A Spring in Your Steps

It is truly glorious to live in a climate with 4 seasons.  Experiencing the transition of a relatively severe winter into a gentle Spring is such a blessing.  Bursts of colors in succession, tender shoots raising their heads, and that gentle sneeze (and yes, breeze) from the wafting pollen!  Oh well nothing is perfect.  And yet, it is also another opportunity for renewal and new beginnings in the Jewish yearly cycle.   

Tomorrow night at midnight, kabbalists believe (see portions of this page), the heavens will open and receive our earnest efforts of revelation of Torah as the festival of Shavuot is upon us.  Jews around the world will be putting up extra pots of coffee, finding their cherished blintzes or cheese cake recipes (see below), selecting favorite ice cream flavors and then gathering in choicest spiritual spots to study and sing and engage in words of Torah – the source and mother lode of Jewish thought.  I have heard that in New York City, Jews gather in Central Park to study and celebrate until the sun rises.  Others will gather in the homes of family or friends or at their synagogues or perhaps even around backyard campfires or cabins studying and eating and singing, wrestling with ideas, dancing to Israeli folk songs, perhaps cooking or baking together, reading and writing poetry and music – truly there are unlimited possibilities as to how many Jews will choose to engage in Torah!  And in so doing experience a sense of communal and spiritual renewal. 

On Shavuot, Jews customarily eat dairy foods in honor of Torah; for just as mother’s milk sustains a baby’s development, Torah sustains the Jewish people.  It is fun to extend this simile game to explore other comparisons : Just as rain water brings forth the sprouting of Spring vegetation, Torah brings forth the growth of new ideas and creativity; or just as a tree extends in all different directions as it grows and matures, so too does the continued study of Torah open one’s mind to new possibilities (you get the idea.  Other traditional comparisons are made with wine, fig trees, fire, and a drop of water!  What other comparisons might you have? …).  Happy Shavuot!!

Goat milk and cheese are delicious dairy choices!!  Here Rav J. feeds some goats at the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center in Western CT.

Jim Putnam’s Chocolate Cheese Cake Recipe
When I was studying for my doctorate in science, I worked with a wonderful lab technician named Jim Putnam who invented this recipe (in his kitchen and not in our laboratory!).  Our family makes this cake at least once a year for the Jewish holiday of Shavuot when you are encouraged to eat dairy foods.  This is better than a grilled cheese sandwich any day!!

Crust:

1 ¼ c graham cracker crumbs
2 Tbs sugar
2 oz (4 Tbs) melted butter

 Cake:

6 oz bittersweet choc
¼ c rum
1 lb cream cheese
¾ c sugar
½ c sour cream
1 Tbs vanilla
4 large eggs

1)      Preheat oven to 325.  Butter inside of 9” spring-form pan

2)      Line outside of pan with foil (shiny side out!)

3)      Mix graham cracker crumbs (blended) with 2 Tbs sugar and melted butter, press into the pan, and refrigerate.

4)      Melt bittersweet baking chocolate with the rum over a low heat.

5)      Beat cream cheese until fluffy, add and beat in ¾ c sugar, ½ c sour cream. and 1 Tbs vanilla

6)      Add the 4 eggs, one at a time and mix

7)      Put bowl inside another bowl filled with hot water and mix until smooth (Avoid getting water into the batter)

8)      Pour 10 oz into another bowl and put aside

9)      Mix remaining batter with chocolate and smooth over hot water as above

10)   Pour chocolate batter mix into the graham cracker crust

11)   Pour plain batter over the top and swirl with a fork.

12)   Bake at 325 for 50 minutes, cool to room temperature, release the sides on the spring-form pan and refrigerate covered overnight.