L’Shanah Tovah
5778
Supplement to Jewish News September 11, 2017
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18 | Jewish News | Rosh Hashanah | September 11, 2017 | jewishnewsva.org
Ohef Sholom Temple wishes you
Published 21 times a year by United Jewish Federation of Tidewater. Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus of the Tidewater Jewish Community 5000 Corporate Woods Drive, Suite 200 Virginia Beach, Virginia 23462-4370 voice 757.965.6100 • fax 757.965.6102 email news@ujft.org
Shanah Tovah Happy New Year
Dear Readers,
A
s
this
High
Holiday
season
approaches, a fresh New Year feels
incredibly important for 5778. The news around the globe, nation, and our very
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own state, continues to have most of us on the edge of our seats and not far from our trusted news sources. Soon, however, we’ll be in our seats in our respective synagogues—and, hope-
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fully, removed, if at least for a couple of hours, from the turmoil swirling around the world. After all, isn’t that part of the special beauty of these Days of Awe? Traditionally, a time for reflection and
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repentance, the High Holidays are also a time for rejoicing, for celebrating, and, of course, for eating.
We would love to welcome you for the High Holidays. We are a warm and joyful Reform congregation, welcoming those of all religious backgrounds, race, and sexual orientation. We welcome Jews by birth, Jews by choice, and Jews at heart.
We offer:
• Jewish education for all ages • Spiritual prayer with inspirational music • Programming that fosters connections • Opportunities to make a difference in the world
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www.ohefsholom.org 530 Raleigh Avenue Norfolk, VA 23507
Feel free to contact us: information@ohefsholom.org or 757-625-4295
If you’re still not sure where you will worship this season, or if you don’t have
Subscription: $18 year For subscription or change of address, call 757-965-6128 or email mcerase@ujft.org.
your congregation’s details handy, the listing, which begins on page 22, is a good resource. United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Shalom Tidewater helped compile the information. Did you know that JNF used to issue High Holiday stamps? I didn’t either. But Joe Weintrob, a local avid stamp collector,
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has pages and pages of them. Our brief piece about him and his collection is on
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L’SHANAH TOVAH! from
Shikma Rubin
A couple of personal reflections for the holidays, as well as a great chicken pomegranate recipe, rounds out the section.
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Rosh Hashanah Unique High Holiday stamps part of Joe Weintrob’s collection
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oe Weintrob knows a thing or two about stamps. After all, he’s been collecting them since 1955. While his chief focus is generally postage stamps from around the world, a stamp for a different purpose caught his eye in the mid 1980s. “I was asking about Israeli stamps at a stamp show and found these,” says Weintrob. “These” are “Bank of the Book of Israel” stamps produced by Jewish National Fund that were used primarily to decorate High Holiday tickets and to put on letters to indicate support of JNF. JNF began issuing the High Holiday stamp series in 1936 and stopped production in 1962— about the same time
it started selling trees, according to Weintrob. The stamps originally cost about 25 cents, but now sell for $3 or $4 and up to $80 each. “I have to go to every dealer at stamp shows to ask if they have Israeli stamps,” says Weintrob. “Most dealers just don’t know what to do with them because they’re not postage stamps.” Weintrob says he also purchases the stamps on ebay. To find them, he searches Israel/JNF/KKL (Keren Kayemeth L’Israel). The current vice president of Brith Sholom, Weintrob laughs when asked why he started his collection. “I was a Cub Scout and my mom was the Den Mother. She told me I needed a hobby and to start a stamp collection. I don’t think she thought I’d still be doing this at my age.”
