Obama has never been a friend of Israel.

Tisha B'Av: The Root of Destruction

Here is a short video that helps explain why we observe Tisha b'Av.




Tisha B'Av: The Root of Destruction

For Crypto-Jews of New Mexico, art is a window into secret life | The Times of Israel

For Crypto-Jews of New Mexico, art is a window into secret life | The Times of Israel

Indian Shabbat

Most of my posts have been about Yiddishkeit, current events or things that piss me off,
so I thought for a change of pace I'd write about food.

This past shabbos I decided to do some experimenting in Indian cooking.
I really love Indian food but the closest Kosher Indian restaurant is about an hour away.
Although I was overall happy with the results, I will want to tweak a few things here and there next time.

For an appetizer I made Samosas with a Mango Chutney.

Filling of potato, peas, garlic, ginger, fried onion, cilantro and jalapeno.

I used won ton wrappers.

Mango Chutney

Ingredients for Mango Chutney put all together and cooked down.

Being shabbos before the nine days, I had to get some meat on my menu so I picked Tandoori style chicken along with Saag Paneer and plain Basmati rice.
I found some Nan for motzei that not only was OK kosher but also Pas Yisrael.

For my chicken I used parve sour cream instead of yogurt, garam masala, cumin, ginger, garlic, smoked paprika, chili powder, a little salt, and olive oil instead of Ghee.(clarified butter)

I baked the chicken in the oven because I forgot to buy charcoal.

One of those tweaks I mentioned.

For Paneer I used Extra Firm Tofu that I cut up and put in a colander and sprinkled with salt.

I than fried the Tofu in olive oil.

I pulsed together onion, garlic, cilantro, turmeric, ginger, jalapeno, cumin, and a little salt and fried it in the oil after the Tofu. To this I added the spinach and some pareve sour cream.

I used Texas grown Basmati Rice

Here is the Nan I used

Because the food was highly spiced I used Rashi Joyvin White wine for Kiddush.

If you have any critiques, comments or question please contact me. I love talking about food.

Texas Yid

Jewish Celebrities

When the average secular Jew thinks of meeting a Jewish celebrity I bet they think of Woody Allen, Barbra Streisand, Adam Sandler, or any number of other Hollywood types.

I bet if you were to ask the average Jewish kid to name a famous living Jew you would get similar answers. A list of actors and athletes.

Sad.
I came to this conclusion this past Tuesday afternoon.
I was sitting at a local car repair shop when I received this text message from my Rabbi,

"I have a good chance of getting the Satmar Rebbe to come to the mikva today. Can you come with a camera?"

Needless to say my mouth opened and my eyes got big.

Now for a little background.

There is a slaughter house here in my city that does kosher slaughter for the Satmar Chassidim in
Kiryat Yoel.
The shochtim live here for three days out of the week and then return to N.Y. On Thursdays.
Every so often the Rebbe comes for inspection.

Our Chabad House recently completed our new mikva.
A beautiful thing.
The majority of the funds were donated by Satmar Chassidim with encouragement of the Rebbe.
The mikva is named for his Great-Uncle Rav Yoel Teitelbaum.  Ztz "L.
Mikva Divrei Yoel.

The Satmar Rebbe, Rav Ahron Teitelbaum, he should have long life and health, visiting the new mikva.

This would be the Rebbe's first trip to see the mikva.

Meanwhile, back to opened mouth an big eyes.
I asked the mechanics how much longer til my car would be ready.
"About an hour"

Baruch HaShem it was 20 mins.
Out of there and on my way to take pictures of a real Chassidic Rebbe.

I immediately began to take photos of the Rebbe and his entourage along with my Rabbi.
I was in awe.
I was a little scared and actually had an increase in my pulse.

I photographed the Rebbe as he looked at the mikva and also as he toured our schul.
I finally had the courage to extend my hand and say shalom aleichem.
Yes, the thought did cross my mind that I should never wash my hand again.

He left after giving bracha and hatzlacha to my Rabbi.

After I got home I started to think about this celebrity thing.

This was a REAL Jewish celebrity.
Not some person who lived in make believe world.
Not a person that pretended for a living.
A REAL person.

A person that dedicates his life to Torah and mitzvos, the real definition of TIKKUN OLAM, not the definition used by secular Jews today.
This is the type of Jewish celebrity we should look up to and learn from.
The celebrity we should strive to be like and encourage Jewish children to emulate.

This is what a Jew should mean by being Star struck.

CrownHeights.info » Op-Ed: An Open Letter to Matisyahu

Amazing how much the Jewish people care about Matisyahu.





CrownHeights.info » Op-Ed: An Open Letter to Matisyahu

Kol ha'olam kulo gesher tzar m'od

I've been thinking a lot about Matisyahu lately.
I first saw/heard Matisyahu when he appeared on a Chabad telethon several years ago.
I immediately ordered his first album and played the hell out of it.

Here was this young baal tshuvah in Lubavitch chassidic garb singing such beautiful and meaningful lyrics from chassidus.

I was playing the CD when I was catering a dinner in the local Reform temple and one of the school kids came in and told me how much she loved Matisyahu.
Baruch Hashem. This was Matisyahu's shlichus.
He was reaching secular Jewish kids with his music.

Unlike Chris Mathews on MSNBC who had a tingly feeling run up his leg when he heard Obama speak, I myself got a tingly feeling once when I was driving home from work one day and I heard "King Without a Crown" playing on a local radio station with the lyrics "we want Moshiach now" coming out of my speakers.

I understood when Matisyahu stopped identifying with Chabad and explored other paths of Torah Judaism.
Gone were the hat and jacket but long peyos appeared. All still good.
Lyrics still Jewish.

Matis became a Vegan. Ok. A little weird but I can live with that.

He starts to hang out more and more with people from the Hip Hop world of music.
Are his peyos starting to look more like dread locks?

His wife and kids are being more exposed in the media.
Oh good.
She still wears a sheitel and the boys are wearing tzitzit.

He shaves his beard and peyos.
He does and interview where he says disparaging things about Jewish thought.
He moves his home from Crown Heights to L.A.
He is sharing the stage with more mainstream artists.
Have the tzitzis disappeared?
Uh Oh.
Not good.

And now,

No kipa.
Bleached blond hair.
In the company of someone smoking a joint.

Was the Judaism just a gimmick to be noticed and get famous?
Record and ticket sales will tell us that.

I try not to judge.
When I first became frum it lasted a couple of years and than I went way "off the derech."
We all have are own struggles to go through and to fight with to find our paths within Torah Judaism.
The problem I am having with Matisyahu's is his choice to do it so publicly.

Now you might ask why I give a damn.

Besides the fact that I liked his music and his message, I'm a Jew and I care what happens to my fellow Jew.
I think about his wife and the confusion for his boys.
I think about those Jews he influenced and brought back to Yiddishkeit.

Hashem leads us in the direction we want to go.
Even if that direction is not good for us.
It is up to the individual Jew to choose the path and to hopefully use the Torah as the map.

Rebbe Nachman says,
"The entire world is a narrow bridge.
But what matters most is don't be afraid at all."

The bridge is narrow but with the Torah as our guide we won't fall off.

I believe Matisyahu will come back again.
He's just getting  close to the edge.
This is where the Pinteleh Yid comes in.
That rope that connects a Jew like a bungee cord to  Hashem that can never be untied.

Have a safe trip Matisyahu but be careful.
That bridge is very narrow.

V'haikar lo lifachayd klal.