Matzah, matzo, or maẓẓah (Hebrew: מַצָּה, romanized: maṣṣā, pl.: matzot or Ashk. matzos) is an unleavened flatbread that is part of Jewish cuisine and forms an integral element of the Passover festival, during which chametz (leaven and five grains that, per Jewish law, are self-leavening) is forbidden.

As the Torah recounts, God commanded the Israelites (modernly, Jews and Samaritans) to eat only unleavened bread during the seven-day Passover festival. Matzah can be either soft like a pita or crispy. Only the crispy variety is produced commercially because soft matzah has a very short shelf life. Matzah meal is crispy matzah that has been ground to a flour-like consistency. Matzah meal is used to make matzah balls (kneidles/kneidlach), the principal ingredient of matzah ball soup (kneidlach soup). Sephardic Jews typically cook with matzah itself rather than matzah meal. (Full article...)

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• ...that according to the Gospel of Mark, Jesus was buried in one of the rock-cut tombs in ancient Israel (pictured)?
• ...that the Pactum Warmundi established autonomous Venetian communes within the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem?
• ...that the Israeli documentary Paper Dolls followed the lives of five health care providers from the Philippines who perform as drag queens?

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The Aqsa Mosque (Arabic: جامع الأقصى, romanized: Jāmiʿ al-Aqṣā, lit. 'congregational mosque of Al-Aqsa'), also known as the Qibli Mosque or Qibli Chapel (Arabic: المصلى القبلي, romanized: al-muṣallā al-qiblī, lit. 'prayer hall of the qibla (south)'), is the main congregational mosque or prayer hall in the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem. In some sources the building is also named al-Masjid al-Aqṣā, but this name primarily applies to the whole compound in which the building sits, which is itself also known as "Al-Aqsa Mosque". The wider compound is known as Al-Aqsa or Al-Aqsa mosque compound, also known as al-Ḥaram al-Sharīf (Arabic: الحرم الشريف, lit. 'The Noble Sanctuary').

During the rule of the Rashidun caliph Umar (r. 634–644) or the Umayyad caliph Mu'awiya I (r. 661–680), a small prayer house on the compound was erected near the mosque's site. The present-day mosque, located on the south wall of the compound, was originally built by the fifth Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik (r. 685–705) or his successor al-Walid I (r. 705–715) (or both) as a congregational mosque on the same axis as the Dome of the Rock, a commemorative Islamic monument. After being destroyed in an earthquake in 746, the mosque was rebuilt in 758 by the Abbasid caliph al-Mansur. It was further expanded upon in 780 by the Abbasid caliph al-Mahdi, after which it consisted of fifteen aisles and a central dome. However, it was again destroyed during the 1033 Jordan Rift Valley earthquake. The mosque was rebuilt by the Fatimid caliph al-Zahir (r. 1021–1036), who reduced it to seven aisles but adorned its interior with an elaborate central archway covered in vegetal mosaics; the current structure preserves the 11th-century outline. (Full article...)

Charoset, haroset, or charoises (Hebrew: חֲרֽוֹסֶת‎, kharóset) is a sweet, dark-colored paste made of fruits and nuts eaten at the Passover Seder. According to the Talmud its color and texture are meant to recall mortar (or mud used to make adobe bricks) which the Israelites used when they were enslaved in Ancient Egypt as mentioned in Tractate Pesahim (page 116a) of the Talmud. The word charoset comes from the Hebrew word cheres (חרס, 'clay')".

Charoset is one of the symbolic foods on the Passover Seder Plate. After reciting the blessings, and eating first maror dipped in charoset and then a matzah "Hillel sandwich" (with two matzot) combining charoset and maror, people often eat the remainder spread on matzah. (Full article...)