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Simply Tender Brisket and Savory Kasha Varnishkas

June 20, 2012 By newkosher

This week’s recipe comes to us from our new friend and Kosher foodie, Mark Meisel. I’ve had this recipe several times before, and even when I was a vegetarian, I would only eat this meat. Thanks for the recipe, Mark! -Daniela

 

Besides worshipping G_D and laying guilt trips on each other, the most joyous thing in our Jewish heritage is food. Nothing is better than a group of hard to please Jews sitting around a table all loving the same dish. How is this accomplished you ask? Simple. By applying thousands of years of tradition and a little technique you can create kosher and tasty recipes that will have everyone kvelling. For the purposes of this article, let us start with a simplified version of a classic that will knock your proverbial socks off.

 

Brisket:

3-4 lbs Beef Brisket (Flat Cut)

2 packets Lipton’s Onion Soup Mix (prepare with water as directed [Read more…]

Filed Under: NewKosher (Recipes), Shabbat Tagged With: brisket, convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, fleishig, kasha, kasha varnishkas, kosher, meat, newkosher, online conversion, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, simple, tender

Parshah Shemini

March 24, 2011 By punktorah

By Michael Sabani

A lot happens in this week’s Torah portion, Shemini, and there is a lot to try to understand. According to my understanding, the ONE thing that is easy to learn about the Torah is that you will always learn something new! No matter how many times you read the Torah you will always come across something new, something that you didn’t notice before, and this one little thing can change the focus of the whole portion for you. And just like life, it is often the smallest things that can make the biggest impression.

 

In Shemini we see Aaron and his sons officially take over as Kohanim, as priests. A fire bursts forth from G-d and consumes the offerings on the Altar, and the Shekhinah comes to dwell in the Sanctuary.

 

Now coming into this portion, I thought the big story was what happens next: Aaron’s sons Nadav and Avihu offer a “strange fire” and they die before G-d. They die. This is a big deal! The eldest sones of the Kohen Gadol, the High Priest, are consumed by Hashem at the time of their inauguration. There is much debate as to what actually happened, if they died because they offered an unauthorized sacrifice, or to put a positive spin on it, some interpretations are that they were so holy that G-d just snapped them up right there as a gift. Really, we don’t know why. Sometimes we don’t have a clear answer as to why things happen,. The Torah, like life, is sometimes mysterious.

So then we get to the laws of kashrus, the kosher laws. Surely, if the story of Nadav and Avihu doesn’t grab me, the laws telling us what we can and can’t eat will make a big impression. And it does, to a point. I mean, we learn in this portion about how even what we eat can be used to serve G-d, to create holiness that can sanctify our lives.

But the whole time I read this portion I kept thinking about what happens right at the beginning. Moses and Aaron are standing at the Altar, and Moses has to tell Aaron, “Come near to the Altar…”.

“Come near.”

You see, Aaron was afraid to come near to Hashem. He still felt guilty for his part in the debacle of the golden calf. He didn’t feel worthy enough to serves as the High Priest; he knew his weaknesses and recognized where he had gone wrong and felt ashamed of his mistake.

And it’s at this point Moses tells Aaron the thing that, for me, became the new focus of the portion.

“It is precisely because you possess the attribute of shame that you have been chosen” (Degel Machneh Efraim). I had never noticed this commentary before, but it makes sense to me. I can feel that shame, that sense of not measuring up to the task G-d has put before me. It is only when we know, deeply, in the root of our being, when we have done wrong, that we can truly move beyond it. This is Aaron being forgiven, and learning how to grow.  And this is what G-d wants, for us to be abel to forgive ourselves and to move forward.

How often do we feel confronted with something that we don’t think we are up to? And how often are our skills, which are not recognized by ourselves, pointed out by our brothers and sisters? Sometimes it takes another who is close to us to point out what we are truly capable of, in spite of what we may have done in the past.

I invite you to be a Moses for your brothers and sisters. Lift them up and point out to them the areas in which they are strong. They might be int he midst of a struggle you are not aware of.

On the flip side, I also invite you to be like Aaron. Listen to those who care about you, and trust that they are right when they tell you that with G-d’s help, you are strong enough for the tasks you are faced with, and learn how to grow, and move forward.

 

 

Filed Under: Jewish Text (Torah/Haftarah/Talmud), Your Questions Answered Tagged With: abihu, convert to judaism, D'var Torah, darshan yeshiva, fire, kashrut, kosher, nadav, parshah, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, sacrifice, shemini, temple, Torah

Holiness in Everything, part 1

March 7, 2011 By punktorah

“Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?”
– George Carlin

If your house is messier than mine is you are, ipso facto, a slob. Conversely, if my house is messier than yours then you are, by definition, a neat freak.

