Tabouleh: The Flexible Food

The parsley-intense version: I didn't like my first encounter with tabouleh because it was mostly bulghur wheat and tasted more healthy than good. Then I discovered a version that was heavy on the parsley and light on bulghur. Much better in my book. More of a refreshing salad. Tabouleh has an added benefit. Because it's parve and cold, I can use it anytime--even as a potluck dish if I'm socializing in a non-kosher home and want something I can eat. I don't use a precise recipe for this. Tabouleh basically consists of parsley and bulghur as the main ingredients; scallions, tomatoes, and mint as the grace notes; and olive oil and lemon or lime as a dressing. You can also add other elements, notably cucumbers. I like it at least three parts parsley to one part of bulghur. Curly parsley works better than Italian parsley for this dish. Make sure you wash it well and inspect for insects--and use a kosher bulghur like Red Mill.

The DaVinci Code: A Jewish Perspective

It's a blockbuster: The only way to finally overcome Christianity, after 2,000 years of consistent failure, is by exposing the anti-Torâh Yësh"u as a counterfeit of the pro-Torâh original: historical Ribi Yәhoshua!

Think about it … the original, historical Ribi Yәhoshua, because he advocated Torâh before Paul's Hellenist apostasy, will lead Christians out of their post-135 C.E. Roman idolatry to Torâh – and the fulfillment of Zәkharyâh 14.16-21 (which is already beginning) and related prophecies.

Surprisingly, a free online book from Jews for Judaism does just that. It's DaVinci Code: A Jewish Perspective by Rabbi Michael Skobac. Except for his use of the common name J*sus to refer to the historical Ribi Yehoshua, the relevant sections might as well have been written by the Netzarim. It's a beaut. You can see the relevant parts by going to the Netzarim website and following the "Jews" link on the home page or you can go to Jews for Judaism website to view and printout the whole book (It's short.) Schueller House.

Shopping Tips: Kosher Bread

It ain't easy: I enjoy shopping for Kosher food. Finding an OU or a Triangle-K on a packaged product in supermarket is akin for me to finding a diamond in a forest. Kosher foods are not especially hard to find, though it can be daunting to locate some items. Bread, for one. Even if you are easing into kashrut, buying kosher bread is important because the kosher stamp guarantees that the bread contains no dairy ingredients, which are commonly added to breads in the U.S. The exception, of course, is bread that is certified kosher-dairy, a rarity that we have seen in one brand of Jewish rye and in Sun-Maid Raisin Bread. I may have an easier time than most, living as I do in an area served by King Sooper's, whose store-brand breads are often kosher. Especially welcome are their hot dog and hamburger buns, which are hard to find in kosher versions and in demand because the one kosher meat available almost everywhere is the hot dog. In addition, we stumbled across Baker's Inn breads, which are certified kosher, widely available, and higher end than you would expect to find in the Wonder Bread store where we first found them. If you can't find regular loaves of kosher bread, look for specialty breads that have kosher certification. I have run across bagels, pita, and tortillas that are certified kosher. (And I just realized I'm not sure whether these all constitute bread for ritual purposes, especially the tortillas. Something to ask the rabbi.) And of course, you can use matzot if you can't find anything else. Egg matzot for Shabbat. Schueller House

Ken's Kosher Kitchen: Dunking the Dishes

On the day before Yom Kippur: I went to Prospect Lake near the house, said the requisite blessing, and immersed my dishes, pots and pans, and utensils. I did this several times, once for each group of utensils. This was the final step in making my kitchen kosher-functional. Even though I don't have much in the way of utensils, I didn't have enough boxes to hold everything and so made several trips. I had intended to use a nearby creek as my mikvah, but an online search showed some misgivings about immersing in a creek. This had something to do with the creek not being available for immersing women because of snowmelt. Or something. In any case, I chose the lake and am glad I did. The water, at the time, was relatively warm and adequately deep water was just a few steps from shore. Now it's winter, and I will have to wait until late Spring to add to my collection of useable utensils. Schueller House.

Back to Kashering

A Watched Pot Never Boils: I decided to re-kasher my utensils because I wasn't satisfied that I had kashered my large boiling pot well enough I added some bricks to the pot so that it would boil over and then, on another day, rekashered everything. Other than waiting for the darn thing to boil again, it went well and quickly enough. (I don't have a lot of stuff yet.) Now it's on to the "mikvah." Schueller House.

Netzarim Website Is Back Up.

Get War Updates: We've received many inquiries worried that the Netzarim website was down. Concurrent with the Hezbollah attack on Israel, Israeli ISPs, including the one serving the Netzarim, were hacked by anti-Israeli, anti-Jewish elements. The site is back up, with the Netzarim blog especially worth visiting for updates on the war. Schueller House.

Ken's Kosher Kitchen: Immersing Utensils

Immersion Options: I sent this query to Paqid Yirmeyahu of the Netzarim. "Since geirim N^etzârim are not Y^ehudim (Jews), does the requirement to take their dishes to a miqvëh) apply? In my reading, the purpose of dunking dishes and utensils is to prepare them for use by Jews. So since we aren't…"

His first reponse: "The purpose of complying with kashrut is [a] to comply with Halâkhâh and [b] enable you to host Y^ehudim (even though they may still not trust your compliance with kashrut, decline to eat with you out of bigotry or may simply not be geographically proximate. It's part of qualifying your practice to meet community standards. Because of its centrality to all functions in the community, kashrut is one of the least flexible mitzwot."

He sent an additional comment later:"In my experience, there are some locations (notoriously, for example, south Florida and Tampa) where chauvinist Orthodox communities intransigently refuse to allow outsiders – even undisputed Orthodox Jews (much less Conservative or Reform) – to use their miqwëh. If that happens to you, realize that you're not the only one. While they should be helping and encouraging learners, don't allow their myopic arrogance to daunt, discourage or dissuade you because there are halakhically-acceptable alternatives: natural bodies of water such as seas, lakes, rivers and streams (but not bathtubs, swimming pools or the like).

"Some useful guidelines are found at:
www.torah.org/advanced/weekly-halacha/5757/matos.html

"You'll need at least a couple of feet of water, since each utensil must be placed in the water individually and allowed to drop free and untouched by anything but the water for several seconds. Then remove the utensil from the water and set it aside. After all of the utensils have been immersed, recite the b^erâkhâh once for all of them." (Paqid Yirmeyahu, Ra'anana, Israel )

For more information, see the Netzarim website.