5776
Vol. LXX No. 16 | 13 Nisan, 5776 April 21, 2016 | njjewishnews.com
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NEW JERSEY JEWISH NEWS
JEWISH FEDERATION OF GREATER METROWEST NJ
PASSOVER
25, 29, 30, 34
Passover GREETINGS 4
State&Local
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Opinion
27
Life&Times
30
Calendar
12
5
30 Candlelighting
30 Touch of Torah 31 Community 43
LifeCycle
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Classifieds
SOURCES OF PEACE
KEEPING THE SEPHARDI FLAME
Passover I celebrate Passover because my parents couldn’t Olga Chernov-Gitin Kveller via JTA
M
in Ukraine. (When I was little, there were no matza bakeries in Dnepropetrovsk.) That morning, as I was getting my tortilla out of the fridge, I mentioned to Will that once Passover
first person starts, I won’t be eating any tortillas and we giggled about the difficulty of spreading peanut butter and jelly on matza without breaking it. Somewhat thoughtfully, Will remarked: “You’ll probably be really sick of matza by the end of Pesach! Aaaaaand, you can’t have pancakes!” Even though I was already risking being late for work, I decided that the moment was right to share my thoughts on Passover with my son since he had brought it up.
Photo courtesy iStock
y son is four and a half, a delightful age where he is still full of sometimes grammatically incorrect sentences that provide a glimpse into the magical and unique way that children see the world. In everything, my husband and I look for teaching moments. Our policy is to tell the truth, even if we need to simplify it a little bit. Like most first-generation Americans, he hears the words “when I was little…” from us a lot. It’s followed by a comparison of how different his American childhood is from our Soviet childhoods: everything from toys and food, to freedom of religion and celebrating diversity. Once we went to our local Chabad for a model matza baking. At the end, the kids received real shmura matza and the rabbi even mentioned to us that it comes from Dnepropetrovsk,
freedom. Freedom of my “You know what? Jewish people from slavYou’re right, by the end, ery, freedom of refugees/ I do miss real bread,” Americans by choice I said. “But you know like us to be Jewish, and what else? I’m really most recently, freedom happy when I eat matza. of self-determination It reminds me that I’m for Jews in Ukraine, free to eat it and free to who joined Ukrainicelebrate Pesach. Did ans of all backgrounds you know that when I to proclaim that they, was little, we weren’t too, want to live free of allowed to?” corruption and outside Aha! I saw the spark political influence. of interest in his eyes; my Olga Chernov-Gitin My son is the new cue to continue. generation that will not “When I was litknow political opprestle, and even when Grandma Yana was little, we weren’t sion and religious suppression. He allowed to celebrate Pesach and eat is the pure generation that hears matza,” I said. “In the Soviet Union, about things so unthinkable to him the government didn’t want Jews to that he probably assumes we exagcelebrate their holidays. We couldn’t gerate. Watching him grow up free go to the library and learn to make and teaching him what it means to matza. And Jews couldn’t even speak be Jewish is an honor and a joy. It is Yiddish in public. Can you imagine something I do openly, buying Jewish what it would be like if you were only books in Barnes & Noble and celeallowed to speak Russian at home and brating holidays in public spaces. never, ever outside?” These are such simple things, yet so Confused surprise flashed across unthinkable for my parents and grandmy son’s face. parents. They managed to pass on “Is that why everyone only remem- what little they knew out of sight and bers some words in Yiddish but not with some apprehension. I eat matza all?” he asked. “And is that why you for them, to be reminded that Jewish want me to speak Russian? So I don’t freedom comes with a heavy price. But forget it like they forgot Yiddish?” in today’s America, passing on the sigBingo! A connection had been nificance of that freedom is both my made. It was imperfect, but I’ll take it. luxury and my responsibility. n I came back to eating matza. Yes, I miss hametz by about day five. But the Olga Chernov-Gitin is a first-generation truth is, Passover is one of my favorite American who lives with her husband holidays precisely because it celebrates and two children in Conshohocken, Pa.
