Thoughts from Beth David

As we count down the days to Shavuot, we are reminded of the traditions that surround the holiday. While we do not have direct mitzvot, commandments, associated with Shavuot, there are many customs throughout the Jewish community that remain deeply rooted in the holiday’s observation.

Alongside studying Torah and reading the Megillat Ruth, Jewish communities celebrate Shavuot with dairy delights. The answers for this are featured in our May/June Bulletin, provided by our Director of Congregational Learning Jason Cathcart. He writes, “One reason may be that we are promised a ‘land flowing with milk and honey’ in Exodus and the Song of Songs states that ‘milk and honey are under your tongue.’  Another idea shows that Gematria, Jewish numerology, explains that the letters that make up the Hebrew word for milk, חלב (halav), add up to 40.  That is the exact number of days that Moshe spent on Mount Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments and other teachings.”

In preparation for Shavuot, we have included two recipes below provided by members of our Jewish community.

Blintz Loaf recipe

• 1 lb. cottage cheese
• 3 eggs
• ½ cup flour
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• ½ stick margarine, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix melted margarine with cottage cheese, add everything else; mix well.  Pour into a well greased loaf pan.  Bake 40 minutes or until brown.  Serve as is or:

• dust with powdered sugar
• serve with blueberry/cherry sauce
• serve with sour cream

Cheesecake a la Sylvia

Crust

• 1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs
• 2 tbsp butter or oleo
• 2 tbsp sugar

(follow directions on graham cracker crust package)

Line 9-10 inch spring-form pan with above mixture and put in refrigerator until you pour filling over it.

Filling

• 4 – 8 ounce packages of cream cheese
• 4 eggs, add one at a time
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla

Beat cream cheese and sugar together, adding eggs, one at a time. Add 1 tsp vanilla. Should be a creamy mixture.

Pour over crust. Bake at 350° oven about 45 minutes.

Toothpick tests, until dry in center of cake. Cool cake about 10 minutes. If cake cracks, don’t worry about it, topping covers it all.

Topping

• 1 pt sour cream
• ¾ cup sugar

Mix together and pour over cake. Put back in oven, 350° for 15 minutes.

Refrigerate 5 hours or overnight.

Can be made in an oblong pan – 10 ½ x 13 – in which case I use 4 or 5 packages cream cheese and 5 eggs and 1 ¼ cups sugar. Topping is same or 1 ½ cups of sugar for 5 packages.

Let us know if you make these delicious treats! Tag us on Instagram @bethdavidsynagogue or mention us on Facebook.

If you are interested in reading a digital copy of the May/June Bulletin, that can be found HERE.

If you are interested in learning more about Shavuot and observing with your local Beth David community, please consider joining us for our Community Tikkun Leil Shavuot event on Sunday, June 1^st at 7:00 pm. This year’s theme is: Our Jewish Tapestry.

Happy Baking!