Chaya Steinman 

As we labor through the sobering month of Elul preparing our souls for the High Holidays that will soon be upon us, shaatras are hard at work preparing meals to ensure that Rosh Hashanah will be as beautiful and uplifting physically as it will be spiritually.  

Personally, I enjoy revolving my entire Rosh Hashanah menu around the simanim (literally, “signs”), the traditional foods eaten on Rosh Hashanah as symbols of our hopes for a happy and prosperous year. This technique has expanded my cooking repertoire to include some delicious, infrequently-used produce, and has created a festive tradition that my family looks forward to each year. In honor of these unique and meaningful foods that infuse our Rosh Hashanah meals with hopeful prayers for the coming year, let us explore some interesting, little-known facts about some of the simanim, as well as recipe ideas for incorporating them into a holiday meal. 

Dates 

Packed with a gooey, sweet decadence, dates seem more like an indulgent treat than a health food. Yet, these delicious fruits, famed for being one of the shivat haminim (seven special species of Eretz Yisrael), have been given the well-earned nickname “nature’s candy,” as they are jam-packed with nutritional value. Grown on date palms indigenous to the Middle East, dates are chock full of essential vitamins, minerals, and nutrients such as fiber, vitamin B6, iron, vitamin K, potassium, and manganese. Dates also boast a long list of health benefits that include boosting bone health and strength, preventing abdominal cancer, decreasing allergic reactions, reducing the risk of stroke, promoting healthy digestion and excretion, increasing energy levels, and strengthening the nervous system. With about 66 calories per date, they are also a great choice for people looking to gain weight in a healthy way. If you want to enjoy dates throughout your Rosh Hashanah meal, consider adding chopped dates to a fresh lettuce salad to add an extra dimension of taste. There are also a myriad of cakes, cookies, and dessert bar recipes that feature dates as the star ingredient. 

Black Eyed Peas  

Black eyed peas were first cultivated in West Africa, and later spread to America in the 17th century. In the Southern United States, black eyed peas are a celebrated staple in traditional soul food cooking. Interestingly, a community of Sephardic Jews who settled in Georgia in the 1730s ate black eyed peas every year at their Rosh Hashanah meal. The surrounding gentiles noticed this custom and jumped on the black eyed pea bandwagon.  Dating back to the mid-19th century and continuing till today, there is a tradition in the Southern United States to eat black eyed peas for good luck on New Year’s Day. More accurately classified as a bean than a pea, black eyed peas were further popularized when George Washington Carver promoted planting them to add nitrogen to soil, and Carver touted their nutritional value. Consider serving this low-calorie, potassium-rich protein as a side dish cooked with sautéed onions, garlic, and seasonings, or in a unique salad mixed with other beans, greens, and fresh veggies and dressed with a light vinaigrette.  

Leeks 

Leeks are part of the Allium family of vegetables that also includes onion and garlic. With a milder taste than onions, leeks are great for adding flavor to soup stock. Leeks can also be enjoyed raw in salads, boiled to create a softer flavor, and fried, which yields a crunchy, stronger-tasting leek. It is advisable to eat ½ cup serving of Allium vegetables daily to reap their significant health benefits. Their high content of antioxidants and nutrients offer cardiovascular support and reduce inflammation. Jews are not the only group that ascribes significance to leeks. In fact, they are one of the national symbols of Wales. Legend has it that Welch soldiers identified themselves by wearing leeks on their helmets in a battle against the Saxons. When they successfully defeated the enemy, the leek rose to prominence as a national emblem of victory. Try a delicious creamy leek potato soup seasoned with thyme to enhance your meal. 

