The Story of the Jewish Deli

´I think the future of Jewish foods is that they´re incorporated into other menus and enrich them´.

Ken Raskin, Owner of Manny´s Cafeteria 

A graphic journey of Jewish food stories, The Jewish Deli by Ben Nadler is an illustrated guide of the staple foods of the North American Jewry but also a permanent questioning of its future. From the old times, Jewish communities adapted to the customs of the place they were hosted and translated local recipes into the kosher food love language. 

´When I bite into a good pastrami sandwich, I feel in my Askenazi blood that I am satisfying my basic human instincts´. Indeed, food meant for the Jewish immigration more than survival, it meant maintaining the identity and a reminder of the tastes from the ´old countries´. Thus, talking about a Jewish deli is a historical and existential adventure: ´A Jewish deli is begging to be illustrated, no detail too small to be appreciated, nowhere to look without some sort of secret delicacy waiting to be discovered´. 

Nadler´s enquiry is more than a graphic novel, it includes interviews with owners of successful delis, but also includes many historical and culinary details. When he refers to the stories and the people who made those delicious pastrami sandwiches, the magic of words and images are there to help. The book is not less serious than other encyclopedic approaches to Jewish food  asking very important questions about how tradition can survive in a world on the move, but also doing some outstanding justice to meals and products that are hardly mentioned those days - like Karnatzel.

The Jewish Deli is an important contribution to the emerging debate about the past and future of the Jewish Askenazi-inspired food, in the North American realm. Hopefully, there will be more similar approaches following the same curious yet humorous pathway.

Rating: 5 stars

The Guide for the Jewish New Parents

Anita Diamant is a writer that besides novels, also wrote useful guides for the modern Jewish families, like for example the practicalities of the Jewish wedding. She uses the traditional basis, but in a very open way, incorporating the reform and liberal customs and addressing interfaith families too - that we like it or not, do exist.

The New Jewish Baby Book - the second edition - covers the details of the first days of the baby until the very first year, by covering the diversity of the Jewish families nowadays. It uses halachic arguments, but it is not following the strict view and most probably if you are on the very strict side of the observance, you may not appreciate some of the opinions expressed. 

The book is so systematically organised and rich and information that even you consider youself a literate in all things religion and tradition, there is still something to learn. The novelty for me was the reform/conservative/liberal literary tradition that I am completey unaware of, dedicated to different occasions like brit milah/brit bat etc.

The book covers a variety of topics, in the smallest details, including how - and when, preferably on Rosh Chodesh - to organise a baby shower, the choice of a name - with a long list of names for both boys and girls and their meaning, what question to address a mohel, how to make announcement and write invitations for brit milah etc.

Although not extremely comprehensive, the book has also a final section dedicated on adoption, an issue that is still lacking a systematic guidance for Jewish families. 

Overall it is an useful read for the new parents trying to juggle with the obligations of taking care of a new life while keeping a certain degree of religious observance.

The Meanings of Shabbat Shira

On the ever Shabbes before Tu B'Shvat, I always try to put some grains in the trees, for the birds to have after their return from the warm continents. This is done before the Shabbat Shira - the Shabbat of the song - stars, which happens this week. But there is more meaning to it than feeding the birds and here are some of them. 

Shabbat Shira is taking place when the Parsha Beshalah is read, with tells the story of Kriat Yam Suf, when Hashem splitted the Red Sea for the Jewish people. A song was sung by the people of Israel, epitomizing the strength given by Hashem to the Jews against their enemies, a song where Gd was praised out of pure joy. Miriam, Moshe's sister, danced and played the tambourines, as an expression of gratitude towards the victory given by Hashem to the Jews against the powerful armies of the Pharaoh. 

According to the Maharal of Prague, when the Red Sea split, fruits grew in the trees and children picked them to feed the birds, who sang and danced together with the Jews - Shirat HaYam. In the memory of their kiddush Hashem, it is customary to feed them the erev Shabbes before. This is a beautiful niggun inspired by the songs of birds on the hills around Jerusalem. 

Following some traditions, birds are fed wheat, and Chabad followers eat kasha on this Shabbes, as a symbol of the manna fed to the Jews by Hashem. 

Especially in the more liberal synagogues, it is customary to celebrate this Shabbat with music and dance, as a way to outline the importance of songs in the Jewish tradition, which comes in different colours and musical tones. 

What is Shalom Zachar?

The traditions and customs associated with the birth of a boy seem to be more numerous and marking his very first moments of life. As usual, there are differences in the Askenazi and Sephardi/Mizrahi tradition, which might create sometimes some specific cultural identifications. 