Whose definition? Mine of course!

I dare you (yes you, sitting in front of your computer there!) to tell me I’m wrong. I dare you to tell me that if it’s not cleaning, it’s music (Nothing but newfangled noise! A dirge from the dark ages!) or social skills (loudmouth chatterbox or wallflower), or (as George points out) driving.

Or religion. Oh how we (and I’m including myself here) love to silently evaluate the observance level of others against our internal standard for normalcy. And sometimes not so silently.

I would run across someone whose behavior or outward appearance betrayed what I saw as a deeper sense of religious devotion than mine, and it struck a nerve.

We visited a friend of a friend for a holiday meal, and out he came to greet us in a silk topcoat. “What’s he playing at?!?” I exclaimed in the car later. “Whose he trying to kid? I went to high school with the guy.”

My wife gently pointed out that this must be due to the fact that, having interacted with me in the past, that guy was obligated to remain the way I knew him?

Irrational competitive insecurity was – for me at least – at the heart of it. Why wasn’t MY observance good enough for the other guy? Why did they feel they had do more, to push the limit (compared to me)? Was it some weird game of holier-than-thou one-upmanship? How long do your curls have to get before the peyot police issue a side-burn citation?

If what I was doing wasn’t enough, who decided what was? Is there ever a limit? And if there isn’t, what’s the point?

What if started keeping kosher, only to find out there was MORE kosher to keep? If I decided to start being shomer Shabbat, and then found out there something else after that, what would help me decide where to stop.

Because some of us want to, you know, do it RIGHT.

And don’t tell me “there is no *right* there’s only *right for me* because those other guys seem to walk around with the confidence that says they darn well think _they’re_ doing it right.

So whose playbook are they working out of?

Filed Under: Community Member Blogs Tagged With: convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, dare, darshan yeshiva, kosher, online conversion, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, Religion, shomer Shabbat, think, Whose definition

Making Anything Kosher

October 28, 2010 By punktorah

Based on an article written by Patrick Aleph for MyJewishLearning.org

The main reason people do not take on a kosher lifestyle is the idea that it’s too hard or complicated. Because kashrut requires limitation, it can feel really daunting. But keeping kosher is really easy if you know how to substitute non-kosher food for kosher food!

Here are a few easy ways to make anything kosher:

Make It Vegetarian

Keeping kosher is easy when you do not eat meat, since part of kashrut is not mixing meat and milk together. A few of our favorite meat substitutes are:

  • Gourmet Veggie Hamburgers (try Boca Burgers and Morningstar Farms)
  • Meatless Pasta and Seven Layer Nachos with vegan “beef” crumbles
  • Veggie Hot Dogs and Sausages for outdoor grilling
  • Meatless Pizza with vegan pepperoni, sausage or chicken
  • Meatless Meatloaf (believe it or not!) with kalebone faux meat
  • Deli Sandwiches using faux ham and turkey (try Yves brand)
  • Even Thanksgiving can be vegetarian with Tofurky

You can also skip fake meat all together by substituting roasted vegetables in any meat recipe.

Un-Milk Your Meal

If vegetarian food isn’t your thing, just take out the dairy. There’s lots of easy ways to do this including:

  • Using margarine or oil instead of butter
  • Replacing dairy milk with soy, almond or rice milk (use the Silken brand)
  • Soy cheese (we recommend Daiya brand) pizza, pasta and more!
  • Tofutti (tofu) sour cream
  • Mac and Cheese using Nutritional Yeast

I Can’t Believe It’s Kosher!

Kosher bacon, shellfish and pork…there is a revolution in kosher substitutes for your favorite inedible foods.

  • Kosher bacon including turkey, duck, beef and vegetarian
  • Kosher lamb and turkey sausage instead of pork
  • Shrimp and scallops made from tempeh
  • Substitute pork or ham with smoked turkey or try faux ham made from tofu
  • Faux ham, pepperoni and sausage (vegetarian)
  • Kosher Crab in vegetarian and fish (goes great in kosher sushi)

Filed Under: Rants Tagged With: convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, food, how to make kosher food, how to make something kosher, kosher, kosher recipes, kosher version, online conversion, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, shrimp, vegetarian

Can Jews Eat Halal Meat?

June 11, 2010 By punktorah


httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTiPmKdIOGU

Here are the arguments…Tell Us Why or Why Not!


Filed Under: Community Member Blogs, Podcasts & Videos, Rants, Your Questions Answered Tagged With: food, halal, Jewish, Jews, Judaism, kosher, muslim, Punk, Religion, Torah

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