Rosh Hashanah This Rosh Hashanah, I challenge you to focus on the positives Nina Badzin
(Kveller via JTA)—Two essential parts of preparing for Rosh Hashanah, our clean slate for the year, is asking forgiveness from anyone we wronged and making a list (mental or written) of the ways we fell short since the last time we heard the shofar. Ideally that hard work of going to friends, family, and anyone else deserving of our forgiveness happens in the weeks leading up to Rosh Hashanah. By the time Yom Kippur rolls around 10 days later, we should be ready to confess our mistakes as a community, having already considered our personal paths to “teshuvah,” repentance, and how we will do better this year. I find the exercise of writing down all my regrets before Rosh Hashanah rather easy. If, like me, you’re the kind of person with a high capacity for guilt, you probably find that task easy, too, since we already felt badly about it during the year. I regret contributing to any gossip. I regret listening to any gossip. I regret not helping individuals or organizations more. I regret not calling more. I regret not answering the phone. I regret resorting to texts and emails. I regret the rudeness of looking at my phone in the middle of a conversation. I regret all the times I rolled my eyes. I regret any time I spoke more than I listened, both in person and online. I find that my kids, perhaps through nature and nurture, also have no problem (OK, after some prodding) coming up with people deserving of apologies and ways they could have behaved better during the year. Surprisingly, the more challenging task for all of us is remembering the times we could have made the wrong choice but didn’t. In Rabbi Joseph Telushkin’s book A Code of Jewish Ethics Volume I: You Shall By Holy, he suggests that in addition to focusing on our transgressions before Rosh Hashanah, we also make a list of the good we did this year. He provides a sample prayer modeled after the Al Chet (“For the sin I committed by.…”) recited
on Yom Kippur. Instead of “For the sin I committed,” he starts each line with “For the mitzvah we (or I) performed.” He ends the prayer with these encouraging words: “All these things, God, please remember and inspire us to do more acts like these in the year ahead.” I find the “For the mitzvah I performed” exercise difficult because it feels like a brag sheet and encouraging our kids to similarly “brag” can be confusing for them, too. But the power of focusing on both the mistakes and the positive actions we performed this year is about as powerful of a Rosh Hashanah preparation that you can get. By considering all the good I did in a year, I am reminded of my capacity to make the right choices, and it provides hope that I can do even more good in the year ahead. Perhaps one day the “mitzvah list” will look longer than the regret list, but I don’t believe God expects perfection. Think about the wisdom of the fact that the one major mitzvah (commandment, not “good deed”) for Rosh Hashanah is to hear the shofar. The shofar is our spiritual wake-up call. It would not be required every year if we were expected to have lived flawlessly. I challenge everyone to make a list of all the good you did this year, even if it’s something you only did one time and fell short every other time the situation presented itself. That is the point of this prayer, to remind us that if we were able to avoid, for example, contributing to gossip during one conversation, then we have the capacity to make that same good choice again. I’ll give you a few sample ideas. Remember, even if I only made the right choice once, it counts! For the mitzvah I performed by happily donating money to a friend’s race. For the mitzvah I performed by consciously focusing on someone’s positive traits even when I was angry, or at least not exaggerating the incident that made me mad. For the mitzvah I performed by not passing on information that was not mine
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Approved by all area Rabbis and Chevrah Kadisha to share. For the mitzvah I performed by admitting to my spouse or my children that I was wrong. For the mitzvah I performed by graciously hosting friends for Shabbat. For the mitzvah I performed by introducing friends to each other and introducing professional contacts to each other rather than hoarding the people in my life. For the mitzvah I performed by remembering not to “reply all,” thereby avoiding wasting everyone’s time. For the mitzvah I performed by donating
my time even when I would rather be watching something on Netflix. To repeat Rabbi Telushkin’s concluding line, “For all these things, God, please remember and inspire us to do more acts like these in the year ahead.” Nina Badzin is a Minneapolis-based freelance writer and mother of four. Her essays, short stories and book reviews have appeared on numerous sites and in literary magazines. She is the co-founder of The Twin Cities Writing Studio, blogs weekly at http://ninabadzin.com and tweets @NinaBadzin.)
jewishnewsva.org | September 11, 2017 | Rosh Hashanah | Jewish News | 21
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22 | Jewish News | Rosh Hashanah | September 11, 2017 | jewishnewsva.org
T
idewater’s Jewish community provides myriad places and ways to worship, observe, and celebrate the High Holidays. Shalom Tidewater compiled the following list which includes times of services and contact information for area congregations.
