Baking Matzah
Thank you to everyone who participated in the Matzah Photo Contest. It was a lot of fun for me to review the submissions.
And based on the number of photos I’ve received, it seems like other such contests might be in the future. Now that the Feast of Unleavened Bread is behind us, it’s time to announce this year’s photo contest winner and let you vote on the runner-up.
So without further ado, the winner is . . .
Yelena Z.
Congrats Yelena! I particularly enjoyed her decision to cut the matzah into dipping sticks to use for hummus. And I loved the way she contrasted the matzah with some challah behind it. (This picture was taken before the Feast started.)
I’ve never really explored using this matzah as a dipping cracker!
Yelena will receive a copy of all of the Karaite Fact Cards printed to date and a copy of Mourad El-Kodsi’s Karaite Jews of Egypt (Second Edition). This book retails new at $100 on Amazon.
If you don’t like the winner I chose (or you prefer a more traditional photo, i.e., one without challah in the background), here’s your chance to vote for the runner-up.
Avi M. submitted the below photo on the left, showing a piece of traditional Egyptian Karaite matzah on the center of each dinner plate. According to Avi, his seder table runs 32 people deep!
Jason S. submitted the photo on the right, depicting a close-up of the baked matzah. Jason* spent hours baking matzah for his very large, extended family – and even baked enough for everyone to have a supply of matzah to make it through the whole week!
So vote early and vote often! Avi or Jason will also receive a copy of The Karaite Jews of Egypt.
Avi M.: A beautiful seder table!
Jason S.: You can even see the coriander seeds!
* In the interest of full disclosure, my father helped Jason bake the matzah. (But the photo entry is Jason’s.)
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Today is the 3rd day of the 2nd week of seven weeks. Today is the 10th day of the counting of fifty days from the day of the waving of the Omer on the morrow after the Sabbath.
This is the chance to inform those who have not learned yet that Hummus in itself (chickpea paste) is permissible on Hag haMassot (is not Mahmeset, i.e. contains no Hames, despite the fact the two words seem at first glance to derive from the same root, although they feature different Sadi’s that are pronounced the same in Hebrew, but differently in Arabic).
But the one problem is, Hummus is usually made with Tahini that contains lemon acid which renders it Mahmeset.
I can’t believe it, I rarely win anything! Thank you so much for having the contest and going through the labor of picking out photos, of which I am sure there were many excellent entries. I am very grateful for the opportunity the contest gave me– teaching me how to make matzah and feel an even closer connection with my ancestors.