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Tag: Kosher
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First Person: Rivky and Gabi were truly special people
Before I entered the Chabad house in Mumbai, I thought, "What kind of people would leave a comfortable and secure life in a religious community to live in the middle of Mumbai; a dirty, difficult, crowded city?" As I got to know Rivky and Gabi over the course of this past summer, I understood that G-d creates some truly special people willing to devote their lives to bettering the world.
Kosherfest 2008 is heaven on earth for foodies
Each year Kosherfest organizers hold a competition for the best new kosher-certified products. This year, Zelda's Sweet Shoppe of Skokie, Ill., took top honors with a "Southern Pecan Pie."
D I Y
There are good things we can only achieve together -- if we can first come together. It's not clear how we do this when 10 friends, some cash and a Web site are enough to create a Jewish world unto themselves.
Agriprocessors closed—now where’s the beef?
The kosher meat market is in a tailspin as production at the Agriprocessors' meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa, which had been operating at a fraction of its normal capacity since May, finally ground to a halt this week. The company, whose meat was sold under the labels Rubashkin's and Aaron's Best, among others, filed for bankruptcy Nov. 4.
Troubles at meat plants prompt increased fear of kosher beef shortages
With the kosher meat producer Agriprocessors facing mounting financial problems, and a fire-related shutdown at another major kosher producer, industry insiders say major supply disruptions are inevitable and kosher consumers should brace themselves for some rough times
Rubashkin son arrested, Agriprocessors fined $10 million in kosher slaughterhouse probe
Sholom Rubashkin. son of Agriprocessors founder Aaron Rubashkin, was arrested by immigration officials and was due to appear in federal court today.
VideoJew’s VideoGuide to L.A. #3—Jewish Los Angeles
Dining, shopping, living, praying -- VideoJew Jay Firestone shows you how it's done Los Angeles-style.
L.A. Orthodox rabbis want business ethics to be kosher, too
Seeking to accentuate Jewish traditions that place a premium on ethical integrity, Los Angeles Orthodox rabbis are encouraging local businesses to sign up for a new seal of certification that ensures employers are treating workers fairly and humanely
Is a kosher diet eco-friendly?
Agriprocessors names new CEO
The hiring of Bernard Feldman of Long Island as the kosher meat producer's new chief executive keeps the company in the good graces of the Orthodox Union, which said last week it would withdraw its kosher supervision if new management wasn't hired within two weeks.
Sarah Palin kosher sausage?
PETA hidden camera exposé costs Agriprocessors support of key expert [VIDEO]
Animal welfare expert Temple Grandin accused kosher slaughterer Agriprocessors of putting on a "show" for visitors
Iowa files 9000 charges against Agriprocessors, OU threatens to remove Kosher cert
Following the filing of criminal charges against owners of the kosher meat producer Agriprocessors, the Orthodox Union says it will withdraw its kosher certification of the company within two weeks unless new management is hired.
PETA says Agriprocessors misled rabbis about slaughter procedures [VIDEO]
An undercover video shot at the Agriprocessors kosher meat plant is prompting new claims that the company engages in inhumane slaughter and misled Orthodox rabbis who visited the plant in July.
Delivery chef unable to savor his culinary success
Schwartz wanted to cook from the time he was a teenager. His rabbi father and rebbetzin mother would host 50 people for dinner each Friday night, and Schwartz says he would spend Thursdays and Fridays after school cooking with his mother. "I knew by 14 years old that I wanted to go to culinary school," he said
Agriprocessors rebukes Obama, Israel sends flood aid to Ukraine
Nathan Lewin, who is representing the largest kosher meat producer in the United States, in a statement released early Tuesday wondered whether Barack Obama had weighed the evidence in the case or considered the company's repeated denials.
Eating Bambi, Zell again, Bergson, broken heart
" . . . Isn't it time that every Jewish child take at least one course in Herzl? If he isn't the modern father of the Jewish People, who is? For without Herzl's many contributions, the Holocaust would have excluded any chance of a Jewish state in Israel . . ."
Report from Beijing: Security, it’s not just for airports anymore
Security checks are no longer just for airports in Beijing
'Bitachon' on his jacket (in Hebrew) means 'security'
Eating Bambi (recipe included)
Most of the anti-Semitic mail I get these days doesn't concern Israel, Hollywood or even the threat of a nuclear war in the Middle East -- it's about meat.
Iowa Labor Commissioner prosecutes Agriprocessors on 57 counts
The Iowa Labor Commissioner's Office has sent dozens of alleged violations against Agriprocessors to the state attorney general for prosecution
Agriprocessors tries to clean up its act
Nearly three months after a federal raid and six weeks before the busy High Holidays season, a tour of Agriprocessors shows the company is attracting new workers and trying to clean up its act
Orthodox rabbis: Agriprocessors Iowa kosher plant passes muster
A group of Orthodox rabbis gave Agriprocessors a clean bill of health after a visit sponsored by the owners of the embattled kosher meat-packing plant
Conservatives release guidelines for ethical kashrut certification
The Conservative movement released a policy statement and guidelines for its much-anticipated ethical kashrut certification, outlining the social justice standards companies are expected to meet if their foodstuffs are to qualify for the designation
Key dates in recent Chinese Jewish history
From the opening of the first synagogue in Shanghai to the start of diplomatic relations between Israel and China, some key dates in Chinese Jewish history.
