5776
Vol. XVI No. 11 | 11 Nisan, 5776 April 19, 2016 | njjewishnews.com
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NEW JERSEY JEWISH NEWS
THE JEWISH FEDERATION IN THE HEART OF NEW JERSEY
PASSOVER
11, 16, 18, 30
Passover GREETINGS TEENS IN SERVICE
4
Passover How to choose a Haggada Julie Wiener MyJewishLearning via JTA
W
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:
Cost Remember, you’ll need a copy of the Haggada for each guest (or every two guests, if people are comfortable sharing). Unless you plan to buy one copy and then do some extensive photocopying — we should note, that’s illegal for copyrighted publications — you’ll have to multiply the book’s price by the number of guests. There are also many free downloadable PDF versions online, like those found at mezuzahstore.com and chabad.org, or you could choose to make your own.
One Community
As we open our doors for Elijah, We open our doors to you. Neve Shalom is inviting those in the greater community to join families in our community for Seder. If you are looking for a place to celebrate Pesach for either one or both Seders, please contact us at: membership@neveshlaom.net We have members who have opened their homes to anyone who is interested. Rabbi Eric Rosin Rabbi Gerald Zelizer, Emeritus
Hazzan Sheldon Levin Dan Hirsch, President
Neve Shalom
250 Grove Avenue Metuchen, NJ 08840 (732) 548-2238 www.NeveShalom.net
Every Jewish journey is unique. Neve Shalom is here to support you on your journey. Together, we build One Community.
Length
Technology The first two days of Passover are yom tov, when traditional Jewish observance forbids activities like writing and using electronics. If this is not an issue for you, however, a number of Haggadas are now available as e-books and apps, usually at lower prices than printed versions (with the added advantage that you will not need to find a place to store them after the seder). While many are digital versions of printed 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
If your guests are expecting the traditional seder, Haggadas come in an array of designs and styles, complete with Hebrew, they might be uncom- with art ranging from contemporary to ancient. The fortable with an abridged Haggada, an LGBTQ downside of a gorgeous tome, Haggada, or one that emphasizes contemporary however, is that there’s a good examples of oppression and slavery. On the other chance one of your guests will hand, if many are first-time seder-goers or lack the spill wine all over it. (That can patience for a really long seder, something like The happen with any Haggada, 30-Minute Seder or a book that relates the Exodus but you probably won’t mind to modern social issues might be just the thing. so much if it’s inexpensive or more about function than aesthetic.) Children For a beautiful (and modSince children generally don’t like sitting still at the ern) Haggada, check out the table for long, we recommend an abbreviated or New American Haggadah child-oriented Haggada. There are many great chiland The Bronfman Haggadah. The Syzk dren’s and “family” Haggadas that engage adults as well as kids. Visit Kveller.com for a list of the best Haggadah, created in the 1930s, features illustrations ■ in the style of illuminated manuscripts. Haggadas for kids. For the older kids, think about acting out skits from the seder. Julie Wiener is managing editor of MyJewishLearning.
A sweet and happy Passover CRABIEL PARKWEST FUNERAL CHAPEL 239 LIVINGSTON AVENUE NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ 08901
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Passover Pesach books for one kid — or many Penny Schwartz JTA fikoman hunts, a rambunctious pup, and the — in this lift-the-flap book about Passover. The catchy classic “Dayenu.” All are featured in a whole mishpacha — mom, dad, and the five kids — half-dozen new Passover books for children all lend a hand to sweep and clean the house. They that will inform and entertain even the littlest kid watch as workers bake handmade matza and make startled faces as they bite into the bitter herbs. The — or a whole herd of ’em. The eight-day holiday kicks off this year on the end page poses a series of holiday observance quesevening of April 22. Why not pick up a new tome tions (the answer key is color- and number-coded) for the tyke in your life? Prices are about two zuzim and there’s a glossary, too. and up. ABC Passover Hunt Passover is Coming Tilda Balsley; illustrated by Helen Poole Tracy Newman, illustrated by Viviana Garofoli Kar-Ben; ages 3-8; $17.99, hardcover; $7.99, paperKar-Ben; ages 1-4; $5.99 back A lively alphabet hunt is on in this large format, This colorful board book brightly illustrated book is the latest addition to a that introduces young lively series that introkids to Passover themes, duces young kids to the customs, and foods. The Jewish holidays. Here, clever clues, from A to the green buds of spring Z, are thought-provokare the first hint that ing and range from easier Passover is coming. spot-the-answer picture Readers follow a family puzzles to more challengas it prepares for the ing questions (“At last holiday, from spring the Jews had found their cleaning and using homehome, how many long grown parsley for the seder plate to learning the years did they roam?”) Four Questions and anticipating the hunt for the that will keep kids afikoman. The joyful refrain — “Passover is coming!” — repeats at the end of each verse and is sure engaged and entertained. Balsley keeps things interesting with a variety of activities, including puzzles, to build excitement as the date approaches. mazes, riddles, and maps. There’s an illustrated answer key at end, along with a brief explanation Pesach Guess Who? of the holiday. Ariella Stern; illustrated by Patti Argoff Hachai; ages 3-5; $9.95 More Than Enough: A Passover Story Hachai continues to April Halprin Wayland; illustrated by Katie Kath create lively, interacPenguin Random House; ages 3-5; $16.99 tive books appealing to This lively book is a riff on the Passover favorite haredi Orthodox fam“Dayenu,” a song that echoes with the theme of ilies. Young kids will gratitude. Readers follow a contemporary family enjoy the rhyming clues as it readies to celebrate the holiday, including a to “who am I” questions trip to the farmer’s market, where it doesn’t take — “I’m a food that’s baked in a hurry, but I still taste great, don’t worry!” See Books page 22
Wishing you a
A
Wishing a Happy & Healthy Passover to you and your family!