Beets 

The beautiful, bright red color of beets makes them just as visually enjoyable as they are tasty and healthy. While we think of them today as a root vegetable, during the 19th century it was discovered that beets were a concentrated form of sugar, and a special factory in Poland was built to produce beet sugar. Later, when the British restricted access to cane sugar, Napoleon declared that beets were the new primary sugar source, launching their popularity worldwide. In the Middle Ages, beets were used for medicinal purposes, and throughout history beets have been used for red dye. Adding nutrient and fiber-rich beets to your diet can yield many health benefits, such as lowering blood pressure, increasing energy, fighting inflammation, preventing cancer, and detoxifying the body. Beets are a great addition to your Yom Tov meal. Try them marinated with lemon juice and herbs and served as a cold salad, or roasted with other root veggies. Add a dash of olive oil to create a colorful, delicious accompaniment to the main course.  

Gourd 

The term “gourd” can refer to a variety of different crops such as pumpkins, cucumbers, squash, and melons, though squash and pumpkins are the traditional Sephardic choice for simanim. DNA records suggest that gourds were one of the first domesticated plants. Many species of gourds have hard outer shells, known as bottle gourds. Several varieties have been found at archaeological sites in Africa, Asia, Europe, Peru, and America. The plant originated in Africa and Asia, and until recently, science could not sufficiently explain the evidence of the bottle gourd in America. Scientists dated bottle gourds back to early history, but wondered how a plant species indigenous to one hemisphere could make its way across the ocean to another hemisphere. Until recently, the prevailing hypothesis purported that humans carried the plant with them when migrating from Asia, crossing the Bering Strait into the New World. Yet this theory was full of holes. Specifically, how could a tropical plant survive while traveling across the Arctic? Also, there was a lack of evidence of bottle gourds existing in Siberia, Alaska, and the Pacific Northwest. A fascinating study was conducted in 2005 based on newer models of how objects drift in Atlantic currents, solving the mystery with the conclusion that these bottle gourds actually floated to America on their own. Enjoy gourds at your Rosh Hashanah meal with the traditional Sephardic  sweet potato and squash casserole baked with dried cranberries, oil, cinnamon and brown sugar. 

Pomegranate 

A well-known symbol of both Torah and the Land of Israel, pomegranates are native to Persia and thrive in the dry climates of the Middle East, along the Mediterranean, and in Southern Asia. While pomegranates have always been an integral part of Jewish culture as one of the shivat haminim and a Rosh Hashanah ritual food, other civilizations have utilized pomegranates in ceremonies. Most notably, in traditional Turkish weddings a bride would throw a pomegranate on the ground and the number of seeds which fell out was believed to indicate how many children she would have. In the past few decades, pomegranates have come into vogue as a super food, as new studies revealed the tremendous health benefits of this jeweled fruit. Punicalagin, a compound found only in pomegranates, benefits the heart and blood vessels, and contributes to the extreme potency of the antioxidants in the fruit. These powerful little seeds have been shown to fight cancer, lower cholesterol and blood pressure, and prevent heart issues. Get creative with nutrient-dense pomegranate seeds and sprinkle them on top of any dish. They can be used to garnish salads, soups, and desserts. 

Apples  

There are over 7,500 varieties of apples cultivated worldwide, presenting a wide array of color and taste combinations. Two common apple cultivars originated in Israel: the Anna, a yellow-colored apple with a red blush, and the Ein Shemer, a tarter apple that is a cross between a Golden Delicious and a Zabidani. Today, with apples as ubiquitous as they are, many consider them unexciting. But the basic apple has a major surprise up its sleeve. Cut an apple in half horizontally, perpendicular to the stem. The apple’s cross section will reveal five seeds within a five-pointed star, surrounded by a circle of 10 dots, known as a 10-pointed exocarp. Now, here’s where it gets kabbalistic. The stem of the apple can represent the letter vav, whose numerical value is six. Add these numbers (5+5+10+6) to get the number 26, which is the numerical value of the divine Name of Havayah. Therefore, in the most widely cultivated and consumed fruit in the world, we find the signature of the Creator of the universe! Besides dipping them in honey, try apples baked with cinnamon for a delicious side dish or in a yummy cake for dessert. 

