The James Beard Award-winning chef and co-owner of Philadelphia's Zahav restaurant reinterprets the glorious cuisine of Israel for American home kitchens.

Simple meals inspired by Israeli street food, by the authors of the best-selling James Beard Book of the Year, Zahav.

Congregation Sha’ar Zahav’s first siddur appeared in 1982. It was revised in 1994and again in 2000. The richness of this siddur, like the Sha’ar Zahav community, is rooted in its integration of Jewish tradition with egalitarian, feminist, and LGBTQ-positive ideas and language. With this edition, we have sought to continue and expand the Sha’ar Zahav tradition of creating liturgy that reflects who we are. The compilers of the 2000 edition wrote: “A Jewish prayer book which had nothing in common with the traditional siddur would lack the wealth of history which connects our worship with Jewish practice around the world and over the centuries. On the other hand, many of us are uncomfortable with some of the imagery and language found in the prayer books of the major Jewish denominations in the United States. With this prayer book, we have attempted to capture the spirit of Jewish liturgy while avoiding the objectionable elements.” When Congregation Sha’ar Zahav was founded in 1977, only a handful of synagogues offered full acceptance to bisexual, transgender, lesbian, gay, and queer-identified Jews. From the outset, Sha’ar Zahav has been a community that is open to all. Sha’ar Zahav is affiliated with the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), and this siddur reflects many of the innovations of the Reform movement as well as the URJ’s commitment to an evolving liturgical tradition. The members of Congregation Sha’ar Zahav – the authors of most of the new material in this siddur – come from many varied backgrounds, movements, affiliations, traditions, and practices. Some identify with Ashkenazi, Sephardi, or Mizrachi traditions. Some were born into Jewish families, while some chose Judaism. We are young and old and every age in between. We have sought to reflect both our shared traditions and our differences in our liturgy. In order to create a spiritual home for all who choose to enter our gates, and in order to develop a siddur which will continue to resonate with the congregation and reflect our community’s diversity, we have tried to cast a wide liturgical net. We have drawn from the traditions we have been handed, we have sought out sources that have been hidden, and we have tapped the creative gifts of our own community. In this edition, we have been mindful of, and have sought to expand, the principles which have distinguished this siddur in the past: using non-sexist language when referring to both people and God; restoring visibility to women throughout Jewish tradition; speaking directly to the experience of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer-identified people; understanding the concept of Jewish chosenness as uniqueness; envisioning the Messianic time as the fulfillment of tikkun olam, the repair of the world, and seeing ourselves as participants in the holy work of repair. Siddur Sha’ar Zahav includes alternative English versions of prayers, and alternative Hebrew and Aramaic, so that our values can be reflected in all of our languages of prayer. Because of the gravity of altering wording that may be hundreds of years old, we spent considerable time developing guidelines for Hebrew prayers. In keeping with the Sha’ar Zahav tradition, we decided not to remove customary versions of prayers, but to add new versions alongside them. We did not alter any passages taken from the Torah, except to ensure gender inclusivity, which is noted in the text. Nor did we alter prayers such as the Mourners’ Kaddish, which serve so powerfully to connect us to the Jewish people across time and space. Where we did create new Hebrew versions, we followed a set of principles, which are discussed in the appendices. Siddur Sha’ar Zahav endeavors to respect the varied, and at times contradictory, sensibilities of our people and our congregation. Our goal is for all of us – progressive Jews within the Reform movement’s umbrella, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation – to see ourselves reflected in our liturgy, so that none of us experience the invisibility and exclusion we have historically encountered. Our prayer book attempts to embody the teaching that each of us is created b’tzelem Elohim, “in the image of God.” While we know that not every reading will speak to each of us, we hope that in these pages all of us will find a point of departure for prayer, and for dialogue with the Source of creation.

Meet the five partners behind Federal Donuts and Rooster Soup Co. In their (maybe) true story you'll learn about their origin, their first Donut Robot, and even their FedNuts workout. Oh, and you'll get recipes for their donuts. And their fried chicken. And maybe have a few laughs.