Wishing you peace and happiness this Passover and throughout the year
Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman Representing the 12th District of New Jersey Paid for by Bonnie Watson Coleman for Congress
PASSOVER GREETINGS! Wishing you and your family a Happy and Healthy Passover
Jewish Community Center of Middlesex County 1775 Oak Tree Road, Edison, NJ 08820 732-494-3232 www.jccmc.org Dorothy Rubinstein Executive Director
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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.
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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.
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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
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.
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.
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Passover
Wishing you a
Why shmura matza is so expensive Uriel Heilman JTA
I
Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. Representing the people of the 6th District of New Jersey
It takes about 20 seconds in a 1,300-degree, coaland-wood-fired oven to bake shmura matza to perfection. Photos by Uriel Heilman
See
Matza page 23
Happy paSSOVER
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to buy handmade shmura matza. (The practice of going above and beyond is known as hiddur mitzva, beautifying the commandment.) “For the consumer, it is an opportunity to purchase the only sacred food that we have today in our faith,” 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.”
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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 considered extra special because the ingredients are “guarded” against leavening, or hametz, not just from the time the wheat is ground into flour, but from before the wheat is even harvested. “Shmura” is Hebrew for guarded. The extra level of scrutiny — and the labor-intensive process required to make handcrafted matza — is largely what accounts for its high price: anywhere from $20 to $60 for a single pound. “The amount of hours of labor going into this between me and my staff is incomparable,” said Yisroel Bass, who runs a farm in Goshen, NY, that produces organically grown shmura matza ($34 per pound for regular shmura, $37 for spelt). “Renting out a bakery costs a lot of money — the space and the staff. Equipment breaks every year. Every farm has its expenses, and organic farms end up having more overhead. We can’t buy the synthetic fertilizer; we have manure,” Bass said. “And God forbid I have a bad year and the rabbi comes and says the wheat is no good, I just spent a whole lot of time and money on a product nobody wants. The cost has to reflect that.” Despite its price — and, some say, its taste — there’s a thriving market for handmade shmura matza (there’s also machine-made shmura, which is cheaper and usually square but more strictly scrutinized than regular matza). Many observant Jews won’t use anything other than handmade shmura matza on their seder table. Some won’t eat nonshmura anytime during Passover. The same Jews who light expensive olive oil menoras on Hanukka rather than wax candles or buy premium etrogs for Sukkot will lay out extra cash before Passover
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Passover Books from page 19
Have a Happy and Healthy Passover Steven Berkowitz, M.D. Roy Mittman, M.D. Arthur Vasen, M.D., Ph.D. Kenneth Chern, M.D. Haralambos Demetriades, M.D. Arthur Mark, M.D. Christopher Spagnuola, M.D. Hoan-Vu Nguyen, M.D. Aron Green, M.D. Frederick DePaola, M.D.
Sunil Thacker, M.D. Kevin McDaid, M.D. Joel Fechisin, M.D. Paul Haynes II, M.D. Praveen Yalamanchili, M.D. Robert Pannullo, M.D. Adam Meyers, D.O Keiron Greaves, M.D. Vinay Chopra, M.D. Sudha Garla, M.D. George Fahoury, D.P.M.
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much to convince mom to adopt a kitten from a shelter. They chop apples for haroset,, dress up for 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
Happy
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. ■
Hag Sameah
Passover
Rabbi Eric Eisenkramer Rabbi Emeritus Eric Milgrim Cantor Andrew Edison The Board of Trustees, Congregation and Staff of Temple B’nai Shalom
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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?”
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Passover Matza dough is rolled into thin, round discs before it is perforated and baked. Every 15 minutes at the Satmar Bakery in Brooklyn, the work ceases while all surfaces are scoured or replaced, and all hands are washed to remove stray bits of dough.
On all other nights we eat bread or matzah, why on this night do we eat only matzah?
HAPPY PASSOVER!
Photo © Keren McGinity
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Matza from page 21 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 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. n
Happy Passover Roy H. Tanzman, Esq. Phone: 732.855.6024 Fax: 732.726.6527 rtanzman@wilentz.com
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Happy Passover
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