B’nai Israel Congregation
bnaiisrael.org • 757-627-7358 Rosh Hashanah Wednesday, September 20 Minchah 6:45 pm Candle Lighting 6:47 pm Thursday, September 21 Shachris 8 am HaMelech 8:45 am Torah Reading 10:25 am Sermon and Shofar 10:45 am Community Tashlich 5 pm Minchah 6:15 pm Class Maariv 7:35 pm Candle Lighting 7:42 pm Friday, September 22 Shachris 8 am HaMelech 8:45 am Torah Reading 10:25 am Sermon and Shofar 10:45 am Minchah 6:30 pm Candle Lighting 6:44 pm Maariv: Following Mincha Yom Kippur Monday, September 25 Class with Rabbi Haber: Toward a Meaningful Yom Kippur 7:15 pm Friday, September 29 Slichos 6:30 am Shacharis 7 am HaMelech 9:30 am Torah reading 11:20 am Sermon 11:50 am Yizkor, approximately 12:10 pm Minchah 5 pm Neilah 6 pm Havdalah 7:28 pm B’nai Israel services are open to all Jews in Tidewater. Childcare is provided during major services. To inquire about membership or reservations, email office@bnaiisrael.org.
Chabad of Tidewater
chabadoftidewater.com 757-616-0770 Rosh Hashanah Wednesday, September 20 Evening Services 7 pm Community dinner 8:15 pm Thursday, September 21 Morning Services 10 am Shofar Sounding 11:45 am Mincha and Tashlich Services 5 pm Evening Services 7:40 pm Community dinner 8:15 pm Friday, September 22 Morning Services 10 am Shofar Sounding 11:45 am Evening Services 7 pm Yom Kippur Friday, September 29 Kaparot Morning Services 8 am Afternoon Service 3:30 pm Fast Begins 6:47 pm Kol Nidrei Services 6:40 pm Saturday, September 30 Morning Service 10 am Yizkor Memorial Service 12:30 pm Mincha and Neilah Closing Service 5 pm Fast ends at 7:28 pm Followed by light dinner
Congregation Beth Chaverim
www.bethchaverim.com 757-463-3226 Guest Rabbi Dan Roberts Rosh Hashanah Wednesday, September 20 Eve of Rosh Hashanah Services 8 pm
Rosh Hashanah Thursday, September 21 Rosh Hashanah Service 10:30 am Friday, September 22 Friday Night Service 8 pm Saturday, September 23 Discussion with Rabbi Roberts, Kiddush Lunch to follow 10:30 am Yom Kippur Friday, September 29 Kol Nidre Services 8 pm Saturday, September 30 Yom Kippur Services 10:30 am Youth Services with guest singer Chuck Fink and Youth Group 10:30 am Discussion with Rabbi Dan Roberts 2 pm Vidui Service with special guest Chuck Fink 3 pm Torah Service 4 pm Yizkor Memorial Service and Concluding Service 4:30 pm Sisterhood Break-the-Fast immediately follows: $15 per adult, $6 per child 7-12, free for children under 3.
Congregation Beth El
bethelnorfolk.com • 757-627-4905 Rosh Hashanah Wednesday, September 20 Erev Rosh Hashanah Congregational Service 5:45 pm Family Service 5:45 pm Thursday, September 21 Shacharit 8:15 am Babysitting 9:30 am Children’s programming 10:30 am Tashlikh (at The Hague) 5 pm Mincha-Maariv (at Beth El) 6:45 pm Friday, September 22 Shacharit 8:15 am Babysitting 9:30 am Children’s programming 10:30 am Mincha and Kabbalat Shabbat 5:45 pm Yom Kippur Friday, September 29 Erev Yom Kippur Kol Nidre 6:15 pm Babysitting 6:15 pm
Saturday, September 30 Shacharit 9 am Babysitting 10 am Children’s programming 10:30 am Yizkor 12:45 pm Study session 3:15 pm Mincha 4:15 pm Neilah 5:30 pm Maariv 7:20 pm Blowing of Shofar/Havdalah 7:30 pm Light Processional 7:30 pm
Kempsville Conservative Synagogue Kehillat Bet Hamidrash
kbhsynagogue.org • 757-495-8510 Rosh Hashanah Wednesday, September 20 Ma’ariv 6:45 pm Thursday, September 21 Services 9:30 am Meet at KBH to walk to Tashlich 6:45 pm
Tashlich services followed by Mincha and Ma’ariv at KBH 7 pm Friday, September 22 Services 9:30 am Yom Kippur Friday, September 29 Candle Lighting 6:31 pm Kol Nidre 6:40 pm Saturday, September 30 Services 9:30 am Yizkor approximately 12 pm Mincha and Neilah 5:30 pm
Ohef Shlolom Temple
ohefsholom.org • 757-625-4295 Rosh Hashanah Wednesday, September 20 Early Service Family-Friendly Worship and Child Care 6:15 pm Late Service 8:15 pm Thursday, September 21 Early Service, Family-Friendly Worship and Child Care 9 am Late Service 11:30 am continued on page 24
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jewishnewsva.org | September 11, 2017 | Rosh Hashanah | Jewish News | 23
