Israel celebrates Shavuot with Cheesecake

Tradition stipulates that during the religious holiday of Shavuot,(June 1st this year) Jews consume dairy products. It is the Feast of the Weeks, a celebration of the harvest season in Israel. Shavuot, which means "weeks", refers to the timing of the festival which is held exactly 7 weeks after Passover.

Shavuot also commemorates the anniversary of the giving of the Ten Commandments to Moses and the Israelites at Mount Sinai.the Feast of the Weeks, is the Jewish holiday celebrating the harvest season in Israel. One explanation for eating dairy products states that this comes from a passage in the Torah which reads:

"And He gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey".

Another explanation comes from a legend stating that before the visit from God the Jews did not keep kosher or follow the Kashrut (dietary) laws. It was on this first Shavuot that they found out that their utensils were nonkosher and thus unfit for use. So finding themselves without kosher meats or utensils the Israelites were forced to eat only dairy foods.

This year, sales of milk and cheeses jumped by about 300 percent," said Harel Haiken the deputy director for marketing at Tara Dairies. In 2003, according to Haiken, consumption was 4.4 kilograms per person; in 2005 the number was 4.8 kilograms. Milk consumption is also up, from 43.8 liters per person in 2003 to 46.3 liters per person in 2005.

According to a survey commissioned by Strauss Dairies and conducted by the Brandman Institute, 81 percent of consumers serve cheesecake at the Shavuot holiday table. However, many more people are buying ready-made cheesecakes this year than baking at home.

That said, the survey reports that 66 percent prepared the cake themselves, while 21 percent purchased ready-made.

Only 10 percent of those surveyed said they were not hosting guests for the holiday. Forty-one percent of those asked said it was important that holiday dishes be easy and quick to prepare.
Which must give the inhabitants of Gaza something to chew on whilst the borders remain closed and food supplies dry up - one thing for certain any food they eat will be quick and easy to prepare.

Israeli Prime Minister's prime minister's well upholstered advisor (Sharon's bureau chief, personal lawyer and confidante, said to be the echo to Sharon's voice and regular at the White House) Dov Weissglas you may remember convened with Israel Defense Forces chief of staff, the director of the Shin Bet and senior generals and officials, for a discussion with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on ways to respond to the Hamas election victory.

Everyone agreed on the need to impose an economic siege on the Palestinian Authority, and Weissglas, as usual, provided the punch line: "It's like an appointment with a dietician. The Palestinians will get a lot thinner, but won't die," the advisor joked, and the participants reportedly rolled with laughter.

Ho. Ho.