A few months ago, we had some friends visiting and I suddenly fell into a baking mood. This is not my typical state of mind. I do cook, and some people may say that I cook well but baking is another story. However, friends were coming over and my mother always said that you just can’t have tea without cookies.
"Dad, can you make that cookie we ate at the mall?” asked my son. He didn’t need to elaborate, we both knew exactly which cookie he meant. We came to the US long before the container that we sent with the rest of our things, so we all went to the mall to buy some basic equipment. Obviously, we got lost.
“Mom, tell him, he isn’t giving me a piece of the cake!” my younger brother would wine. “At least eat lunch first” mom would say as she was looking at us kids eating one piece after another. When mom would bake a chocolate cake for shabbat, it would usually not survive Friday. “I got only two pieces and everybody got four already” my sister complained. “Leave at least some cake for your father” mom would say as she took what was left of the cake.
"Mom bought those cookies that we love!” my younger brother howled at me as I entered home back from school. “How do you know?” I asked “it’s not passover yet” “I saw mom take them out of the shopping bag” he answered. My taste buds responded immediately and demanded immediate satisfaction. “Where is mom?” I asked, trying to avoid drooling.
Purim in one of my favorites holidays. It wasn’t always like this. One of my most memorable childhood traumas is connected to Purim. It wasn’t the costumes, I actually loved to dress up, and I loved the costumes parade. The Purim gragger was one of my favorite toys, and not just on Purim. What scared me was a conversation mom had with our neighbor.
"What can I bring?” I asked our friends that invited us to a Hanukkah candle lighting party. “Whatever you feel like,” they answered, “we trust you to bring something tasty.” This is usually the answer when I ask what to bring, which challenges me every time to find something new and interesting to contribute.