Your guide to Jewish Beijing
Beijing has had an organized Jewish community since the late 1970s, the city's congregations cooperate well and Jews coming for the Olympics will find plenty of choices for davening.
Can Jews chomp alligator gar?
Hot pot dinner bonds two very different ‘believers’ in China
Hot pot meals are popular in China and a double problem for kosher vegetarians.
Jews in China roll out red carpet for Olympics [VIDEOS]
Gold medalists won't be the only ones climbing podiums in Beijing once the 2008 Olympic Games are under way. Isaac Shapiro of Highland Park, Ill. will be stepping up to celebrate his bar mitzvah
Briefs: Syria and Israel talking again, Israeli colleges want Palestinian students
Agriprocessors raid slammed at Congressional hearings
Witnesses at recent congressional hearings described the federal immigration raid on the country's largest kosher plant as a travesty of justice, a national disgrace and an ambush
Demonstrators march in Iowa to support Agriprocessors workers
More than 900 people, mainly Jews and Catholics, called for immigration reform Sunday and urged support for the nearly 400 undocumented workers arrested in the immigration raid two months ago at Agriprocessors, the nation’s largest kosher meat plant
Agriprocessors raid fallout continues: Jewish liberals plan rally in Postville
An interfaith coalition -- organized by a Jewish group -- is planning to demonstrate next week in Postville, Iowa, in support of justice for workers and comprehensive immigration reform.
Do Messianic Jewish prisoners deserve kosher meals?
New kosher cooking school steps up to the plate—and that’s not chopped liver!
Last week, the Center for Kosher Culinary Arts opened in the heavily Jewish neighborhood of Flatbush. The $4,500, six-week intensive course, run in cooperation with the continuing education department of Kingsborough Community College, is the only professional kosher cooking school in North America.
VIDEO: Feed Me, Bubbe! Lukshen Kugel—Noodle Pudding
In this episode of 'Feed Me, Bubbe,' shares her way to make Lukshen Kugel -- Noodle Pudding.
Agriprocessors takes aim at government, gets boost as group drops boycott
An Orthodox social justice group dropped its boycott of the embattled kosher meat producer Agriprocessors, saying the company is "beginning to take significant steps" to address claims of worker mistreatment at its plant in Postville, Iowa.
Agriprocessors turns to homeless for help
In an effort to restore lagging production at its Postville, Iowa plant, the country's largest kosher meat producer has been hiring workers from homeless shelters in Texas to replace employees detained in a massive federal immigration raid last month.
Breaking news: Giraffe milk is kosher, Israeli rabbis say
After raid, kosher meat in short supply
This week, the production slow-down at the Agriprocessors plant in Postville, Iowa, finally hit the nation's kosher markets and, by extension, kosher consumers
Rubashkin: It’s all a lie
Speaking out for the first time, the owner of Agriprocessors was visibly angered by the flood of charges that have imperiled his business, the country's largest kosher slaughterhouse
Conservatives adopt ruling on living wage
Just days after the Conservative movement became the only Jewish denomination to speak out against alleged worker abuse at the largest kosher slaughterhouse in the United States, the movement's legal authorities voted to recommend that Jewish businesses pay their employees a living wage.
Kosher slaughterhouse in Iowa dumps CEO
Mounting pressure from Jewish groups and members of Congress has led the largest kosher slaughterhouse in the United States to start searching for a new CEO less than two weeks after federal agents arrested nearly 400 of its employees in a massive immigration raid
Former workers speak out as Agriprocessors scrambles to keep plant open
As the country's largest kosher slaughterhouse scrambles to stay open after a federal raid, former workers at the plant -- many of them still fearful of retribution from government authorities -- have begun to tell their stories, revealing new details of conditions there.
Agents in the May 12 raid at the Agriprocessors plant in this small northeastern Iowa town arrested 389 illegal workers, among them 18 juveniles.
In recent days, former employees have been painting a picture of a company indifferent to federal laws prohibiting slaughterhouses from employing workers younger than 18 and where workers frequently were pressured to exchange sexual favors for preferred treatment.
Meat packing raid stirs larger ethical and economic concerns
Agriprocessor raid's effects ripple across the community
Briefs: Drug and immigration bust at kosher meat plant, Israel says no Hamas truce without Schalit
Briefs
VideoJew discovers kosher water
VideoJew tries kosher water -- Mizmor -- fresh from the riparian office buildings of Pico-Robertson
Table for none?
They open, they close -- will this latest entry in the kosher restaurant wars survive a year?
When challah becomes the bread of affliction
Rabbi Marvin Hier fondly recalls bakery-fresh buns and muffins in his lunch when he attended yeshiva. He also admits to a penchant for challah.
Hier hasn't eaten challah, let alone matzah, in several years. But this bread-free existence isn't part of some Passover-inspired, Atkins-style diet. The founder and dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center was diagnosed with celiac disease (CD) more than four years ago.
Table for none?
