Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on December 1, 2021

Christina Knight | November 30, 2021

The Neiger family.

The Neiger family was living a peaceful life in the Jewish community in Krakow. Then World War II changed their lives forever. The documentary They Survived Together tells the story of their miraculous escape from certain death by the Nazis in the Krakow Ghetto with four small children. Siblings Cesia, Ben, Hanka, Basia, and Tosia share firsthand accounts of their familys journey to freedom. They are said to be one of the only families to escape and survive as an intact family.

Its chilling to hear Tosia explain in the film, Nobody expected to survive. That wasnt even the motivation behind making the decision to get out of the ghetto. It really was a question of how they were choosing to die rather than survive.

They Survived Together is by New York filmmaker John Rokosny. He learned of the familys story after meeting Hanka in a Lower East Side eatery, according to an article in J-Voice.

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The Krakow Family Who Survived the Holocaust | THIRTEEN - New York Public Media - MetroFocus

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Posted By admin on December 1, 2021

Hundreds of kits containing Hanukkah items, such as menorahs and dreidels, were recently sent to Jews living in Arab countries who must observe their Judaism secretively.

The kits were also filled with candles, chocolate coins (gelt) and prayer texts. They were delivered to Jewish residents in Iraq, Yemen and Kurdistan, among other areas, by a special task force from the Israel-based NGO Yad LAchim.

The Orthodox Jewish organization keeps in contact with Jews in Arab countries, and due to the large demand this year, increased the number of Hanukkah kits it typically sends out.

Jews in Arab countries, for the most part, live in fear and observe their Judaism secretively, said Nir, who manages the Yad LAchim task force. Each time, we have to find creative solutions to transfer the kits, whether the Four Species for Sukkot or menorahs. On many occasions, we have to distribute other types of items related to Judaism, which the residents of these countries have no way of getting.

Yad LAchim president Rabbi Shmuel Lifschitz said, We remember well the slogan of our organization: We dont give up on even a single Jew. This is also the reason we make herculean efforts to reach every Jew, man or woman, who turns to us and asks for our help in this regard.

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Hundreds of Hanukkah kits sent to Jews living in Arab countries - Cleveland Jewish News

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Posted By admin on December 1, 2021

U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) claimed yesterday, without citing evidence, that when Democrat Ilhan Omar (D-MN) moved into the congressional office formerly occupied by U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY), Omar was caught saying, We still need to clean the Jew juice out of this office.

Even one congressman, Lee Zeldin, hes one of two Jewish congressmen, said Boebert Monday on KHOW radios Dan Caplis Show in Denver at 27:15. And whenever he left his office in Congress, [U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (R-MN)] moved into his old office, and she was caught saying, We still need to clean the Jew juice out of this office.'

Youre kidding me, replied Caplis, without asking Boebert to say where she got the allegation. Oh man. Jeez.

And, you know, I mean, this is the kind of rhetoric that comes from a person like this, and its absolutely disgusting, Boebert continued on air. And just because I apologize for offending someones religious beliefs doesnt mean that Im going to back down from calling her out on the horrible things that she has said about America and the horrible things that shes done to America.

No record of such a statement by Omar could be found, and there are actually two Jewish Republican members of Congress (and dozens of Jewish Democrats). Calls to Omars and Zeldins offices were not immediately returned. Caplis also didnt immediately return a call seeking comment.

Zeldin has said Omar should be removed from the House Foreign Affairs Committee, due to comments shes made.

Boebert appeared on KHOWs Dan Caplis show to discuss her phone call with Omar Monday, in which Boebert said she hoped to seek forgiveness for offending Omar by suggesting Omar was a terrorist.

In the radio interview, Boebert repeated most of the points she made in a Facebook post following her phone call with Omar.

I guess its kind of hard to apologize to someone who doesnt see redemption for what it is, Boebert said on air. You know, I mean, as a Christian woman, my faith is very important to me, very valuable to me. And redemption and forgiveness is key to my religion. And so whenever you know, I was made aware that she was offended, I said, Look, as a Christian woman, I never want to offend anyone for their religious beliefs, and I apologize for that. But that wasnt enough for her. She wanted a public apology. I said theres already a public statement out there. And that wasnt enough for her. And I said, if theres going to be another public apology, it needs to come from you to the American people for your anti-American, anti-Semitic, anti-police rhetoric because that is what is destroying our country.

Omar hung up on Boebert, which Boebert called cancel culture 101, not accepting an apology and hanging up on someone. And this is the pillar of the Democrat Party.

