Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on September 29, 2022

Thursday 29 September 2022~1. The evolving condition of Christians in the Gulf2. The slow evolution of relations between Jews and the Vatican3. A mass in honor of Queen Elizabeth II organized in Rome4. Why trads seek to anchor the future of the Church in the past5. Church needs womens work but pays little attention to their voices~

While the Holy See has just officially announced Pope Francis trip to Bahrain, the Atlantic Treaty Association has published a study on the current situation of Christians in the Gulf, a region where many Christians from the Arab world have emigrated in recent years. Unlike many countries in the Middle East, the article explains, the peninsula seems like a safe haven. However, this does not mean that the region is a textbook case of ideal coexistence, especially on issues such as church building and freedom of worship. The history of the Christian presence in the Gulf dates back to the fourth century A.D. However, the birth and expansion of Islam in the seventh century A.D. hindered any further development of Christianity. In the early days of Islam, Christians in the Arabian Peninsula had only two choices: convert to Islam or leave. Despite this, the Church maintained an institutional presence in the region. Although there is no reliable demographic data on the size of the Christian communities in the area, it is believed that they constitute between 5% and 10% of the total population of the Gulf. Most of the Christians in the peninsula are part of a migrant population (especially from Asian countries), with the number of native Gulf Christians estimated to be no more than a few hundred (mainly in Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain). In Kuwait, there are an estimated 350,000 faithful, or 6% of the total population; in Oman, an estimated 2.5% of the population; in the United Arab Emirates, there are about 1,500,000 Christians (of which 20% are Catholics),out of a population of six million. In Qatar instead, 110,000 people out of a total population of 1,200,000 are Catholic. In Bahrain, 65,000 out of a population of 1 million are Catholic. This country is a historically significant place for Christianity in the Gulf: Bet Qatraye, the name of the ecclesiastical province that covered present-day Bahrain, was an important center of Nestorianism, a Christian heresy originating in the 5th century. Persecuted by the Byzantine Empire, the Nestorians found refuge in the uncontrolled province of Bahrain. The contemporary names of some of the kingdoms villages bear witness to the Christian imprint for example, Al Dair (the monastery in Arabic) on the northern coast of Muharraq Island. Bahrain was also the first Gulf country to build a church in 1906, when the state was a protectorate of the United Kingdom. Gulf policies regarding the Christian community vary greatly from country to country. In Saudi Arabia, sharia law informs jurisprudence, while in the United Arab Emirates, living conditions for Christians are among the best in the region. Christians do not generally hold important positions in the state, with a few exceptions such as Alice Samaan, a politician who is the daughter of Christian immigrants from Syria and who in 2005 became the first woman to preside over a session of the Bahraini Parliament.

Atlantic Treaty Association, English

The Chief Rabbi of Rome, Riccardo di Segni, co-signs with the historian Fredric Brandfon a very dense article on several centuries of ambiguity in the relations between various popes and the Jewish community of Rome. This community, whose presence dates back to 139 B.C., has in fact maintained a complex relationship with the pope over the centuries, oscillating between respect and hostility. As a sign of this ambiguity, a strange ritual marked the coronations of several popes, beginning with Eugene III in 1145. It featured the offering of a Torah scroll to the new Bishop of Rome, who accepted this gift while delivering a message denouncing Judaism. A witness to the coronation of Innocent VIII in 1484 reported on the spirit of the words spoken by the Jewish community : Holy Father, in the name of our synagogue, we Hebrew men implore that your Holiness deign to confirm and approve the Mosaic Law, which almighty God gave to Moses, our shepherd on Mount Sinai, as the other supreme pontiffs, Your Holinesss predecessors, have confirmed and approved it. However, these words elicited an explicit rejection from the popes at the time. The words of Boniface VIII in 1295, reread in light of a present-day interpretation, seem to express a visceral anti-Semitism: God who you once knew, today you ignore. You are his people and you have become his enemy. When he is revealed you block him from view. Although you know how to recognize him. Now when he is present you disdain him. The nations have recognized his coming; you avoid him. You have rejected He who came among his people and put to death He who shed his blood for you. This ignorance of the meaning of the Scripture will lead you to perdition. Repent if you wish on the day of judgment to share the fate of the just who the Lord welcomes in glory because of their merits. This vision would endure for several centuries. Thus, the coronation of the short-lived Pope Pius VIII in 1829 was accompanied by the baptism of a Jewish convert. However, recent pontificates have marked a turning point. Rabbi Riccardo di Segni, in office since 2001, assures us that he has personally witnessed many surprises. In particular, he remembers a fraternal and spontaneous exchange with Pope Francis a few days after his election in 2013. Although the confrontation between two worlds is always difficult, the Chief Rabbi of Rome notes, in meteorology, global warming is a matter of concern. In religious relations, the perspective is different, warming is often a positive thing, he rejoices.

Tablet Mag, English

3. A mass in honor of Queen Elizabeth II organized in Rome

The new British cardinal Arthur Roche, prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship, celebrated on September 28 in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls a Mass in memory of the late Queen Elizabeth II. Organized at the initiative of several embassies of the Commonwealth countries, this Mass concluded unusually for a Catholic liturgy with the song God Save the King.

Vatican News, French

4. Why trads seek to root the Churchs future in the past

Behind the liturgical battles lies the search for a pure form of Catholicism, explains an article in US Catholic magazine. In the context of a world that has become increasingly complex and unstable, nostalgia for pre-conciliar language is spreading among many Catholics who are motivated by an ideal of purity, but who risk neglecting attention to those outside their circle, US Catholic warns.

US Catholic, English.

5. Church needs womens work but pays little attention to their voices

The site linked to the Archdiocese of Madrid refers to the many questions about the place of women in the Catholic Church that were expressed during the diocesan phase of the Synod on Synodality. Women everywhere play a vital role in the life of the Church, but they do not always have access to leadership positions, the article says.

Alfa y Omega, Spanish.