Take, for instance, shalom zachar - or shulem zucher for the Yiddish speaking folks. It is a gathering supposed to take place the first Friday after the birth of a boy to welcome the new soul into the world. The reunion, which has the status of a teuda mitzva, takes place after the usual dinner, even if the mother and baby are not present, and there is no ceremony or dvar Torah assigned but wise speeches are encourages, but expect a lot of lechaims and mazel tovs. In case it is not possible to meet the first Shabbes after the birth, it can be delayed. 

The mysterious explanation of this custom is that after the baby learnt Torah with an angel during his time in the womb, this gathering is an opportunity to mourn the lost memory of the precious learning. It is said that shortly before birth, the angel slaps the baby boy and he forgets everything he learned for 9 months. Therefore, the ceremony can be considered as a 'mourning', and some serve also a food usually served by shiva - the arbes, for instance, cooked chickpeas with spices, salt or pepper - and any round food aimed to remember the round circle of life.

By the Oriental Jews, the most important event before the brit takes place the night before the event, when the men gather for a sleepless night of reading Tehilim and reciting Shema - 'the Brit Yitzchak'. According to their tradition, the night before the brit mila is 'spiritually dangerous' and therefore prayers should eliminate the dangers. Some Hasidim also do have the same tradition, called in Yiddish 'vach nacht'.

In the last years, a similar ceremony to shalom zachar was introduced, the simchat bat, aimed at celebrating the birth of a girl. 

The Jewish Wedding Now, by Anita Diamant

Since 1985, The Jewish Wedding by Anita Diamant sees a new edition, aimed to include the latest changes and understandings of the Jewish life in the last years, including the acceptance of same sex marriages. 'Jewish weddings are grounded in the past, but they have always been the stuff of the irrepressible present'. 

Written in an accessible way, with many interesting Biblical and tradition-bounded examples, the book offers valuable insights into both the preparation process and the event as such, covering very important elements, such as the content of the ketuba, how to split the costs or dealing with tests for identifying possible genetic diseases. My list is considerably random and reductive but it is up to the reader to find out a lot of other intersting aspects. This is one of the many merits of this book: it is hardly an aspect of the Jewish Wedding left uncovered and I wish there are such valuable resources covering other important moments of the Jewish life circle too. 

It also doesn't matter if you grew up Jewish or not or if you are part of a conservative or more liberal congregation: it creates bridges between different traditions and interpretations of the Jewish law being also a hard work of anthropolotical-like research and inquiry. If you are a person who, regardless of your own background and personal choices, you want to learn, this book will open your mind to a whole range of diverse customs, many of them newly introduced following the new society trends. 

The book is mostly focused on the main checklist, without covering particular traditions and community rules, but such a particular focus would have divert from the main aim which is The Jewish Wedding in general, and not specific Jewish wedding(s).

A book recommended to anyone curious about how the Jewish Wedding are organised or just looking for a complete overview of this important life event. 

Rating: 4 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

A Gefilte Fishy Tale

It is Friday and Bubbe Judy is ready to prepare the Shabbos table. Of course the fresh gefilte fish jar, her grandson's favourite dish is there, and everything seems to be under control. Everything until the sturdy nasty jar doesn't want to open. At any price, even if you take it to the doctor. Hypnosis doesn't help either. Everyone keeps going on and around the jar trying to find help for fixing this very important issue, but without any success. What's to be done? The more they try the more desperate they are. It seems the jar is listening only to those whom share the ardour for the delicious gefilte. Nephew Jack is the chosen one who will be able to open the jar just by saying 'Please'. Sometimes, we forget how easy and beautiful is to utter this very magic word. This could be the Shabbos lesson for this week.

I've found the book very inspiring, funny - the verses are flowing well and the choice for poetry is quite appropriate for this story - and with dynamic illustrations. The characters are modern - not wearing sheitels or long skirts - but still anchored in the tradition: they buy kosher and prepare the Shabbos table and use once in a while Yiddish - a dictionary is provided for the newbies. A typical Jewish American family nowadays, but it can resonate with other Jews that still want to keep the old traditions, but in their own way. Being non-judgmental is the best way to understand the new ways of being Jewish nowadays, outside the religious shtetls. 

As a lover-without-borders of gefilte fish, I fully approve this book. Ironically, it happened to me more than once to deal with serious jar stubborness, and only the kindness of my neighbours saved our Shabbos meal. I never tried the magic word with the jar though...In the book, Bubbe promised herself to choose a can the next time and maybe I should too.

The book has also a Shabbos song, and a recipe for gefilte fish muffins that maybe I will try once in a while.

If you are looking for an inspired present for your children for the coming holidays, this book is a good idea.