For her part, Omar said in a statement quoted by the New York Times, Instead of apologizing for her Islamophobic comments and fabricated lies, Representative Boebert refused to publicly acknowledge her hurtful and dangerous comments. She instead doubled down on her rhetoric, and I decided to end the unproductive call.

RELATED: A Brief History of Boeberts Racism

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Posted By admin on December 1, 2021

Peloton has apologised after one of its instructors referred to liver of blaspheming Jew during a live workout.

The company which streams fitness classes online said sorry over the incident involving trainer Christine DErcole, confirming the class had been removed from its library.

During a clip sent to Jewish News, DErcole used a line from William Shakespeares Macbeth, referring to the liver of blaspheming Jew .

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A Peloton spokesperson: Pelotons aim is to strengthen, support and uplift our diverse community and sometimes we fall short of that goal.

We apologise that during one of our classes an Instructor quoted a Shakespeare passage that included an antisemitic line.

This was a mistake and the class has been removed from our library.

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Peloton sorry after instructor quotes 'liver of a blasphemous Jew' in live workout - Jewish News

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Posted By admin on December 1, 2021

By PTI

KOLKATA: Hurrying down the busy Burrabazar area, Elisha Twena, 78, one of the last Jews of Kolkata ducked into a gate hidden by pavement shops selling trinkets at the crossing of Brabourne Road with Canning Street, leading into a stately red building with a tall steeple.

Walking in through an arched door with the 'Star of David' embellished over it, Twena entered a huge hall with chequered marble flooring, regal chandeliers and ancient fans hanging from a two-storied high roof. The hall's Rennaisance stained glass windows and ornate floral pillars shipped in from Paris gave it a medieval grandeur.

The building which may easily be mistaken to be a Central European church but for its setting is the 137-year-old Magen David Synagogue considered one of the most magnificent Jewish temples in Asia, built by the 19th-century realtor and business tycoon Elias David Ezra, whose legacy still lingers on in a street named after him in central Kolkata.

Like the 20-30 odd Jews left in this eastern mega-polis down from a peak population of 6,000 just after World War II, the Magen David where religious services have long stopped and its older neighbour Neveh Shalom Synagogue built in 1831, remain tucked away in obscurity, hidden to all but those who seek it.

All my classmates from Kolkata's Jewish Boy's School who used to come to this synagogue, migrated out in the 1960s and 1970s in search of better prospects we now don't even have a Rabbi left here, said Twena, a pensioner who lives in a penthouse on Louden Street.

Waving his hands towards an empty driveway and garden, he reminisces this is where we used to play cricket after religious services there are no children left to play now, the youngest among us is 53 and the oldest 96.

However, he has no regrets.

For him, Kolkata or Calcutta as he still calls it is one of the important centres of Jewish life, and has been ever since Shalome Obadiah Ha-Cohen, a merchant from Aleppo landed in the city, some 223 years ago to become court jeweller to the Nawabs of Awadh and Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

Legend has it that he was asked to value the 'Kohinoor' diamond among other jewels in the 'Lion of Punjab's treasury.

As Ha-Cohen was joined by his relatives and others from the Baghdadi or middle eastern Jewish community, the city became a hub for Jewish enterprise and trade with connections with Shanghai in the east and London in the west and all-important port cities in between.

Along with Armenians, Greeks, Parsis and Chinese, Jews brought a special cosmopolitan flavour to colonial Kolkata. The nearby Pollock, Ezra and Synagogue Streets thrived with Jewish families settling down there and the Jewish New Year was celebrated with as much fervour as Durga Puja and Christmas.

"We were mostly Arab Jews, conservative jews, but as we interacted with Indians and Europeans, we changed. We shed middle eastern attire for western clothes, the magnificent Magen David was constructed in such a manner that from afar it looks like a church, earning it the nickname 'Lal Girja' (Red Church) at the same time we left an indelible impact on the city," said Jael Silliman, 66, a well-known author and scholar.

Hospitals, synagogues, boys' and girls' schools, besides numerous educational and charitable institutions were set up.

Ezra who set up the Magen David in his father's name and married into the wealthy Mumbai-based Sassoon family, often called the 'Rothschild of the east', also owned many of Kolkata's landmarks which included Chowringhee Mansion, Esplanade Mansion and Ezra Mansion.

Other Kolkata Jews owned jute mills, cigarette companies, textile and export firms including blue-chip firms Agarpara Jute Mills, National Tobacco Company and Great Pyramid Insurance.

Kolkata got its first Hebrew press in 1840, and its first Judeo-Arabic weekly 'Mevasser' in 1873.

Bene Israeli Jews from Mumbai too flocked to the city, as did European Jews, victims of Nazi Germany's persecution. By the time the Second World War engulfed the world, Kolkata's Jews numbered nearly 6,000.

