Passover Seder plate, via Wikimedia Commons, by Edsel Little.
[This post, by Edward Schabes, Library Assistant, Midtown, was written in 2018 and has been updated for publication in April 2024.]
Passover is the one Holiday besides the New Year which is celebrated by a majority of all Jews from around the globe. The preparations for this Holiday very often drive people nuts. The commandment is not to have any leavened product in your home during this 8 day period; this means that the house must be cleared of bread and all other such foodstuffs. And that’s on top of cleaning and cooking in preparation for the family gathering. Especially with small children in the household, it’s not hard to see why people get a little crazy at this time of year!
This Holiday also brings back very pleasant memories for many, because it is a coming together of family. For example, I most remember my grandmother coming over every year. She used to make an extraordinarily large jar of horseradish with beets, and a large jar of applesauce. I also remember my mother taking out a grinder and grinding fish to create the fish loaf that we ate at the Seder.
Passover is known for the eating of unleavened bread and the asking of questions by children during Seder, the ritual meal that commemorates the Exodus from Egypt. The most famous questions are usually asked by the youngest child and are called the four questions. For example, “Why is this night different from all other nights?” and, “Why do we dip not once but twice during the Seder?”. For a full explanation of the rituals of Passover, consult library titles such as Telling the Story: A Passover Haggadah Explained.
Besides eating unleavened bread the type of foods eaten on Passover varies between Jews with a European heritage and Jews with a Middle East or Spanish heritage. Everyone eats meat, chicken, and dairy foods (though not together with meat), but those with a Middle Eastern or Spanish heritage eat rice, corn, or peas, while those with a European heritage do not.
The theme of Passover is freedom and becoming a nation. In ancient times, the Jews escaped slavery in Egypt and gained their freedom. This was also the time that Jews became a nation, an entity beyond the members of a single family. This year Pesach will begin at sunset on April 22nd and will end at sunset on April 30th.
To celebrate, we asked the library staff to send in photos of nature that inspire them. We hope they inspire you as well!
Jana De Vera, Library Assistant, Lander College for Women
Left to right: Hiking path in Saugerties NY, a moth, a gorilla at the Bronx Zoo.
Alissa Felberman, Librarian, TC Israel
“My backyard in Israel”
Dora Isakova, Library Assistant, Forest Hills
Sarah Keene, Library Assistant, Ave J
“A profusion of forsythia outside my kitchen window”
Toby Krausz, Judaica Librarian, Cross River Campus
Emma Larson-Whittaker, Library Assistant, Starrett City
L-R: Sunrise over a lake in Maine, sunset sky in Brooklyn, NY.
Philip Papas, Archivist
L-R: Two urban windowsill flowers: blooming African violet and Peace Lily waiting to bloom
Leiba Rimler, Judaica Cataloging Librarian
Kirk Snyder, OER & Instruction Librarian, Cross River
L-R: Hierve el Agua in Oaxaca, Mexico, rock formations caused by water from natural springs in the mountains; A Oaxacan agave farm. The agave is used to produce Mezcal.
Sara Tabaei, Library Information Literacy Director, Cross River
Devil’s Tower Monument area in Wyoming
[Post compiled and edited by Emma Larson-Whittaker, Library and Outreach Assistant, Starrett City]
Join us at the 73rd National Jewish Book Awards Luncheon on March 27th at 12:30. Meet award-winning authors and participate in a panel discussion of Jewish literature. You can see a full list of the winning authors attending the luncheon here.
This free, public event will be held at Touro’s Cross River Campus at 3 Times Square in Room 808 (Entrance at 202 West 43rd St). Attendance is available both in person and on Zoom. To RSVP, visit the link above or click here and scroll to the bottom of the page.
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Book of Esther, Hebrew, c. 1700-1800 AD – Royal Ontario Museum – DSC09614.JPG Uploaded by Daderot Created: November 20, 2011
[This post, by Toby Krausz, Judaica Librarian, was written in 2019 and has been updated for publication in March 2024. After reading Toby’s great history of Purim, we recommend this recent piece about the beautiful Esther scrolls in the collection of the Library of Congress, here.]
On Saturday night, March 23rd, Jews all over the world will gather in synagogues, houses of worship, places of study, and sometimes in their own homes to hear the story of Purim.
