Shana tova u’metukah—a good and sweet year—to all those celebrating Rosh Hashanah today! Here are some readings and recipes for queer families and others during the High Holiday season, including the apple-cinnamon challah pictured here!
First, yes, there is one LGBTQ-inclusive children’s book that I am aware of with a Rosh Hashanah theme, Love Remains: A Rosh Hashanah Story of Transformation, by Rabbi Ari Moffic and Jessica Leving. Here’s my interview with Rabbi Moffic about it a few years back.
You might also be interested in Here Is the World: A Year of Jewish Holidays (Bookshop; Amazon), by Lesléa Newman, author of the classic Heather Has Two Mommies. It’s not clearly LGBTQ inclusive, although the more masculine parent in the featured family could, I think, be read as a masculine woman or nonbinary person, as well as a man. Newman brings her poetic skills to bear as she takes readers on a journey through the Jewish year.
Next, I am also reflecting on “Unetane Tokef after Roe,” by Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg, who serves as Scholar in Residence at the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW). Her piece is a reimagining of a core part of the Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur liturgy, in which we reflect on “Who will live and who will die,” and what may be in store for us in the coming year. I found Ruttenberg’s take very powerful.
Finally, my apple-cinnamon challah is based on this recipe from King Arthur Baking (a queer-friendly company), with the following changes/tips:
- Boost the cinnamon to 1 1/2 tsp and add 1/2 tsp ground cardamom (or adjust to your taste). You can also play around with a few pinches of clove and/or nutmeg if you want to lean in to the whole pumpkin-spice thing.
- Be warned: It will look a mess after you cut up the dough and shove the dripping pieces into the pan. It will come out fine in the end. (There is perhaps a deeper lesson there.)
- Put a sheet of foil lightly over it after about 30 minutes of baking, or the edges will get too dark.
- Even if you grease the pan, baking parchment really helps it come out easily (and we all want coming out to be easy).
- I used Swedish Pearl Sugar on top in the photo–but I’ve also used Sparkling Sugar, which may be easier to get in most supermarkets.
If you prefer a plainer challah, here’s my go-to recipe, which I’ve written out in some detail after years of making it.
Wishing a sweet holiday and a sweet year to you and your families!