However, the bulk and the heart of the community remained Baghdadi Jews.

Kolkata's Jews excelled in the world of movies too, Rachel Sofaer became a top heroine of the silent era under the stage name Arati Devi, while Ezra Mir under the name Edwyn Myers became a well-known film director.

With independence, partition riots and socialistic flavour to India's economic policies, many Jews, who were among the first free marketeers in the world, decided to migrate. Most of my classmates went to Australia, Canada, the US and England, said Twena. Very few migrated to the promised but far more austere land of Israel.

Most of them went into business abroad and became millionaires. They still come to Kolkata but their enterprise, family are now there, he pointed out. Twena said despite favouring free enterprise, Kolkata Jews were eclectic in their beliefs and among others who held radical views, he had a teacher Saul Ezra, who was a Leftist and a personal friend of West Bengal's late Marxist chief minister Jyoti Basu.

The surviving Jewry of the city is, however, unsure how many are to be counted as Jews. Hence the figure for Kolkata varies between 20-30.

I know it sounds strange, but there are differences over whom to consider a Jew. Traditionally, children of a Jewish mother are Jews, said Silliman.

However, many men married outside the community and their offspring too are counted as Jews after a difficult conversion process.

The matrilineal tradition has meant that Brian Auckland, 68, who is on the board of Magen David and the Jewish Girl's School, is counted as a full Jew. It also meant that Regina Guha, daughter of Pearey Mohan Guha, an affluent 19th century Bengali lawyer, and Baghdadi Jew Simcha Gubba, who gained fame by becoming the first Indian woman to pass the law exam in 1915, and her sister Hannah Sen, a well known Indian freedom fighter, who later became a Member of the Rajya Sabha are counted as Jews.

Kolkata's Jews continued to serve India loyally after independence. There were Jewish sheriffs and magistrates in this city and many were officers in the armed forces. Lt. Gen. J.F.R Jacob, who was posted here as Chief of Staff, Eastern Command, played a critical role in the 1971 victory, whose 50th anniversary we are celebrating, said Auckland.

Despite the diminishing numbers, Jews and Kolkata continue to cherish each other. The caretakers of the David Magen as well as two other synagogues and a cemetery are non-Jewish Kolkatans. As are most teachers at the two elite schools run by the Jewish society. All our students are non-Jewish and have been so for many years, said Auckland.

Said Masud Hussain, 42, caretaker of the Neveh Shalome Synagogue, we look after their 'dharover' (legacy) because we know wherever Kolkata's Jews are, they still feel for this place. This is their city.

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Jews of Kolkata: A slice of history - The New Indian Express

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Posted By admin on December 1, 2021

When it comes to bagels and lox, the cream cheese is essential but goes without mention. Like the marinara sauce in spaghetti and meatballs, it plays a leading role but gets no top billing. Still, a tart, bright red tomato sauce gets noticed. Cream cheese, however, inspires no secret nonna recipes. Even Jewish gourmands who demand the freshest of hand-rolled bagels and the most pristine razor slim Nova will settle for a generic schmear.

Recently, I got curious about the glob of Philadelphia on my New York bagel. Online, I discovered that the cream cheese is not an old-world Jewish creation but rather a modern product developed from previous recipes in the 1870s by an upstate New York gentile named William Lawrence. As for the Philadelphia branding, it was a marketing ploy by New York salesmen, taking advantage of Phillys 19th-century reputation for artisanal cheeses.

The worlds pre-eminent cream cheese expert is Jeffrey Marx, rabbi emeritus of Santa Monica Synagogue, a reform temple. In 2017, Marx authored a chapter in the book Tastes of Faith: Jewish Eating in the United States. Aside from dispelling cream cheese misconceptions, he carefully laid out the myriad historical and technological factors that allowed the first Jew to bite into a bagel and lox in New York in the late 1920s.

According to Marx, the bagel arrived from Eastern Europe in the 1890s, but before it could be sliced and filled, its hole had to be narrowed and softened. In addition, Pacific Northwest fish magnates had to find a way to freight salmon across North America. Finally, Mr. Lawrence of Chester, New York, needed to master new mechanization technologies to create a high-fat content version of Neufchtel cheese. By the 1920s, all these ingredients were widely available and marketed in New York City, where the large Eastern European Jewish community was waiting.

By Forward Association

Id Rather Be in Philadelphia: An ad for Philadelphia cream cheese in the Forward. Incidentally, there wasnt much Philadelphian about cream cheese except the name, which was the brainchild of New York salespeople.

