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I’m A Punk Jew (And Here’s Some Jackson Pollock Salad)

December 16, 2010 by Patrick Beaulier

This post by Reina Kutner comes from our newest project, NewKosher.org. Reina’s bi-weekly blog on NewKosher highlights the best of indie Jewish life and awesome recipes from her personal blog, Young, Broke & Kosher.

After Jewlicious this weekend, I have come to the conclusion that I am a strange anomaly in the Jewish community. I’m kosher, but not completely – I will eat hot dairy when I go out. I wear long skirts and sleeves… occasionally, and depending on my mood. I consider Friday night possibly the most sacred time of the week, but am not Shomer Shabbat in any way, shape or form

So here I am, a Jew in Long Beach, filled with unusual contradictions and odd ways of looking at my faith. You could say I’m conservative, and I do associate myself with the conservative movement in Judaism. But for me, I guess I would consider myself a Punk Jew – right down to my red-and-black checkered Vans, also known as the Anarchy Shoes, 2.0.

Now, I don’t look punk in any way, shape or form – unless you counted the times I dyed my hair red.  But the fact of the matter is that when it comes to my Judaism, I have a nonconformist and rebellious point of view when it comes to faith. Sure, I’m traditional, but you don’t see me covering my hair (and if I was, I’d be wearing a bright purple wig) or completely covered from head to toe. I also support things – such as gay marriage or sitting with your family during services – that would have some Orthodox Jews freaking out.

At the same time, I don’t associate myself completely with the reform movement. I like using Hebrew when I pray, separating myself from my normal world. I don’t feel like Shabbat services should be quiet with the strumming of guitars – instead, I want the power of loud and powerful voices filled with joy dancing me into Friday night, no instruments required. I am of the belief that the best thing you can do in Judaism is sit down on Friday night to a Shabbat dinner with friends and, if you have them close by, family.

I reject the fact that I have to be told by the rabbis what to do or how to live my life. I am a Jew, and I feel that I have the free will to do what I want with it. I’m no less of a Jew because I don’t observe the way you do, and I am no more of a Jew because I may observe more than you do.

When it came to kashrut, I dedicated myself to this practice because I wanted to. It was something that was important to me, that made me aware every day that I was Jewish, and therefore I was special. I felt that it was the right decision for me. But I don’t push others to do it.

I may not be an anarchist, but the fact is that I don’t need authority to tell me who I am, or what I can and can’t be. I don’t need people telling me that I’m not Sephardic because either my skin is too light or the fact that my father isn’t. I don’t need people telling me I’m not good enough to be a certain type of Jew. I’m proud to be Jewish and somewhat traditional, yet I am proud to be progressive and accept those who may not have a place in Judaism and welcome them to my movement of being a Punk Jew, and not being in just one place.

The Booksteins taught me that any way that you can be Jewish, you should – and it doesn’t matter if you are Orthodox, Conservative, Reform or Reconstructionist. You should embrace everyone and let them become close, and encourage love. I guess I am a Punk Jew in that way: I believe more in love than anything else in my faith. I believe in basic human values – not embarrassing people, respecting those around you, loving openly, being honest, understanding, kind and giving.

I believe these values come before anything that is written in the Torah – and trust me, I love my Holy Book. But these values come before any laws, rules and regulations. So, in this way, if being a Punk Jew means loving with a full heart, I don’t mind it in the slightest.

In honor of anarchy and going against the grain, I give you Pollock Salad – named after the famous painter Jackson Pollock.  Every time I think of him, I think about an incident when I was in Israel. I was in a drama class, and my friends had a conversation about Jackson Pollock splattering paint all over a toilet seat and selling it for gobs of money. But if the guy had to make a salad, I bet he would do it this way.

POLLOCK SALAD

1 bag salad greens

1 large carrot

1 yellow squash

2 zucchini

2-3 scallions

5-6 radishes

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

¼ cup olive oil

2 tablespoons garlic powder

Salt and pepper

Pour the bag of salad greens into a bowl. Using a vegetable peeler, peel the skins off of the zucchini, yellow squash and carrot and discard them. Then, using the peeler, slice the vegetables over the salad greens until you reach the centers and are unable to peel. Discard the insides.

Meanwhile, chop the scallions into ¼ inch pieces and top the salad. Slice the radishes into small pieces, like matchsticks. Top the salad.

Meanwhile, whisk the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic powder and salt and pepper together. Once ready to serve, pour over the salad and mix.

Filed Under: Random (Feelin' Lucky?), Rants Tagged With: convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, jackson pollock, jconnectla, jewlicious, newkosher, newkosher.org, online conversion, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, ybk, young broke and kosher

Welcome Newbies!

December 6, 2010 by Patrick Beaulier

Welcome to NewKosher! So since there are a lot of new people coming by, I thought I might as well introduce myself personally:

My name is Reina Kutner, known to some as Reina Victoria, known to dad as just Victoria. I’m from a town called Thousand Oaks, which is so white that white bread is achingly jealous. I went to Pierce College in the San Fernando Valley, then escaped to Orange County to be at Cal State Fullerton. My Nony, Regina Amira, who hailed from a Sephardic family that relocated to New York from Turkey before she was born, was the best cook in the world. She taught me about food and love, and although she is gone, I miss her every day.

I am a bit of a punk Jew – I do things my way, right down to my red-and-black checkered Vans. I keep kosher, but I’m not super-religious. Instead of living in Pico-Robertson, the Jewish area of Los Angeles, I keep kosher in an obscure part of Long Beach, about 30 miles south. Here, I don’t have to keep up with the Schwartzes or Goldbergs. Instead, I can be me, kosher and happy. Long Beach is really the first place that I have ever considered home.

When I got married, I began to teach myself about cooking. I could cook before, but I wanted to learn it all. In my unemployment right after I got married, I started watching Food Network shows and started teaching myself. I learned a lot by being intuitive, going to farmer’s markets and talking to others. I then decided to write a memoir/cookbook, “Young, Broke and Kosher.”

Eventually, I would find work at a national newspaper syndicate, but then my husband would be laid off. We had a hard time, but we made do. Then came Six – the nickname I gave to the sixth blood clot I had. The first five came in 2004, at the age of 21. Despite this life-threatening condition, I continued to go to work. The result? Two weeks later I was laid off from my job, and my husband and I were left with no jobs and a pile of medical bills.

Six months after the blood clot, I decided that I shouldn’t just sit around on my butt and wait for something to happen. I made “Young, Broke and Kosher” into a blog, and hence this site was born. With recipes and stories, I was going to let people in. I didn’t want to hide from people – rather, it was time to show them who I was and what I did. I even have a Facebook fan page for the blog and Twitter account! (On Twitter, you can find us @youngbrokekosh) We can also be reached via e-mail at youngbrokekosher@gmail.com.

Currently, I’m trying to develop video, which we will post onto YouTube, and launch our actual site, youngbrokeandkosher.com (still looking for cheap hosting for this broke lady).

Less than a year after Six, I’m healthy and moving on with my life, complete with full control over my medical condition. I feel like I have no limits. Yes, I may be broke, and I may be odd, but I’m not afraid.

In the meantime, here is one of my favorite recipes, which I made the other night. It’s been posted before, but it’s worth doing again. P’tayavon!

Filed Under: Random (Feelin' Lucky?) Tagged With: broke, convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, inexpensive, online conversion, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, Welcome Newbies!, ybk, young

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