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Rome & the World: Christians in the Gulf; popes and the Jewish Community of Rome - Aleteia

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Posted By admin on September 29, 2022

When the late San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen dubbed the city he covered Baghdad-by-the-Bay in 1951, he was not referring to Iraqi immigration, but to the tolerance for vice and pleasure he imagined the two cities shared. Some 70 years later,the presence of an Iraqi diaspora (including Jews) in the Bay Arearemains off the radar of most residents.

Local theater artist Debrah Eliezer hopes to change that with a performance of her play, (dis)Place[d], Oct. 8 at the JCC of San Francisco.

Built around the story of her family, the one-woman show focuses on her father, Edward Ben Eliezer. Born in Baghdad in 1930, he was a member of the Zionist underground after World War II before becoming a refugee to Israel and an Israeli spy, then immigrating to the U.S.

But as far as the members of Walnut Creeks (now defunct) Congregation Beth Am knew, he was just their lay rabbi who chanted in a uniquely Iraqi mode.

He never talked about his past until he went into the Jewish Home in San Francisco, Eliezer told J. Then the national Holocaust organization asked to do an interview with him, and I was like, why?

Eliezer, then artistic director of the San Francisco-based theater ensemble foolsFURY, held on to the videotape of that interview for eight years before she watched it. I knew that once I did, I would have to make something out of it, she said. I had so many questions, and thats what I do when I have questions: I make a play.

Through shifting monologues, songs and movement, Eliezer who studied music, voice and movement healing therapies at the California Institute of Integral Studies embodies about a dozen characters, including her great-grandmother, her father at three ages, their Iraqi neighbors, herself as the daughter of Ben Eliezer and the land where he was born.

In one scene, The Land speaks to Ben Eliezer. You left the Tigris and Euphrates, it says, but we both know that before you were Israels, before you were Americas, you were mine. You chose to forgetforgetting was the price you paid to survive. You and I both know you paid a price to disregard, dis-member, dis-place yourself.

This play is about how humans are tied to place, in so many ways, Eliezer explained.

She said she wanted to focus most of the story on Iraq because most Jews dont understand the history of what happened [in Iraq] when Israel became a nation, how that ruptured the Jewish sense of belonging in the Middle East.

Stephanie Singer, director of the Arts and Ideas program at JCCSF, saw a version of the production in 2018, and said she was blown away by it, adding, Its such a powerful piece and it connects to all people, beyond and including Iraqi Jews in the diaspora.

The production is being co-sponsored by JIMENA, a San Francisco-based nonprofit supporting Jews from the Middle East and North Africa. The organization is doing much of the work of gathering and representing disparate Jews from those regions, Eliezer said.

Born in San Francisco and raised mostly in the East Bay, Eliezer, 53, ventured into the exploration of her Middle Eastern heritage later in life. Her mother, a fourth-generation Finnish American who converted to Judaism to marry her father, was active in the local Conservative Jewish community. Despite her fathers Iraqi heritage, the lifestyle the family followed was, according to Eliezer, strongly Ashke-normative, that is, rooted in Ashkenazi Jewish culture and historic support for Israel.

We didnt even eat Middle Eastern food, she said. I didnt have a Middle Eastern identity. I am a total hybrid.

After earning her degree in drama from San Francisco State University, however, she was drawn to work with innovative theater groups such as foolsFURY and the Middle East-focused Golden Thread Productions, which seeks to create plays with multicultural perspectives.

Eliezer began developing (dis)Place[d] in 2016, after the election of Donald Trump as president, which prompted a shift in her theater group, foolsFURY, to telling personal stories.

It is my own awakening, and it is happening on stage in front of you.

For me, that is what building bridges means: to start with this is how it is for me, and to share that vulnerability, she explained. It disarms the audience.

Part of why Eliezer chose to tell her fathers story was to try to reconcile what I found out about my dad very late in life, she said. She had learned from the video interview that her father was 11 when he witnessed the 1941 Iraqi pogrom known as the Farhud. The violence compromised the sense of security of the Jewish community in Iraq, which had lived there since the sixth century BCE.

It was my dads pivotal moment of becoming an underground resister in Iraq, eventually joining the Haganah and later becoming a spy for Israel, she said. Its very complicated; not all of it is pretty.

Ben Eliezer migrated to the nascent State of Israel around 1951, as did thousands of Iraqi Jews at that time, and lived there for 15 years. Health problems prompted him to visit family in the Bay Area, where he remained.

But (dis)Place[d] is also, inevitably, about its author and performer. The creative process of developing the play and performing it at a few venues before the pandemic has persuaded Eliezer to claim my identity as an Arab Jew, she said. (The term is understood to mean a Jew with roots in a predominantly Arab country, who may speak the language and share cultural customs of that country or region.)

As she writes in the voice of the Land speaking to her father, That piece of the map you swallowed is as much hers as it is yours. You cant keep her from me.

I realized my difference, Eliezer said. This missingness that I talk about in the play is an example of the greater issues of whiteness and race and the nuances of difference that we are negotiating in American culture right now.

She added, It is my own awakening, and it is happening on stage in front of you.

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One-woman show is a journey through generations of Iraqi Jews J. - The Jewish News of Northern California

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Posted By admin on September 29, 2022

Russian President Vladimir Putin called on Russian Jews to make a hefty contribution to the countrys multiethnic identity Sunday, in a Rosh Hashanah greeting overshadowed by tensions between the Kremlin and the countrys Jewish community amid the invasion of Ukraine.

Tens of thousands of Jews have left Russia since the onslaught began in February, and thousands more are expected to flee to Israel and elsewhere as Moscow plans a partial call-up of reservists to contribute to the war effort.

In the message, Putin noted that while it was important for Russian Jews to remain close to their customs, he emphasized they had a duty to contribute to Russia.

It is very important that while retaining their loyalty to old spiritual traditions, Russias Jews make a hefty contribution to the preservation of cultural diversity in our country, to strengthening interethnic concord and the principles of mutual respect and religious tolerance, he said.

Nearly 200,000 Jews now live in Russia, though roughly three times as many are eligible for Israeli citizenship, having at least one Jewish grandparent.

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Israeli government officials held an emergency meeting last week to prepare for an expected spike in immigration from Russia after Putin decided to mobilize another 300,000 troops, in a move that sparked protests across the country.