May the coming year be filled with sweetness and goodness for the entire Jewish people! 

Preparing for the Holidays in a Highly Inflationary Environment

As moms, wives, grandmothers, and heads of households, we have a lot on our plates when  preparing for Rosh Hashanah and the upcoming holidays.  Rosh Hashanah generally follows the time we are struggling to get our children back to school successfully and safely.  And let’s not forget the other hagim that arrive right after Yom Kippur: Sukkot, Shmini Atzeret, and Simchat Torah.

We are tasked with weaning our children and ourselves out of vacation mode and back into the school routines and responsibilities that accompany the back to school process.  An additional layer of planning is required for Covid.  We must consider if we are to mask or not to mask, and to comply with the requirements and consequences for Covid testing before sending our kids back to school. We must make contingency plans for childcare if our children test positive for Covid. 

This year, another challenging factor will throw a monkey wrench into our fall planning.  That wrench is the rising rate of inflation.  Inflation is the rate of increase in prices over a given time period, which directly impacts our cost of living 

The current rate of inflation is around 9.1 percent, compared to 5.4 percent last July – an increase of 69 percent.  It’s the highest it’s been in over 40 years! 

Everything will cost more: new clothes for school and the holidays, school supplies, gas for carpool, food for school lunches, meals for home and entertainment for the holidays, and more. I’m sure you are already feeling the pinch at the gas station, the supermarket, and when purchasing almost anything.

Consumer brands such as Coca Cola, Dove, and Huggies continue to raise prices as their costs for everything from wood pulp to salaries increase.  

The good news is there are ways we can control our rising expenses and still enjoy our hagim.

Food Shopping

Since one of the hardest hit product groups is food, consider changing your approach to food shopping.

Take inventory of your pantry, refrigerator, and freezer before shopping. Or as many experts say, shop your pantry first.  You may have items that you have forgotten about or even meals that you cooked and frozen.  Clean your refrigerator and freezer and organize your pantry. This step will also encourage you to cook with food already in your pantry and refrigerator/freezer, saving you time and money.  Please don’t forget to label and store meals and staples where you can easily see and access them.

Come Prepared

Always shop with a grocery list.  “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail” (Benjamin Franklin).  Sitting down and putting a list in your phone or writing out a list saves you money and time A list facilitates meal planning and can even help you lose weight.   If I forget my phone, which has my shopping list, I am at a total loss and walk down each aisle of the supermarket to recreate the list of what I need.

Buying store brands rather than name brands, buying in bulk, and choosing reusable vs. disposable items are also great ways to save money on groceries.

Remember, our goal is to minimize food waste and watch our budget.

Avoid Impulse Buying

Yes, I admit it.  Impulse buying can be fun. But it is also expensive.  According to a Slickdeals survey, the average person spends $314 per month on impulse purchases, up from $276 in 2021, a 14 percent increase. Seven in ten people have become more aware of their budgets due to the “huge impact of inflation” but consumers are reporting an increase in the frequency of their impulse shopping. 

Stock Up With Basics 

If your kitchen is stocked with certain basics cooking is easier and you can manage your budget better.  Experts say a well-stocked kitchen will allow you to buy fewer new food items each week.  Leanne Brown, author of Good Enough, a self-care cookbook, recommends the following most useful foods to have on hand:  eggs, pasta, rice, bread, canned tomatoes, frozen vegetables and fruit, onions, and potatoes. 

Use foods that are already in your pantry, like you do before Pesach when trying to finish your chametz.  Cooking from the pantry and having a well- stocked pantry and refrigerator have become popular tools to keep within your budget and to prepare easy and healthy meals.  There are even pantry chefs!

Check out the following link for a pantry essentials checklist from the food network:  https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/packages/cooking-from-the-pantry/pantry-essentials-checklist.

