Betty D. Greenberg, Althea O. Silverman. The Jewish Home Beautiful.

(COOK-BOOK)

New York

1941

First Edition. Eight photographs of a dining table set for different holidays.

“[Some] authors feared that Jewish wives would be drawn away from kashrut and Jewish customs by the delights of Christmas trees, Easter baskets, and other elements of non-Jewish living. Several well-known and respected women joined in the effort to reassure Jewish homemakers that a Jewish life-style could properly express full womanhood. On behalf of the National Women’s League of Conservative Judaism, Betty Greenberg and Althea Silverman co-authored The Jewish Home Beautiful, the best-known book of this type. More than merely a recipe book, this volume includes a script for an elaborate musical and spoken pageant on Jewish living. Each section contains a photograph of a fancy table setting appropriate for marking the festivity of Jewish occasions. Even the Yom Kippur table, though lacking food, is beautifully laid out with silver candlesticks. This book was published multiple times and even served as a field guide to Jewish observance for American soldiers fighting in Europe during World War II.” (The Jewish Women’s Archive).