Rosh Hashanah continued from page 23
Sunday, September 24 Tashlich at the Hague 11am Yom Kippur Saturday, September 30 Early Service, Family-Friendly Worship and Child Care 9 am Late Service 11:30 am Study Session (in Chapel) 1:30 pm Afternoon Service (in Chapel) 2:45 pm Interlude 4 pm Memorial and Concluding Services 4:15 pm Break the Fast and and Havdalah 6 pm
Rodef Sholom Temple Interested in services? Contact Pam Gladstone. 422 Shirley Avenue, Norfolk, VA 23517 757.625.7821
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24 | Jewish News | Rosh Hashanah | September 11, 2017 | jewishnewsva.org
rodefsholomtemple.org 757-826-5894 Rosh Hashanah Wednesday, September 20 Evening Service 8 pm Thursday, September 21 Morning Service 9 am Mincha-Maariv (followed by light supper) 6:30 pm Friday, September 22 Shabbat Shuvah Service 6 pm Saturday, September 23 Shabbat Shuva Service 9:30 am Sunday, September 24 Graveside Prayers (Jewish Cemetery of the Virginia Peninsula, Rosenbaum) 11 am Tashlikh at Huntington Park Beach 4:30 am Yom Kippur Friday, September 29 Kol Nidre Service 6:45 pm Saturday, September 30 Morning Service 9:30 am Study Session 4:15 pm Mincha/Neilah Service 5:14 pm Shofar Blowing 7:17 pm Maariv 7:18 pm Break the Fast 7:29 pm
Temple Emanuel
tevb.org Rosh Hashanah Wednesday, September 20 Evening Services 6 pm Thursday, September 21 Babysitting 9:30 am* Family Service 10 am
Friday, September 22 Morning Services 8:30 am Sunday, September 24 Family Beach Picnic 12:15 am Tashlich with Religious School Yom Kippur Friday, September 29 Kol Nidre Service 7 pm Saturday, September 30 Morning Services 8:30 am Babysitting 9:30 am* Family Services 10 am Tora Services and Yizkor 10:30 am Minha and Neilah 5:30 pm Community Break the Fast 7:40 pm Wednesday, October 12, 9 am Babysitting* 10 am Family Service 10:30 am Torah Service and Yizkor 11:30 am Mincha and Neilah 5 pm Community Break the Fast 7:20 pm *Babysitting available for infants–5 years. RSVP to the Temple office.
Temple Israel
templeisraelva.org, • 757-489-4550 Rosh Hashanah Wednesday, September 20 Evening Services 6:30 pm Thursday, September 21 Morning Services 8:45 am Tashlich at Nancy Tucker’s home 5:45 pm Children Ages 3–6, Education Wing 10:30 am Ages 7–12, Sandler Hall 10:30 am Arts and Crafts (Sandler Hall) 12 pm Friday, September 22 Morning Services 8:45 am Minch and Kabbalat Shabbat 6:30 pm Yom Kippur Friday, September 29 Minchah Services 6:15 pm Lei Lei Berz—Cello Solo 6:25 pm Kol Nidrei Services 6:30 pm Saturday, September 30 Morning Services 8:45 am Mincha Service 5 pm Ne’ilah 5:45 pm Shofar and Break Fast 7 pm Children Ages 3-6. Education Wing 10:30 am Ages 7-12, Sandler Hall 10:30 am Arts & Crafts (Sandler Hall) 12 pm
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Temple Sinai
templesinai-nn.org • 757-596-8352 Rosh Hashanah Wednesday, September 20 Evening Services followed by Oneg Shabbat (Childcare available) 7:30 pm Thursday, September 21 Morning Service immediately followed by Tashlich ceremony at Lion’s Bridge (Mariner’s Museum) 10 am Yom Kippur Friday, September 29 Yom Kippur Eve Service (childcare available) 7:30 pm Saturday, September 30 Morning Service (childcare available) 10 am Afternoon Service 2 pm Yizkor Service (childcare available) 3:45 pm Ne’lah Service followed by Break-the-Fast 4:45 pm
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Tidewater Chavurah
tidewaterchavurah.org • 757-464-1950 Rosh Hashanah Wednesday, September 20 Evening Service 7 pm, Brody Auditorium, Temple Israel, Norfolk Thursday, September 21 Morning Service 10 am, Brody Auditorium Tashlich 5 pm, Congregants’ home in Virginia Beach Yom Kippur Friday, September 29 Kol Nidrei 7 pm Brody Auditorium, Temple Israel Saturday, September 30 Morning Service/Yizkor 10 am Brody Auditorium N’ilah and Break-the-Fast 6 pm Congregants’ home in Virginia Beach
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www.TheTalbotOnGranby.com jewishnewsva.org | September 11, 2017 | Rosh Hashanah | Jewish News | 25
Rosh Hashanah OP-ED
Yom Kippur is a reminder of the awesome, and awful, power of words Joyce Newmark
L ’Shana Tovah!