Hag Sameah
Wishing you and your family a Happy Passover!
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Passover How to choose a Haggada
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Julie Wiener MyJewishLearning via JTA
ith thousands of published Haggadas available for purchase, choosing the one that is best for your seder can be overwhelming. For an overview of the many possibilities, we recommend How Is This Haggadah Different? Here are some things you might want to consider when selecting a Haggada:
30-Minute Seder or a book that relates the Exodus to modern social issues might be just the thing.
Hag SameaH
Children
Since children generally don’t like sitting still at the table for long, we recommend an abbreviated or child-oriented Haggada. There are many great children’s and “family” Haggadas that engage adults as Cost well as kids. Visit Kveller.com for a list of the best Remember, you’ll need a copy of the Haggada for Haggadas for kids. For the older kids, think about each guest (or every two guests, if people are com- acting out skits from the seder. fortable sharing). Unless you plan to buy one copy and then do some extensive photocopying — we Technology should note, that’s illegal for copyrighted publica- The first two days of Passtions — you’ll have to multiply the book’s price by over are yom tov, when trathe number of guests. ditional Jewish observance There are also many free downloadable PDF ver- forbids activities like writsions online, like those found at mezuzahstore.com ing and using electronics. and chabad.org, or you could choose to make your If this is not an issue for own. you, however, a number of Haggadas are now available as e-books and apps, Length If your guests are expecting the traditional seder, usually at lower prices complete with Hebrew, they might be uncom- than printed versions fortable with an abridged Haggada, an LGBTQ (with the added advantage that Haggada, or one that emphasizes contemporary you will not need to find a place to store them after examples of oppression and slavery. On the other the seder). While many are digital versions of printed hand, if many are first-time seder-goers or lack the See Haggada page 42 patience for a really long seder, something like The
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Passover
Happy
Passover
The essence of Pesach inside the box Edmon J. Rodman JTA
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LOS ANGELES — Can the essence of of this “highly designed” box remain Passover fit into a box? Fans of Man- known only to The Kitchen. However, ischewitz and Streit’s will undoubtedly speaking about the box’s mix of food, ritual object, and text, Schlesinger says answer, “Yes, in a matza box.” But a successful Kickstarter cam- he hopes the food will provide an entry paign called Hello Mazel aims to rein- point to the Jewish content, and the vent that box, promising a package Jewish content will provide a “framefilled with Passover-related “Jewish work in which to understand why the awesomeness” that will be delivered to foods are relevant.” Moving beyond “symbolic ethnicyour door (or someone else’s). The project was a smash on Kick- ity” — a term coined by sociologist starter, to the tune of more than Hebert Gans describing a nostalgic relationship with Judaism that relies $152,021 with 1,395 backers. Investors who pledged a minimum on a “love for and pride in a tradition of $45 were to receive a box in April that can be felt without having to be containing “three twists on the tastes of Passover, a Haggadah like none you’ve ever used, and a seder plate that is not a seder plate,” said the enigmatic pitch. Thinking inside the box, I wondered what would go into a box of my own creation. Perhaps a jar filled with the essence of full-strength maror to revive them to the awe of liberation. Also a seder clock; one that doesn’t mark the time but rather the steps of the seder, so that people who had wandered off could find their place. Also, something to clean wine stains from my shirt — who pledged a minimum of $45 will that alone would be worth 45 bucks. Investors receive a Hello Mazel box containing “three I already have plenty of packaged twists on the tastes of Passover.” Passover foods that twist my insides, Screenshot by Edmon J. Rodman a box of Haggadas I only use once a year, and so many seder plates we have a “discussion” each Passover incorporated in everyday behavior” — on which one to use. So I was curious Schlesinger said one question driving about what Hello Mazel was really the project was: “How do we get Torah offering. Was it basically just a Jewish to more people and into more people’s take on the trendy subscription boxes hands?” As an answer, The Kitchen’s crew of artisanal what-have-you? Or