Keep Calm & Kasher On

A new gadget, my go-to Pesach vegetable side, and an interview with children's book author Rebecca Klempner

Frogs everywhere, even in my bubbe cart.

March 30, 2023

Hi,

We had perfect weather yesterday. It was chilly, but the sun shone and the sky was cloudless. The daffodils and our magnolia tree were in their glory, making it possible to forget, however briefly, that the world is in chaos and Pesach is just a week away.

Then I remembered.

I threw on my favorite black sweater, grabbed my bubbe cart — a carryover from my New York City days — and walked to the nearby kosher market. Along the way, I thought, “Ah, spring has sprung!” But also, “Ah, vitamin D!” and “Did I already buy white vinegar for Passover?” I couldn’t remember.

Anyone who makes Pesach knows that there’s really no such thing as one-stop shopping. We have to bounce around from place to place until we get everything we need. It is a truth universally acknowledged this time of year.

I had already shopped in three other stores by the time I walked into the Kosher for Passover tent, set up in the market’s parking lot. I made the unplanned purchase of this adorable frog ice tray. And I picked up two bottles of white vinegar for pickling beets, hoping to preempt the need to go shopping again. But who was I kidding?

I’d scribbled a short list onto a scrap of paper before leaving the house. It had six items on it. I found only four of them in the tent, so there’s at least one more kosher market in my immediate future.

Then again, I still have to buy produce and eggs, though I’ll take care of that early next week when I pause from the cleaning, kashering, and turning over. There are many miles to go before my backsplash is covered in tin foil.

It’s okay. I’m working at my own pace. And I have complete faith that I’ll be ready by the time we sit down for the first seder. I have faith you will, too. <3

An Interview with Author Rebecca Klempner

For a creative person, there is an undeniable tension between the need to make things (stories, art, music, pastry, and so on) and the required pause from doing so on the Day of Rest. Sometimes, my fingers itch to type out an essay that comes together in my head after sundown on Friday night. While Shabbos always overrules that urge, I can tell you it isn’t easy.

So I’m excited to introduce The Creative Pause, a new monthly feature here on Days of Rest, and to welcome writer and children’s book author Rebecca Klempner as my first featured artist in this space.

Describe for me how you balance the longing to make art and having to stop making it on Shabbos.

As I was becoming Sabbath observant, the notion of turning off the godly impulse to create was still a foreign concept to me. It did not sync with what I thought Shabbos looked like from the outside. I have a memory of folding origami and making a tiny cut into the paper one Shabbos, then suddenly understanding that I should not be doing it at all. It was a huge mindset shift.

You are the author of the several children’s books, including the well-known Glixman in a Fix and A Dozen Daisies for Raizy. How do you incorporate your sense of faith into your writing and other creative endeavors?

When my kids were small and I was a stay-at-home Jewish mother in the Orthodox world, I spent a lot of time doing creative things with them. Art projects, singing, listening to classical music, cooking, going to museums. I explained to them that these are all ways of communicating how you feel about G-d and religiosity. The same is true of my writing. I write Jewishly even when I write essays for a non-Jewish audience.

What do you do when the kernel of a story pops into your head on Shabbos?

It’s hard! If I come up with an interesting premise, I try to talk it out with someone as a way to retain it. I once put two books out on my desk whose titles offered clues to help me remember. I’ve still lost many ideas on Shabbos. But my attitude about Yiddishkeit and faith in general is this: If I’ve forgotten about it, it wasn’t a good idea in the first place.

Inspiration is a spark of the divine. Tell me how your latest children’s book, How to Welcome an Alien, came about.

I got the idea for this story from the concept of welcoming the stranger in our midst. I was reading the parsha on Shabbos, and somehow, my creative brain jumped from ger, meaning stranger, to celestial aliens. It’s about the Abraham family that lives on a moshav. When an alien spacecraft lands in their yard, they invite the aliens in, offering them food, drink, and a chance to rest — the elements of the mitzvah of hachanas orchim, of showing hospitality to guests.

And lastly, which aspect of Shabbos is food for your creative soul?

Physical rest helps me recharge my batteries. Mental rest helps me view my writing with a fresh perspective. Socializing inspires new ideas, since I exchange thoughts with friends and family. And the break from my creative work reminds me that I'm just the vehicle for my stories...they all ultimately come from G-d, so I need to treat those stories with respect and share them as widely as possible. 

My Go-To Pesach Vegetable Side

One of the first things I prepare after I’ve finally turned over my kitchen for Pesach is about fifteen pounds of caramelized onions. Nearly every recipe I make calls for them, so this ends up being a huge timesaver in the long run. I just grab what I need from the big vat of them in the refrigerator.

Then I make my favorite side: sweet pickled beets. I roast a pan of washed, fresh beets (I prefer red, but you can use yellow, too) at 350 F for about an hour. Wrap them in foil before popping them into the oven. Take them out once you can easily pierce them with a knife. Don’t let them go soft, though.

While the beets cool, combine 1 cup water, 3/4 to 1 cup of white sugar, and 1 cup of white vinegar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Cut the beets in half, then slice them into half-moons. Add a large, thinly sliced onion to the mix. Cover with the hot liquid, let cool to room temperature, and refrigerate in a tightly sealed container. Let sit half a day before enjoying. The beets will stay fresh for the whole week of the holiday if you don’t eat them right away. They go with everything.

Note: You can substitute raw zucchini half-moons or sliced (or small whole) mushrooms in this recipe. If you want to make carrots (cut in circles), broccoli or cauliflower (cut into small florets), parboil them first. I always add onions, no matter which vegetable I’m pickling. Red onions work, too.

Before You Go

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Let me know if you end up making and enjoying the beets. :)

Wishing you a meaningful Pesach. May we all be redeemed from whatever enslaves us. In the meantime, keep calm and kasher on.

Thanks for being here.

Love,

Merri