Authorities reportedly plan to bolster the number of flights between Moscow and Tel Aviv and find ways to facilitate the transfer of funds out of Russia.

Nearly 40,000 Ukrainians, Russians, and Belarussians have immigrated to Israel so far this calendar year, officials said last week. Russia provided half of 2022s new immigrants, with 23,789 documented immigrations. Ukrainians taking on Israeli citizenship followed with 13,097, and a much smaller number 1,316 of Belarussians.

People gather outside the Basmany district court in Moscow ahead of a hearing in the Russian governments case against the Jewish Agency on July 28, 2022. (Screen capture: TASS)

In a sign of the Kremlins desire to tighten the screws on Jewish immigration, Russias Justice Ministry filed a petition to a Moscow court in July to liquidate the offices of the Jewish Agency for Israel the semi-governmental organization which encourages and facilitates Jewish immigration to Israel.

Though the trial officially opened in July, it has not progressed significantly over the past two months, with all of the hearings ending in postponements. The Moscow court will next hear the case on October 19.

One of the most notable figures to have fled Russia is former Moscow chief rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, who left for Israel with his wife two weeks after the war began, after first refusing pressure to support the invasion and then openly opposing it.

Earlier this month, dozens of Russian rabbis met in Moscow to discuss the challenges facing them and their communities, and also as a subtle criticism of Goldschmidt.

While not explicitly mentioning the war in Ukraine, the rabbis issued a resolution calling for peace and the cessation of the bloodshed.

The Kremlins attempts to justify the war as ridding Ukraine of Nazis, including its Jewish president, has also served to strain relationships with Jews.

In May, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed that Adolf Hitler was part-Jewish and that many Jews were antisemites, drawing strong protests from Israel and Diaspora Jewish groups.

The Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, begins at sundown Sunday; other leaders from across the globe also sent their New Year wishes to local Jewish communities.

United States President Joe Biden wrote in his message that the time of reflection, repentance, and renewal could also apply to America writ large.

In the coming year, we must not only look inward, but also look to each other. We must rebuild our communities through empathy and acts of kindness, bridging the gap between the world we see and the future we seek, he said.

Russian chief rabbi Berel Lazar addresses a gathering of Russian rabbis in Moscow on September 5, 2022. (Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia)

Australias Prime Minister Anthony Albanese praised the Jewish communitys contributions to society and hailed the return of in-person gatherings as the COVID-19 pandemic winds down

Your spirit of unity and community will continue to be a light to Australia as we face a year filled with new opportunities and challenges, Albanese wrote.

Recently appointed UK Prime Minister Liz Truss delivered a video statement on the eve of the holiday, promising to champion our Jewish community in the year to come.

I am determined to stamp out antisemitism. I will be a staunch friend of Israel, and I will always be on your side, she said.

Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev thanked his countrys Jewish community for being an integral part of our society and boasted of the peace and tranquility experienced by the population in Azerbaijan for centuries.

Judah Ari Gross contributed to this report

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Putin tells Russian Jews he expects hefty contribution in New Years message - The Times of Israel

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Posted By admin on September 29, 2022

I get asked about my cultural background more than most peoplein large part, I suppose, because I look ethnically ambiguous. Im equal parts Filipino and Ashkenazi Jewish, but since my upbringing barely scratched the surface of eithers heritage, these markers of identity have largely been more based in DNA than anything else. My mom never cooked Filipino dishes (or any food, for that matter) or shared anything specific about her homeland. Meanwhile, I didnt go to Hebrew school or have a bat mitzvah, so I was similarly left in the dark about many whats and whys of Judaism. Technically, I was Jewish just with a strong emphasis on the ish.

With that said, my familiarity with this culinary lineage was a bit more robust. I was no stranger to Jewish deli fare (like pastrami on rye and hearty roasted brisket), knew that apples and honey indicated a sweet new year for Rosh Hashanah, and indulged my sweet tooth with gelt during Hanukkah. But I never stuck to a kosher diet even though I wasn't allowed to eat pork or mix milk and meat which I still did whenever I got the chance. Clearly, my faith skewed less Jew and more you do you.

For this very reason, the fact that I moved to Israel after college came as a shock to pretty much everyone I knewmyself included. (I wound up becoming the poster child for the Taglit-Birthright program; what was supposed to be a 10-day trip around the country evolved into a handful of flight extensions, a trip back to New Jersey to stuff my suitcases to the brim, and eventual Israeli citizenship.) For the record, my expat status had nothing to do with religion and was instead driven by the thrill of enjoying my early 20s somewhere new and exciting. Plus, it definitely didnt hurt that the new city I called home was situated on the glistening Mediterranean Sea.

When it was time to sign a lease, I was lucky enough to settle down in Kerem HaTeimanim (the Yemenite Quarter) of Tel Aviv. Not only is it a five-minute walk from the beach, but also nestled alongside Shuk HaCarmelthe citys famous outdoor marketwith dozens of stalls, storefronts, and casual eateries just begging to be explored. Naturally, the Kerem had amazing restaurants offering authentic Yeminite fare as wellmy favorites being marak Teimani (beef soup) and hawaij spiced coffee. (Based on my skin tone, some locals even thought that I was Yemenite-Israeli myself, though my subpar Hebrew skills quickly proved otherwise.)

At first, I was surprised that there were few Ashkenazistyle delis, the staples of which comprised the bulk of my knowledge around Jewish cuisine. Instead, I discovered that Israel's culinary scene was much broader, incorporating foods, drinks, spices, and other ingredients influenced by its geography on the Mediterranean and in the Middle East, as well as all pockets of the world from which Jewish people hailed. Even more surprising was that my carnivore self would come to love all kinds of plant-based foodsmost of which Id never tried until then and remain my favorites to this day. Freshly prepared hummus with a dollop of tahini and extra spicy zhoug, fried eggplant in a warm pita stuffed to the brim with salads and seasonings aplenty (aka sabich), and the world's best roasted cauliflower from chef Eyal Shani Im looking at you.