For centuries, European Jews had noshed on bagels and salted fish. They also arrived at Ellis Island as master schmearers, but of butter and schmaltz, not cream cheese. Still, Marx explains, bagels and lox was not a call back to the Old World. Instead, it was an announcement that American Jews had arrived. Lox was new to Jews and became an upscale substitute for the shtetl staple of herring. Cream cheese was relatively expensive and a product of New World mass production. The combination arose to display the rising economic status and increased Americanization of the second-generation Jewish immigrants of New York, the rabbi wrote.

The article put my brunch plans in a new perspective, and I had questions. When I wrote Marx, he suggested I read his two academic articles before we chatted. The first article dissects 150-year old ledgers and trade books to show how mechanization allowed for a mass-market high-fat content spreadable cheese. The second looks at packaging and marketing. A careful analysis of records firmly shows that Philadelphia may have a claim on cheesesteak but not on cream cheese.

The articles cover every aspect of cream cheese but raise new questions. What was a rabbi even a sun-tanned Southern California reform rabbi doing researching the modernization of the U.S. cheese industry? In his 2012 Food, Culture & Society journal article, the words Jewish or bagel do not even appear.

Talmudic study can be esoteric, and rabbinical students might dive into the nature of Babylonian contracts. Under the auspices of the Jewish principle of healing the world, a rabbi may stray from religious texts for a good cause. But did Rabbi Marxs congregation know he spent years poring over the legal records of goyish 19th-century dairy farmers?

Food does have a special place in Judaism. We remember past afflictions by munching on matzo and express our future aspirations in terms of milk and honey. Rabbis even innovate recipes. The first-century sage Hillel mixed bitter maror and sweet charoset between matzo to symbolize the lessons of Exodus. The Hillel sandwich is still part of the Passover Seder ceremony. So why couldnt a 21st-century rabbi find religious meaning in mixing salty lox and fatty cheese in a bagel?

By Forward Association

In Search of Schmear: A child bagel vendor from the Forward archives.

I asked Rabbi Marx over the phone if his research was religious in nature. No, he responded flatly.

I come from the Breakstone family, he explained. His relatives are the Lithuanian Jewish Breakstone brothers who started the dairy giant in 1897. He became interested in dairy while researching a family genealogy that became an 839-page book, which included the names of 31,000 relatives.

A family member told me, your cousins who started the dairy introduced cream cheese to America, he recalled. This inspired him to write the history of Breakstones. When he learned that his ancestors didnt start cream cheese, he began to write the real history in a footnote. Roughly eight to 10 years later, I finished the footnote.

Courtesy of Rabbi Jeffrey Marx

Cream Cheese Expert: Jeffrey Marx is rabbi emeritus of Santa Monica Synagogue.

Marx, who retired in June at the age of 68, sees his research as part of his rabbinate. For American Jews, the most important center of Judaism is America, he said. For over three decades, the rabbi led adult education classes and delivered sermons connected to Jewish American history.

Its not surprising that the story of cream cheese would inspire a reform rabbi. Reform Judaism is the movement most open to change and outside influences. Practices like the acceptance of female rabbis and tolerance of treyf are seen by some as corrupting Judaism. That cream cheese, something uncontroversially Jewish, is actually modern and non-Jewish, bolsters the argument that adopting outside customs does not water down the Jewish identity.

Reform Judaism in America is absolutely an adaptation of American ways and practices, Rabbi Marx told me. He compares the upscaling of the old-world bagel and herring to the loftier bagel and lox to American Jews embracing Santa-like Hanukkah gift-giving and lavish bar mitzvah receptions. Examples of how Jews incorporated American materialist culture into already existent Jewish religious structures.

Marx doesnt believe these American innovations are a break with tradition. The reason for Jewish survival over the centuries was our ability to interact with and adapt to the different cultures around us, he said. Still, America has given Jews unique opportunities. In the past, Jews borrowed from their neighbors. But, American Jews go one step further. We actually take Yankee cream cheese and make it Jewish, Marx said.

Its the story of American Jewish resilience, said Marx, starting to sound more like a rabbi than a food historian, What weve done is acculturate to America. Weve taken American products, the American World, American things and made them ours. And thats the story of Jews in America.

Andrew Silverstein writes about New York City and is co-founder of Streetwise New York Tours.

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Posted By admin on December 1, 2021

The St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum is allowing us to republish a portion of these Oral Histories projects as a celebration of life and a crucial part of honoring and remembering the past. Please follow the provided links to additional recordings.

