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October, 2009:

Simchat Torah experience

Oct 8th, 2009
by Leah.
6 comments

Like most Yemenite Jews, my husband’s family is very careful to safeguard its heritage, especially when it comes to liturgy and Torah learning. In an effort to preserve their unique Hebrew pronunciation (considered by some to be the closest one to the way Hebrew was spoken two thousand years ago), kids are taught to read “in Yemenite” from an early age. My husband has fond childhood memories of learning with his mori (Torah teacher) after school.

Unlike most Ashkenazi and Sephardi synagogues, Yemenite congregations do not have designated Torah readers, which means that every person called up to the Torah reads by himself (and he’d better get it right, or else…). Kids get their first taste of reading from the Torah around the age of 5 or 6, by reading Yaakov’s blessing to Asher on Simchat Torah (Deuteronomy 33:24-26). Once they become fairly proficient at reading, they are asked to read the targum, the Aramaic translation of the Torah, which accompanies the Shabbat Torah reading.

With Simchat Torah just around the corner, my 5-year-old can hardly contain his excitement. This year, he’ll get a chance to read from the Torah just like his dad. The two have been practicing for months and are now holding their final rehearsals.

Etrog jam may be poisonous – UPDATE

Oct 6th, 2009
by Leah.
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Several readers have expressed interest in pesticide-free etrogs for cooking.

Today, I spoke with a friend of ours, who grows etrogs up in the Galilee. He told me that they stop applying pesticides after picking the fruit for Sukkot, so etrogs that will ripen in the winter (around November – December) will grow without being sprayed.

If you are interested, drop me a line (my email appears in the About section) and I’ll give you his phone number.

Something different for the holiday meal

Oct 6th, 2009
by Leah.
2 comments

Our family’s love affair with Bukharian cuisine began over 60 years ago during WWII, when my grandmother was evacuated from Ukraine to Central Asia. She returned home after getting to know dozens of Bukharian-Jewish families and learning about their favorite dishes. Although I got my hands on a whole treasure trove of authentic recipes while translating a Bukharian cookbook last year, my favorite pilav recipe still comes from my mother.

Pilav – a rice and meat dish – is the cornerstone of Bukharian cuisine. There are some 70 different varieties of pilav. Traditionally it is made with lamb and lamb fat. That’s a little too heavy for us, so I usually use chicken together with brown rice, which adds another 20 minutes to cooking time.

If you are looking for something simple yet different, check out my Chicken Pilav recipe here.

Obama's peace for our time

Oct 5th, 2009
by Leah.
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chamb obama Obama's peace for our time

Peace for our time?

On September 30, 1938, Neville Chamberlain returned to Britain after selling Czechoslovakia off to Hitler and pronounced the agreement to signify “peace for our time.” Less than a year later, Germany invaded Poland, setting off the greatest tragedy in modern history.

Fast forward to 2009. President Obama betrays Czech and Polish allies by unilaterally scrapping the Eastern European missile defence program in order to gain Russia’s nominal support for yet another round of worthless sanctions against Iran. From there, he goes on to declare a fantasy nuclear disarmament resolution at the UN, while hiding secret intelligence of Iran’s Qom facility that, if left unhampered, will be able to produce enriched uranium in less than a year .

Just to make sure Iran has ample time to continue with its nuclear program, after revealing this secret intelligence in Pittsburgh, the US together with other Security Council members, engages Iran in negotiations in Geneva without even setting an agenda.

Sure enough, Ahmadinejad doesn’t feel any pressure. “We prefer to build up friendship and understanding [with the world powers] and are prepared for long negotiations,” he said on Iranian television. “But the six countries [UN Security Council members] are free to adopt whatever policies they like. We will not be harmed, anyway.”

If Obama gets his way, he’ll have a whole year to daydream about a nuclear-free world. I just hope the rest of us won’t pay the price.

A trip into the heartland

Oct 5th, 2009
by Leah.
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Yesterday, we took advantage of the holidays to visit friends in Elon Moreh. I haven’t been into the Shomron for about 10 years, so this was an excellent opportunity to get a fresh look at the area.