Look for budget-friendly recipes. We have many talented chefs and food bloggers (Jacqueline Elbaz, Kay Robyn Ashkenazi, and Aliza Salem), in our own backyard who I have profiled in Community’s Woman to Woman column.  Check out their Instagram feeds for easy, healthy, and delicious recipes.

Less Is More 

My husband tells me I overdo it when I entertain by offering too many options.  Is it more important to be relaxed when your family and guests come over or be exhausted and frazzled because you are sleep-deprived and cooked an extravagant array of food choices?  And you may have exceeded your budget, to boot.

Keep It Simple!

When you simplify, life can be easier and lead to more joy and rewards.  Stay focused on what is meaningful about the hagim.  Do you really need to plan seven course gourmet meals?  Get grounded on what the holidays mean to you.  What do you value most about them?  I have a feeling you will say “family” and connecting with family and friends.

Worrying less about meals and watching your budget will also allow you to concentrate on your tefillot and your hopes for the New Year. This way you can also connect with Hashem and enjoy the spirituality of Rosh Hashanah.

Ask for What You Need 

Asking for what you need can be healthy and empowering. 

Be honest when a friend or family member asks you what you would like them to bring to a meal or how they can help.  I have learned to accept offers from my friends to bring salad, fruit, dessert, or wine to a holiday lunch or dinner.

Try a Potluck 

Potlucks have become popular again. A potluck is when each invited guest to a dinner or party brings a dish for everyone to share. Many guests offer one of their favorite creations and get to showcase their skills.  The concept originated in the Great Depression of the 1930s and meant “the luck of the pot, or food for an unexpected or uninvited guest.” 

Think about it.  You have just spent hours in shul.  Wouldn’t it be a relief to know loved ones are pitching in for a seudah?  The participants in a potluck also feel engaged and proud when others compliment and enjoy the food they cooked.  Sukkot is the perfect time to experiment with a potluck! 

Potlucks are about creating a community through food.  This model aligns beautifully with the values of our community, which was so aptly explained to me by Rochelle Dweck when she described Simply Traditional.  Its mission is to capture recipes and a sense of suffeh of our community’s matriarchs and to bring together generations of families through food. 

Please email me at ellen@lifecoachellen.com or write a letter to the editor, letters@CommunityM.com to share your ideas about managing the hagim during times of high inflation. 

Shana Tova and Hag Sameach!

Surprisingly, economic distress is the most common reason women in Israel give seek abortions. Very often it is the people closest to them – the spouse or parent – who insists that there is no alternative. Tragically, close to 40,000 Israeli babies are lost each year, primarily due to dire financial straits.

Additionally, for each baby lost there is also a woman who mourns the unborn child, and who is forced to bear a burden of guilt for the rest of her life. 

“EFRAT founder Dr. Eli Schussheim, zt”l, coined the slogan “You don’t end a life for lack of funds.” He worked for over four decades to empower women and to save Jewish babies. Through providing information, emotional support, and financial assistance, EFRAT has helped generations of women deal with their unexpected pregnancies, and ultimately, make the best decision for themselves and their families.

“Our mission at EFRAT is to show women that they have a choice,” explains Nir Salomon, Executive Director of Efrat. “There are situations where a woman feels trapped. Everyone around her says that having a child in her circumstances is unfeasible.” 

The rationale at EFRAT is that women who are pondering abortion have the right to receive the most updated information relating to all aspects of their physical and emotional health. Ruthy Tidhar, Efrat’s head social worker points out, “The women who come to us are pitifully unaware of the ramifications – medical, physical, and emotional – of such a drastic decision. We will never try to sway women one way or another with arguments based on ideological, moral, or religious grounds. Rather, our goal is to empower them through information and assistance. We show them that other options exist.”

They Are Not Alone 

EFRAT manages an army of trained volunteers who are active across Israel, providing women with the support they desperately need. Some of these special volunteers were themselves past recipients of EFRAT’s hesed who want to give back. The volunteers continue to be an active presence in the women’s lives for as long as necessary. 