Felicia Graber was born in March of 1940 in the city of Tarnow, Poland. The Germans had already invaded Poland at the time of her birth. Although her parents had moved somewhat away from the very strict Orthodox ways of her grandparents, they were still Orthodox, observing the laws of Kashrut (dietary laws) and the Sabbath (traditionally a day of rest, spiritual renewal and prayer). Her grandfather and father were both watchmakers and owned a successful watch and jewelry store.

In the summer of 1942, her paternal grandparents and her maternal grandfather were deported probably to Belzec death camp. (Her maternal grandmother had died in 1934.) In the fall of 1942, she and her parents were ordered to move into the ghetto that was established in the city by the Germans.

After being almost miraculously taken out of a transport to the Belzec death camp with her parents, her father managed to acquire a set of false Christian papers for her mother and a baptismal certificate for her. She and her mother were smuggled out of the ghetto and ended up in Warsaw living as Christians.

Felicia was being brought up as a fervent Catholic, going faithfully to mass every Sunday and reciting the Lords Prayer every evening. It is here, in Warsaw, that her father joined them in 1943 after his escape from the ghetto as it was being liquidated. He too had a set of Christian papers but with a different name than she and her mother. As a result, he could not officially live with them and was introduced to Felicia, who did not remember her father, as the brother-in-law of her mother.

In August of 1944, when the Polish Warsaw Uprising by the Polish underground against the Germans was defeated, she and her parents were expelled from their apartment and, together with thousands of other Poles, driven out of the city to a transit camp in Pruszkov. Many Poles were transported from there to Germany as slave laborers, but she and her parents managed to get released and to find shelter in a farmhouse in Chiliczky near Grodzisk Maz, about one hour out of Warsaw.

They remained with the farmer, his wife, and two daughters until Poland was liberated by the Russians in the spring of 1945. At no time did the farmer, his family, or anyone in the village suspect that the three were Jews.

After liberation, her father managed to re-establish himself as a watchmaker and jeweler in Zopot, a resort town in the north of Poland near Gdansk (the former Danzig). It is here that her brother was born in 1946. However, as the Communist grip on Poland tightened, her fathers situation as a capitalist became precarious. In 1947, he managed to get a visa to leave Poland for Belgium where he and his family found political asylum.

It was here, in Brussels, in 1947, at the age of seven that Felicia is told the truth about her identity as a Jew and about the true identity of her uncle. Both revelations came as a shock to her and it took some time before she was able to accept those facts.

In 1951, she and her family moved to Germany for financial reasons. Growing up as a Jew in post-war Germany was a lonely existence for a girl who, although not observant, had become by that time thoroughly Jewish and was aware of Germanys and the Germans role in her peoples and familys recent past.

In 1959, she met and married an American chaplain serving with the U.S. Occupying Forces in Germany. Her return to her roots came full circle when she joined her new husbands Orthodox Jewish lifestyle.

Her daughter was born in 1961 and her son in 1963, both in an army hospital in Germany. She arrived in the U.S. in 1963.

Felicia Grabers father,Salomon Lederberger, has an interview on tape in the archives of the St. Louis Holocaust Museum and Learning Center. You can also read some ofFelicias writingas part of the MuseumsMemory Project.

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This St. Louisan survived the Holocaust not knowing she was Jewish - St. Louis Jewish Light

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Posted By admin on November 30, 2021

Carol Goodman Kaufman| Correspondent

Growing up in a small town in Western Massachusetts, my Hebrew School circle of friends consisted of kids who, like me, were the grandchildren of Ashkenazim, Eastern European immigrants. At Hanukkah we decorated with construction paper chains (no lights or tinsel for us). We lit multicolored candles on thehanukkiyah, the Hanukkah candelabra, that my maternal grandmother had carried from Lithuania. Those candles came from the same little blue boxes you can buy at the supermarket today. No fancy schmancy, hand-dipped candles in those days.

Gifts were simple, too, but to raise the excitement level my parents hid them throughout the house. I can still remember the thrill of finding a John Gnagy Learn to Draw set under the den sofa. (Unfortunately, despite Mr. Gnagy's valiant efforts, I never did learn to draw.)

And the food: latkes, potato pancakes, with applesauce or sour cream, and tiny yellow mesh bags filled with gold-foil-covered gelt, chocolate coins.

That was it for Hanukkah.

Then I moved to Israel and landed at KibbutzMalkiya, so far north that it sat right on the border with Lebanon. The kibbutzniks were mostlyMizrahim, immigrants from Arab countries, and their gastronomic offerings were quite different from those to which I was accustomed. Vegetable salad, olives, and yogurt for breakfast, anyone?