Jewish Family Service of Tidewater wishes you and your family a sweet and Happy New Year!
You never know when you’ll need help, but you’ll always know where to find it.
L’Shanah Tovah Tikatevu!
26 | Jewish News | Rosh Hashanah | September 11, 2017 | jewishnewsva.org
(JTA)—For nearly 50 years, my father had a best friend named Al. They grew up in the same neighborhood in Brooklyn, and after returning from the service in World War II, they each married and moved to the same Long Island town and opened related businesses. They were closer than brothers. In fact, when my brother and I were growing up, our parents’ wills named Al and his wife, rather than any relatives, as the people who would become our guardians should that become necessary. Even after my parents moved to Nevada, the two couples remained close, speaking on the phone every week or so and visiting back and forth every couple of years. Almost 40 years ago, Al’s daughter was getting married and my parents were planning to travel to New York for the wedding. One day, the two couples were on the phone talking about the wedding. My mother had recently undergone foot surgery and was walking around in ugly post-surgery shoes. “I may have to wear blue jeans and sneakers, but we’ll be there,” she told Al’s wife. The response: “But the wedding is formal!” My mother was hurt. She thought the only proper response to her statement was, “We don’t care what you’re wearing, we just want you to be there.” Al’s wife was hurt, too. She felt that my mother had to know how stressed she was trying to plan the perfect wedding and shouldn’t have teased her. Neither would apologize. The phone calls became less frequent and my parents began saying that traveling to New York would be expensive and uncomfortable—and in early September it would be hot and humid. They decided not to attend the wedding. Nine months later Al was dead of lung
cancer and my father finally flew to New York to be a pallbearer at the funeral. Like many men of his generation, my father wasn’t one to talk about his feelings, but from the day Al died he insisted that when you were invited to a simcha you must go, no matter the circumstances. Still, it was too late to repair what had been broken. All this hurt resulted because no one involved could take back a few unthinking words spoken in haste. The power of words has a very real, almost physical presence on Yom Kippur. Look at the list of “al chets,” or confessions, that we recite again and again on this day. We confess our sins of using foul language, speaking falsehoods, idle chatter, slander, disrespecting our parents and teachers, and spreading gossip. On and on; perhaps half the sins we confess are sins of speech. Why? Because, despite our communal confessions on Yom Kippur, most of us are not thieves or doers of violence. We are not evil people, but sins of words are easy to commit. We do it every day. That’s why at the end of every Amidah we recite the prayer of Mar, son of Ravina, “My God, keep my tongue from evil, my lips from lies,” rather than praying “God, help me not to steal, help me not to murder.” The truth is, you can never take back words, you can’t go back to the time before the words were spoken. You can’t forget, but you can forgive. And most important, the time to do something about broken relationships is now and not next year or someday. Nothing is more precious than love and friendship. Because words have power, not only to hurt but to heal. —Rabbi Joyce Newmark of Teaneck, New Jersey, is a former religious leader of congregations in Leonia, New Jersey, and Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Rosh Hashanah How I keep my Bubbe’s memory alive during the High Holidays Stacey Zisook Robinson
