The Matzo Chronicles offer light-hearted reflections on family, food, memory, and guilt — in short everything Jewish. The column addresses timely topics and timeless concerns. It’s like a soul-satisfying bowl of matzo ball soup with a pinch of Nora Ephron and a sprinkling of salty Sophie Tucker!
Karen’s stories appear in J. The Jewish News of Northern California, The New York Jewish Week, The Washington Jewish Times, The Intermountain Jewish News, and The Times of Israel.
Read on for a hearty helping of The Matzo Chronicles.
- It’s hard to say goodbye to an iconic local dineron February 23, 2022
A beloved neighborhood restaurant is closing. It happens all the time all across the country, but when it’s your neighborhood and your beloved restaurant, it makes you sad, doesn’t it? In this case, the one feeling sad and nostalgic is my husband — and apparently half of Reno, Nevada. The […]
- I didn’t know being a baleboosta coulda made me a staron February 2, 2022
I could kick myself. I pride myself as a writer with a knack for timing and clever ideas. Yet I’ve just missed out on a golden opportunity to pitch a winning TV show. It’s too late. The train has left the station. The boat has sailed. Pick your cliché. Whatever, I blew it. To think The post I […]
- Over time, friends became more important than familyon January 5, 2022
Some children are precocious, spouting clever insights one after another. I wasn’t one of them. I had only one illuminating insight at the not-so-early age of 12. It came as I looked at my family sitting at the dinner table — all substantially older than me. My thought: I need to form a network […]
- The eternal question of my grandparents’ cemetery care on December 7, 2021
It’s that time of year. Not Thanksgiving. Not Hanukkah. Not even Christmas or New Year’s. Rather it’s that time of year when I’m asked about providing “perpetual” care for my grandparents’ cemetery plots. These annual cemetery solicitation letters cause profound rumination and […]
- Thanksgiving evolves, and my mind turns to the first Jew in the Americason November 11, 2021
For many years now, people have questioned the meaning and legacy of the Columbus Day and Thanksgiving holidays. For me, the debate has been valid. The challenge, however, has been preserving the good part of my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving — the watching of the Macy’s parade, the gathering […]
- Torn jeans, tattoos and parental tabooson October 4, 2021
Growing up, I chafed under three parental fashion edicts — no tattoos, no pierced ears and no jeans with frayed edges or holes. It wasn’t, I admit, as stringent as living under the Taliban, but as a teenager, it seemed harsh, unjust and unreasonable. Not quite grounds for running away from […]
- 5782 is coming, but too much new is making me blueon September 1, 2021
A new city for my husband and me. A new job for one of my children. A new year soon to begin for us all. Still, “new” is not how I feel. Adrift. Unmoored. Those are words to describe me right now. Instead of downsizing, my husband and I recently purchased a bigger house in The post 5782 is […]
- Eastward Ho! My state of mind as I leave the Bay Areaon August 12, 2021
We’re moving after eight years. My husband is excited. He should be. The move to Reno is his idea. A return to his childhood home state, something he’s been longing to do for many years. I, on the other hand, am not excited. It’s a relatively small town. I’m a big-city girl. So I view The […]
- My Saturdays with Betty, Barbie and Mighty Mouseon July 14, 2021
Growing up, I watched Betty Boop and Mighty Mouse cartoons every Saturday morning. Then I played with my Barbie dolls all afternoon. And for a break, I read and reread my ever-growing stack of Superman comic books. Weekday afternoons, I watched Shari Lewis and her puppet creation, Lamb Chop, on TV. […]
- My face has gone to the dogson June 17, 2021
When I was a child, my Uncle George would grab my cheeks so hard I thought he’d lift me off the ground. “Such a shayna punim” he’d exclaim with joy. “Yes!” my parents would reply with equal joy. At 6, I hated Uncle George and I hated my parents. Now, at 67, I hate my The post My face […]