This food was fresh, financially feasible on my modest budget, and freaking delicious. Somehow, I felt that I won the Jewish jackpot, at least where food was concerned. Its also worth mentioning that Id never even cooked before the sights, smells, and tastes of the city enticed me to try. Within months, Id develop my own shakshuka recipe that I preferred over award-winning varieties from restaurants across Tel Aviv, neighboring Jaffa, and beyond. And before you chalk this last statement up to chutzpah, the fact that I could cook edible foodlet alone with confidencewas something I hadnt anticipated given that Id barely even turned on an oven before.

Such delicacies aside, living in Tel Aviv also helped me to graspand for the first time truly understandthe joys of ritual and gathering over food. (Things were never solid on the home front and family dinners werent a thing; in my teens, I subsisted on delivery and nibbling on packaged foods at random, and these patterns stuck with me through college.) Again, though Im by no means religious, hanging out with friends for Shabbat dinners as the hustle and bustle of the city simmered down are among my most cherished memories.

Throughout my six years living in Tel Aviv, I was also fortunate enough to babysit for a few wonderful familiesone of which allowed me to experience a completely new world of food-adjacent Jewish customs. Id sometimes do overnight stints on the weekends, and since theyre Modern Orthodox, Id sit in on the full Shabbat ritual (candle lighting, prayer reading, etc.) before enjoying platefuls of elaborately prepared, incredibly delectable (and yes, kosher!) meals with the kiddos and parents. I even traveled abroad with them for a few fancy Passover retreats. Sure, at times Id feel like a fraud for not being observant myself and remaining clueless about the nuances of certain rituals. But more than that, I was grateful to be adopted, in a sense, and for the first time experience how familiesJewish or otherwisecreate happy memories and express love through feasts.

It might have taken a couple of decades, a bunch of flights, and countless forays into unknown territory to explore and appreciate my Jewish roots to the fullest. But as the saying goes, better late than never. To this day, my palate and sense of self are all the richer.

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I Never Felt Connected to My Jewish HeritageUntil I Rediscovered It Through Food Halfway Across the World - Well+Good

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Posted By admin on September 29, 2022

A few months ago, Andrs Koerner, the foremost expert on Hungarian Jewish culinary historyfinally got to see the treasure hed chased for years. At the Hungarian Museum of Trade and Tourism, he beheld a 168-year-old book that, just a few years earlier, had been thought to have disappeared without a trace. Opened to its splotched first page, it was covered with Hebrew print and an illustration of women working over a countertop, one of them holding a pan over an open fire.

The pages ahead contained something that no Hebrew-lettered book before it ever had: recipes. This cookbook, published in 1854 in Budapest was 40 years older and of a completely different national origin than the book that historians had previously regarded as the first Hebrew-lettered cookbook.

I dont want to exaggerate it, but at least within scholarly circles, it was a small sensation, says Koerner, author of this years Early Jewish Cookbooks.

Koerner, 81, grew up in a middle-class, Jewish neighborhood of Budapest after surviving the Nazi-occupied citys ghetto. His quest to find the nearly 170-year-old book is part of a lifetime of connecting with his roots through food. In 2016, while doing research for his book Jewish Cuisine in Hungary, Koerner came across a reference to the 1854 cookbook in a bibliography.

The bibliography noted that no copy of the book survived. But Koerner didnt give up, following a trail of clues to a xeroxed copy of the book in a library at Budapests Eotvos Lorand University. Several years later, a friend located what was then the only known surviving copy of the book in an online catalog of Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana, a collection at the University of Amsterdam. But Koerner only glimpsed it from afar via digital scans.

The book, titled Nayes folshtendiges kokhbukh fir die yidishe kikhe: Ayn unentberlikhes handbukh fir yidishe froyen und tokhter nebst forshrift fon flaysh kosher makhen und khale nemen, iberhoypt iber raynlikhkayt und kashrut, or A new and complete cookbook of the Jewish cuisine: An indispensable handbook for Jewish women and daughters, with instructions for koshering meat and separating challah, as well as for general cleanliness and kashrut, is a surprising snapshot of a community in transition.

It was like a microscopically minor scandal in the field, Koerner jokes.

Koerner and other scholars had assumed that the books Hebrew letters spelled out words in Yiddish, which was widely spoken by European Jews in the 1800s and was typically written in Hebrew characters. But when Koerner asked a friend to translate the book into German, she returned with a revelation: The book was written in German, but spelled out in Hebrew letters. By printing the book in Judeo-German, as Hebrew-lettered German is called, its publisher aimed it at the newly emerging Hungarian Jewish middle class.

When Mrkus Lwy, owner of the bookstore M.E Lowys Sohn (M.E. Lwys Son), published the cookbook, Hungary was exiting a period during which Habsburg, Hungarian, and municipal leaders participated in barring Jews from Hungarian cities, and the Habsburg ruler Maria Theresa subjected them to tolerance taxes. Law separated them from other Hungarians, and their traditions and Yiddish language isolated them further.

But in the mid-1800s, some Jews stepped away from their cloistered livesand the Yiddish language that had narrated them. Beginning in the 1840s, the Hungarian Parliament granted Jews civil rights, including the right to own businesses and live in Hungarian cities, although they still were not permitted to own property there.

By the middle of the 19th century, Koerner says, in Hungary there was a substantial [Jewish] middle class. And those were the people who purchased Jewish cookbooks. A generally more rural, lower-income group of Jews had also settled in Hungary from Eastern Europe by then, but, Koerner says, they could not have bought Jewish cookbooks, number one, because they did not have money for it[Number two,] they would not have understood High German.

At the same time, the Haskalah, also known as the Jewish Enlightenment, prompted a wave of reformist Jews to integrate into Hungarian society while retaining their religious traditions. They started to imitate non-Jewish culture, adopting the dress, education, and cuisine of their Christian counterparts, Koerner says.

Accordingly, Lwys 1854 cookbook is filled not with markedly Jewish recipes, but rather with kosher versions of fancy, Christian-Hungarian dishes, such as Hungarian Goulash Meat, Root Vegetables in the Hungarian Way, and Soup Made of Fresh Cherries. Koerner notes that the Hungarian-Style Apple Cake, which requires rolling out 25 loaves of dough and forming them into a layer cake, is exactly the type of elaborate Hungarian dish that a middle-class Jewish woman in 1854 might have admired.