In December 2006, the Prime Grill, a branch of the popular New York kosher steakhouse, opened its doors in Beverly Hills promising a new experience in kosher dining. But little more than a year after it opened, rumors spread that the luxurious restaurant on Rodeo Drive was about to close.
L.A. Jewish girl joins the African Jewish matzah dance
My Pesach preparation, like that of so many Americans, usually involves walking to my local supermarket and loading a cart full of Manischewitz products...
On the third night, the seder went green
Passover is also called the "Holiday of Spring," a time when green symbolizes new life. The color also represents all things eco-friendly, which serves as the inspiration for this year's Workmen's Circle community seder.
Chef Akasha adds fresh twist to holiday traditions
Akasha Richmond, a self-trained chef and artisan-style baker who has been catering events in the Los Angeles area for the past 20 years, shares some Passover recipes.
$145 billion in government cheese—the good news and the bad
Briefs: 100th birthday for Workmen’s Circle; ‘Kosher’ is numero uno
100th birthday for Workmen's Circle; 'Kosher' is numero uno; Billionaire Leviev Leaving Israel; Israeli Airport Profiling Reviewed; Nazi HQ to be Learning Center
Eco-kashrut supporters turn attention to kosher meat
On Thanksgiving, New Yorker Linda Lantos didn't have to compromise her Jewish or ecological values: She served free-range, organic, nongenetically engineered turkey that was also kosher.
"In the last few years, it's become important to me to find meat that's organic and kosher, and that's hard," said the 27-year-old chef and nutrition teacher, who has kept kosher since childhood.
They hate us for our freedom—and Christmas and Chanukah soft drinks, too!
How kosher is your GPS device?
UCLA dining halls open doors to kosher meals
Getting by on prepackaged kosher sandwiches or salads is now a thing of the past for Jewish students at UCLA. For the first time, UCLA is offering hot kosher dinners Mondays through Thursdays as part of the meal plan for dorm residents. Apart from the plan, students can buy lunches and receive free dinner on Friday nights at UCLA Hillel's The Shack (Students Hungry and Craving Kosher).
Subway takes a ride through kashrut
The West Coast's first kosher Subway -- truly the best thing to happen to this religion since payos -- recently opened on Pico Boulevard, right in the heart of "the hood." And with a fleishig (meat) menu, halacha has never tasted so good.
Briefs: Kosher grasshoppers and eco-Torah
Briefs
When in Rome, eat kosher like the Romans
Shops selling kosher products say the increased demand is coming mainly from Jews. But restaurateurs say at least half their customers are non-Jews who want to sample classic Roman Jewish cooking, which many consider to be the most sophisticated of traditional Roman cuisines.
Israelis develop a taste for goats’ and sheep’s milk cheeses
As Israel becomes sophisticated gastronomically, consumers are favoring goat's and sheep's milk cheeses over cow's milk varieties. Unlike their bovine counterparts, most goats and sheep are free to roam and graze, antibiotics aren't usually a part of their diet, the cheese and milk contain less lactose and the taste is unmistakably distinct.
The best of the kosher bubblies
Appeals to the middle class as well as the aristocracy helped Champagne become a mainstay of toasting at almost any occasion, from launching ships to celebrating a marriage. And with the June wedding season upon us, there is little time to waste in selecting the perfect bottle of bubbly to toast your nuptials.
Is Pot Kosher for Pesach?
The Green Leaf Party, a small Israeli political party that supports legalizing pot, announced March 27 that marijuana might not be kosher for Passover.
Confessions of a kosher wine snob
Passover is finally here and while the family is wrangling over who will play host and who's invited, I'm wrangling with which wines to serve.
Get your juices flowing with fruit-infused foods
Shutting Jewish mouths; A civil tone of voice
Letters to the Editor
Everybody’s kosher surfin’, surfin’ USA
"When you're out in the water, when you see the sunrise or sunset, and when you see how small you are in comparison to the massive water, and the current and waves, it humbles you," Shoshtain said. "Everything in nature connects you to spirituality, if it's done properly."
L.A.‘s gourmet kosher makeover
Welcome to Southern California's new world of Gourmet Kosher. As America has fallen in love with food over the last decade, the kosher world has not been too far behind.
Just breathe: Herzog legacy lives on with new wines
Herzog is just one of many kosher labels around the world that hope to change the image of kosher wine. It's a two-pronged battle: The first is to change the perception of kosher wines in the mainstream world; the second is to change the kosher wine drinker's palate to appreciate finer wines.
Washington, D. C.: Progress on both sides of the aisle
Sixty years after Roosevelt, thanks to hard work and commitment by generations of American Jews, Betsy and I stood next to a mashgiach in the White House kitchen during a time in America when nearly all politicians of import have a profound respect for the role American Jews play in our society.
Moral Diet
The holidays are over, and I'm full.I spent a week with family in Manhattan, eating.And when I wasn't eating, I was reading a landmark book -- about food.
New U.N. chief puts priority on Israeli-Palestinian peace
World News Briefs
frdy nt efis
Rabbi Effie's specialty is dealing with teenagers. On this night, a happy group of teens is buzzing throughout his modest but welcoming home, and they are filling its many "play areas."
