RJ Blog

by Rabbi Joseph A. Skloot Until 2008, one of the most popular foods served in Beijing restaurants was known in English as “saliva chicken.” This was actually a literal translation of the dish’s traditional name in Mandarin—which could also be translated as “chicken that makes your mouth water.” In advance of that year’s Olympic games, however, the Chinese government demanded restaurants revise their menus. Eager to be taken seriously as a world power, China feared literal translations like this one would besmirch its image and so, “saliva chicken” became “steamed chicken with chili sauce.”

by Rabbi Rick Schechter “A great miracle happened there,” we say, as we spin the Chanukah dreidel each year while eating latkes fried in oil. But what was “the miracle” of Chanukah? Our tradition recounts more than one. The first miracle is that a small band of Jews defeated the more powerful Syrian army in their struggle for religious freedom and independence. As our thanksgiving prayer at Chanukah time puts it, “God delivered the mighty into the hands of the weak, and the many into the hands of the few.” The Maccabean victory is a remarkable story of courage, dedication, [...]

by Marcia Brandt Frezza Several years ago my husband Tony and I moved to Hilton Head Island in South Carolina and joined Congregation Beth Yam.  What a blessing for us to find this amazing community!  What is unique about Congregation Beth Yam is that the  we have developed  a culture of caring that is part of the fiber of our congregation.  We believe when it comes to the members of our congregation you cannot talk the talk without walking the walk.

by Bill Page One of the Hanukkah songs we sing begins with the words, al hanissim (for the miracles), and thanks God for all the miracles performed for our fathers, in those days, in this season (the last referring to the Hanukkah season).  So what are the miracles, plural, for which we are thanking God?  The miracle of the oil burning for 8 days, in the case of Hanukkah, and I guess also the miracle of the Exodus, etc., etc. However, I immediately had a second, rather disturbing, set of questions enter my mind: how about the miracle of the [...]

by Annette Powers It was over brunch on our fourth date when I told him, “This can’t go anywhere…I’m Jewish and you’re not.” After years of Jewish camp, Hebrew school and lectures from my parents, I was fairly certain that the eleventh commandment was “Thou shalt meet a nice Jewish boy, get married and have beautiful Jewish babies.” With an ancestral chain of more than 2,000 years I couldn’t bear the guilt of deviating from the plan. After all, my people had been fighting for survival for lo these many centuries. Who was I to go and ruin it all [...]

by Rabbi Zachary Shapiro Christmas or Chanukah?  The answer is really pretty easy. Christmas wins.  Hands down.  The music is prettier. The decorations are extraordinary. And the presents under the tree are tempting. For the religious, Christmas is about the Birth of the savior. Chanukah can’t even come close to that. Chanukah, when it comes down to it, is about what most other Jewish holidays are about: We were almost annihilated. But we survived. So now, let’s eat!

by Molly Benoit As a child of the 90’s I learned the Chanukah story in many contexts, from the traditional religious school recounting of the miraculous oil to the memorable Shalom Sesame and Rugrats television specials.  Even as an adult, latkes and sufganyiot deliciously fried in oil and playing dreidel are fun. But Chanukah is about more than just the small and mighty Maccabees’ defeat of the Greeks and the miracle of the oil lasting for eight nights instead of one.  The story of Chanukah is also a reminder of the precious religious liberty that was denied to the Jews [...]

by Tina Wasserman Today was a terrific day! I drove to Virginia to be at Temple Beth El in Alexandria. The wonderful ladies of that synagogue’s WRJ offered to help me prepare all the foods I am presenting at the Biennial this week. To thank them, I gave a talk about the history of Jewish food. We were all happy! There was one man in the kitchen cooking with us, and he was a terrific pastry chef. I am nibbling on the broken spice cookies as we speak! Here’s what’s cooking at Biennial…

by Tina Wasserman Many years ago I created a birthday cake for my son that covered an entire table with cupcakes, licorice and cookies transforming the table’s surface into a giant Pac- Man grid. I used a contemporary cultural icon to create a centerpiece for his birthday celebration. Jewish cooks, for millennia, found their creative stimulus in themes from the Bible, regional folklore, and daily life.  The Chanukah story of the rededication of the Temple and the single vial of oil lasting eight days was the impetus for the creation of the potato pancake, probably in the early 17th century, [...]

by Ted Greenwood and Hope Chernak, RJE On December 17 a delegation of seven people from Temple Shaaray Tefila will be heading to Haifa, Israel to plan activities that will begin soon with our new partners, Congregation Ohel Avraham and the Leo Baeck Education Center.  The delegation will consist of three Shaaray Tefila staff, two adult lay leaders and two teen leaders from our High School Youth Group, TaSTY.  The activities to be planned will include educational programs for adults and youth and personal exchanges, including annual trips for teens from Shaaray Tefila to Haifa and teens from Ohel Avraham/Leo [...]