Integrating into Hungarys middle class meant speaking its dominant language and, eventually, abandoning Yiddish. But speaking German was one thing; reading it was another. Even as late as 1870, only 75 percent of Jewish men and 58 percent of Jewish women could read and write in non-Hebrew characters in Budapest, the city with one of the highest levels of literacy among Hungarian Jewry, Koerner writes in Early Jewish Cookbooks. During the 1700s and 1800s, publishers in Germany, Austria, and Hungary addressed this discrepancy by printing books in Judeo-German, transliterating German words with letters that Jews recognized from reading Hebrew and Yiddish books.

Its likely that Lwy published his 1854 cookbook with this in mind, marketing it to women who preferred to speak German but could not yet read it. He even chose a Hebrew font called vaybertaytsh, which was associated with womens Yiddish devotional books, to appeal to potential female customers, Koerner believes.

But Lwy was late to the game. He published only one edition of the book that never quite caught on. Koerner believes Lwys would-be customers had already embraced reading German text by 1854. This, Koerner thinks, is why so few copies of the book exist today.

The books rarity makes it all the more precious. Just before Early Jewish Cookbooks was published earlier this year, Koerners friend alerted him to another physical copy of the cookbook that was available at a private auction. Koerner persuaded Hungarys National Library to purchase it. Right now, the book is on display as part of an exhibit on Hungarian-Jewish cuisine at the Hungarian Museum of Trade and Tourism that Koerner helped curate.

When Koerner was able to look at a physical copy of the book he had pursued for so long, it was an emotional experience. It was wonderful. It was joyous, he says. And, honestly, if I want to brag, I was a little proud of it.

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One Man's Search for the First Hebrew-Lettered Cookbook - Atlas Obscura

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Posted By admin on September 29, 2022

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished September 27, 2022

Dear Reader,

Fall has officially begun, and it appears the summer heat that has endured here in St. Louis is finally gone. Its time now to think about fall-like things, Rosh Hashanah, Yom, Kippur, long sleeve shirts and sweaters, colorful leaves, October baseball and of course pumpkins.

Pumpkins? Yes, pumpkins. Yes, for two reasons. First, this weekend is the opening of pick-your-own pumpkin season at Eckerts Farms, and because pumpkins have played a very important role in Jewish life long before they became associated with fall events like Halloween and holidays like Thanksgiving.

In the 16th century, one of the first crops brought back from the New World to Europe was the pumpkin. The gourd was easy to grow and stored well during cold winters. In her book The Book of Jewish Food, Claudia Roden writes that since it first appeared in Italy, pumpkin has been associated with the Jews.

Ravioli filled with pumpkin a familiar dish to anyone who frequents Italian restaurants at this time of year was originally a Sephardic creation. Italian Jews also developed recipes for pumpkin puree, pumpkin flan, and pumpkin fritters, a Hanukkah delicacy, wrote Roden.

Pumpkins are featured in many Sephardic recipes. It is tradition, among Sephardic Jews, to eat something containing pumpkin for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.

According to MyJewishLearning.com,many Sephardic communities developed their own pumpkin specialties. A jam or sweet spread made with pumpkin was common throughout the Sephardic world, especially as a Rosh Hashanah delicacy. Pumpkin was also commonly used in soups and stews, just as it is today. In addition to these ubiquitous dishes, each Sephardic community adapted pumpkin which is nothing if not versatile to its own cuisine and paired it with the ingredients available to them.

Leah Koenig, the author of Modern Jewish Cooking, writes that early acceptance of the pumpkin by Jews was important for the future of New World foods.

Sometimes, Jewish communities inadvertently helped normalize unfamiliar ingredients and helped usher them into wider acceptance over time, writes Koenig. Not only was this true for pumpkin, but for many other New World vegetables as well, from artichokes to tomatoes.

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Though pumpkins are not mentioned in the Torah specifically, they do appear a handful of times in the Mishnah and the Talmud.

According to Jteach.org, in the Talmud, Tractate Sukkah 56b, Abaye said: A young pumpkin (in hand) is better than a full grown one (in the field).

Talmud, Tractate Berachot 48a Rabbah said to [Abaye and Rava], To whom do we bless [i.e. say Grace After Meals]? They replied, The All-merciful.

And where does the All-merciful dwell? Rava pointed upwards to the ceiling; Abaye went outside and pointed towards the heavens. Rabbah said to them, Both of you are Rabbis; for that is what the proverb says, Every pumpkin is known by its stem.

Mishnah Shabbat 17:6 (about actions which are permissible on Shabbat) If a stone sits in a pumpkin one may draw water with it [the pumpkin] if the stone does not fall out, but one may not draw water with it [if the stone] does [fall out]. [If] a vine-branch is tied to a pitcher, water may be drawn with it on Shabbat.

So, as we kick off the year 5783, dont forget to embrace this fun part of our heritage both as Americans and as Jews. In honor of how our Sephardic ancestors used pumpkins in a wide variety of dishes, I hope we can get creative this year with how we use and think about pumpkins. How about a new twist on pumpkin pie, or pumpkin bread? Please keep me posted if you do.

The pick-your-own season run throughout October. Guests can visit any of the Eckerts farms to pick their perfect Halloween pumpkins. Eckerts Millstadt location has additional attractions of private bonfire sites and haunted wagon rides.

Belleville, Millstadt & Grafton Farms |Select Days from Sept. 24-Oct. 30

For more information on Eckerts,visit the website.

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Fall in St. Louis means it's time to embrace the Jewishness of the pumpkin - - St. Louis Jewish Light

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Posted By admin on September 29, 2022

Autumn is here and, despite the ongoing war, Hasidic pilgrims from all over the world are arriving in Ukraine to honor one of the founders of the Hasidic movement.

Every year in September the population of the town of Uman in Cherkasy region (190 km south of Kyiv), quadruples as Hasidic Jews pour in to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.

They make the pilgrimage to Uman because one of the founding fathers of Hasidism, Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav, is buried there. He died there in 1810 and, in line with his request, was buried in the local Jewish cemetery next to the graves of the victims of the Haidamak massacre of 1768.