Growing taste for kosher boils in U.S. melting pot
Kosher has come a long way from designating merely a set of obscure dietary restrictions that are strictly observed by only a minuscule fraction of the world's population. According to a 2005 Mintel Organization International report, Kosher is a $14.6 billion industry and ranks among the fastest-growing segments in the retail food business.
Kashrut: The things we do for love
I have been passionate about Jewish education for two decades: When I worked in the public and private secular worlds of elementary education, I found myself searching for a more meaningful path to follow. I wanted to be able to talk to kids not only about being the best student they could be, but also about becoming the best people they could become.
Billboard mystery ends with interfaith twist
The mysterious billboards went up across the Los Angeles area just after the High Holidays. Each used a variation on the same theme, juxtaposing illustrations: Latkes or fries? Bagels and lox or sushi? Yarmulke or cap?
B’nai Mitzvah: Exactly how kosher was Christy’s bat mitzvah?
Christy's bat mitzvah was a monumental event for her entire family. The synagogue was full, featuring out-of-towners from New York, San Francisco and Raleigh, N.C. It was the first time that many of them had been in a synagogue.I spend countless hours preparing for these days with students and their parents.
It’s Pat—South African queen of kosher cuisine
Although had she expressed a desire to become a professional cook, Fine is convinced that her mother "would have freaked." Cooking was thought of as "such an ordinary job, one that simply wasn't OK for nice Jewish girls," Fine said.
Brachas vs. bluegrass: moms make the switch
The Season premiere of FOX's "Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy." The very intriguing but highly unlikely pairing of a Shomer Shabbos Jewish family from Brookline, Mass. (near Boston), and a coon-huntin' family from Olympia, Ky.
Arrested development: Young Jewish activists voluntarily go to jail in support of union rights
Sarah Leiber Church and Laura Podolsky were part of a protest march that took place along Century Boulevard near Los Angeles International Airport aimed at hotels that allegedly have been preventing employees from unionizing.
Feathers fly as fugitive fowl frustrates Pico-Robertson
The case of the fugitive chicken.
Meat meets lemon—brisket gone wild!
Brisket with Fennel and Olives; preserved lemons; Stuffed Nectarines a la Chez Panisse.
Live in the hood: ‘last time the shoulder no good’
If you want to get the full flavor of the Pico-Robertson neighborhood, there's no better season than this time of year.
How sweet it is: behind the buzz at two of California’s hives
The complicated process that bees go through to make honey and the complex operation that people go through to get that honey to the table.
Sinai Dinner Prompts Revamp of Biblical Proportions
Although Irwin S. Field couldn't reserve the International Ballroom at the Beverly Hilton more than a year in advance, he wanted to make sure that his favorite Israeli chef would be available.
Cozy Kosher Surf Shack—Observant Oasis in the ‘Bu
Situated a quick jaywalk across Pacific Coast Highway from Surfrider Beach and the Malibu Pier, Malibu Beach Grill is a kosher oasis in a town renowned for breathtaking seaside vistas, A-list celebrity sightings and new-age crunchiness.
Nourish Your Soul With a Helping of Jewish Learning
Many Reform Jews express their connection with the divine through social action and tikkun olam, fixing God's world. While all of these are also part of my own life as a Jew, it is study that nourishes my rationalist-traditionalist soul and links me to another realm.
Cozy Kosher Surf Shack: An Observant Oasis in the ‘Bu
Joyce Brooks Bogartz's look isn't quite what you'd expect from the owner of a kosher restaurant. Adorned with brown-and-cream dreadlocks, the nearly 50-year-old proprietor of Malibu Beach Grill would at first glance seem to fit in better with customers sporting board shorts than black hats. But this post-punk Gidget is the kind of 'Bu Jew who is as comfortable around Chabadniks as she is with surfers.
Letters to the Editor
Letters to the Editor.
Carvel Ice Cream Sprinkling More Outlets in Southland
After a downswing in recent years, East Coast icon Carvel ice cream, the first in the ice cream industry to develop a full line of all-kosher products, is expanding in the West, with stores in Thousand Oaks, Los Angeles, Granada Hills and Santa Clarita, with more planned from Simi Valley to Orange County.
Letters, we get letters! And email!
Letters to the editor: Jewish Converts' Hardships; Kosher Meat; Response to Rob Eshman on The Terrorist Finance Tracking Program; Response to '20+ Ideas to Jump-Start Jewish L.A.'
The Ultimate Enigma
There is logic to honoring one's parents. There is a rationale for not stealing or murdering. But for purification in a ruddy, bovine shower, why would God ask such a thing of us?
I'll be honest with you. I don't know. But neither did King Solomon, the wisest of men. It seems that this is part of the definition of a chok, that its raison d'etre remains a mystery.
Nation World Briefs
Briefs
Letters 06-30-2006
Letters
20+ Ideas to Jump-Start Jewish L.A.
Jewish Journal of Los Angeles 20th Anniversary
Briefs
Briefs
Letters
Letters
Letters 06-16-2006
Letters to the Editor
But Is It Kosher?
It surprised me that a company well-known for its concern for animal well-being and food safety would deem anything kosher treif, or unfit. Long before Whole Foods was even a glimmer in the eye of the Prius-tocracy, hadn't we Jews been telling ourselves and others that we were practicing humane slaughter and thoughtful animal husbandry -- embodied in the very laws of kashrut? What did Whole Foods know that I didn't?