was this created a Haggada, a prototype of a box that could also feed the soul? Most of all, I wondered: What could which Schlesinger and others successa box filled with Passover stuff do to fully tested at their own seders last year. “We reinvented and re-engineered a actually bring Jews together? To get a better understanding of way of telling the Passover story, which the Hello Mazel’s Passover box — one is what the seder and Haggada are of four promised packages that Hello meant to do,” he said. The Haggada could serve as either Mazel plans to deliver this year — I spoke with Yoav Schlesinger, executive a supplement or a replacement, director of The Kitchen, the San Fran- Schlesinger added. “For a seder newbie it certainly cisco-based, rabbinically-led spiritual community that is putting the project would be an appropriate first-level, Haggada-like experience,” he said. together. As for the seder plate, its design The Kitchen, which describes itself as “a religious startup,” says on its web- has them reaching creatively, looking site that Judaism is about “provoking for a way to present something that is “heavy, expensive, and beautiful” in a awe and purpose.” To that end, they had to “rethink box that’s 10 by 12 by four inches (and what might go in a box of Jewish stuff,” also needs to contain the rest of the Schlesinger explained. As a goal, they offerings). Long accustomed to my table’s wanted something that was “unexpected and inspirational,” he said. For now, the item-by-item contents See Box page 42
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Passover The reason shmura matza is so expensive Uriel Heilman JTA t costs more per pound than filet mignon. It might be burnt or taste like cardboard. It’s so delicate it often breaks in the box, rendering it unfit for Passover ritual use. Yet every year, Jews from Brooklyn to B’nei Brak line up to fork over their hard-earned money to buy boxes and boxes of the stuff. This isn’t your regular box of Streit’s matza. We’re talking, of course, about handmade shmura matza: the artisanal, disc-shaped matzas consid- I t t a k e s a b o u t 2 0 s e c o n d s i n a ered extra special because the ingredi- 1,300-degree, coal-and-wood-fired ents are “guarded” against leavening, oven to bake shmura matza to perfecor hametz, not just from the time the tion. Photo by Uriel Heilman wheat is ground into flour, but from before the wheat is even harvested. wants. The cost has to reflect that.” “Shmura” is Hebrew for guarded. Despite its price — and, some say, The extra level of scrutiny — and the labor-intensive process required its taste — there’s a thriving market to make handcrafted matza — is for handmade shmura matza (there’s largely what accounts for its high also machine-made shmura, which price: anywhere from $20 to $60 for a is cheaper and usually square but more strictly scrutinized than regular single pound. “The amount of hours of labor matza). Many observant Jews won’t going into this between me and my use anything other than handmade staff is incomparable,” said Yisroel shmura matza on their seder table. Bass, who runs a farm in Goshen, Some won’t eat non-shmura anytime NY, that produces organically grown during Passover. The same Jews who shmura matza ($34 per pound for reg- light expensive olive oil menoras on Hanukka rather than wax candles or ular shmura, $37 for spelt). “Renting out a bakery costs a lot buy premium etrogs for Sukkot will of money — the space and the staff. lay out extra cash before Passover to Equipment breaks every year. Every buy handmade shmura matza. (The farm has its expenses, and organic practice of going above and beyond is farms end up having more overhead. known as hiddur mitzva, beautifying We can’t buy the synthetic fertilizer; the commandment.) “For the consumer, it is an opporwe have manure,” Bass said. “And God forbid I have a bad year and the tunity to purchase the only sacred rabbi comes and says the wheat is no food that we have today in our faith,” good, I just spent a whole lot of time and money on a product nobody Continued on next page
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Happy Passover
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Passover Wines for the holiday
T
hree wines produced by Layla Vineyards, located in Chile’s Central Valley, have been certified as kosher by the OU and KLBD. Their Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot are meshuval, kosher for Passover and all year round. Layla Vineyards is located in Chile’s most productive and internationally known wine region, which maintains a Mediterranean climate with cool, dry summers and mild, rainy winters. The wines, with a suggested price of $8.99, are imported by Miracle Importing/Admiral Global Brands.