When Hanukkah came around, I was working in one of the kindergarten houses, where I expected to see crispy, golden latkes served to the children. No, that's for the Ashkenazim, the head nanny told me. She proceeded to introduce me tosufganiyot, jelly donuts, and set me to labor injecting raspberry jam into dozens of dough balls prior to frying.

Curious as to the source of the tradition, I did some research. Jews in North Africa have a long Hanukkah tradition of eatingsfenj, small, deep-fried doughnuts. In Israel, where Jews gathered "from the four corners of the Earth," the North Africans met and mingled with the Eastern Europeans. Polishponchkesand Africansfenjmerged to becomesufganiyot.

Since that time, I have learned of other Hanukkah culinary traditions from around the globe, but two unique characteristics define them: they are all either fried in oil or contain cheese. Sometimes both. (Except for brisket. Why brisket is considered the centerpiece of a traditional Hanukkah meal alongside latkes, I don't understand. It is neither fried nor dairy.But,there you have it. A meal of brisket and latkes is considered by many as the quintessential Ashkenazi Hanukkah repast.)

The custom of frying in oil is based on the story of the Maccabees, who organized a revolt against the oppressive Syrian Greek King Antiochus IVEpihanes. At war's end, when the Maccabees returned to Jerusalem to reclaim and rededicate the Holy Temple, they found that the troops fighting under the general Lysias had desecrated it. The legend tells us that the Maccabees found one sealed jar in the Temple that contained enough olive oil for just one day. But that small amount miraculously burned for eight days, thus providing time until more ritually pure oil could be pressed and brought to Jerusalem.

Deep-fried fritters calledbimuelosin Ladino, the Judeo-Spanish language, are the most popular Sephardic Hanukkah treat. They are one of the foods emblematic of conversos, the Jews forcibly converted to Catholicism during the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions, but who secretly practiced their Judaism. After the Expulsion from Spain in 1492, Sephardim spread throughout the Mediterranean world, where in some communities they top their fritters with a honey syrup flavored with orange or rose water.

My Cuban-born friend Mattie Castiel (aka Worcesters intrepid commissioner of Health & Human Services) prepares thebimuelosrecipe learned from her Turkish ancestors. She once offered to pit herbimuelosagainst my latkes any day. Nobody loses in that contest. Youre on, Mattie!

Greeks call similar deep-fried puffs loukoumades, and they dip them in honey or sugar. They believe the Maccabees ate these pastries during the revolt because they were easy to prepare for fighters who had little time to sit for a full meal.

The tradition of eating cheese-based foods is grounded in the story of Judith. Although the book does not mention Hanukkah and is not even included in the Jewish canon (nor is the Book of the Maccabees, for that matter), it is believed to have been written about the same seven-year-long war. We read that in his quest to conquer Judea, the general Holofernes besieged the town of Bethulia, cutting off its water supply. Though the town elders were ready to surrender, hoping to avoid starvation, the Hasmonean Judith was not. The beautiful widow was able to talk her way into Holofernes' tent. Once inside, she fed him cheese. Salty cheese. The cheese made him thirsty, so she gave him wine to quench that thirst. Lots of wine. Which of course made him drunk and sleepy. Once the general fell asleep, Judith grabbed his sword and decapitated him, bringing the head back to her village in a basket.

The next morning, when Holofernes' soldiers beheld the headless body of their leader, they fled in terror. In honor of Judith's courage, we incorporate cheese into our Hanukkah menus. Turkish boyos (spinach and cheese filo pastries), Middle Eastern sambusak (empanada-like pastries), and bourekas (Middle Eastern savory turnovers) all contain salty cheeses similar to the one Holofernes would have eaten, while cheese blintzes and farmer cheese pancakes provide a sweet take on the tradition.

Whether you go sweet or savory, we wish you a happy and delicious Hanukkah!

Bourekas are an enormously popular street food that fit the bill for Hanukkahs culinary cheese tradition and salty cheese makes them even more authentic. Use store-bought puff pastry to cut down on prep time. After all, why spend all your time in the kitchen when there's a party going on in the rest of the house? In fact, you can make and freeze these ahead of time. Just follow the directions at the end of this recipe.

Ingredients:

2 sheets frozen puff pastry

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/3 cup ricotta cheese

1 large egg

Black pepper

1 large egg yok

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Parchment paper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a mixing bowl, combine feta, kashkaval, ricotta, egg, and a pinch of black pepper.

With a fork, mix ingredients together until well blended and evenly textured.

Set aside.

On a lightly floured surface, unfold one of the puff pastry sheets.

With a rolling pin, roll out the sheet to a 12x12 inch square.

Cut the dough into 9 equal-sized squares, 4"x4" each.