(Kveller via JTA)—As a kid, I didn’t live a particularly Jewish life. We were sent to Hebrew school on Tuesdays and Thursdays and got dropped off at Sunday school. We fidgeted through services occasionally— usually because we were attending a bar mitzvah or it was High Holidays season. I went to Saturday morning services pretty regularly the year prior to my own bat mitzvah—only because it was a requirement. My parents were under no such requirements, so their weekends were filled with other things. They got their Judaism through osmosis, I guess—the act of taking us to temple, their proximity to the building, hearing us practice a prayer or a chant. That was Jewish enough for them. Don’t get me wrong, they took great pride in their Judaism. Not only did they occasionally drop into a service on Shabbat, they never missed attending High Holidays services, enjoyed lox and bagels on Sunday mornings at the local deli (and the much less kosher ribs on Sunday nights), followed all the “famous” Jews who made it into the news for good (ya!) or ill (oy!), and observed all the holidays (that they knew of), and by “observe” I mean mom cooked a huge meal and the extended family came to feast. The beginning of every holiday meant soup. Chicken soup, replete with lokshen (noodles), knaidlach (matzah balls, the harder the better), kreplach (think “Jewish ravioli” and you’ll be close). Even those occasional Friday nights when, for no discernible reason, mom got it into her head to “do Shabbat,” dinner started with chicken soup. And while her mother would make the noodles from scratch, along with the kreplach and knaidlach, mom was happy to start with the package variety of everything but kreplach. My mother visited her mother often. We lived in the south suburbs of Chicago; Bubbie was on the north side, our version of the shtetls of Poland and Russia, though
made up of high rises and gorgeous lake views. Still, Tevye would have fit right in after a day or two. Every so often, her pilgrimage had a specific mission: replenish the kreplach supply. She stored them in the freezer until needed. I would come across the bag every so often as I searched for something else and I would seriously think of taking — just one! — to eat, but in the days before microwaves, I couldn’t come up with a way to do it quickly and, more important, stealthily. As my grandmother aged, though the quality never diminished, the amount of kreplach did. It was difficult for her to chop the meat by hand, in her wooden bowl and with an ancient blade. Somewhere my mother has that recipe for kreplach, as dictated by my Bubbie. There’s even a video of her, my mother, sister-in-law, and niece learning the art of kreplach-making. Mom also has the recipes for brisket and chopped liver and challah and roasted chicken and kishke and every other food that has come to mean holiday and feast and family and love. Most are kept in her head. I told her years and years ago that she never needed to buy me another present, that for any birthday or holiday, all she needed to do was write down one of the recipes. She swears she’s doing this, but I’m not holding my breath. I know—I could look up the recipe for anything I would ever want to cook on the interwebs. But those recipes don’t taste the same as the ones from my mother, who got them from her mother, who got them from her mother, who got them from that long line of ancestors going back into almost forever ago. When I make my soup—as I did last year for Rosh Hashanah—I think back to my Bubbie, whom I called the first time I made her soup. Add some salt, she said. How much? Enough. You’ll taste it. But it’s water, Bubbie!! You’ll know. An exasperated sigh. Add the carrots after you’ve skimmed off the dreck that floats to the top. Dreck? Ew. Don’t forget the dill! How
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much dill? Enough. You’ll know. Oy. I was beginning to sense a pattern here. Finally: And five minutes before it’s done…. Wait. What? How will I know when it’s done? You’ll know. I feel my grandmother with me whenever I make her soup. I feel her mother, and hers, and all of them—that long line of them back to forever ago. My kitchen is crowded with their presence, in the steam and the scent and the bubbling pot that holds so much more than soup. I got lost in that thought as I stirred and skimmed that day. My 17-year-old
came into the kitchen. “Soup!” he said. I nodded. “You know, you have to write that recipe down for me before I go away to school next year.” I nod again, mostly because I couldn’t talk in that minute. “Is it done yet?” How will I know if it’s done? I’ll know. Stacey Zisook Robinson has been published in several magazines and anthologies. She is the author of the book, Dancing in the Palm of God’s Hand. She blogs at http://staceyzrobinson.blogspot.com.)