7 Days in The Arts
7 Days in the Arts
Mellow Israel Fest Draws 42,000
Maybe it was the relatively cool weather on Sunday. Or maybe it was the stepped-up participation
Letters
The article in this week's Journal about Poland and the March of the Living was accurate, on target and, quite frankly, overdue ("March of the Living Dead?" April 21). For quite some time now I have been troubled by the misguided attempts of some in the Jewish community to exploit our people's tragedy for the purpose of giving young Jews a renewed sense of identity.
The Circuit
Circuit events news.
Keep Kosher, Cool on Alaska Cruise
Witnessing glaciers calving into crystal blue waters, humpback whales fluking their magnificent tails and clouds weaving cottony billows around the tips of waterfront spruce forests are all in a day's work for the average Alaskan cruise-goer.
Video Takes Bite Out of Kosher Slaughter
Jonathan Safran Foer, author of the best-selling novel, "Everything Is Illuminated" (Houghton Mifflin, 2002) and last year's "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" (Houghton Mifflin) released a video earlier this month in which he argues that the slaughtering practices employed by modern factory farms are out of step with the spirit of the kosher laws. The film ultimately calls upon viewers to consider vegetarianism.
Shopping for Jews? Clean Up on Aisle 5
Margie Pomerantz and her fellow volunteers from Congregation Beth David, a nearby Conservative synagogue, were out looking for Jews. In a supermarket. Unaffiliated Jews, if possible, but they weren't being picky.
The Ultimate Taste Test
While this was the third year for Kosher World, it was the first time the show joined with the ethnic and halal markets, under the umbrella of the World Ethnic Market.
PASSOVER: Yemenite Flavor at the Seder
Yemenite Jews in Israel live longer and healthier lives than other Israelis. Over the years, many researchers have attributed the Yemenite's good health to the simplicity of their cooking and their use of herbs and spices. Fenugreek, for example, a staple spice in our kitchens, has shown promise in research to treat diabetes and high cholesterol.
PASSOVER: Prague’s Matzah Metamorphosis
An anonymous source breathes heavily on the other end of the receiver, softly intoning that the only way to get the goods is from an inside contact. Through friends, I discretely discover my intermediary, who leads me through several dark corridors for an encounter with an angry man.
Passover Fest Offers Many Paths to Fun
It is not only illegal immigrants for whom the Passover tale holds appeal. The story of the Exodus can be easily updated for any of the numerous people in the Third World seeking freedom from oppression.
Stumped by Pesach Meals? Hit the ‘List’
While the focus of the list is Jewish food, perusing its offerings is like enjoying the old commercial for Levy's Rye Bread: You don't have to be Jewish to love it. Nor do you have to be Jewish to join in.
Wines to Test the Palate, Pocketbook
Kosher wine has got a bad reputation, some of which is justly deserved. Along with rabbinical supervision of the winemaking process, strict rules about cleaning barrels, the prohibition of animal products and other laws regarding viniculture, wine was actually boiled (mevushal) as part of the traditional koshering process.
Letters
The funniest part of your recent Purim issue was the article on Rabbi Aron Tendler's departure from Shaarey Zedek Congregation ("Tendler Resigns Under Cloud," March 10). In lieu of any substance, it was filled with rumors and speculation -- a hilarious send-up of real journalism!
Then Came the Boyfriend
With Passover around the corner, singletons everywhere are faced with a tough choice. Do you bring the person you're dating to the family seder? Or do you simply wish him or her a "chag sameach" and go off to your separate family celebrations. At the beginning of relationships we all face the issue of the timeline: How soon is too soon for the inevitable family Shabbat dinner invitation? After you become an official couple does that mean that your significant other is now automatically invited to all family events?
Travel Briefs
Hot on the heels of Mardi Gras, a recovering Big Easy will soon play host to the inaugural New Orleans International Jewish Music Festival. The two-day gathering on April 1-2 will celebrate the rebuilding of Jewish New Orleans following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.
Jewlicious Conspiracy
Parents don't understand why 300 young Jews packed the Long Beach Alpert JCC for the Jewlicious sequel on Feb. 17. We came for food and song, complete with banging on the tables and exuberant dancing wherever there was room. At the Sunday night concert, "Jewbilation," you could see the look of shock on the older generation's faces as we jammed to Hebrew heavy-metal songs by the Maccabees. This was not your mom's "Oseh Shalom."
I Love You, Carnivore
My act of civil disobedience -- refusing to consume the flesh of once-living, breathing animals -- has virtually no effect, perhaps none whatsoever. Agribusiness decides far in advance how many cows to raise and then slaughter without regard to my individual case.
Spice Up Pesach at Ixtapa Club Med
Kayaking, catamarans and savory kabobs are all on the menu at the kosher Club Med program in Ixtapa, Mexico. The weather is warm, the sunsets are spectacular and the meals are to "live for."