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange of an honest review

Jewish memories in Europe: The new cemetery in Leipzig

Early spring in Leipzig. On the way to the Book Fair, I spotted a Magen David and the shadows of some tombstones and decided that I am rather late to the fair than missing the opportunity of having a look at a slice of Jewish history. I go out of the tram and go back for another 5 minutes till the entrance from Delitzcher strasse. 

I first look through a big hole on the walls, through which one can enter the cemetery avoiding the main entrance that is open only between certain hours. Desecration of Jewish cemeteries happened in Leipzig too, but apparently for the moment, there are no specific threats. The entrance is not guarded and everything looked safe.

 Out of the hole, a peaceful area, with a lot of green and trees, as in all the Jewish cemeteries.

At the entrance, a quote in German: 'Only love is stronger than death', a shortened adaptation of a verse from Shir Hashirim.

Most tombstones are well preserved, erected at the beginning of the 1930s, and after the war. 

Old white stones with black spots of the new ones. The old area is almost empty. When I entered, I say 'Shalom' to two ladies exiting, that were looking a bit surprised at me. Jewish life is recorded in Leipzig since the 12th century, many Jews travelling regularly to town because of the fair trade. Officially, Jews were allowed to settle only in 1847. The first cemetery was created in 1815, till then the local Jews being buried in other places around, including Dresden. 

In 1935, there were 11, 564 Jews living in Leipzig, the city being the sixth largest community in Germany. In 1942, the deportation began, and in 1945, there were only 15 Jews left. 200 returned from Theresienstadt and other concentration camps. Eugen Gollomb was the most important post-war leader of the community, between 1967-1988. Born in Breslau and with studies at the Rabbinical seminary in Lublin, he served in the Polish army, and was prisoner in several camps, including Auschwitz Birkenau. He also was in touch with the Polish resistance. After the war, he moved to Germany, but kept considering himself more Polish than German. He never was member of the communist party, and was labelled in the documents of the intelligence service STASI as a 'dangerous Zionist'.

Torah scrolls who are damaged are no more kosher hence cannot be used any more for ritual purposes. According to the Jewish tradition, the writings cannot be destroyed or discarded, but buried according to a specific ceremonial in the genizah - a word that means hide/put away - a special repository or place either in the attic or basement of the synagogue or in the cemetery. At the Leipzig cemetery, were buried Torah scrolls stolen from Poland during the war and recovered later in the century. 

The number of Jews living in Leipzig increased especially after the end of the Cold War, when many Russians from the former Soviet Union arrived. Nowadays, there is a Jewish center and a limited kosher supervision, and since 2006, a mikvah/ritual bath, a clear message that in town are living observant families. 

As always when I go in a Jewish cemeteries, I respectfully walk near the stones. The Jewish practice does not encourage excessive visits to the cemeteries. G-d is one and we don't need intermediaries for sending our wishes and prayers. The general etiquette when visiting a Jewish cemetery is to be respectful, refrain from shouting, walking or consuming beverages or foods.

The Jews in Leipzig were usually middle class business persons, busy with trade, hence a slight investment in the outlook of the graves. Rich and poor should be buried alike though, according to the Jewish tradition, and the visual barriers between the social classes don't find their place in the cemetery. 

However, on the influence of the reform and Haskala, many Jewish cemeteries, especially in Germany - and Western part of Poland were adorned with artistic models and art nouveau decorations.

An interesting phenomenon that I noticed in Leipzig was the apparition, in the new section of the cemetery, of an area of tombs with many flowers. When I visited, during a day of full spring, a couple of women speaking Russian were there, cleaning the tombs and planting new flowers.

The planting of flowers on Jewish graves, and any adornments in general, are not part of the Jewish practice. As the flowers, the body is ephemeral and what is left is the soul, often symbolized by the small stones that we place near the burial sites in remembrance. 

Asked about the practice of bringing Jewish flowers to the grave, Rabbi Chai Elazar Shapiro of Munkacs (1871-1937) was categorically against it. Mentioning the need to avoid making any differentiation between poor and rich Jews, he also outlined that it is generally forbidden to have benefit from anything associated with the grave, thus the smell and beauty of the flowers should be avoided. The memory of the deceased is usually remembered by good deeds, tzedaka (charity), sponsoring a communal meal or learning in the memory of the dead. Excessive grave visitation can be also associated with idolatry, one of the reasons statues are not allowed for adorning the cemeteries.

In the Jewish practice, the excessive visits to the cemeteries are not encouraged. The visits are recommended on decisive moments - at the end of the shiva time, on yohrzeit. Also many go on the fast days and the first days of the months of Nissan and Elul, but not on happy occasions such as Purim, or chol hamoed of Pesach and Sukkot. 

On visitation, many recite the psalm 119.

I left the Leipzig cemetery, interested to return one day and meet some of the Jews living here. The past and future should be always connected by the present.