I just explained the Holocaust to my daughter through the lens of food scarcity and kashrut. I hadn’t planned to explain the Holocaust to my daughter at age 4. However, after listening to Leah Johnson’s (Yonson) story of Holocaust survival in the Forests of Belarus (with the Bielski Brothers – see Daniel Craig in the…
It’s been the coldest week in California that I can remember in years – I know, nothing like the MidWest or the East Coast, but for us, it’s been freezing (yes, even going below 32 degrees). The lemon trees in people’s yards look very surprised and unhappy, and a photograph of an orange grove covered…
For many consumers, even those comfortable purchasing and consuming GM products, there is something “different” about creating transgenic animals for human consumption. When people are confronted with the idea of genetically modified animals many think of Dolly, the famous sheep who was the first successful clone of a living animal. One of the first arguments…
As we prepare for Tu B’Shvat, I can’t help but grow more introspective. Over the past century, Tu B’Shvat has evolved into a primarily mystical food holiday incorporating a Kabbalistic seder, dating back to 16th century Tzfat. At the center of our Torah lies our relationship to the natural world. In our Biblical stories, we…
Ask Google about the Jewish food history of Toronto and you’ll get nothing. Ask author/storyteller Michael Wex about Toronto Jewish food history and he’ll talk about immigrants, Sabbath observance, and cholent. With a population of nearly 2.5 million people, half of whom were born outside Canada, Toronto is the most multicultural city in North America,…
Figs have long held my fascination. I grew up begging my mother for one more Fig Newton. Later, I had to stop myself from eating an entire container or bag of dried figs that my parents bought as a special treat. I often had to jockey with my dad for the last one. In college,…
When a new kosher restaurant opens on the Upper West Side, word spreads like wildfire. Upon hearing that a new kosher burger place opened in my neighborhood, I was beyond thrilled. Not only was is right around the corner, but they deliver too! I ventured to Amsterdam Burger Company during its second week since opening….
Tu B’Shvat is one of 4 new years in Jewish Tradition. Celebrated on the 15th of the Hebrew month of Shvat, this holiday gives us a chance to think about and celebrate the earth. Beginning with the rabbis in the 15th century, it has become a tradition to honor Tu B’Shvat with a Tu B’shvat…
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