Had Rabbi Nachman not insisted on being buried in Uman, his ashes would have been transported to Jerusalem and today Uman would be an ordinary, quiet provincial town. As it is, the city has long been Ukraines main center of religious tourism and a significant industry has developed around the celebration of the Jewish New Year involving transportation, real estate, rental accommodation, and kosher cuisine. Many Hasidim have purchased real estate in Uman and are involved in the rental business themselves.

Quite a party

Before the war, dozens of charter flights from Israel and the United States flew into Kyiv at this time of year, and lines of specially booked buses and cars could be seen waiting at the airport to whisk the pilgrims off south to Uman.

The celebration can last over a month and security has always been an issue. In cooperation with the Ukrainian police, Israeli police officers used to fly to Ukraine specifically to monitor the behavior of their fellow citizens. Local police also carefully patrolled the streets trying to make sure that conflicts did not break out between residents and visitors. Nonetheless, every year some small conflicts arose: It was almost unavoidable. After all, the Hasidim celebrate with a great deal of energy and noise, singing songs and dancing every night.

They obviously like Uman and feel at home there, despite the tragic history of past centuries and the memory of the pogroms which are, indirectly, the reason for their coming.

Ignoring calls to stay away this year

This year, in view of the war, the Ukrainian and Israeli authorities warned the Hasidim well in advance to cancel the celebration of Rosh Hashanah in Uman. The threat of rocket attacks is very real and there has been no civil aviation in Ukraine since the start of the war so its not possible to fly to Kyiv.

However, the borders in the West of the country are open, and trains and buses are running. Already the first thousand Hasidim have reached Uman, on buses. The international Flix bus company has introduced some new routes such as Krakow-Uman, Prague-Uman, and Brno-Uman.

In response to warnings about the danger, representatives of the Hasidim said that life in Israel is constantly fraught with the danger of terrorism, so they see no reason to change their traditions because of the war in Ukraine.

Part of the local community

While Hasidim from Israel, New York, and elsewhere make their way to Uman, there are Hasidim who live in Uman permanently. They remember the early days of the war when Russian missiles fell on the city and nearby villages.

At the beginning of the war, the number of Hasidim living in Uman increased, with many coming to help the local Jewish community as well as the non-Jewish population, both locals and refugees. A Jewish charity kitchen was set up in Uman which feeds everyone who needs to be fed.

In late February and early March, many people were wounded and killed in Uman as a result of shelling and local Hasidim opened the basement of the synagogue for use as a bomb shelter.

Russian threats

The Russian Ministry of Defense announced that the Hasidim had given the synagogue to the Ukrainian army for an arms depot.

The property of the Jewish cult in Uman is deliberately being used by Kyivs nationalist regime for military purposes. said Russian Defense Ministry spokesman, Igor Konashenkov.

At the end of March, there was a real possibility that Russia would try to destroy the synagogue with rockets.

In response, the leaders of the Hasidic movement in Uman recorded a video showing the empty premises of the synagogue and other religious buildings and declared the words of the representative of the Russian Ministry of Defense to be a lie. Fortunately, no Hasidic shrines in Uman were damaged during Russian shelling.

Fewer pilgrims mean fewer tourists

Traditionally, some pilgrims have remained in Ukraine after the celebration of the Jewish New Year to visit other places connected with the history of Ukrainian Jews old shtetls in the Vinnytsia region closer to Moldova,.

The local authorities in Uman are still hoping that there will be fewer pilgrims this year. If their attempts to dissuade people from coming are successful, the other tourist destinations usually visited by the pilgrims will suffer, for example, Shargorod in Vinnytsa region (347 km southwest of Kyiv), where many Jewish historical monuments were restored to good order before the war, including the oldest synagogue in Ukraine built in the 16th century.

Even under Soviet rule, until WW II, Shargorod was an almost entirely Jewish town with a population of about 10,000 people. Now, with the same population, only a dozen Jews live in the city, but the townspeople protect the historical heritage and hope very much that tourism will sooner or later bring some money to the town. This year, that is almost certainly not going to happen.

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Uman Celebrates the Jewish New Year - Kyiv Post

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Posted By admin on September 29, 2022

With the holidaysapproaching, this is the perfect time to broaden your horizons and discover the wine gems that Israel, California, Italy, and France have to offer. Its not too soon to start thinking about festive meals, gatherings with loved ones, and other traditions that go hand-in-hand with the fall and winter holidays.

Fortunately, these notable wine producing regions have had another exceptional year for wine production. That means theres an excellent selection of exciting releases to choose from and one less thing to worry about. Theyre ready to serve now, so whether youre planning to host a crowd or be a guest, youre sure to find something deliciously suitable for the holiday table.

Wine expert Gabriel Geller, Director of PR for Royal Wine Corp, the largest producer, exporter and importer of kosher wines and spirits, has recommendations for holiday wines that offer quality and value across all price points. Heres the rundown:

Toast in the New Year Rosh with a refreshing glass of Herzog Lineage Momentus (19.99) or enjoy organic-certified-no-sulfites-added Herzog Variations Be-leaf Cabernet Sauvignon (24.99) both pair well with beef and other traditional holiday meats.

Terra di Seta from Tuscany, the first fully kosher winery in Europe (since 2008) which offers world-class and competitive Chianti Classico wines, is about to release for the first time a Super Tuscan called Guiduccio, SRP $75.

This past year Terra di Seta won some of the highest accolades from the Wine Spectator, James Suckling, and Decanter, with multiple top ratings as high as 97 points.

Connoisseurs of wines from Italy can look forward to Ovadia Estatess Vermentino and the Lovatelli Barbera dAsti. Villa Mangiacane, a renowned Italian producer, is also releasing its first kosher wine: Magnificus, a Super Tuscan SRP $60.

Barkan Winery, one of the largest producers in Israel, recently sent its star head winemaker Ido Lewinsohn MW to tour the US market ahead of the High Holidays.

