Tag Archives: Jewish Culture

Hamentashen for Purim: A Ziegler Family Recipe

Poppy seeds get every where. Flour dusts the counter tops and I somehow managed to get apricot jam in my hair. But the buttery fruit and vanilla scent coming from the oven is worth it. Many years growing up, my family celebrated the holiday of Purim by baking hamentashen. It’s a little tricky to learn the pronunciation, and it can make a mess of your kitchen, but they are delicious and fantastically versatile. I think next year, I’ll try a nutella filling. What do you think?

As tradition has it, these jam and nut filled gems are meant to resemble Haman’s hat, or ears, depending on who you ask. Either way, they’re a fun way to celebrate! So, here’s the family recipe. Double the batch and have plenty to share! They make a great goody basket to show the love of Jesus to your Jewish friends, or to educate your Gentile friends about Jewish culture and the need for love and restoration from the Church to Jewish people. This is such a fun and easy way to make a difference!

Ziegler Family Hamentashen (from Bubbe Dorothy Ziegler)

4 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

zest of one lemon

1/2 juice from lemon

1 cup oil

1 tsp baking soda

3 tsp baking powder

4-5 cups flour (use just enough to make soft dough)

Beat eggs very well. Mix sugar and salt and add gradually to eggs. Add lemon and oil. Add enough flour to make soft dough which can be kneaded. Knead until smooth. Roll dough on lightly floured board. Cut into 2-3 inch circles with cookie cutter. Place 3/4 tsp filling on the center of each circle. Fold edges into the center to make three corners, and pinch the corners together, forming a triangle. Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes or until lightly browned.

For filling you may use the traditional recipe below, any flavor of jelly or jam, or come up with your own creative filling!

Raisin & Nut filling

1 lb. raisins

1 cup honey

3/4 lb. walnuts or pecans

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

A little water to blend

Grind nuts & raisins together. Add remaining ingredients and blend with a little water.

Kerstetter Chronicles: A Very Jewish Gospel

I can still see the amazement and anticipation on their faces, as Carissa explained what it was like for her growing up as a Jewish follower of Jesus. I held my breath, thinking that any second one of the two Israeli guys or the Jewish girl from New York would get defensive or change the subject. But they looked awestruck. They didn’t say a word, or even seem to blink, as she explained the significance of a part of the Passover Seder that has stumped most rabbis for centuries, and described how clearly it points to Yeshua.

We made the perfect team. When she got stumped trying to explain the Trinity, I was excited to put my studies to good use and explain the significance of the Hebrew word, “echad,” (Deuteronomy 6:4) which means “one” but actually indicates multiple persons in one God.

God allowed us to plant many seeds like these ones in a very short time. We were blessed to see 39 backpackers come through the Shelter on the Lake during our three week stay in Argentina. Nearly all of them were engaged in spiritual conversations and accepted copies of the New Testament. Of course, closest to our hearts are the connections we made with numerous Israelis. By watching and working with the incredible team at the Shelter, we learned various approaches to starting spiritual conversations with backpackers, and grew in boldness. In the second phase of our trip, our survey of potential locations in Brazil answered all of our questions and provided all the information needed. Please continue to pray with us as we try to discern God’s will for our location.

Now that we’re back in Chicago, we are more eager than ever to visit Israel to follow up with the friends we made and learn more about Israeli culture and outreach. So, we are again praying about going to Israel this summer! Plans are in motion, and we will let you know when we know if they will work out! (Please pray that they do!)

All of this has given us renewed passion to pursue this ministry, but has also made us impatient to finish our preparations and begin this work. It is more challenging now to stay focused on what God has for us in Chicago, as our hearts long for the work God has in store for us in Brazil, but we have no doubt that this is where He wants us right now and that He will continue to bless our time here.

Thank you for your continued prayer and support. We wouldn’t be able to do this without you!

Blessings,

BJ and Carissa Kerstetter

Five Things I Want My Friends to Know about Hanukkah

Today is the last day of Hanukkah 2015, and as BJ and I have lit the candles each night and thought about what this special holiday means to us, I have come up with five things that I want you to know. They may not even be the five most important things or the most spiritual, but they are the ones that I want to share with you. If you would like to learn more about Hanukkah, or how to celebrate next year, check out https://www.chosenpeople.com/site/hanukkah. 

1. Hanukkah celebrates more than one miracle.
The most commonly known reason for celebrating Hanukkah is the miracle of the oil that burned for eight days when there was only enough pure oil for one day. But the other incredible miracle that we celebrate is God’s preservation of the Jewish people under the threat of destruction at the time of the Maccabees and all throughout history.

