PunkTorah

Independent Jewish Spirituality Online

  • Convert to Judaism
  • Online Rabbinical Program
  • Donate

What a Buddha Hand Made Me Realize About Tu B’Shvat

February 3, 2015 by Patrick Beaulier

Tu B’Shvat is the best holiday a Jewish environmentalist could ask for. The New Year for the Trees gets us to think about the natural world, and indeed I’ve enjoyed that focus at Hazon’s Tu B’Shvat seders the last couple of years. However, my Tu B’Shvat observance has often been at odds with my general environmental outlook on food. Whereas I normally prioritize locally grown produce from a farmers market, for Tu B’Shvat I adore exotic, varied fruits. Celebrating the full bounty of nature isn’t consistent with limiting your carbon footprint if that oddball fruit had to travel 3,000 miles to get to you.

My love for Tu B’Shvat dates back to my freshman year of college, when a Chabad Shabbat dinner featured 44 different types of fruits and nuts instead of the regular brisket or chicken. Since then I’ve hosted a series of non-seder gatherings in which I tried to present a diverse array of fruits. At the Tu B’Shvat Disorder! ’08, I served coconut, horned melon, persimmons, pineapple, uglifruit, honeydew, cantaloupe, bananas, grapes, apples, peaches, tangerines, olives, starfruit, figs, dates, cherries, blueberries, kiwis, pistachios, almonds, pine nuts, cashews, walnuts, filberts, and Brazil nuts. Let’s just say that it hadn’t all been grown locally in Virginia in January.

This year’s I-can’t-stop-thinking-about-it fruit is the Buddha hand, also known as a fingered citron. (Many readers will be familiar with the etrog, another type of citron, which is used on Sukkot.) I’d seen the Buddha hand at a NYC Whole Foods store a few times before, but I’d never found any legitimate reason to buy this masterpiece of citrus. When I spotted a California-grown Buddha hand that appeared to be giving me the finger on Thursday—so close to Tu B’Shvat—I knew I just had to spend $3.14 for it.

The Buddha hand was a big hit at a Shabbat potluck the following night. We started amputating fingers off the Buddha hand left and right. One guy ate an entire finger (including the rind), and he put a little nub in his wine and called it sangria. Several of us gnawed into the flesh at the base of the fingers instead. We passed around the opened Buddha hand to appreciate the scent. After the night was over, I was able to salvage the base of the hand for some flesh. I cut some of it up and put it in tea, and as of this writing, I’m not sure what I’ll do with the rest.

The Buddha hand was fun, but did this fruit—which we did not even consume to a significant extent—really help us to respect the Earth?

In celebrating Tu B’Shvat, it’s important to have foods that are native to Israel and that represent the different categories of fruits and nuts: those that have edible insides but inedible outsides, those that have edible outsides but inedible insides, and those that are edible throughout. Beyond that, if you have a choice and you truly want this to be a holiday that is good for the Earth, buy local when possible.

Filed Under: Random (Feelin' Lucky?), Tu B'Shevat Tagged With: buddha hand, buying local, convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, heebnvegan, michael croland, online conversion, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, shevat, tu b'shevat, Tu B'Shvat, What a Buddha Hand Made Me Realize About Tu B’Shevat

Was the Diet of the Exodus Vegetarian? (Parshah Beshalach)

January 11, 2011 by Patrick Beaulier

This week’s Torah portion comes from Michael Croland, author and contributor to our sister site, NewKosher.org.

I have claimed in the past that when G-d gave the Jews in the exodus manna—a food that is widely accepted as vegetarian—He had “a chance to start over” with vegetarianism and He again “intended humans to be vegetarian.” This argument suggested that manna was the Jews’ lone source of food in the desert prior to the flesh mentioned in Number 11:31-34. I had based my argument on that of Richard Schwartz in Judaism and Vegetarianism, who said that “after the Israelites left Egypt, G-d tries to establish another non-meat diet: manna.” In a “Jews and Food” class this past fall, I reviewed the two chapters in the Torah in which manna was mentioned—Exodus 16 and Numbers 11—and I questioned whether manna was eaten as an all-vegetarian diet.

Manna was mentioned as a prominent food in those two chapters, but quail was also discussed. In Exodus 16:12, G-d told the Israelites, “By the evening you shall eat flesh, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread ….” The following verse explained, “In the evening quail appeared and covered the camp.” Then in Numbers 11:4, some of the wandering Jews “felt a gluttonous craving” and said, “If only we had meat to eat!” In Numbers 11:33-34, after they received quail, they were punished: “The meat was still between their teeth, nor yet chewed, when the anger of the Lord blazed forth against the people and the Lord struck the people with a very severe plague. … [T]he people who had the craving were buried there.” The role of quail in Numbers 11 seemed to support the argument that G-d preferred vegetarianism, but the mention of quail in Exodus 16:12-13 appeared to suggest otherwise.