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Rosh Hashanah
Pomegranate and Honey Glazed Chicken Liz Rueven
(The Nosher via JTA)—Pomegranates, or rimonim in Hebrew, are among the most recognizable and highly symbolic fruits in Jewish culture. Originating in Persia, these reddish, thick-skinned fruits (technically a berry) begin to appear in markets at the end of summer and are readily available for holiday cooking by Rosh Hashanah. According to Gil Marks in The Encyclopedia of Jewish Food, the abundance of seeds, nestled into a white membrane
and encased in a protective and leathery skin, is associated with the 613 commandments in the Torah. They serve as symbols of righteousness and fruitfulness, as expressed in the Rosh Hashanah expression, “May we be full of merits like the pomegranate (is full of seeds).” This ancient fruit, prized for its juice and seeds (called arils), is mentioned in the Bible as one of the seven most bountiful agriculture products of ancient Israel. It is associated with fertility and sensuality, and is mentioned six times in the Song of Songs.
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In biblical times, pomegranates were used to add tart flavors to ancient dishes before lemons and tomatoes were discovered. Since then, pomegranates have been used to add unique and complex dimensions to Sephardic and central Asian soups, stews, sauces, chutneys and desserts. They may be juiced, dried, reduced, ground or pressed into pomegranate oil. Today, pomegranates are prized for their antioxidant and potent nutritional value, just as they were in ancient Egypt when the seeds were believed to heal intestinal disorders. Juice, molasses (actually a reduction and thickening of the juice and sometimes called pomegranate concentrate or syrup) and arils are used in a wide range of applications including cocktails, glazes, simmer sauces, and glistening toppings for green salads and vegetable dishes. In The New Persian Kitchen, author Louisa Shafia offers numerous pomegranate dishes, including a classic Iranian stew called fesenjan that is often served at celebrations. The chicken is cooked with beets and thickened with coarsely ground walnuts and pomegranate molasses. As in many Persian dishes, pomegranate seeds are used as a glistening, jewel-like garnish. Shafia illustrates removing the seeds a few different ways, but I like the “water method” best. Simply slice off the two ends and quarter the fruit with a knife. Submerge the quarters in a bowl of cold water and pull out the seeds with your fingers. The pith and skin float to the surface as the arils sink to the bottom. Scoop out everything but the seeds and pour water and seeds through a mesh colander to collect them. Consider using pomegranates in your Rosh
Hashanah meals when it is considered a positive omen, or segulah, to incorporate symbolic foods in our holiday menus. Whip up this easy chicken dish and you’ll have both bountiful and sweet symbols covered. Holiday chicken is potent with pomegranates goodness as this symbolic fruit is used in three ways: juice, molasses, and arils (seeds). The flavors are bold, tangy, and slightly sweet—a Middle Easterninfluenced sweet and sour. Pomegranates are highly symbolic in Jewish tradition, most often associated with fertility and good deeds. By combining the tart flavors of pomegranates with honey here, the sweetness balances the tang and positive energy is imbued in this main course for Rosh Hashanah. Liz Rueven’s blog, Kosher Like Me, features restaurant and product reviews, tips on events where like-minded eaters like her can actually eat, and news about folks in the food world.) The Nosher food blog offers a dazzling array of new and classic Jewish recipes and food news, from Europe to Yemen, from challah to shakshuka and beyond. Check it out at www.TheNosher.com.
Rosh Hashanah Pomegranate and Honey Glazed Chicken Ingredients 1 4-pound chicken cut in eighths (breasts cut in half if large) 4 tablespoons canola oil (separated: 2 tablespoons for simmer sauce and 2 tablespoons for browning the chicken) 1 large onion, chopped 3 cloves garlic, minced ½ cup pomegranate molasses ½ cup sweetened pomegranate juice ½ cup honey 2 cups vegetable or chicken broth 1 teaspoon cumin ½ teaspoon powdered ginger ¹⁄ 8 teaspoon allspice ½ teaspoon turmeric salt and pepper to taste For the garnish: 2 tablespoons parsley 2 tablespoons pomegranate arils (seeds)
Directions Heat 2 tablespoons canola oil in a large pan (you’ll need a lid for later). Wash pan.
Sauté chopped onion until soft and translucent. Add minced garlic and sauté for 2–3 minutes (do not brown).
Rinse chicken parts, pat dry, season with salt and pepper.