Letters
Letters to the Editor
A Letter
To: My vegetarian husband
From: His guilt-ridden wife, who keeps falling off the vegetable cart
Campus Outreach Connects Orthodox
"The primary purpose is to serve the needs of the Orthodox population," says Rabbi Ilan Haber, the program's national director, who works out of Hillel headquarters in Washington. "It's not an outreach program, it's an in-reach to Orthodox students."
Rabbi Ending Long Hitch in Military
Lapp was 9 when his family arrived in the United States. He went on to study political science and religious education at Yeshiva University and was ordained at the Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary in 1957. He studied chaplaincy at the Command and General Staff College at Ft. Leavenworth, Kan., and the Army War College in Carlisle, Pa.
‘Design’-ing Woman Comes to Town
"Susie Fishbein has done for Jewish cooking what [rabbi and author] Aryeh Kaplan did for beginning Judaism," said Rabbi Shimon Kraft of the 613 Mitzvah Store on Pico Boulevard. "They're buying her cookbooks en masse. She's a genius at editing and putting everything all together."
‘Kitchen’ Lets Kid Chefs Cook Up Fun
In "Kids in the Kitchen," best-selling author Fishbein has translated into kids lingo her formula for great cook books: interesting recipes that tweak the traditional, with points for presentation and originality. The full-color photos and cutesy thematics in this book are as bright as her others (her "Kosher by Design Entertains" is known universally as "The Pink Book"), with a few more smiley faces.
Oxnard Kosher Dining Is a Sur Thing
Oxnard's population is more than 70 percent Latino, which could explain why Tierra Sur, the finest new kosher restaurant on this coast (or almost any other), has decided to open with a decidedly Mediterranean-Spanish flavor, with a large dose of Tuscany thrown in for good measure.
A Blog World After All
Last year, the Pew Internet and American Life Project estimated that 8 million American adults had created blogs. Although the number of specifically Jewish blogs is unconfirmed, those with knowledge of the blogosphere say the pool is substantial. Jewish blogs, or Web diaries, run the gamut from kosher cooking to Israeli advocacy. They include leftist rants, dating melodramas, rabbinic ruminations and secular musings from all corners of the globe.
Kosher Gospel—a Joyful Noise at Shul
And the fact that Jewish and Christian themes and theology overlap, especially in the black church -- the story of Moses and the divinely aided deliverance of his people from slavery comes to mind -- makes Nelson resonate that much more. All of which is fine by him.
O.C. Gives Kids New Place to Bunk
After 15 years of summer day camps, Orange County families finally have a resident camp option of their very own. The Merage Jewish Community Center in Irvine is in the process of signing up campers, ages 7 to 16, to fill 110 spaces available for Camp Yofi, a sleep-away camp at Angelus Oaks in the San Bernardino Mountains.
The Baby Food for Grown-ups
Along with the wave of ergonomically correct strollers and SAT flashcards for the 5-month-old comes Homemade Baby.
Community Briefs
Rabbi David Wolpe has removed himself from consideration for the job of leading the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) in New York. Wolpe, of Sinai Temple in Westwood, had been widely considered a front-runner for chancellor at JTS, the central institution in Conservative Judaism.
A Rehearsal Menu to Tickle Your Nose
Since today's weddings are rife with new traditions, why not serve your guests a rehearsal dinner menu infused with Champagne?
Nation & World Briefs
Israel and the Vatican reportedly are close to an agreement on church properties in the Holy Land.
Build Family Meals Into Sukkah Plans
For New York chef and restaurateur Jeffrey Nathan, Sukkot is a time to practice what he preaches in his new book, "Jeff Nathan's Family Suppers: More Than 125 Simple Kosher Recipes."
Pantry Gets a New Home to Help Hungry
SOVA's clients include the elderly, low-wage earners, the recently or long-time unemployed, and those suffering from serious illness or coping with physical or mental disabilities. SOVA provides them and their family members with a monthly allotment of healthy foods -- including fruits, vegetables and high protein items -- that last about four days, with more available for those who are homeless or in crisis.
Getting Out Before Katrina Still Painful
It's hard for Gideon Daneshrad to imagine himself on the receiving end of tzedakah (charitable giving). In the 30 years since he arrived from Iran to study computer science at North Louisiana University in Monroe, Daneshrad, 56, has built himself a full life -- with four children, a lakefront home and New Orleans' only kosher restaurant.
"Just close your eyes and imagine that you wake up in the morning and you are stripped of your identity," Daneshrad says. "You are nobody. You are nothing. You have no money coming in. You don't have clothes. You don't have food. And all the people you knew are scattered around the world."
Daneshrad and his family have been in Los Angeles for more than a week, and he still finds himself imagining this is all a nightmare.
Fundraiser to Benefit Storm Victims
Fundraiser for victims of Hurricane Katrina
Rough It in Style at El Capitan Canyon
As a city woman whose family is unaccustomed to "roughing it," I planned our family vacation to involve a lot of nature but no sleeping on hard ground. That's what made El Capitan Canyon in Santa Barbara the perfect place for us: It's camping for people who like staying in Hiltons.
A two-hour drive north of Los Angeles, El Capitan Canyon is a former private campground that was transformed five years ago into a plush nature resort on 65 acres heavily populated with oak and sycamore trees. It allows guests to savor a rustic environment, but with down duvets and gourmet coffee for the coffeemaker.