Among the impressive wines he presented, the Barkan Classic Argaman at only SRP $12 has won industry-wide recognition and high ratings. Segal Winery, also overseen by Lewinsohn, released the Segal Native Marawi at SRP $25. Marawi is an ancient grape variety indigenous to the Holy Land, which was used for winemaking and the sacred services in the Jewish Temple of Jerusalem over 1,900 years ago.

Carmel Winery, the veteran Israeli winery founded by Chteau Lafites Baron Edmond de Rothschild in 1882, released Buzz, a line of fruit flavored Moscato wines. These fun, low-alcohol, sweet, fruity wines target Generation Z, and are meant for casual drinking, parties, etc. SRP$11. Three different flavors are available: peach, mango, and pineapple.

On the French side, Royal is proud to introduce the J. de Villebois Sancerre Silex, SRP $50. Sancerre wines, from the Loire Valley, have been trending for a few years already, and the kosher market is no exception. This high-quality, complex Sauvignon Blanc features the terroirs characteristics, with crunchy, juicy citrus flavors, earthy mineral and saline notes, and hints of flint. Chteau Les Riganes from Bordeaux, which already offers a red blend, a Sauvignon Blanc, and a ros, just introduced two new varietal wines, a Malbec, and a Cabernet Franc, which like the other wines from this producer also retail for only$12.

Royal is also looking forward to the release this fall of the first kosher Chteaueuf-du-Pape from the prestigious Domaine Raymond Usseglio&Fils in the Rhne Valley. SRP $100

While we have had continued success working with prominent Bordeaux and Burgundy producers, it was time for us to add some great Rhne wines to our portfolio, says Gabriel Geller, PR Director at Royal Wine Corp. And with the upcoming additions of some great Italian wines, our portfolio continues to expand with an increasingly comprehensive selection of superb wines from around the world. Most importantly, I am excited for our customers who are eager to discover regions and wines that until now have been hard to come by in the kosher market.

About Royal Wine/Kedem

Founded in 1848, Royal Wine Corp.s mission is to be the premier manufacturer, importer and distributor of specialty wines, spirits, and liqueurs from around the world. The commitment to perfection and family tradition spans over eight generations and has experienced growth since its beginning. Royals portfolio of domestic and international wines ranges from traditional wine producing regions of France, Italy, and Spain to up and coming ones like Israel, New Zealand, and Argentina. Additionally, Royal Wine Corp.s spirit and liqueur portfolio offer some of the most sought-after scotches, bourbons, tequilas, and vodkas as well as hard to find specialty items such as flavored brandies and liqueurs.

The company owns and operates the Kedem Winery in upstate New York, as well as Herzog Wine Cellars in Oxnard, California, a state-of-the-art-facility featuring guided wine tours, a fully staffed modern tasting room, gift shop and catering facilities. Additionally, the winery houses the award-winning restaurantTierra Sur,serving the finest, Mediterranean-inspired, contemporary Californian Cuisine. Follow Royal Wine Corp on social media https://www.facebook.com/RoyalWineCorp; @royalwinecorp

About Royal Wine Corp

Founded in 1848, NJ- based Royal Wine Corp. (www.royalwinecorp.) has been owned and operated in the United States by the Herzog family, whose winemaking origins go back more than 200 years in Czechoslovakia.

Today, Royal Wines portfolio of domestic and international wines range from traditional wine producing regions of France, Italy, and Spain, as well as Israel, New Zealand, and Argentina.

Additionally, Royal Wine Corp.s spirit and liqueur portfolio offer some of the most sought-after scotches, bourbons, tequilas and vodkas as well as hard to find specialty items such as flavored brandies and liqueurs.

The company owns and operates the Kedem Winery in upstate New York, as well as Herzog Wine Cellars in Oxnard, California, a state-of-the-art-facility featuring guided wine tours, a fully staffed modern tasting room, gift shop and catering facilities. Additionally, the winery houses the award-winning restaurantTierra Sur,serving the finest, Mediterranean-inspired, contemporary Californian Cuisine.

Follow them at:@royalwinecorp @kosherwine_gg,https://www.facebook.com/herzogwine

Originally posted here:

From Vineyard to Your Holiday Table, Here's a Global Selection of Wines to Celebrate the Holidays from Royal Wine Corp - PRUnderground

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Posted By admin on September 27, 2022

From One for Israel v. Reuven, decided yesterday by Judge Raag Singhal (S.D. Fla.):

[Plaintiff] One for Israel is a ministry initiative whose mission is to evangelize Israelis and promote Messianic Judaism. [Plaintiffs] Eitan Bar and Mordechai Vaknin are missionaries working for the ministry who teach the New Testament and share Gospel of Jesus Christ with youth, soldiers, and students. The defendant is Yaron Reuven , an Orthodox Jewish Rabbi who maintains a website, a mobile application, and a YouTube channel to promote Orthodox Judaism.

On February 8, 2021, Reuven published a video titled, "What Happened when Missionaries ONE FOR ISRAEL Met Rabbi Daniel Asor" in which he made the statements at issue in this case. Reuven published the video on his YouTube channel, Facebook, and other social media platforms. About 2 minutes and 37 seconds into the video, Reuven tells viewers about a meeting that took place in 2014 at a coffeeshop in Israel. As related on the video, Rabbi Asor met with Eitan and Vaknin to debate religious issues before an individual who was considering converting to Messianic Judaism.

At the meeting, Rabbi Asor "destroy[ed]" both Eitan and Vaknin by proving them wrong. Reuven reports that Eitan and Vaknin got angry and tried to beat up Rabbi Asor. He says Eitan and Vaknin "tried to break his bones!"

Plaintiffs contend the story Reuven told is false and an invention to negatively portray them and the organization for which they work. The video has over 7,500 views on YouTube. Plaintiffs allege they have suffered significant reputational and psychological damage because of the release of the video and brought this action seeking compensation from Reuven.

The court concluded the missionaries weren't limited purpose public figures, because that would require them to have injected themselves into a "public controversy," and there was no such controversy here:

[T]he public controversy must be more than merely newsworthy; the public must legitimately be concerned about it. Reuven argues that the public controversy here is the "theological conflict between Judaism and Christian missionaries." While this "conflict" may be of deep and abiding interest to many, it is certainly not something discussed in the news or that the public is highly concerned with. Examples of public controversies in previous cases have included the Watergate scandal; what should be taught about homosexuality and whether the rights of homosexuals should be restricted; and the 2004 election. Theological debates do not generate comparable public controversy.

