Charoset recipes to honor Jewish Women

The Song of Songs, the Bible’s holiest love poem, compares the Jewish people to: apples, figs, dates, walnuts and almonds; the main ingredients in Charoset. (Pesachim 116a). Apples, because during Pharaoh’s oppression Jewish women secretly gave birth under apple trees. (Song of Songs 8:5) The recipe of the famous Kabbalist Rabbi Isaac Luria’s mother included pears and grapes.

These Modern Charoset recipes honor our beloved Jewish wives, mothers and daughters. Before eating Marror (bitter herbs), we offset their bitterness by dipping them into Charoset, just as the love of our mothers, wives and daughters reduces the bitterness of our daily hardships.

Hard boiled eggs (the daily silent sacrifices of past generations of Jewish women) should be eaten with Charoset at Karpas time to honor all loving women in our lives and in our people’s history.

Recite one of the following: “It is better to live outside the garden with Eve, than inside it without her. Blessed be the One who brought us near together and taught me to know the goodness of her heart and the sweetness of her soul! Wheresoever she was,there was Eden.” From Mark Twain

Midrash Vayikra Rabba (1:3) relates that the daughter of Pharaoh received her new Hebrew name of Bityah (bat-yah; literally daughter of God) from God as reward for her saving baby Moses, leaving Egypt with the Hebrews, and converting to Judaism. God told her: “Moses was not your son, yet you called him your son; you are not My daughter, but I shall call you My daughter”.

EUROPEAN CHAROSET

2 cups chopped apples 2 cups chopped walnuts 2 teaspoons cinnamon 2 tablespoons sweet red wine Combine and refrigerate.

CALIFORNIA MODERN CHAROSET

1/2 cup dates and/or figs chopped 1 orange (honoring all female rabbis) 1 avocado and 3 bananas1/2 cup grated coconut juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup pine nuts 1/2 cup raisins 2 tbs matzoh meal
Peel fruits, place in blender. Add almonds, raisins, matzah meal, and after blending a chopped up 2 hard boiled eggs. Cover and refrigerate.

YEMENITE CHAROSET

1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped 1/2 cup dates, chopped 3 tb dry wine juice of 1/2 lime 1 tb honey 1 tsp. ground ginge
1/4 tsp. Cumin or Cloves 3 tb of toasted sesame seeds. Combine and refrigerate