The Silver-Haired Bar Mitzvah Boy
My husband was called to the Torah as a bar mitzvah in 2001, more or less on the sixth anniversary of his conversion to Judaism. People started asking Spencer when he was going to have a bar mitzvah when his hair was barely dry from the mikvah.
Kosher Stylin’
I have plenty of friends who keep more strictly kosher than I do, but even some of them make exceptions -- like bouillabaisse in France or lobster in Maine. I deviate when I'm the guest in someone's home, and the options are slim -- my rationale being that it's better to not shame a host than to stick to my half-baked rules.
New ‘Design’ Adds Flair to the Holidays
With flavorful and fun recipes that use ingredients and combinations far from what used to be considered traditional Jewish cooking — think Juniper Berry and Peppercorn Crusted Skirt Steak with Spiced Onions — this book can add flare to a tired repertoire for both connoisseurs and amateurs.
Prices Too Low to Be Kosher
It happens every year, said Daryl Schwarz -- who opened this 100 percent-kosher market in 1989 -- only lately it's been getting worse. Large supermarket and discount chains are able to undersell kosher specialty markets on the very products that, traditionally, have been the Jewish stores' lifeblood.
Wild Ride With Wildlife in Miami
Stretching along the popular beachfront area of Miami, approximately 650,000 Jewish residents support more than 100 synagogues, several Jewish community centers and abundant kosher restaurants, including authentic Thai food. The South Florida city even employs a full-time kashrut supervision department.
Let My People Merlot
In the beginning, there was sweet wine. Really, really sweet wine. But as the kosher market broadened, a trickle of new wines targeted to a more sophisticated audience began to raise expectations among Jewish wine lovers.
Blintzes, Cupcakes and Pasta—Oh My!
Back in the day, Passover meant meat, matzah and potatoes for eight days of the Passover.
Latin America Aims for Northern Palates
Guarding the entrance to Bodegas Barberis, a family-owned winery in western Argentina, is a small ceramic statue of the Virgin Mary, known locally as the Virgen de la Carrodilla.
Recreate, Update Bubbe’s Specialties
The first time Tina Wasserman prepared gefilte fish for Passover, it smelled up her whole house. The fish was past its prime, but it wasn't spoiled, so "it didn't make my family sick," she said. But still, the experience was so horrifying that she didn't attempt to prepare gefilte fish again for many years. Since then, Wasserman, who is Reform Judaism Magazine's food columnist, has learned a thing or two about gefilte fish.
Rogov’s Puts Israel on Oenological Map
At a seder last year, the host put out a few bottles of Israeli wine.
Of Worms and Greatness
One often sees the world through the lenses of his or her own leanings. Our powerful intellects can serve to justify and spin most anything. Ultimate truth, goodness and our essential purpose can become casualties of our own bias. But what are we to do, how can we possibly escape our very humanity?
Pesach Trip Options Beyond the Ordinary
Passover travel once meant shlepping to Miami Beach, where great operatic tenors like Robert Merrill and Jan Peerce would conduct the seder at a fancy-schmancy hotel, or to the Catskills, which was more haimish but just as fattening.
But Passover travel options today have expanded to include experiences ranging from Disney World to the Caribbean to a dude ranch in Wyoming. And you can get some decent deals on Miami Beach, too.
Zucky’s Counter Culture
"Zucky's was designed by Weldon Fulton as a prime example of the Googie or California Coffee Shop Modern architectural genre," Biondo said. "In any remodeling, we want to preserve the main Zucky's signboard, exterior ceramic tiles and stonework, the diagonal treatment along Fifth Street, and the brick wall and window sills."
Yeladim
Yeladim
Catskills Memories
Rita Lakin's new musical, "Saturday Night at Grossinger's," fetes the businesswoman behind the food and the entertainment, Jennie Grossinger (1882-1972).
Junk Food Tours for Gift Basket Ideas
The world of kosher junk food tours seems heaven-sent for Purim. Some of America's old-time favorites and a few newer arrivals offer factory tours and visits to megastores where you can taste kosher goodies and learn how they're made.
East of Western— a Kosher Cornucopia
Kosher east of Western? Out here on the edge of the eruv that runs along Western Avenue (the pole-top strung boundary that allows traditional Jews to carry on Shabbat), I live with my family in an old area of Los Angeles a few miles west of downtown called Country Club Park.
It’s a Kosher World After All
Kosher. The word evokes pictures of kugel, kishka and caviar.
Briefs
Briefs
7 Days in the Arts
Fine-print dealers from across the country convene at LACMA this weekend for Los Angeles Print Fair 2005.
Fly the Mitzvah Skies
El Al, Israel's national airline, is the only airline that keeps kosher, observes Shabbat and even gives out doughnuts on Chanukah, but recently it has been doing other mitzvot as well.
Kosher Slaughtering Proves Humane
Any slaughterhouse, whether kosher or nonkosher, is by definition a disconcerting, blood-filled and gruesome place. Torah law, however, is most insistent about not inflicting needless pain on animals and in emphasizing humane treatment of all living creatures.
The Kindest Cut
Last week for Chanukah I wrote about latkes, this week, the brisket.