A long time ago when the empire of Persia and Medea ruled the world, all citizens of the capital city of Shushan were called to a feast at the king’s palace. Though the leader of the Jewish community, a very wise man named Mordechai, advised against it, the Jews of Shushan felt they had no choice but to obey the king’s decree. This feast was the beginning of a series of events that would lead King Achashverosh (Ahasuerus or Xerxes in English), to stamp and seal a terrible decree on the suggestion of his wicked advisor, Haman (a direct descendant of the ancient Jewish enemy Amalek): all Jews in the kingdom were to be slaughtered on the fourteenth day of the upcoming Hebrew month of Adar. Men, women, and children would be destroyed, no survivors. The Jews of the kingdom gathered in prayer under the guidance of their leader Mordechai. They donned sackcloth and ashes in mourning. But the Jewish people had a secret weapon, one that had been put in place sometime earlier: Mordechai’s niece, Esther, had been chosen out of all the beauties in the kingdom to marry King Achashverosh. Queen Esther lived modestly in the palace, keeping her Jewish identity and faith secret, but in this, she had no choice but to act. When she heard of the decree, she fasted and prayed for three days. Then Queen Esther went before the king without being summoned. This was a selfless, extraordinarily brave act that would lead to her death unless Achashverosh stretched out his scepter in welcome. Miraculously, he did.
Image Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons File: Purim, 1724.jpg, Uploaded by Jonund Created: August 17, 2004. Illustration of the megillah being read from Juedisches Ceremoniel, a German book published in Nürnberg in 1724 by Peter Conrad Monath. The book is a beautifully illustrated description of Jewish religious ceremonies, rites of passage, and feast days. File source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Purim,_1724.jpg
Esther had devised a plan: all Jews would fast and pray with her as she invited the King and the wicked Haman to a party. During the party, King Achashverosh was so struck by Esther’s beauty that he offered her anything, “up to half the kingdom.” She asked that he and Haman attend the party she would make tomorrow-then she would make her true request. On that notorious night, the King could not sleep. Wondering why, he asked for the royal chronicles to be read, thinking that perhaps he owed someone a favor and that was subconsciously bothering him. He discovered that he did: part of the series of events leading to the terrible decree included Mordechai saving King Achashverosh’s life from an assassination plot. The King realized he had never rewarded the righteous Jew for saving his life.
Coincidentally, on the way home from the party Haman passed Mordechai and was incensed that Mordechai refused to bow in respect to him like everyone else. Haman was so angry he decided he could not wait for Adar: he would build a gallows and hang Mordechai on it, first thing in the morning. He began construction immediately on said gallows and ran to the king in the middle of the night to ask permission for a public execution. Before Haman could make his request, however, the king asked his top advisor what Haman thought should be done to the man whom the king wished to honor. Thinking that man was naturally himself, Haman suggested he don the royal robes and crown, riding the king’s own horse through the capital city of Shushan, with an attendant declaring before him, “Thus shall be done to the man whom the king wishes to honor!” (Haman had a certain enemy of his in mind when he came up with that last bit) To his shock and horror, the king declared Mordechai was to be honored in this manner, with Haman leading the way and doing the proclaiming. This act gave the Jews of Shushan hope. When Haman finally arrived home after this humiliating experience, he was immediately called back to the palace for Esther’s party. During the party, Esther revealed her identity and her request: her own life and the lives of her people. King Achashverosh raged and demanded to know who would kill his own queen (perhaps the wine he drank at the party gave him selective memory). Esther pointed straight at Haman. The plot was foiled. The Jews were saved.
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Ahasuerus and Haman at Esther’s Feast, by Rembrandt, File: Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn – Ahasuerus, Haman, and Esther – Google Art Project.jpg, Uploaded by DcoetzeeBot.
In a miraculous twist of events, Haman and his ten sons were hanged on the gallows prepared for Mordechai. All of Haman’s estates were given to Queen Esther. Mordechai was made second to the King and the decree was reversed: on the fourteenth of Adar, the day we now celebrate the holiday of Purim, named for the pur, or lots (as in gambling) that Haman threw to determine the month the destruction would take place, the Jews now had permission to turn the tables and wipe out all their enemies.
To commemorate the story of this miracle, Esther’s parties, and the idea that all became topsy-turvy that day, we hear the Megillas Esther (the book of Esther) read aloud twice, give each other gifts of food, dress in costumes, and have a celebratory seudah, a meal with bread, meat, and wine. Among other traditions, we give matanos l’evyonim, gifts to the poor. The whole month of Adar is considered a time of joy. So when you see a whole bunch of people in costume carrying baskets of food, and singing and dancing in the streets come Sunday, March 24th, you now know why. Wish them a freilichen Purim and remember to put Haman’s name on the bottom of your shoe so we can symbolically stamp out unfounded hatred for all generations to come.
Alissa Felberman, Librarian at Touro University Israel
Welcome to the latest in our series of Staff Profiles. Alissa Felberman recently joined the Touro community as a Librarian at Touro College Israel. Alissa was kind enough to answer some questions for us below:
Where were you born?