We usually take advantage of family trips to anchor our children’s knowledge of various subjects to the site of actual places and things. As we drove past Shilo, we reminded them of the story of Elkana, Chana, and Shmuel (1 Samuel 1). On top of Mount Kabir, we pointed out Joshua’s altar (Joshua 8:30), Shechem, Mounts Eval and Gerizim, and Tevetz from the story of Avimelech (Judges 9:50). (The names of Biblical sites all over Israel have been preserved in the names of adjacent Arab villages. You can read more about this here.)

What I did not expect was the effect that the trip had on me. When I first came to Israel, I was constantly aware of the Biblical sites around me. It took a while until the amazement and the feeling of privilege at being able to walk on the same hills as David, Shmuel, and Yermiyahu wore off. Since I am neither an archeologist nor a tour guide, after living in the midst of the Biblical heartland for some 15 years, it’s not something I think about on the day-to-day basis.

Yesterday’s one hour drive and the accompanying discussion with the children reawakened this dormant awareness. During the two-thousand-year-long exile , the Jewish people maintained a connection with this land to the point that centuries after the exile, Biblical commentators could draw on their knowledge of Israel’s geography and topography to explain difficult passages in the Torah (Rashi on Genesis 37:14 is just one such example). We didn’t give up on this land while separated from it and we certainly have no plans of giving up on it now that we live, raise children, and plant trees on its soil.

Today we plan to visit Beth El and Jerusalem is on the itinerary for later this week.  I’ am going to think of ideas from keeping familiarity blindness from taking over again.

More on pesticides

Oct 4th, 2009
by Leah.
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Recently, Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, the Chief Rabbi of Tzfat (Safed), revealed that many growers of insect-free greens (the so-called Gush Katif vegetables) use extreme amounts of pesticides instead of employing the more intricate greenhouse methods originally developed in Gush Katif. the Chief Rabbi of Israel Rabbi Shlomo Amar confirmed that there is evidence to support these allegations and disclosed that an investigation is underway.

Ironically, while excessive amounts of pesticides are detrimental to human health, they have only a limited effect on bugs.

As much as I would love to switch to organic vegetables, when it comes to greens it’s just not an option. Whenever we visit my parents in the US, I find myself squinting over cilantro and lettuce trying to discern whether there is a bug stuck somewhere on the leaves. However, I have decided to switch over to the Hasalat brand by Alei Katif (the original Gush Katif company). Though slightly more expensive, Hasalat greens are laboratory inspected for pesticide use (as evidenced by the lab label on their packaging).

The laboratory’s site www.lab-path.co.il lists the date of the latest inspection at the premises of each one of the growers. While it’s impossible to ascertain what really goes on in the field, for me this represents an effort at transparency.

Etrog jam may be poisonous

Oct 3rd, 2009
by Leah.
6 comments

Today’s Maayanei Hayeshua magazine published an article about a lady that distributes etrog peels as a segula for various problems.

Last year, I was thinking of making etrog jam and giving it out to women as a segula for easy delivery. However, someone pointed out to me that etrog growers use a huge amount of pesticides to keep the bugs away and preserve the etrogs’ appearances. Apparently, since etrogs are not usually eaten, the authorities do not regulate the amount of pesticides used on them.

We set out to check the facts. After contacting one of the leading etrog growers in Israel we were told that they do use large amounts of very strong pesticides to keep the etrog trees free of infestation. The grower thought that if using an etrog that had been picked months ago and had since turned very yellow, it was possible to wash the insecticide on the superficial surface of the etrog skin, since it would probably wear off by then. However, he said that he could not vouch for how deep the insecticide sinks into the fruit.

I would suggest that before consuming etrogs or etrog jam, you may want to weigh the segula against the possible dangerous effects of the insecticide (especially if you are expecting).

Happy Sukkot

Oct 2nd, 2009
by Leah.
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Wishing everyone a happy sukkot!

Enjoy the shake.

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