A Pesach Sampler: from appetizer to afikomen

A Pesach Sampler Title Page

A Pesach Sampler: from appetizer to afikomen is a printed cookbook of recipes for the Jewish holiday of Passover. The cookbook was published in the Gregorian year 1979, or the Hebrew year 5739. The book was printed, published, and distributed by the Women’s Branch of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America (UOJCA) in New York, New York. The book is currently held in the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books, and Manuscripts at the University of Pennsylvania, and found its way there by a donation from Martin Kaminer in 2019.

Historical Context

Judaism and Passover

Judaism is the world’s oldest monotheistic religion, which means it is based upon the belief that there is only one God who has established a covenant with them. Jewish practitioners, or Jews, worship in holy places known as synagogues, and their spiritual leaders are called rabbis. The six pointed Star of David is the symbol of Judaism. Today, there are about 14 million Jews worldwide, most of whom live in the United States and Israel. A person is traditionally considered Jewish if his or her mother is Jewish. Many Jewish holidays often include festivities with one’s Jewish family and cooking meals for everyone to enjoy. Of the many Jewish holidays that fall throughout the year, A Pesach Sampler lists recipes specific to the Jewish holiday of Passover, or Pesach in Hebrew. The holiday is typically celebrated sometime in the Gregorian month of April, as the starting date is determined by the Hebrew calendar, on the 15th day of the month of Nisan. Jews gather with family and friends in the evening to read from a book called the Haggadah, which tells the story of Passover and contains through a combination of prayers, rituals, readings, and songs during the dinner meal, collectively referred to as the ritual of the Seder. During the holiday of Passover and during the Seder, Jews are prohibited from eating leavened and fermented grain products due to what the holiday celebrates: the Jewish escape from Egyptian slavery. When the Jews escaped Egypt, they did not have time to let their bread rise before heading into the desert, and as such, their bread baked flat, instead of rising. As such, all food that comply with this dietary restriction and are allowed to be consumed during Passover are said to be Kosher for Passover.

UOJCA

The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America (UOJCA) is the largest organization of Orthodox synagogues in the U.S. The UOJCA was founded in 1898 and was oriented toward the few English-speaking, rather than the Yiddish (Hebrew) speaking congregations of Jews. The organization is best known for its committee for the multinational operation that certifies over 400,000 industrial and consumer products manufactured in 73 countries under the kashrut laws, which are the Jewish laws that specify what foods are Kosher and what foods are not. The process began in 1923 when the Women’s Branch of the UOJCA formed the Kashruth (Kashrut) Committee. The committee worked to persuade manufacturers to replace non-kosher ingredients with kosher, and became a non-profit in 1925. Heinz ketchup was the first product to sport the UOJCA certified kosher label.

Community Cookbooks

The New York Public Library also holds a copy of A Pesach Sampler, and categorizes it under the genre “Community Cookbooks”. The community cookbook can be dated back to just after the Civil War in the United States, when northern women developed money-raising strategies to support the Sanitary Commission of the Union Army. Among other items, such as quilts and food items, communally authored cookbooks paid for bandages, medicines, doctors, and nurses in the war. After the Civil War, other organizations like churches and synagogues adopted the use of fund-raising cookbooks. Until very recently, all such recipe collections have been produced by women. Early post-war Jewish community cookbooks allowed the women who authored them to “shape the communities around them.” The mission of fundraising propelled postwar community cookbooks as well.