The Jewish State of Relaxation
At spas around the world, activity menus focus on the body, offering the likes of hiking, exercise, body treatments and tai chi. Occasionally, spirituality can be explored in a special class or workshop. Long before the spa frenzy began filling travel columns nationwide, Jews recognized the value of spas and retreats. But these oases focus on the mind and heart, with the purpose of refreshing one's spirituality and peace of mind.
Latkes Without End, Amen
Latkes are a simple form of potato preparation, as potato dishes go. But simplicity in cooking, as the food writer Richard Olney wrote, is a complex thing. I have had rubbery latkes, starchy latkes, undercooked latkes and latkes so greasy that two of them could run a diesel engine for a week.
It’s All About the Olive Oil
While some food writers automatically push the same old latke and brisket menu at Chanukah, Susie Fishbein offers a lighter touch by mixing in Mediterranean fare. And although she tweaks culinary tradition, she honors it. Fishbein believes in presenting beautiful food in unique ways.
Kosher Slaughter Controversy Erupts
It's not every day that people affiliated with a strident animal rights group talk turkey with those who oversee kosher slaughter.
But that's exactly what happened this week, when an unpaid adviser to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) discussed allegations of improper slaughtering practices at an Iowa kosher meat plant with the head of the Orthodox Union's kashrut division.
Create Festive Table in a Blue Mood
Following are pointers on livening up your Chanukah table from "Kosher by Design" by Susie Fishbein (Mesorah, 2003).
Give Thanksgiving a Jewish Flavor
"My sister-in-law stuffs Thanksgiving turkeys with a matzah ball mixture," says Faye Levy, food columnist and author of 14 cookbooks. "Instead of making patties and poaching them, she cooks this tasty mixture inside the turkey."
This never struck Levy as odd, because her mother used to make noodle pudding on Thanksgiving.
"Her Thanksgiving dinners were almost like Shabbat meals," she says.
One of Levy's all-time favorite dishes is Thanksgiving potato kugel with asparagus. "I first tried it at the home of a friend from Colorado," she says, explaining that it was his grandmother's recipe.
"In his family, that dish was the essence of Thanksgiving."
Flying Solo This Winter? Head South
The leaves have turned, the days are shorter and Chag Urim, the Holiday of Lights, glimmers ahead. In the meantime, if you're single or a student, and itching to plan a winter getaway, we've rounded up a pair of juicy possibilities.
Seattle—Kosher Mecca of Northwest
In the past, the dynamic and innovative Pacific Northwestern city of Seattle has been associated with Microsoft, Boeing, Starbucks, The Pike Street Market, The Space Needle and grunge bands like Pearl Jam and Nirvana.
Hungarian Baker Rises to Success
Since Meir Jacobs bought the J&T Bread Bin 34 years ago, the bakery hasn't changed much. Nestled in the center of the Farmers Market at Third and Fairfax, it retains its old-world charm -- the original glass showcases line the store's perimeter, and the original orange "Bread Bin" metal signs hang on both sides of the store. Handwritten yellow notes advertise the goods: chocolate danishes, raspberry hamantaschen, sprinkled cookies, lemon bars, macaroons and more.
It's the Hungarian treats that reveal the bakery's hidden history. The loaves of glazed cinnamon raisin bread, the apple squares and the three-flavored puff pastries called kalaches give meaning to Jacobs' words: "This is a very old-fashioned-style bakery."
An old-fashioned Hungarian bakery fashioned after its owner.
Not Your Grandma’s Honey Cake
Conventional wisdom on the subject maintains that if honey cakes are removed from the oven at exactly the right time --whatever that is -- the dreaded dryness will be avoided.
The Forbidden Food
Is Tomato Sauce a Vegetable?
"You shall not eat anything abhorrent," the Torah (Deuteronomy 14:3) tells us. And while the Torah is referring to camels, rabbits, badgers and pigs, I would today include foods that that are high in fat and sugar and low in nutritional value. Foods that have been injected with hormones and antibiotics or treated with pesticides. Foods with a shelf life longer than the average life span.
Kosher Condos Take Aim at Orthodox
Saadin, 42, is nearing completion on a 16-unit condominium project on Cashio Street that targets traditional Jews. The kosher condos, believed to be the largest and among the first such developments in the Southland, will each feature two dishwashers, two separate counters and two sinks to allow religious Jews to cook and clean dairy and meat products separately. The units will also have programmable timers to automatically turn lights off and on during Shabbat and a netila station -- a sink for ritual handwashing.
Pico’s Familiar Slice
The new Kosher Nostra is a tiny storefront on Pico Boulevard east of La Cienega Boulevard, just a block or two outside the beaten path of kosher establishments on Pico.
Friends Find Real Flavor of Europe
Like thousands of others college-age Americans, my three friends and I were backpacking through Europe. We came straight from our year of study at yeshivas in Israel, and our travels had one important difference: We were eating kosher.
Shunning of Wigs Exposes Media Flaw
The media had a grand time recently when tens of thousands of Jewish women stopped wearing their wigs out of concern that they might contain hair that had been offered to an idol. The more revealing story, though, lay not in the deep dedication to the Second Commandment but in the feeding frenzy of the Fourth Estate.