I was born in Brooklyn, NY, but grew up from an early age in a town called Monsey in Rockland County, NY.
Where else have you lived?
When I was 21 years old, I moved to Israel with my husband, and we have been living here ever since. Despite the challenges that come with living in Israel, I love it here and believe it’s the best place for my family. Recently, my husband and I returned to Israel after spending two years teaching at a Jewish Day school in Maryland. We resided in the beautiful city of Potomac, Maryland, which allowed us to visit several famous sites, including Gettysburg, Mt. Vernon, and the Library of Congress in Washington D.C., where we received a private tour from one of the librarians there.
What languages do you speak?
My mother tongue is English, but I speak Hebrew fluently. I also studied Arabic for two years in college.
What fields have you studied and/or degrees have you earned?
I hold a Bachelor of Arts degree in Information Science and a teaching certificate enabling me to teach English as a second language. Previously, I taught English to students in junior high school. During a sabbatical, I pursued a Master of Education degree in Library and Information Science from David Yellin Teacher’s College. While completing my degree, I worked for approximately eight years in a public library and only recently switched to working as a university librarian in Touro, Israel.
What is your ideal vacation?
I love nature and the beach, so any place where I can see greenery or take walks near the water is perfect for me. Recently, my husband and I visited the national parks in the western part of the United States, including Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon. We traveled in a camper van and stayed in the park’s camping grounds. It was an amazing trip.
Any hobbies?
My hobbies are reading, gardening, and making sourdough bread.
Favorite food?
My favorite food, without a doubt, is falafel.
Tell us one thing about yourself that most of us probably don’t know.
I study Talmud every day in a program called Daf Yomi, where you learn a page a day. I have been doing it for about four years and hopefully will finish the whole Talmud in about three and a half years.
As our OE Week ’24 coverage continues, let’s take a look at Touro’s OER Faculty Fellowship!
The Library’s Open Educational Resources (OER) Faculty Fellowship helps guide faculty through the process of selecting, adapting, or creating OER for use in their classes, instead of using expensive commercial textbooks. This fellowship has been the primary driver of OER use at Touro University for the past three years.
In January, we officially closed the book on our 2023 fellowship. This was an exciting year for the fellowship, as we had 9 faculty fellows, our largest cohort yet! This cohort includes faculty from Touro University New York’s undergraduate and graduate programs, Touro Law Center, Touro University Nevada, Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine, and Touro’s Physician Assistant program. Their completed OER projects will all be published on Touro Scholar’s Open Touro-created resources page.
Congratulations to the 9 OER Fellows from 2023 for completing the 6-month fellowship and developing OER for use in their classes!
Meet our 2023 cohort of OER Faculty Fellows below:
It’s that time of year again… Open Education Week! This week, all week, schools and organizations all over the world are taking the opportunity to share the latest developments & achievements in Open Education.
March is a time to reflect on the sometimes overlooked achievements of women throughout history. It is a time to celebrate the women in our own lives and learn more about those women who came before us.
In 1981, Congress passed a law designating the week of March 7 as “Women’s History Week.” For the next five years, the United States honored Women’s History Week. Congress passed Public Law 100-9 to officially designate March as Women’s History Month.
Every year, the National Women’s History Alliance chooses a theme to focus on for Women’s History Month. Topics have ranged from climate change to voting rights. This year, the theme is “Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.” On the theme:
“Today, equity, diversity and inclusion are powerful driving forces that are having a wide-ranging impact on our country. As members of families, civic and community groups, businesses and legislative bodies, women are in the forefront of reevaluating the status quo. They are looking anew at what harmful social policies and behaviors exist and, often subtly, determine our future. In response, women in communities across the nation are helping to develop innovative programs and projects within corporations, the military, federal agencies and educational organizations to address these injustices.”
Many New York institutions are celebrating Women’s History Month this year. Here are a few suggestions, but there are so many to discover!
The New-York Historical Society has an exhibition of objects categorized as “women’s work” to show how far-reaching the traditional roles of women are in society. You can find out more by visiting their website or watching this short video on the exhibit.
The Shah Garg Foundation is also featuring an exhibit for Women’s History Month. “Making Their Mark” is an exhibit of art by more than 80 women artists from the last eight decades. It seeks to emphasize their “intergenerational relationships, formal and material breakthroughs, and historical impact.”
The New York City Parks are also doing many events this month, including guided tours of public art created by women in the parks, important historical women, and many other fun things. For a full calendar, click here.
If you are more inclined to the theater, the new musical Suffsbegins previews on March 26. This musical explores the women’s movement in the early 1900s and their hardwon victory for gender equality.
Happy Women’s History Month!
[Post by Emma Larson-Whittaker, library and outreach assistant, Starrett City]
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