Kosher recipes for festive occasions

The festival of Purim - its food traditions and recipes

The biblical book of Esther tells how Esther, the Jewish wife of the Persian king Ahazver, saved her people by thwarting the plan of the vizier Haman to kill all the Jews in the Persian kingdom with the support of her uncle and adoptive father Mordechai. After Haman, his sons and his followers were eliminated, the new vizier Mordechai decreed that the day, which was actually intended for the extermination of the Jews, should in future be kept as a joyous festival in which everyone, including the poor, should take part. The festival of Purim commemorates this event to this day by celebrating Queen Esther with the reading of the Book of Esther, a festive meal and gifts for friends and the needy.

Kosher recipes for Passover

The festival of Passover commemorates the Exodus from Egypt, which is recorded in the Bible in the 2nd Book of Moses. Moses and Aaron demanded the liberation of the Israelites from Egyptian bondage, but Pharaoh refused. As a result, the Egyptians were sent ten plagues, which ended with the killing of every firstborn. The Israelites were spared from the killing because they had marked the doorposts of their houses with lamb's blood, as they had been commanded to do. At the same time, they prepared for the Exodus by having one last meal with the meat of the slaughtered lambs before they hurriedly set off.

Recipes for Shavuot

Shavuot (Hebrew for Feast of Weeks, because it takes place seven weeks after Passover) is the perfect festival for the Heidelberg School of Jewish Studies, as its focus is traditionally on learning. A special learning night (Tikkun Leil Shavuot) is held on Shavuot to commemorate the Sinai law, which corresponds exactly to the university's motto "And meditate on it by day and by night" (Jos. 1:8). In addition, the festive menu is mainly dairy-vegetarian, which also fits in well with the university's canteen.

Recipes for the 2nd festival period

• Rosh HaShanah begins on the eve of 1 Tishri and lasts two days
• Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) begins on the eve of 10 Tishri and lasts a whole day
• Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) begins on the eve of 15 Tishri/ and lasts until 21 Tishri/ (Hoshana Rabbah - day of the Hakafot/ processions)
• Shmini Atzeret (Final Feast) and (Feast of the Joy of the Law) begin on the eve of 22 Tishri and last until the evening of 23 Tishri