Jewish Holiday Style [Hardcover]

Rita Milos Brownstein (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 8, 1999

At last -- the Jewish holidays transformed into exquisite celebrations, graced with sublime chic and elegant ease for the contemporary Jewish reader. Combining the flair of Martha Stewart with the warmth and accessibility of a delightful neighbor, Rita Milos Brownstein breathes new life into traditional Jewish holiday celebrations.

Entertaining in high style creates marvelous holiday memories for your family, your friends, and yourself. For each of the ten major holidays, Brownstein offers suggestions for creative projects that will bring the whole family together and mouth-watering menus that make it effortless to prepare festivities of true material and spiritual splendor. With more than 85 full-color photographs and easy-to-follow step-by-step illustrations, this captivating book will motivate you to explore your Jewish heritage and use your imagination to make it your own.

Jewish Holiday Style is packed with dazzling and inspiring ideas. For Rosh Hashanah, host a honey-tasting party to celebrate the sweetness of a new year. If you love the ocean, observe Sukkot in a sukkah with a seaside motif -- even if you live in the cornfields of the Midwest. Make your own Chanukah menorahs -- try a simple cruse of oil that reflects the miracle of the oil in the Holy Temple, or an elaborate metalworked candelabra that is sure to become a family heirloom. For the Passover table, create personalized pillows for your guests, which.will allow them to recline like the royalty of old while you serve a lavish yet simple-to-prepare feast.

As part of this eye-opening tour through the Jewish calendar, Brownstein also highlights the historical origins and religious importance of each major holiday with a delightful essay that brings ancient rituals into the modern day. Think of the fast of Yom Kippur, for instance, as "a day spa for the soul...the too rare opportunity to get in touch with the things that really matter." Purim is "the definitive holiday of joy and merriment," commemorating a bright moment in the often somber history of the Jewish people. On Shabbat, "appreciate that you are joining the wave of Jews who are kindling their candles as the sun falls, working its way around the world."

At once a handbook of creative ideas and a primer on the spiritual significance of the Jewish holidays, Jewish Holiday Style is the first lifestyle book to address these all-important rituals and ceremonies, an elegantly designed volume that blends sensational crafts and delectable cooking with the richness of Judaism's 3,300-year-old tradition. Bursting with fresh ideas and exciting new looks, here, finally, is the book you've been waiting for. Let the holiday celebrations begin!

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"In Judaism, since the spiritual and the physical are intimately connected, each has the power to enhance and infuse vitality into the other, creating a divine partnership. This concept of beauty and spirituality is most attainable during the Jewish holidays." So writes Rita Milos Brownstein, in the introduction to Jewish Holiday Style, a Martha Stewart-esque treatment of the Jewish holy days. The book is a colorful step-by-step guide to making the highlights of the Jewish calendar as chic and elegant as they can be. Although Brownstein sometimes gets carried away with her rhetoric (Yom Kippur becomes "a day spa for the soul"), her ideas and instructions (such as making your own Chanukah menorah, or celebrating Rosh Hashanah by tasting various honeys) will add some zest to the oldest Jewish traditions. And even Brownstein's excesses have at least this to redeem them: they always encourage the biblical virtue of hospitality.

From Library Journal

Jewish cookbooks have become a rapidly burgeoning category. Appearing at the beginning of the annual cycle that starts with Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, three of these four new titles focus on Jewish holidays and holy days, while Friedland's concentrates just on the Sabbath. Greene's book, a revision of her 1985 title, is by far the most ambitious of the group, with more than 250 recipes (80 or so entirely new, the others thoroughly revised) for all the major holidays and some minor ones, and including Israel's Independence Day as well as religious celebrations. A cooking teacher and the longtime food editor of the Baltimore Jewish Times, Greene also offers extensive background on each holiday, and her diverse recipes are from all around the globe. Highly recommended. Recently, a growing number of Jews have found themselves returning to their religious roots and observances they have let lapse, making Friedland's book on celebrating the Sabbath particularly timely. A cookbook editor and author of The Passover Cookbook, Friedland presents 175 recipes for the three meals of Shabbat (Friday dinner, Saturday lunch, and the "third meal," marking the end of the Sabbath later on Saturday). Like Greene's, her recipes are international in scope, reflecting both the Ashkenazic and Sephardic heritages, and her text is readable and informative. Recommended for most collections. Brownstein, the former art director of Good Housekeeping and House Beautiful, offers a lavishly illustrated crafts book with recipes and ideas for the holidays. For each holiday, there is a menu, several crafts projects, and decorating suggestions. Brownstein's approach will not be to everyone's taste (the three sukkahs for Sukkot, for example, include a "fantasy" Penthouse Sukkah, "high-tech and sleek," but the minimatzo vases for the Passover seder are pretty cute). For larger collections. Rubin seems like a nice woman, but would her cookbooks have been published if she weren't actor/singer Mandy Patinkin's mother? Her second book, which opens with "testimonials" from grandchildren and other family members, includes recipes for Thanksgiving, a bridal luncheon, and a barbecue as well as for four major Jewish holidays. The recipes are simple, and many of them rely on convenience foods; some have little to do with traditional Jewish holiday cooking (the buffet menu includes Mexicali Layered Dip and two shellfish dishes). Only for collections where Rubin's Grandma Doralee Patinkin's Jewish Family Cookbook is popular.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (September 8, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684849593
• ISBN-13: 978-0684849591
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,293,045 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fresh, contemporary approach to Jewish ritual and custom., October 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Jewish Holiday Style (Hardcover)

The author has done a wonderful job of bringing fresh visual and culinary interpretations of all of the Jewish festivals and holidays, beautifully demonstrated through sensitively written text and gorgeous photos. Best of all, the author has done her research and has faithfully stayed on course in respectfully explaining Jewish religious ritual. It's a wonderful resource for those who have never attempted a Purim costume or Passover meal, as well as for those who prepare Sabbath meals week after week and just want a fresh perspective.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Chock full of Jewish holiday food and decorating ideas, October 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Jewish Holiday Style (Hardcover)

Rita Brownstein has created a unique guide to celebrating the Jewish holidays creatively. She combines outstanding artistic and culinary talents with a deep appreciation and knowledge of Jewish customs and laws. The result is a new and exciting approach to the annual cycle of traditional Jewish observance. This is not just a cookbook or only a home decorating book. This book will appeal to those who know the Sabbath and holiday celebrations are not just dinner parties. Beautiful decorations and holiday symbols enhance their beauty and meaning. This book is obviously a labor of love and I highly recommend it.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jewish Holiday Style..., April 18, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Jewish Holiday Style (Hardcover)

I bought this book for myself, and five more copies for my friends and family. This passover I am planning on making three matzah-cover vases for my pesach table, and I'm also going to have a glass-square sedar plate. These stylish things are chic and inexpensive, plus they look great with any room or setting. The book itself has more knowledge than any other style book: usually books are either one or the other. Is Ms. Brownstein planning on writing any books in the future?