In addition to moral support and counseling, EFRAT provides practical assistance in the form of a complete package to cover all of a new baby’s physical needs: a crib, stroller, bathtub, infant seat, layette, etc. What’s more, for the first two years of her baby’s life, the woman receives monthly deliveries of diapers, wipes, infant formula and more. Often EFRAT will provide staple food items for the mother  and the rest of the family. 

Last year, EFRAT incorporated a new service aimed at solving the problem at its source and breaking the cycle of poverty. The Working Moms Vocational Support Program, headed by Cintia Beinichis Remeney, empowers women to enter the workforce and become self-respecting breadwinners for their growing families. In addition to vocational testing, which identifies each woman’s strengths, preferences, and aptitudes, the program helps them access professional training and subsidized childcare, positioning them on the path toward financial independence. In the few months that the program has been operational, about 100 women have begun training for gainful employment in fields such as cosmetology, hairstyling, business management, and even law.

Giving Hope to Birth 

Today EFRAT has become so efficient that the cost of saving a life, including the entire package, amounts to a mere $1,500. Each donor who saves a life is given the name and date of birth of the child they saved.

– Avi Kumar

Dov Hikind, Brooklyn’s popular State Assemblyman for District 48, served for 35 years, between January 1983 to December 2018. He is an outspoken campion for Jews rights. He was born and raised in the heart of Williamsburg, New York, to Yiddish speaking parents from Eastern Europe. 

In his youth, he was an active member in the Jewish Defense League. “I have been fighting for Jewish rights my whole life,” he says. He has helped every Jewish community, be it Haredi, Hasidic, Modern Orthodox, Ashkenazi, or Sephardic. “If you are Jewish and in pain or facing difficulty and are a victim of anti-Semitism, or ‘Jew-hate’ as I prefer to call it, it is not just my problem and your problem, it is the problem of all Jews. And we must not be afraid and do something.”  Hikind states that he wears his yarmulke openly not because he is more religious than other Jews but because he is not afraid to show his identity. 

From Torah Vodass to the JDL 

His parents initially enrolled him in a Hasidic Yeshiva, but his mother eventually wanted him to get a more balanced education, including more secular studies in English. He switched to Yeshiva Torah Vodass. He was drawn to the ideology of the JDL as a young adult, stating, “It was a militant organization and was very different from anything else that existed in the U.S. at the time,” the 72-year-old explains.  

Hikind speaks highly of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane, who was the leader and figurehead of the organization. “Yes, he was a controversial figure, but he was also a special person who cared a lot for Jews. Lots of people will say that they care about Jews, and this is nice, but when you care, and you do nothing, something important is missing. You must put that care into practice,” he affirmed.  

Hikind was inspired to become involved in political activism during the struggle for Soviet Jewry under the Communists.  “I have been arrested many times on behalf of Soviet Jewry for doing many things – but it’s a part of my life that I am extremely proud of. For me personally, I must say that their plight was a big reason why I got involved in the JDL in the first place. Before I was involved in the JDL, I had heard nothing about Jews living in the Soviet Union. When I went to yeshivas, nobody spoke about them, or told us to do anything about it.  

“I was the child of survivors. My mother was in Auschwitz in 1944 and most of her family died in the gas chambers as soon as they arrived.  My father was in several forced labor camps. So, given my own background, when I saw what JDL was fighting on behalf of my people, I decided to get involved. I wanted to open the doors.” He continued, “I have also in the past seen demonstrations outside the Syrian mission to help that community flee the Middle East. It didn’t matter which Jewish community was in trouble.  I believed that it is important to stand up and fight on their behalf and not be afraid. We call it hadar – Jews should be proud of who we are and not apologize for being Jewish”. Hikind was chased out of the Soviet Union by the KGB in Moscow in 1973 while protesting there. 

