Description

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A delicious exploration of the Jewish holidays, with illuminating conversations and meals shared by friends: a rabbi and a cook.

For many belonging to the Jewish diaspora, understanding the holidays means lighting a menorah for Chanukah, maybe hosting a seder during Passover. But, if celebrated with an understanding of the storied customs behind the festivities, these occasions can be so much more than candles and matzah. Following the lunisolar calendar, James Beard Award–winning author Susan Simon and Zoe B Zak devote a chapter to each of the fourteen holidays. From Selichot to Rosh Hashanah, Purim to Pesach, every holiday has history, interpretation, and foods, with kosher recipes that reimagine traditional dishes with flair.

More than a cookbook, The Cook and the Rabbi is a testament to the resilient versatility of the Jewish people and their traditions. With Zoe’s thoughtful insight and Susan’s inspired recipes and folk-art-inspired illustrations, there’s no end to the ways you might celebrate the holidays and make your personal relationship with them uplifting, inspiring, and deeply fulfilling. Chag Sameach!

About the Author

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Susan Simon is a James Beard award–winning cookbook author and illustrator. She lives in Hudson, New York.

Zoe B Zak has served as the rabbi of Temple Israel in Catskill, New York, since 2012, where she also resides.

Praise For…

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A lovely book! Great idea and gorgeously executed.
— Leah Koenig, author of PORTICO

For someone like me, who has lived in fear of brisket, here is the book we have been waiting for. Drawing from the broad Jewish Diaspora, these recipes, like the illustrations, sparkle. I can’t wait to try a dozen of them. This is a book to keep.
— Mark Kurlansky, author

Meaningful gatherings. Delicious food. A deep understanding of the human condition. This book warms the heart.
— Maira Kalman, author and artist

A gentle and powerful book that reveals the magical and uplifting arc of the Jewish year through food and food for thought. What’s not to like?
— Henry Sapoznik, author and producer

When the cook meets the rabbi, the holiday table becomes a feast for body and soul. This beautiful book, with its charming illustrations, is an invitation to celebrate Jewish holidays, not only deliciously, but also meaningfully.
— Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, author

There is so much in this charming, educational (for me) book, which Susan Simon with her recipes and folk art–style illustrations and Rabbi Zoe B Zak with her religious knowledge have created, that I am looking forward to exploring.
— John Derian, designer

Colorful graphics, flavorful recipes, and inviting words give new life to the spiral of the Jewish festivals.
— Rabbi Arthur Waskow, founder/director of the Shalom Center