I'm skeptical about that, since controversies that predominantly concern particular religious communitiesand may have gotten little attention outside those communitieswould qualify. See, e.g., Contemporary Mission Co. v. N.Y. Times Co. (2d Cir. 1988). But the court's other point may be more apt here:

[T]he defamatory statements made by Reuven [also] have no relevance to the religious conflict. "[T]he law does not allow the relevant public controversy to be divorced from the allegedly defamatory statements and the context in which they were made." In this case, Reuven said the Plaintiffs violently attacked Rabbi Asor at a debate. The accusation of violence is not related to the alleged controversy of the theological debate. Reuven's statements did not pertain to religion or the views of Judaism and Christianity; instead, they were about the character and conduct of two individuals. Thus, the Court concludes that Plaintiffs are not limited public figures and not required to prove that Reuven acted with actual malice.

The Court then concluded that Plaintiffs had sufficiently alleged defamation, as defined by Jews For Jesus, Inc. v. Rapp(Fla. 2008). (In an odd coincidence, a key Florida precedent here involved a different group of Messianic Jews, though in that case as false light defendants rather than libel plaintiffs.)

Plaintiffs allege facts that would plausibly establish falsity. Not only do both Eitan and Mordechai claim that the story Reuven told was false, but also Rabbi Asor who was the person allegedly attacked at the caf stated that the story was false.

Plaintiffs have [also] plausibly alleged that Reuven was negligent in publishing defamatory content without first verifying the information. Reuven said he heard the story from a "third party who was intimately familiar with Rabbi Asor." Only after this lawsuit was initiated and the video viewed over 7,500 times, did Reuven contact Rabbi Asor to verify the story. This shows that it was possible for Reuven to obtain more accurate information before publishing the video, but he chose not to do so.

Plaintiffs allege actual damages in the form of reputational harm, an increase in threats of potential violence, and severe emotional distress and personal physical injury. Additionally, Plaintiffs allege enough to proceed on a claim of defamation per se[, which] would allow plaintiffs to recover for defamation without proof of actual damages because the statements charged the Plaintiffs with an infamous crime and injured the Plaintiffs' profession as missionaries. The video told viewers that Eitan and Vaknin committed assault and battery to a religious leader who did not agree with their beliefs. One can draw a reasonable inference that such a statement would likely have a significant impact on the profession of a missionary.

And the court rejected Reuven's "ecclesiastical abstention doctrine" argument:

Reuven argues that to resolve the controversy at hand, the court must get entangled in religious questions because the judgment will involve a determination of the rights and roles of a rabbi. [But t]he statements said in the video have nothing to do with religion; they were about a violent attack that did not happen. These issues have nothing to do with religious doctrine or conflict. By contrast, under the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine, a court will not rule on a case that requires it to define the "very core or what the religious body as a whole believes."

Congratulations to Richard P. Green (Lewis, Longman & Walker) and Todd V. McMurtry & J. Will Huber (Hemmer Defrank Wessels, PLLC), who represented the plaintiffs.

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Messianic Jews vs. Orthodox Jews: Now a Libel Case (Over Allegations of a Non-Theological Fight) - Reason

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Posted By admin on September 27, 2022

Jews from across the world will begin celebrating Rosh Hashanah this evening.

Rosh Hashanah, also known as the Jewish New Year, is one of Judaisms holiest days. It begins on the first day of Tishrei, the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar.

It also marks the start of year 5783 in the Jewish calendar. The old-time holiday is an occasion for reflection and is often celebrated with prayer, symbolic foods, and the blowing of a traditional horn called a shofar.

Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown this evening and continues through Tuesday evening. The date varies every year since its based on the Hebrew calendar.

Heres everything you need to know about the holiday.

What is Rosh Hashanah?

Rosh Hashanah means head of the year or first of the year, according to Judaism101. Which is why the holiday is referred to as the Jewish New Year.

Rosh Hashanah traditionally calls on people to consider how they might have failed or fallen short in the past year and how to improve and grow in the coming year.

The holiday commemorates the creation of the world, according to History.com. It also marks the beginning of the 10 Days of Awe a 10-day period of introspection and repentance. Yom Kippur, is considered the most important holiday in Judaism, is a final day of atonement.

Some Jews observe Rosh Hashanah for one day while others observe over a two-day period. Work is prohibited during the holiday and religious Jews spend most of the day in the synagogue.

How is Rosh Hashanah celebrated?

During Rosh Hashanah, many Jewish people will attend services at synagogues and other spaces for worship on Rosh Hashanah. Jewish congregations will recite prayers from a special prayer book known as the machzor and sing songs to mark the new year.

Some Jewish communities will blow a Shofar, a curved rams horn. The sound of the horn serves as a call to repentance and a reminder to Jews that God is their king, according to History.com.

The shofar blower plays four sets of notes: tekiah, a long blast; shevarim, three short blasts; teruah, nine staccato blasts; and tekiah gedolah, a very long blast.

Some Jews may also pray near a body of water in a Tashlich ceremony, in addition to tossing pieces of bread or other food into the water to symbolize sending off sins. Its one of Rosh Hashanahs most iconic traditions.

After religious services are over, many Jews celebrate with a festive meal and other customs. Sweet foods are popular during Rosh Hashanah, ancient Jews believed apples had healing properties and honey signifies the hope that the new year will be sweet.

During the holiday, Jews eat loaves of the traditional braided bread known as round challah. On Rosh Hashanah, the bread is often baked in a round shape to symbolize the circle of life and the crown of God.

Normally, Jews will greet each other on Rosh Hashanah by saying lshana tova the hebrew phrase means good year or for a good year.

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Traditional Jewish American foods keep changing, with cookbooks playing influential role in how Jews mark Rosh Hashanah

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Rosh Hashanah 2022: What you should know about the Jewish New Year - PennLive

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