From Activist to Politician 

His entry into mainstream politics began when his friend Alan Rocoff suggested that being in an official position would help him accomplish many things he could not otherwise achieve as an activist. So, in the 1970s he joined the Democratic party. Hikind claims that politics was previously the last thing on his mind, and that the party affiliation itself didn’t matter.  

“In 1982, I got elected at the New York State Assembly. I ran against an incumbent; it was very a close race. I did not expect to win, but I did. And after that, I spent 36 years in office helping Jews. Yes, I was a Democrat, but I always said, ‘I’m not a Democrat or Republican,’ but my commitment is to the Jewish people, not to any political party. When you are involved in politics, you should not forget why you are there in the first place. I was there to help my people. In fact, I have supported Republicans in the past. For example, I was one the first people to publicly support Rudy Giuliani for mayor. I also endorsed Al D’Amato, George Pataki, and numerous other Republicans when I felt that they were better for Jews.” 

“Whoever would be the best for the community, whoever will ‘do the right thing’ for the Jewish people is who I have supported and will support, plain and simple,” Hikind said. “If you came to my office, we did not just talk and send you away to another person to sort it out. My staff and I did our best to help fix the problem. I also did what I could to help the non-Jews in the district I represented.” 

Rise in Hate Crimes Pushes New Yorkers Away

The former assemblyman lamented, “If the city is not safe, there is no future. Giuliani and his successor, Bloomberg, had control of crime. When Dinkins was mayor in the 1970s, New York was actually much worse than it is even today, if you can believe it.”   

Hikind speaks of his involvement with the Syrian / Sephardic community at large “Their concerns were no different from any other Jewish community. They were and still are concerned about schools, yeshivas, etc. They have the same problems and issues that other communities face – kids getting involved in drugs and facing crime. We cannot be afraid to address these issues.  

Lately, many people are leaving Brooklyn, including many people I personally know, including my own relatives. People are leaving by the numbers. However, the Syrian and larger Sephardic community, which are well invested here, are not leaving as much. They are somehow ‘keeping things going.’ I have not spoken to them about this specifically, but I am sure they are concerned about the future of New York. They have beautiful homes, great shuls, they take good care of each other, and do such amazing work to help people of different communities.  

As for the Orthodox Ashkenazim,  many are leaving to New Jersey or the Five Towns. I do believe that the Syrian community are concerned about what is happening in New York lately, even if they are not leaving as much. Many of them own businesses in Manhattan. Some of them have faced violence in the past and these things could happen again. What I can say is, sadly we don’t have strong leadership in New York.” 

“When I left office four years ago, I had many plans, but sadly that was also a time when there was an outbreak of anti-Semitism that we have not seen before. The number of attacks on Jews has been increasing every year. Many Jews take off their kippahs when they come to Manhattan. Why do they have to hide their Jewish identity in a city with over a millions Jews? It is a very sad reality. We have a real problem and the people who commit these acts of hate often get away with it – that is a real tragedy. All over New York, rocks have been thrown and swastikas have been carved into shuls. We had the killings in Jersey City and Monsey. Things have gotten out of control. We cannot say it was a few bad years, it has not stopped.” 

Anti-Semitic Acts Increase Not Only in New York

“Recently, a Jewish man (not Haredi, mind you) was attacked in New York on a subway and the attacker said, ‘If I had a gun I would kill you!’ Sadly, incidents like this occur every single day. And this is not only happening in America, but also all over the world: in England, France, Belgium, and a host of other places. This Jew hatred is out of control across the world. And the sad thing is nobody has a solution. The Jewish organizations like the ADL all do the same thing, walking on the circle and no new approaches to fight this. It is not a good situation.  Recently we saw violence in Jersey City and Monsey on Hanukah. These are not isolated incidents.  

Jewish families are concerned about their future. New York is out of control, and I do not see things changing for the next 5-10 years with these crazy bail laws. Dubai is probably safer for Jews than New York at this point. It is simply insane what is going on.”