Matza from previous page said Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld of Ohev Sholom synagogue in Washington, DC. “It is a bargain. Buy less brisket and more shmura matza.” Mitchell Weitzman, a lawyer from Baltimore, says shmura matza has sentimental value. “There is just a sense of authenticity about having shmura matza on the table,” Weitzman said. “It’s a feeling more than anything else — certainly more than serving up Passover-style Fruit Loops the next morning.” Others say they like the taste and eat it year round, stocking up right after Passover when the price drops dramatically owing to reduced demand. “I keep a box of shmura matza in the trunk of my car,” said Tali Aronsky, a public relations doyenne who lives in Israel. “Keeps crispy in all weather and great in a pinch.” Religious Jews consider shmura matza baked after midday on the day before Passover — known as “matzot mizva” — as especially meritorious to eat, and the matza is priced accordingly. At the Satmar Bakery in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, a pound of the Passover eve-baked stuff retails for $60. The line of customers at the Rutledge Street store usually
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snakes around the block. The Satmar Bakery employs a number of stringencies rare even in the world of shmura matza. It harvests its wheat in Arizona, where the dry climate helps guard against accidental leavening (moisture precipitates leavening). Matza farmers in the Northeast typically harvest their wheat crop in May or June — around the Shavuot holiday (also called Hag Habikurim, which means Festival of the First Fruits). The wheat is plucked after the kernels start to harden but before they sprout new shoots. Kosher supervisors monitor the grain even as it’s growing to make sure the wheat isn’t sprouting. From the time it is picked until being milled months later, the wheat must be guarded and stored in a climate-controlled environment. Too moist, it could become hametz. Too dry, it will fail to bake properly. At the Yiddish Farm in upstate New York, Bass says he uses fans and computer monitoring to bring the moisture level down to the desired 11-12 percent level. After the wheat is milled into flour — also under close supervision — ■ the baking process may begin.
Passover E
EL AL celebrates Passover
L AL Israel Airlines is helping passengers celebrate Passover by adding flights worldwide to accommodate holiday traffic. As the world’s only kosher airline, EL AL will serve Passover meals in accordance with dietary laws under Rabbinic supervision. Catering for EL AL flights from New York (JFK/ Newark) is provided by Borenstein, a daughter company of EL AL, with dishes prepared by executive chef Steven Weintraub. Award-winning chef and TV personality Moshe Segev, who oversees catering operations for EL AL flights departing Israel, has provided his favorite kosher recipes for Passover.
Add peppers and garlic and mix. Add tomatoes and cook until peppers are soft. Add spices (paprika, salt, turmeric, white pepper). Mix well. Add three quarters of herbs (coriander and parsley). Place fish carefully near each other. Pour on water and cook for 20 minutes. Sprinkle remaining herbs on fish. Cover pot and continue cooking for 10 minutes.
3 pieces fish fillet (salmon, locus, or any other fish preferred) 1/2 C. olive oil 7 red peppers (sliced slim) 9 sweet tomatoes, peeled and sliced into cubes 9 garlic cloves, chopped 1 C. chopped coriander 1 C. chopped parsley 1 heaping Tbsp. Moroccan paprika 1 heaping Tbsp. salt 1 tsp. turmeric 1 tsp. white pepper 2 C. water Handful of toasted pine nuts
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Hag SameaH ORANGE SOUP
CHRAIME FISH
Wishing you peace and happiness at Passover
2 lg. pumpkins 2 lg. sweet potatoes 1 carrot 6 1/2 C. water (more hot water can be added at the end if a thinner soup is preferred) Add salt and ground white pepper to taste Cut vegetables into 2x2 centimeter cubes. Steam vegetables in a pot with a little butter. Add water, cover pot, and cook until vegetables are completely soft. Drain vegetables and keep cooking water aside. Blend cooked vegetables until texture is smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste (Segev recommends adding more pepper to balance sweet potato sweetness). If the soup is too thick, add some cooking water saved earlier until the right texture is reached.
