contemporary poets and liturgists as well as classic texts. We hope it inspires you. 

And We Return By Kohenet Keshira HaLev Fife    And We Return... And we return, and we move on Let go the past, and greet the dawn We cycle and we circle and we spiral and return To love ourselves and be the ones for which Becoming yearns And we return, and we move on Let go the past, and greet the dawn We cycle and we circle and we spiral and release To align ourselves with our hearts so that we...

Kol Nidre Chant By Kohenet Keshira HaLev Fife    Kol nidre is not for beating our chests Kol nidre is for returning to our best Kol nidre is for releasing every vow Kol nidre come to presence here and now At-one-ment, at-one-ment, reflect and take it slow  At-one-ment, at-one-ment, release and let it go At-one-ment, at-one-ment, return to where we start  At-one-ment, at-one-ment, aligning with our hearts  

These poems are from a series on  slicha  (forgiveness) and  geulah  (redemption) by poet Julia Knobloch.  Click here for the companion pieces on  slicha .   Geulah/Redemption I They say that when we move in silence from the blessing for redemption into the standing prayer without pause, precise, at sunrise we do as the pious would (although we’re not required to) I was driven out into these copper sands by restlessness and shame, not my intention to juxtapose the blessing for redemption...

These poems are from a series on slicha (forgiveness) and geulah (redemption) by poet Julia Knobloch.  Click here for the companion pieces on geulah .   Slicha/Forgiveness I I stand before you in brokenness and tenderness You say I don’t have dignity I don’t agree but have done wrong With you I keep repeating the same mistakes let bitterness prevail over my sense of justice intuition senses I have seen my lines dry out for years I wanted to be held all...

A new meditation — written as the year 5774 came to an end by poet Alden Solovy. May the New Year bring hope, blessing and peace. Instructions for using this meditation are found in [brackets]. May you have a year of health and happiness, joy and laughter, livelihood, sustenance, prayer and love. Meditation on the Eve of a New Year G-d, Dear G-d, We stand at the cusp of a New Year, Looking forward, looking backward, So much accomplished, So much...

This Rosh Hashanah prayer was written by Alden Solovy in 2020 as a response to COVID-19. Since the reality of pandemic and plague struck our worlds, wildly unimaginable shifts have occurred in the way we live and, perhaps, the way we see life. One lesson of these unimaginable losses and changes is the possibility that there might also be wildly unimaginable blessings. The idea for this prayer came as I signed an email to musician Josh Nelson. I concluded: “For a...