When I e-mailed Schwartz to ask for clarification, he replied, “The fact that the eating of quail is not mentioned in Numbers, before the Israelites cried out for flesh, and that Exodus 16:35 states that the children of Israel ate manna for 40 years, with no mention of eating quail for these 40 years, leads me to think that the initial eating of quail [in Exodus 16:12-13] was a singular event before the Israelites started eating the manna.” Schwartz also checked with a couple of rabbis, but their responses—which I do not have permission to quote from—offered varied, inconclusive reflections on the apparent contradiction.

I followed the paper trail leading from the citation Schwartz used in Judaism and Vegetarianism. Schwartz attributed his claim to “Rabbi Isaac Arama (1420-1494), author of Akedat Yitzchak” and included a footnote with three citations. First, I was unable to find an English-language copy of Rabbi Isaak Hebenstreit’s Kivrot Hata’avah. Second, a 1967 article supported Schwartz’s argument by calling the diet of the exodus a “second attempt to introduce a vegetarian diet.” However, this superficial overview—written by a reverend in a British publication called The Jewish Vegetarian—did not seem to bear much authority. Third, in Animal Life in Jewish Tradition, author Elijah Schochet noted, “Arama theorizes that G-d had hoped the Israelites, once freed from Egyptian bondage, would willingly subsist on a diet of vegetation.” Although I did not have too much information to go by yet, Schochet at least provided a direct citation to what Arama had written. When I tracked down the appropriate passage in Arama’s Akedat Yitzchak, I had my first a-ha moment:

“The fact that in answer to the Jewish people’s request G-d did provide meat, but in a manner much less gracious than the way in which the Manna was supplied, leads one to believe that the supply of quail was a one time occurrence. . . .

“[M]eat had not been part of their diet all along. Further proof that meat was an exceptional provision, lies in the fact that it came unaccompanied by such ordinances as the manner in which it had to be slaughtered, specific quantities per person provided, how long it could be preserved, etc., all details that were spelled out about the Manna.”

I looked into the perspective of anthropologist Jean Soler, whose name had come up in another class session. Soler did not conclude that there had been an “attempt to impose a vegetarian regime on the Hebrews,” but he pointed to the diet of the exodus as “[a trace] of such an attempt or, at any rate, of such an ideal.” Soler also said that manna was “the only daily nourishment of the Hebrews during the exodus” and added that the Hebrews demanded meat twice.

I also checked in with Rabbi David Kraemer, author of Jewish Eating and Identity Through the Ages. Although Kraemer stated that he had “no opinion on how these stories fit together,” he said that both Rashi and Nachmanides interpreted Numbers 11:4 to mean that “meat was available all along.” Nachmanides stated quite clearly that “there was not enough meat for the whole people to have every day, although they did eat it many times, for some of them had herds, but [only] the important people ate it [every day], as happens in camps and places where prices are high.” While I cannot say with absolute certainty that Rashi’s commentary takes as strong a position, I respect Kraemer’s affirmation that Rashi held the same view:

“Did they then, not have flesh?
Was it not already stated (Ex. 12.38),
“And also a mixed multitude went with them;
and flocks, and herds,” etc.?

“If you say, “They had eaten them,”
is it not stated, when they entered into the Land (Num 32.1),
“Now the children of Reuben had a very great multitude of cattle,” etc.?
However, they (only) sought some pretext (for grumbling).”

As with so many other matters in Judaism, there is no unanimity on whether manna was part of an all-vegetarian diet. I will no longer look to claim that it was.

Filed Under: Jewish Text (Torah/Haftarah/Talmud) Tagged With: convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, heebnvegan, jewish vegetarianism, michael croland, newkosher.org, online conversion, Parshah Beshalach, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier

Latkes With Purple Potatoes: An Essay

November 29, 2010 by Patrick Beaulier

Latkes With Purple Potatoes

by Michael Croland

I’ve been beyond fascinated with colorful vegetables this year. At the Union Square Greenmarket, I’ve purchased purple potatoes, stringbeans, artichokes, bell peppers, okra, asparagus, and cauliflower—in addition to orange and green cauliflower. This obsession extends past the enthusiasm I had as a child for three- or four-color pasta. There is actually a nutritional basis for it, and as Chanukah drew nearer, I was eager to “apply” it to that quintessential potato dish: latkes.