Place 1 tablespoon of the cheese mixture into the center of each dough square.

Grasp one corner of the square and fold it over to the opposite corner to make a triangle.

Crimp along the edges with the tines of a fork.

Repeat this process for the second sheet of puff pastry.

Line the baking sheets with parchment paper.

Place 9 bourekas on each sheet. They will expand during baking, so space them evenly.

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and 2 tsp of cool water. Brush a light layer of the egg wash onto the top of each boureka.

Sprinkle the bourekas with sesame seeds.

Bake the bourekas for about 30 minutes, switching the baking sheets between the upper and lower racks halfway through cooking.

Remove when golden brown and cooked through.

Serve warm.

Store in a sealed container.

To freeze:

Prepare the bourekas but do not egg wash.Place the unbaked pastries in a plastic bag or container in single layers, each separated by a sheet of wax or parchment paper.Freeze.

When ready to bake, take the bourekas out of the freezer and set them onto baking sheets sprayed with nonstick oil.

Brush a thin layer of egg wash and sprinkle with the sesame seeds.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes till golden brown.

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The varied culinary traditions of Hanukkah - Worcester Telegram

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Posted By admin on November 30, 2021

AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France & SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News:

Verimatrix, (Euronext Paris: VMX) (Paris:VMX), the leader in powering the modern connected world with people-centered security, today announced the launch of its new Verimatrix StreamkeeperSM solution, a cybersecurity and anti-piracy gamechanger for the media & entertainment industry. Streamkeeper empowers customers to hunt down and take out OTT pirates who steal content such as live sports and premium movie as they are distributed from the source to the endpoint (mobile app/user level).

The solution includes Verimatrix's all-new CounterspySM technology -- the autonomous injection of an anti-piracy and app protection security agent that utilizes the companys proprietary zero code technology which allows customers to add deep, defensive countermeasures, plus monitor their clients without the hassle of a huge integration effort. Integration efforts have also been reduced dramatically, from months to minutes, accompanying numerous operator benefits ranging from a reduction in siphoned subscribers to expanded access to valuable, highly sought-after studio content.

Streamkeeper enables OTT operators to delight studios and other content owners with powerful piracy visibility and protections. Operators also have full control of the visibility offered to content owners. Creative hackers often weaponize CDNs and end device software such as mobile apps and web browsers using them against operators. Verimatrixs groundbreaking Counterspy zero-code injection approach shines a light on previously hidden piracy attacks, leaving pirates with no place to hide. The battle-ready tools provided within Streamkeeper allow customer to fight piracy with powerful, military-grade cybersecurity countermeasures never before available. Currently in beta testing and examined by studios, Verimatrix Streamkeeper is scheduled for general availability at the end of Q1 2022.

Streamkeeper is a game-changing new OTT anti-piracy solution that will forever change how Hollywood and sports will tackle piracy, said Asaf Ashkenazi, Chief Operating Officer and President at Verimatrix. Its a complete content security package containing exciting new technologies, such as the autonomous injection of an anti-piracy security agent that utilizes zero code technology; meaning we can now easily add deep, defensive anti-piracy tracing, app protection and countermeasures instantly to customer ecosystems. Content owners and operators have been seeking a solution such as Streamkeeper that leaves no low-hanging fruit for pirates to exploit and does so in a way that empowers the industry while maintaining great user experiences and protecting investments in content. We believe this solution could become the de facto standard for next-generation anti-piracy, recommended by content owners.

Significantly different from any other solution available on the market today, Streamkeeper closes authentication gaps and harnesses app protection and dual-telemetry technology to monitor new/unknown hacking attempts and real-time tampering and content theft. This arms operators with the ability to identify suspected piracy and react instantly with a variety of countermeasures. Working in tandem with time-tested Multi-DRM, fingerprinting/watermarking and dark web crawling to track down pirated content in bold new ways, Streamkeeper takes anti-piracy far beyond reveal and takedown notices -- enabling alert verification as well as views into the actual apps, devices and users accessing authorized and unauthorized content during livestreams. This empowers customers to more aggressively combat pirates at the endpoint should they choose, or deploy less aggressive responses such as degradation of screen quality or in-broadcast messaging. The ability to halt live streaming pirated content in real-time is an incredibly powerful tool.