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For more information and to book flights, visit elal.com or call 800-223-6700. Learn more about promotions, activities, special events, and travel tips to Israel by following EL AL on Facebook, ELALIsraelAirlinesUSA, Heat a flat and wide pot with olive oil (high heat). and Twitter, @ELALUSA.
A Zissen Pesach
Wishing
your family a happy passover
Congregation Beth Israel Rabbi George Nudell Cantor Matthew Axelrod Davida Berkowitz, Executive Director Gail B. Buchbinder, Education Director
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Passover Pesach books for one kid — or many Penny Schwartz JTA
A
fikoman hunts, a rambunctious pup, and the catchy classic “Dayenu.” All are featured in a half-dozen new Passover books for children that will inform and entertain even the littlest kid — or a whole herd of ’em. The eight-day holiday kicks off this year on the evening of April 22. Why not pick up a new tome for the tyke in your life? Prices are about two zuzim and up. Passover is Coming Tracy Newman, illustrated by Viviana Garofoli Kar-Ben; ages 1-4; $5.99 This colorful board book is the latest addition to a lively series that introduces young kids to the Jewish holidays. Here, the green buds of spring are the first hint that Passover is coming. Readers follow a family as it prepares for the hol-
iday, from spring cleaning and using home-grown parsley for the seder plate to learning the Four Questions and anticipating the hunt for the afikoman. The joyful refrain — “Passover is coming!” — repeats at the end of each verse and is sure to build excitement as the date approaches. Pesach Guess Who? Ariella Stern; illustrated by Patti Argoff Hachai; ages 3-5; $9.95 Hachai continues to create lively, interactive books appealing to haredi Orthodox families. Young kids will enjoy the rhyming clues to “who am I” questions — “I’m a food that’s baked in a hurry, but I still taste great, don’t worry!” — in this lift-the-flap book
Nu? We Can Insure That.
about Passover. The whole mishpacha — mom, dad, and the five kids — all lend a hand to sweep and clean the house. They watch as workers bake handmade matza and make startled faces as they bite into the bitter herbs. The end page poses a series of holiday observance questions (the answer key is color- and number-coded) and there’s a glossary, too.
found their home, how many long years did they roam?”) that will keep kids engaged and entertained. Balsley keeps things interesting with a variety of activities, including puzzles, mazes, riddles, and maps. There’s an illustrated answer key at end, along with a brief explanation of the holiday.
ABC Passover Hunt Tilda Balsley; illustrated by Helen Poole Kar-Ben; ages 3-8; $17.99, hardcover; $7.99, paperback A lively alphabet hunt is on in this large format, brightly illustrated book that introduces young kids to Passover themes, customs, and foods. The clever clues, from A to Z, are thought-provoking and range from easier spot-the-answer picture puzzles to more challenging questions (“At last the Jews had
More Than Enough: A Passover Story April Halprin Wayland; illustrated by Katie Kath Penguin Random House; ages 3-5; $16.99 This lively book is a riff on the Passover favorite “Dayenu,” a song that echoes with the theme of gratitude. Readers follow a contemporary family as it readies to celebrate the holiday, including a trip to the farmer’s market, where it doesn’t take much to convince mom to adopt a kitten from a shelter. They chop apples for haroset, dress up for
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Passover grandmother’s seder, and hunt for the afikoman. The word “dayenu” repeats throughout the story. The colorful, cartoon-like illustrations bring the story to life — many are full-page or double-spread. The happy ending includes a Passover sleepover. The book concludes with an author’s note, glossary, and the music to “Dayenu.” Kayla and Kugel’s Almost Perfect Passover Ann Koffsky Apples & Honey Press; ages 3-5; $9.95 In this second “Kayla and Kugel” book, the fun starts right away as the young girl and her dog invite readers into their home for a seder. When Kayla makes her own Haggada, the rambunctious Kugel gets tangled in the ribbon and knocks over the glue. In simple, easy-to-follow verse, Kayla tells young readers some of the basics of a seder. She smiles at the sweet taste of haroset, but her braids stand on end and she scrunches her face at the bitter taste of maror, symbolizing slavery. Kids will enjoy the mayhem when the mischievous Kugel sets the family off on an adventurous hunt for the afikoman. The end pages include a search-and-find activity. The author’s note from Koffsky poses open-ended, engaging questions to spark family conversations, such as “Why do you think many holidays have songs to go with them?”
