The JEWISH Vayislach • Nov. 23, 2018 • 15 Kislev, 5779 • Torah columns pages 18–19 • Luach page 18 • Vol 17, No 45
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For American olim, sweet Thanksgiving By Deborah Fineblum, JNS Thousands of modern-day Pilgrims have thrown the journey into reverse, leaving North American shores behind and crossing the ocean to begin life anew in the old-new country of Israel. But one thing the roughly 300,000 “native Americans” who’ve made aliyah in the last seven decades have in common with the Pilgrims of yore is the attitude of gratitude — the sense of feeling truly thankful. And yet, even though the vast majority of them are happy in their new home, many of these American-born olim insist on celebrating a holiday that most of their sabra neighbors have never heard of: Thanksgiving. “When we made aliyah 14 years ago, I told my husband” I would never give up Thanksgiving, says Wisconsin native Hilary Faverman. “And I haven’t.”
So determined was she to do Turkey Day right that she imported a big American oven, she revealed, “just for this one day.” Unlike in the United States — where every grocery store is stocked with deep inventories of turkey, cranberries and every kind of piecrust imaginable — each November, Faverman wrestles with the butcher near her Beitar-area home to order her a bird big enough to serve 30 guests. She also relies on friends to scout round for the other necessities. One summer (six months before Turkey Day), she got a call from a friend in Ra’anana. “She was excited to tell me she’d just found some cans of pumpkin. Of course, I asked her to pick them up for me.” But these days, Faverman knows at least the cranSee Holiday on page 4
Serving our Orthodox communities
Here’s how turkey got its kosher
The American Jewish Committee hosted lone American soldiers in Jerusalem for a 2011 Thanksgiving dinner.
By Jackson Richman, JNS Thanksgiving usually consists of cooking on a level that Jews do every week for Shabbat preparation — soup, salad and all those sides that accompany the main dish. And while chicken has been a staple from the agricultural era and was never a stranger to kashrut, the turkey was initially an unknown bird, as it didn’t exist in the Old World, thus presenting a dilemma about whether or not it was acceptable for Jews to eat according to dietary laws. Rashi said that only birds that See Turkey on page 4
Airbnb hops BDS wagon The online marketplace and hospitality service Airbnb announced on Monday that it will no longer permit listings in Judea and Samaria due to what it alleges as “Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank that are at the core of the dispute between Israelis and Palestinians,” according to a company statement. “We know that people will disagree with this decision and appreciate their perspective. This is a controversial issue,” the company said. “There are many strong views as it relates to lands that have been the subject of historic and intense disputes between Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank. Airbnb has deep respect for those views.” “Our hope is that someday sooner rather than later, a framework is put in place where the entire global community is aligned so there will be a resolution to this historic conflict and a clear path forward for everybody to follow,” added Airbnb. Airbnb spokesperson Nick Papas declined to answer when asked by JNS if this is the first time there has been a ban in a conflict zone, and if there will be one in the Golan Heights area, eastSee Airbnb on page 4
The Jewish Star Schools Lots of smiles! Top: SKA girls at Shabbaton; Rabbi Shmuel Strickman with firstgraders at Yeshiva Darchei Torah; a HAFTR seventh-grader proudly preps for his bar mitzvah. Below: Snow falls on DRS’s Shabbaton; and HALB Lev Chana kindergartners meet Hatzalah. There’s more school news on pages 16–17.
New foods coming soon to kosher markets near you By Josefin Dolsten, JTA SECAUCUS, NJ — Once a year, this swampy neighbor of New York City turns into kosher food heaven. Jews from across the country gather at the Meadowlands Exposition Center for Kosher-
fest, the world’s largest kosher food trade show. There’s plenty of nosherai, Yiddish and kippahs to go around at an event where attendees skew Orthodox and male. Some 300 exhibitors showed their products on Nov. 13 and 14 to an
audience of some 5,000 food industry professionals, vendors and journalists. JTA rounded up some unusual products at the 2018 Kosherfest, from plantain croutons to dessert ravioli and a menorah-shaped ice cream cake.
Plantain croutons Home cooks looking to spice up their salads need look no further. These plantain croutons, which are manufactured in Ecuador and won KoSee New foods on page 10
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