Top highlights inside Verimatrix Streamkeeper include:

For more information on Verimatrix Streamkeeper, including a demo or becoming a beta customer, visit: http://www.verimatrix.com/streamkeeper/

About VerimatrixVerimatrix (Euronext Paris: VMX) helps power the modern connected world with security made for people. We protect digital content, applications, and devices with intuitive, people-centered and frictionless security. Leading brands turn to Verimatrix to secure everything from premium movies and live streaming sports, to sensitive financial and healthcare data, to mission-critical mobile applications. We enable the trusted connections our customers depend on to deliver compelling content and experiences to millions of consumers around the world. Verimatrix helps partners get to market faster, scale easily, protect valuable revenue streams, and win new business. Visit http://www.verimatrix.com.

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Verimatrix Launches Streamkeeper To Offer Industry's First Battle-Ready Cybersecurity Solution Engineered to Hunt Down and Take Out Video Piracy -...

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Posted By admin on November 30, 2021

Pancreatic cancer isnt common, making up just 3 percent of all cancer cases in the U.S. At first glance, the numbers seem reassuring, but in reality, pancreatic cancer is rarely caught early, and its 5-year survival rate is just 10 percent. It is the third leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S., behind the much more commonly diagnosed lung and colon cancer.

While the numbers are grim, the experts atMiami Cancer Institute, a part of Baptist Health, say if you better understand your risk for pancreatic cancer, you can modify the risk factors that can be changed. On World Pancreatic Cancer Day, Thursday, Nov. 18, the Institute held a free informational program to build awareness.

Is It In Our DNA?

Domenech Asbun, M.D., a hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgeon at Miami Cancer Institute

Every cell in our body has a rule book of sorts and that is our DNA, explainedDomenech Asbun, M.D., a hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgeon at the Institute. When there are changes in that rule book, cells can mutate and grow in an uncontrollable fashion. Most people want to know if these changes are a matter of nature or nurture.

Physician scientists have determined that in most cases, its a combination of the two. We can be born with changes in our DNA that will predispose us to develop cancer at some point in our lives but there are also environmental factors, Dr. Asbun said.

The first step in understanding your risk is knowing your family history and not just for pancreatic cancer, but for other cancers as well. About 10 percent of pancreatic cancers are associated with some familial or inherited factor. For example, those with the BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutation (most often linked to breast and ovarian cancer), have a 3 to 10-fold increase of getting pancreatic cancer, he said.

In addition, those with a PALB2 mutation, or conditions such as FAMMM (familial atypical multiple mole melanoma), Lynch Syndrome, Peutz-Jeghers Syndrome or hereditary pancreatitis are at increased risk. Having a first-degree relative with pancreatic cancer also raises your odds slightly. Even if your DNA predisposes you to cancer, you may never get the disease, but if you suspect your genetics is putting you at risk, Dr. Asbun suggests talking to your doctor.

Decreasing Your Risk

I wish there was a silver bullet for prevention, Dr. Asbun said. But the best thing you can do is modify those risk factors that can be changed.

You can lower your risk for many types of cancer, including pancreatic cancer, by making some lifestyle changes. Among them:

If you smoke or use tobacco products, stop. Smokers also have a poorer response to cancer treatment.

Lose weight if you are overweight. A BMI above 30 increases your risk for pancreatic cancer by 20 percent.

Keep type 2 diabetes at bay. Some of these risk factors go hand in hand, and being overweight is closely associated with diabetes, Dr. Asbun said.

Other possible contributing factors are a diet high in red meat, saturated fats and sugary drinks; low vitamin D; not enough exercise; alcohol consumption (which is associated with chronic pancreatitis, which can lead to cancer); and infections such as H. Pylori and hepatitis B.

Risk Factors Beyond Your Control

Unfortunately, there are some things you cant change. Your age is one (the average age at diagnosis is 70, although once above age 45 the risks do go up). More men tend to get pancreatic cancer. There is also a higher incidence among African-Americans and those of Ashkenazi Jewish descent. However, there may be other factors contributing to these associations, and the reasons for increased risk are not always clear.

Screening for pancreatic cancer is not typically recommended, Dr. Asbun said, and symptoms such as weight loss and jaundice often dont appear until the disease is advanced. If suspected, endoscopic ultrasound or an MRI may be performed. Sometimes, pancreatic cancer is detected when a patient has an MRI or CT scan for another problem. Results of a CA 19-9 blood test may suggest cancer, but not everyone who has pancreatic cancer has a high CA 19-9 level.

Better Treatments

There are new options for treating pancreatic cancer and Miami Cancer Institute is leadingclinical trialsin different types of chemotherapy and high-dose radiation, and offers minimally invasive procedures. They are extending life and improving quality of life among those with pancreas cancer. We have many more tools at our disposal now and we know how to use them better, Dr. Asbun said. We are very much at the forefront of cancer care.

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Pancreatic Cancer: Can It Be Prevented? - Baptist Health South Florida

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