Have a Happy and HealthyPassover
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A Place for Elijah Kelly Easton Ruben; illustrated by Joanne Friar Kar Ben; ages 5-9; $17.99 This endearing story — the first Jewish picture book from the acclaimed author of The Outlandish Adventures of Liberty Aimes — opens on the first night of Passover as a young girl named Sarah is anxiously setting the table, making sure to include a place for Elijah. As the seder unfolds, a rainstorm and cold winds threaten Sarah’s neighborhood and there’s a power failure. The lights stay on in Sarah’s home, however, and one by one, the neighbors appear at the family’s door and Sarah sets another place. First it’s Mrs. Faiz, the florist, then Bagel Ben and Doughnut Dan. Kids will take notice when Music Man Miguel and his mischievous monkey Manny join the growing crowd. But when the young boy who sells magazines arrives, Sarah is worried that there is no longer a seat for Elijah. Kids will be surprised by the story’s satisfying end. The large illustrations match the gentle tone of the story and capture the multicultural life of the neighborhood. Ruben said she was inspired by the Haggada passage “Let all who are hungry come and eat.” She wanted to evoke the sense of tolerance and welcoming strangers — a prominent theme of the ■ seder.
With our warmest
wishes at Passover
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Joyous Passover
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liked the idea — he said it reminded him of the popular novelty known as “snakes in a can.” Yet I still wondered how even a brilliant new Haggada could hold everyone’s interest — especially that of a generation used to doing practically everything online. Schlesinger responded that Judaism — contrary to recent attempts to project it into virtual communities — has always been about the senses, the “tactile” experience of “touch, feel, and taste.” “What is a moment we can share?” he asked. “Not just a digital space”; how do we “recapture the experiential moment?” Opening a box — whether filled with objects from Hello Mazel or from our own imaginations — ■ might just be the way.
round seder plate, I began to picture how a new form might add difference to this night of distinctions. Would it be in the form of a hand? Would it come like a jigsaw puzzle for those seated at the table to solve? The food items are “kosher style,” so Schlesinger acknowledges the box “is not going to be for everyone.” He also realizes its limitations. He isn’t sure, for instance, that the hope of opening the box at the seder table and “it releases magic” is a reasonable expectation, Schlesinger told me. What is reasonable, he said, is that it will create “some inspiration.” “What about putting an inflatable rabbi in the box?” I asked, jokingly wondering what kind of magic I needed to keep everyone’s attention at my Edmon J. Rodman is a JTA columnist who writes on Jewish life from Los Angeles. Contact him at edmoown seder table. Unfazed, Schlesinger, whose father is a rabbi, jace@gmail.com.
Haggada from page 35 www.Yanina-co.com
Haggadas, others incorporate multimedia features. A free one from JewishBoston.com has music and other materials in addition to the text. One on iTunes has text and music, plus interactive commentary and games.
Beauty
over it. (That can happen with any Haggada, but you probably won’t mind so much if it’s inexpensive or more about function than aesthetic.) For a beautiful (and modern) Haggada, check out the New American Haggadah and The Bronfman Haggadah Haggadah. The Syzk Haggadah created in the 1930s, Haggadah, features illustrations in the style of illuminated manuscripts. ■
Haggadas come in an array of designs and styles, with art ranging from contemporary to ancient. The downside of a gorgeous tome, however, is that there’s a good chance one of your guests will spill wine all Julie Wiener is managing editor of MyJewishLearning.
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