Rabbi Ruth Abusch-Magder
Ruth Abusch-Magder is a chocoholic rabbi hailing most recently from NJ. Her interest in Jewish food is professional and personal; not only did she write a dissertation on Jewish foodways but she makes a mean challah. This year, she is Jerusalem Fellow at the Mandel Leadership Institute. Her hobbies include using ALL the veggies in her CSA box and getting her kids to eat tofu.
Kosher! Food Also Available
(posted on behalf of Rabbi Ruth Abusch-Magder PhD)
My husband recently returned from a trip to Warsaw. After nearly 9 months living in Israel it was quite a culture shock. There were many meaningful moments but also some funny ones. He took this photo with an ad for the Warsaw-Jerusalem restaurant. According to the ad this is the world’s only Israeli-Jewish-Polish eatery and I don’t doubt it. This unlikely mixing of cuisines has resulted in serving gefilte fish and shwarma side by side with a slice of klezmer on the side. The English script makes it clear that the potential customers are tourists not locals. While I’m guessing they are hoping for Jewish traffic the main drawing is of the Muslim not the Jewish view of Jerusalem. Apparently this restaurant is Kosher and Food is also available. As odd as all this seems, perhaps the most unbelievable piece of the ad is the chef in the white cloak serving falafel. Anyone who has ever had falafel at an authentic Israeli dive knows it is impossible to fill a pita with hot sauce, onions, salad, hummus, techina, garlic paste, pickles and falafel without getting at least a bit down your front!
1 Comment »The Sweet Taste of Judeo-Kitch
The newest thing in Jewish education? A cup of coffee with two teaspoon of Zionism. The Israeli sugar company Sugat has come out with single serving bags of sugar that sport pictures of “The Fathers of Zionism” important Zionist thinkers and early statesmen. In a somewhat repetative fashion, the package promises that they are, compact, easy to use, elegant, infomative and educational. When Theodor Herzl prophesized a futuristic, normalized Jewish state, it is hard to believe he imagined the marketing possibilities of ideological sugar packs.
Social Justice with Fries
Are the people who serve your fries getting sick leave? Does your barista get paid for overtime? Are the dishwashers getting paid minimum wage?
The folks at Bema’agalei Tzedek are working to make sure that everyone entering a public eatery in Israel can answer these questions. Their social seal program, which is active in five Israeli cities, takes the idea of fair trade one step further, assesses the whether or not a restaurant or catering hall is living up to its social responsibilities towards it employees and patrons. The social seal sticker makes it easy for customers to do a quick ethical check before they scan the menu. Read more »
To Every Yogurt There is a Season
If eating seasonally generally makes me feel somewhat closer to nature, I’m not quite sure what to make of the Israeli phenomenon of seasonal yogurts. In late August, when we arrived for the year, just ahead of the High Holidays, I saw an ad for pomegranate flavored yogurt. I was excited to try it but didn’t get around to looking for it for a few weeks and when I did it wasn’t there. I assumed it was just another one of those things that one needs to be ‘really’ Israeli to be able to find in the supermarket. I settled for strawberry, mango, and chocolate sponge cake flavors instead.
But a few more weeks passed and the chocolate sponge cake was gone.I was sad but grabbed some apple pie and some citrus mix which I was mostly sure I had not seen before. (again I was not sure how much was my lack of supermarket skills and how much was reality!) Upon inspection, I noticed to the bright yellow sticker on the side which announced that these flavors were “New! Temporary!” It finally dawned on me that like the fruits and vegetables, yogurts in Israel are seasonal.
