Kosher, Part III: Real People, Real Food: Christine Weiss

This next post is by Christine Weiss, one of the true leaders of the Anshe Chesed Fairmount Temple community, and woman I am proud to call my friend. Christine has done a lot of studying about Judaism in general, and this topic in particular.  She spent several months interviewing older women (14 of them) from … Continue reading →

Blessing for Bacon? So, Yeah, That Happened.

Teaching Hebrew school is always an adventure . . . you just never know what will happen on any given afternoon.  The kids are absolutely adorable – sweet, good children who probably really don’t want to be in Hebrew school on a Tuesday afternoon after a long day of school.  That said, most of them … Continue reading →

Kosher, Part III: Real People, Real Food: Dr. Roxanne Sukol

My first “testimonial” for this kashrut (kosher) series is none other than Dr. Roxanne Sukol, physician extraordinaire!  She is board-certified in Internal Medicine, and is an expert on health and wellness in today’s crazy world of fast food and even faster-growing waistlines and blood-sugar levels.  She writes the blog, “Your Health is on Your Plate“, … Continue reading →

Kosher, Part II: Beyond the “No’s” or Why Should I Care if My Grasshopper is Sustainably Farmed?

So, what does Judaism bring to food and eating beyond the “no’s” – no shellfish, no pork, no cheeseburgers . . . ?  It brings a level of ethics that I personally feel is missing in today’s industrialized food production.  Judaism values not just what you eat and how it was killed, but how it … Continue reading →

How We Eat

Going through old posts, and I found this one from a couple of years ago.  Timely! Rachel Adler begins her d’var Torah on this week’s parasha with this: Just now, American society is reexamining the way it eats. Michael Pollan, in his best-selling book In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manefesto , advises distinguishing between … Continue reading →

Love in a Baking Dish

I am partial to Mr. Michael Ruhlman, as he is a native Clevelander and has chosen to *GASP* raise his family here, even though with his credentials he could live in any major food city of his choice and be very successful.  He is a fantastic cook, food writer and all-around food-and-fun loving guy (or … Continue reading →

How We Eat: Sh’mini, Leviticus 9:1−11:47

Rachel Adler begins her d’var Torah on this week’s parasha with this: Just now, American society is reexamining the way it eats. Michael Pollan, in his best-selling book In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manefesto , advises distinguishing between food and some of the poor imitations for food that we currently ingest (New York: Penguin … Continue reading →