Award-winning chefs and bestselling authors of the James Beard Award–winning Zahav, Michael Solomonov and Steven Cook invite you to cook the way they do at home, with 125 new recipes for simple and achievable meals. Since opening Zahav (the beloved, award-winning, and critically acclaimed restaurant in Philadelphia that serves a powerfully flavorful menu inspired by modern Israeli cuisine) fifteen years ago, co-owners chef Michael Solomonov and Steven Cook have learned at least two things: cooking at home isn’t anything like cooking at the restaurant, and, how to bring Zahav’s signature ideas to the home kitchen. As busy fathers, Mike and Steve have also learned that thinking ahead is key. Their secret: a strategically stocked pantry. Then it’s nothing, for example, to slather amba from a jar onto a spatchcocked chicken for an almost-instant roast chicken dinner, or to cook a leg of lamb coated with harissa (also from a jar!) in one pot—on a school night! When they make soups, with all the intense flavors they use at the restaurant, they make a lot of soup, always thinking of the freezer and those busy nights when there’s no time to cook. Even more than Zahav, their trailblazing first book, Zahav Home is a truly intimate affair—an invitation right into Mike's and Steve's home kitchens, with recipes tried and tested by them and their families. The 125 all-new recipes in this book include robust salads, abundant vegetables, hearty soups, easy lunches, and weeknight meals that taste as if they took hours to make. There are Sunday dinners, unforgettable desserts, and more, including: Tehina Caesar Salad with Gutsy Croutons Matzo Ball Soup Sesame Chicken with Matbucha Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes with Labneh Sheet pan Kebabs: Yemenite, Kofte & Merguez Hummus from the Pot Date-Glazed Salmon Fillets Baby Apple Cakes Pistachio Sticky Buns You’ll find features throughout titled “Making” that visually break recipes down into easy step-by-step, as well as “Method,” highlighting a foundational recipe, technique, or tip that can be used flexibly in countless dishes, like Schug, Garlic Confit, and some Hard-Cooked Egg Wisdom. Colorful and full of flavor, vitality, and warmth, Zahav Home is a treasure and worth its weight in gold (the meaning of Zahav!)

"We should all be cooking like Adeena Sussman." --The Wall Street Journal "Sababa is a breath of fresh, sunny air." --The New York Times In an Israeli cookbook as personal as it is global, Adeena Sussman celebrates the tableau of flavors the region has to offer, in all its staggering and delicious variety In Hebrew (derived from the original Arabic), sababa means "everything is awesome," and it's this sunny spirit with which the American food writer and expat Adeena Sussman cooks and dreams up meals in her Tel Aviv kitchen. Every morning, Sussman makes her way through the bustling stalls of Shuk Hacarmel, her local market, which sells irresistibly fresh ingredients and tempting snacks--juicy ripe figs and cherries, locally made halvah, addictive street food, and delectable cheeses and olives. In Sababa, Sussman presents 125 recipes for dishes inspired by this culinary wonderland and by the wide-varying influences surrounding her in Israel. Americans have begun to instinctively crave the spicy, bright flavors of Israeli cuisine, and in this timely cookbook, Sussman shows readers how to use border-crossing kitchen staples-- tahini, sumac, silan (date syrup), harissa, za'atar---to delicious effect, while also introducing more exotic spices and ingredients. From Freekeh and Roasted Grape Salad and Crudo with Cherries and Squeezed Tomatoes, to Schug Marinated Lamb Chops and Tahini Caramel Tart, Sussman's recipes make a riot of fresh tastes accessible and effortless for the home cook. Filled with transporting storytelling, Sababa is the ultimate, everyday guide to the Israeli kitchen.

Sofia, Bulgaria In the tumultuous year of 2020, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict continues to fester. Fourteen-year-old Dani Madgev accidentally finds several Cyrillic letters interwoven into the graphics of the Star of David symbol. His father, Ian, a mathematical linguist, and his mother, Rovine, a cognitive scientist, help him decipher them. But none of them realize what theyre about to get themselves into. Jerusalem, Israel To unravel the mystery of Davids Star, Dani and his parents travel to Tel Aviv, Israel. Along with Nathan Epstein, a biblical history professor at Hebrew University; Kabbalah alchemist Uri Zohar; Ruben Openheim, the head of Peace Now; and Rabbi Loew, the Madgevs make a series of further discoveries within the symbol, leading them to believe they are on the brink of knowledge that may very well change the course of history. Meanwhile, a mysterious character called the LaW begins sending messages encoded using King Davids military cipher to Dani. Once deciphered, the messages and letters found on the Star of David point to a startling realization about the solution of the conflict between Israel and Palestine. But are the two countries ready for the suggested solution? A domino chain of events is set in motion, and someone may have to pay the highest price.