2. Hanukkah is not a mandated holy day but it does honor God.
God did not command the celebration of Hanukkah or mandate how it should be celebrated, but it celebrates and honors His faithfulness to the Jewish people and His holiness and glory displayed in miracles and in the Jewish people’s dedication to obeying His commands, purifying the temple and keeping the light of the temple menorah burning.

3. Jesus celebrated Hanukkah.
Because Jesus is Jewish. God chose Israel to be the people to represent Him to the nations and through which to bring the promised Messiah into the world. Not only did Jesus choose to honor God and honor His heritage by celebrating Hanukkah in Jerusalem, but the fact that he did was important enough for God to include it in His inspired Word. (See John 10:22).

4. God’s unfailing faithfulness to Israel through history is a testament to His character and His perfect faithfulness.
Because He has always been faithful to Israel, you can know that He always will be and He also will be faithful to His promises to you.

5. It’s cool if you celebrate Hanukkah too.
You don’t have to be Jewish to celebrate Hanukkah. If you do, you show that you stand in solidarity with the Jewish people and your Jewish friends. And if you worship the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, you too can celebrate that God is faithful and always true to His word. Besides, who doesn’t like lighting candles and eating fried foods for eight nights in a row?

Kerstetter Chronicles: May [Cross Culture]

She saw crosses everywhere she looked throughout the church camp. The sight of them made her feel sick to her stomach. During the conference, message after message was focused on the crucifixion. The speakers really made it sound like they think the cross is the beginning and end of the gospel, she told me, and said she could not relate.

 

My stomach knotted and I thought to myself, “Uh… yeah! What are you saying? The cross is the center and foundation of the Gospel.” But I kept silent and listened, “Maybe there is something I’m missing here.”  

 

“My grandmother was poked by a lot of kids in school. They’d take their crosses off and see who could draw blood first,” she told me. “My mom was nicknamed ‘Christ-killer’ in school. She was the only Jewish girl.”

 

“Is this for real?” I felt sick now. I knew already about the long and bitter history between “Christians” and Jews from the Crusades to the Holocaust, and how Nazi soldiers sang Christian hymns as they savagely beat Jewish prisoners in the name of Christ. I had even heard stories like this one before, but I still felt shocked. “This sounds so medieval. How could this happen In the United States? In my parents’ lifetimes? In mine?” I could see real struggle written on her face as she told me that she really tries to understand the cultural symbolism Christians attach to the cross. Despite her sincere appreciation for Jesus’ sacrifice there, she told me she only associates the cross with punishment, shaming and brutality, and the bitter suffering our Messiah endured, not with grace and love and joy. To her, she said, Jesus and His grace are so much more than the cross, and better represented by other symbols, like a dove.

 

I left the conversation feeling shaken and frustrated. “This person is a Jewish believer! Why can’t she set aside these cultural issues now and recognize the true meaning and place of the cross in Scripture?” Over the next week, I thought about her words and mulled over the issue with God. My heart started to soften and I began to recognize some truth in her points. It is true, Jesus is so much more than the cross. His grace certainly did not end there. And maybe, I would feel the same way if I had not been so protected and sheltered from the anti-Semitism that is still shockingly present in my generation. But more than anything else, I began to recognize that the root of this issue is cultural and historical, rather than theological. My friend does not struggle with the truth of the crucifixion, or lack appreciation for Jesus’ sacrifice, but she grapples with the painful associations that many Jewish people connect with the cross.

 

As I reflected, heavy hearted, on the deep wounds and division between the Jewish people and the Church, I began to wonder how we got here. And what can be done now to nurture unity and healing between Jewish and Gentile brothers and sisters in the body of Messiah? And who will step up to the task? Will it be me? Will it be you?

 

“For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity.”

Ephesians 2:14-16

 

Prayer Requests

Please be praying as we continue to learn about Jewish and Messianic culture, and as God continues to stretch our understanding of who He is and how He relates to His people. Consider how faithfully and lovingly God has cared for the Jewish people throughout history, and pray about how God might desire to use you in His plan for them in the present.

We thank God for each of you and your faithful prayer, encouragement and financial support for us. We will begin travelling in July to present our ministry and raise funds. If you are interested in hosting a presentation in your home, small group or church, please email us. We would love to meet with you! May God bless you as spring comes to an end and you begin your summer plans.

Love in Yeshua,

BJ and Carissa Kerstetter