Add pomegranate molasses, juice, honey, broth and spices. Stir and bring to boil. Reduce to an active simmer, and cook uncovered, for about 20 minutes or until sauce is reduced by about half the volume and slightly thickened. Taste sauce and adjust seasoning. Too tart? Add 1 to 2 tablespoons honey. Want more kick? Crack more black pepper. Remove sauce from heat and pour into bowl. Set aside.
Heat remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in pan and place chicken parts skin side down. Brown on one side and flip to second side. Do not crowd chicken in the pan, as this causes chicken to steam rather than brown. Lower heat, pour prepared simmer sauce over the chicken. Cover pan and simmer on low for 35–40 minutes. Remove from pan and platter, garnishing with chopped parsley and pomegranate arils. Note: The simmer sauce may be prepared two to three days ahead and refrigerated until ready to prepare the chicken.
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jewishnewsva.org | September 11, 2017 | Rosh Hashanah | Jewish News | 29
Rosh Hashanah Kedem/Royal Wine recommends delicious wines that capture spirit of the New Year—plus kosher wines under $20
R
osh Hashanah is a time when Jewish people reflect on the past and look toward a brighter future, so it’s only fitting to consider these themes when sharing special holiday meals with family and friends. To that end, wine expert and blogger Gabriel Geller recently compiled a short list of wines for the Rosh Hashanah table—two Israeli, two French, and one from California—that aren’t necessarily fancy or expensive, but are worthy of the celebration. Lessons from history Geller’s first recommendation, Carmel’s SELECTED Mediterranean Blend 2016, is a great choice for the New Year. “If there was a single winery that has always known how to reinvent itself while retaining the lessons from its rich history,” he explains, “Carmel is the one.” Carmel, one of Israel’s very best wineries, recently released a line-up of eight wines in its Selected series that are “very much affordable and quite pleasantly drinkable,” he says. The Mediterranean Blend in particular is a “delicious, inexpensive, food-friendly” follow-up to Carmel’s successful, award-winning and high-end Mediterranean, which includes varieties such as Petite Sirah, Mourvedreand Viognier, and Petit Verdot. Pair it with lamb stew.
L’Shana Tova
from the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater 30 | Jewish News | Rosh Hashanah | September 11, 2017 | jewishnewsva.org
In the spirit of humility The custom of taking inventory of the past year during the High Holidays requires a certain measure of humility. In that vein, Geller focused on two French wines that are not considered extravagant, yet bear the same features and qualities of some of the country’s most prestigious vintages. The new Château Royaumont 2014, a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc from Vignobles Péré-Vergé in Pomerol, is remarkably complex and has the potential to be cellared for 10 years or more after harvest. Serve it with caramelized duck
breast in a raspberry coulis. Geller also recommends keeping an eye out for the Pascal Bouchard Le Classique 2016, from the Chablis appellation in Burgundy. “Unlike most kosher Chardonnay wines, this one is unoaked and radically different, style-wise.” Showcasing a bright citrus and green apple profile with notes of saline and earthy minerals and “lip-smacking acidity,” it’s a perfect foil for Dover Sole in Almond Butter sauce. Geller suggests comparing the Pascal Bouchard side-by-side with another excellent, but very different Chardonnay, such as the Matar Chardonnay 2014 from Israel. Its slightly creamy texture and buttery notes work beautifully with Balsamic Glazed Chicken. For a Sweet New Year The tradition of indulging in sweet fruits and treats on Rosh Hashanah represents hopes of being granted a sweet New Year. Geller turns to Herzog Wine Cellars for its stellar Late Harvest series dessert wines. His personal favorite is the Chenin Blanc 2015, grown in the Herzog Family’s vineyard in Clarksburg, California from a variety originating in France’s Loire Valley. He says the wine has “a luscious, almost oily texture reminiscent of quince jam, pear, and lemon drops with hints of dried apricots and honeysuckle,” making it the perfect companion for an apple pie. Great values under $20 Because Rosh Hashanah is such a special time for family and friends, Kedem/ Royal Wine asked Geller about affordable favorites to serve with festive meals or bring along as gifts. “The word is finally getting out that ‘excellent’ wine doesn’t have to be ‘expensive’ wine,” he says. His picks include the aforementioned Carmel Selected Series, Chateau Trijet, and Terra di Seta Chianti Classico as well as wines from the Herzog Late Harvest Series.
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