The core principle is that vegetables with colorful flesh and skin tend to be healthier than those with white flesh and skin. In Food Rules: An Eater’s Manifesto, Michael Pollan explained, “The colors of many vegetables reflect the different antioxidant phytochemicals they contain—anthocyanins, polyphenols, flavonoids, carotenoids. Many of these chemicals help protect against chronic diseases, but each in a slightly different way, so the best protection comes from a diet containing as many different phytochemicals as possible.”

I first learned about purple- and blue-flesh potatoes when I attended a presentation by Dr. Michael Greger in 2008. Although the vegan nutritionist touted the antioxidants and other health benefits of colorful produce, in the realm of potatoes, he pushed for orange-flesh sweet potatoes as packing the best punch all-around for one’s health. I’ve never been a big yam fan, so I focused more on the purple and blue potatoes he mentioned in passing. They still seemed better than typical white-flesh potatoes.

While I do not challenge Dr. Greger’s point that yams are best, there have been numerous studies highlighting the health benefits of certain varieties of purple and blue potatoes. A Kansas State University researcher has been in the news of late after finding, “[O]range-fleshed sweet potatoes are high in carotenoids — vitamin A precursors. But the [particular variety of purple potatoes studied] have higher levels of anthocyanins, dietary fiber and vitamins.”

Truth be told, my latkes came out subpar. I do not blame the purple potatoes. With all the work I put into peeling and hand-grating the spuds, I should have looked harder for a vegan latke recipe with better binding qualities in the absence of eggs. But nobody can take away from the purple potatoes’ prettiness!

Then again, if you’re health-conscious, maybe frying potatoes in oil isn’t the best idea anyway.

Filed Under: Rants Tagged With: chanukkah, convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, hanukkah, heebnvegan, michael croland, online conversion, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, vegan hanukkah, vegan latkes

Seitan Portobello Stroganoff (Vegan/Pareve)

July 16, 2010 by newkosher

Our friends at Post Punk Kitchen throw down amazing vegan/pareve recipes that are great for any occasion.

Equipment:
2 large skillets, preferably one being cast iron, fine grater or zester.

Ingredients
1/2 pound wide noodles (I use this Eden Farms brand parsley lemon strips or fettucini broken in half), prepared according to package directions

3 1/2 cups seitan, sliced in thin wide strips (note: try making your own seitan with PPK’s recipe here)

2 tablespoons +1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup shallots, thinly sliced
1 large onion, quartered and sliced in half moons
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 portobella caps, thinly sliced
1 cup burgundy cooking wine
2 cups cold water
2 tablespoons arrowroot powder (corn or potato starch will work, too)
2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped up
1 tablespoon hungarian paprika
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
1/2 cup original flavored soy milk (I use Vitasoy)
1 cup peas

Directions
Dissolve the arrow root in the 2 cups of water, set aside.

Heat olive oil in skillet over med-high heat. Add the shallots and onions, saute for 5 minutes. Add garlic, mushrooms and thyme. Saute for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat a cast iron skillet with 1 teaspoon olive oil, just to coat it. Add the seitan and saute over medium heat about 25 minutes, until it is dark brown and crispy on the outside. If you are using store-bought seitan you need only cook it for 10 minutes.

Back to the sauce: add salt, wine and paprika. Turn heat up high to reduce the liquid, about 10 minutes.

Lower heat to med-high, add water and arrowroot, stir well and let sauce thicken, about 5 minutes. Add nutritional yeast and mix well until it is dissolved. Add soymilk and mustard and bring heat down to low, be very careful not to let it boil now because it can make the soymilk and mustard bitter. Add seitan and peas, cook for 10 more minutes.

Divide noodles into bowls and mix with the stroganoff. It is best to mix immediately so that the pasta doesn’t stick. You can top it off with tofu sour cream, but I like it just the way it is.

Filed Under: NewKosher (Recipes) Tagged With: comfort food, convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, heebnvegan, online conversion, ost punk kitchen, parve, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, russian, stroganoff, vegan

PunkTorah Inc.
PO Box 1641
Midlothian, VA 23113

questions@punktorah.org
YouTube
Facebook

Read our DMCA notice

Search the PunkTorah Blog Archive

What We Do

Pluralistic Rabbinical Seminary: Online Rabbinical Program

Now Hiring: Rabbis, Educators & Creatives

Become a Jewish Spiritual Leader

  • Jewish Text (Torah/Haftarah/Talmud)
  • Judaism & Belief
  • The G-d Project Videos
  • Podcasts & Videos
  • NewKosher (Recipes)
  • Converting To Judaism
  • LGBTQ & Women
  • Shabbat & Holidays

Copyright PunkTorah Inc.© 2023