La Niña

I will make a babka. Not sure what type yet. Beau will bring whatever's needed among these categories: cheese, wine, butter, jam, paper and plastic goods, etc.. We can see closer to the date what's still needed and fill in a hole or two or three.

One of the things about Judaism is that you can do or believe anything if you're a Jew, but you're still a Jew. Macrosan, by his own admission, has chosen those traditions and rituals that make sense or have meaning to him in some way. To illustrate this point even further: if someone converts from Judaism to someone else, they're still considered Jewish. And if that person converts, say, to Christianity - and then that person has children (I'm talking about a woman in this case) - those children are considered Jewish. And the Jews for Jesus are still Jewish, even though theologically they're Christians who have accepted Jesus as the messiah. Judaism is not only a religion. It's a race, a people. Am Yisroel - the nation of Israel, the people of Israel. I believe it is unique in the world in this way.

You will have to explain to me why a sane human being would want to be associated to religion whilst not believing in God. I'm baffled by the concept. My answer to the posit that religion is made up to control people politically is simply that it's not so. These laws were made by God. Which part of that are you finding difficult to follow ? Incidentally, that is my answer only in the case of Judaism --- I don't know enough about the others to comment. Macrosan, I think you've hit on something here. I do not believe in god, but I very much want to be associated with Judaism. Therein lies the essential conflict. Judaism is more than a religion - it's a people, a history, a culture, etc. - we've said it all before. There are plenty, and I mean plenty, of "religious" Jews (you can call them observant if you prefer) who don't believe in god - or let's say, they just don't think about it. There were several posts about this a page or so back which were very good. I for one do not believe that these laws were made by god. I think they were created by people. I think god was created by people, not the other way around. Again, I urge you all to look at www.godpart.com

You're right. Dom pronounces it with an A on the end, so that's what I had in my head when I typed that. My mistake. Sorry.

The salmon was a mouthful of heaven. I was so full, but I had to get one more piece of it in. And oh my god, that fatty tuna. It redefined "melts in your mouth." The scallops were sweet and delicate and so, so smooth. One of the in between courses was a broth with fish balls - so simple, but defined its genre. The broth was so flavorful and kept creeping up in layers of flavor. We had some small pieces of white octopus which were instructed to dip in green pepper powder before soy - an incredible juxtaposition of flavors. The uni was gentle, creamy, delicious. And I'm a sucker for hirame - it was wonderful. I don't think I put one thing in my mouth that didn't make me sigh or smile. It was *that* good. We ate a ton of fish. At the end, I asked the chef if there was anything we hadn't tried, and he said no. I was a happy camper.

Forgive the pedantry - but Dom uses Grana Padana, not parmesan (I know, they're similar but not the same). I love the banh mi at An Dong. All the varieties. I do need to go to Panarama more. The few times I went I wasn't so impressed with the selection, although I haven't explored their bread any time recently. I do find Bierkraft to be somewhat pricey for the 'hood (despite my understanding of the pitfalls of retailing), so I'll give Panarama some more tries. Thanks for the nudge.

I presume a generous champagne flute will hold about 250 cl of the stuff. You'll have to make the comparison. With or without the hemmorhoid?

I made the cupcakes from the new issue of Cook's tonight. Such an easy, quick recipe, and really, really good. So satisfying. An uber-yellow cupcake, with whipped chocolate ganache icing. Who makes cupcakes around here? What are your secrets, your favorite things, etc? What icings do you use? What are the variations you notice?

I have a bottle of '82 Dom. Thoughts? I don't know my ass from my champagne flute.

There was, and is, nothing stopping that from happening.

So much for "free speech site." Does it ever occur to you, Jason, to phrase things differently, being a moderator/owner/administrator? I mean, how about saying "please don't talk about that post anymore, we're taking care of it," instead of issuing an edict? Your tone just begs for reaction. Maybe that's really your goal, and you like the conflict and the resulting authoritative muscle you can then flex. Ok, that's all for now. I would have PM'd you, but, well, yeah. I can't, as you well know.

Well for one thing, FG has posted extensively on this thread, so I don't think anybody would have realized that the thread was objectionable in any way. And if NickN's post didn't warrant removal, well I just don't get it. And it ain't the first time he's expressed such an attitude.

Woah, Nellie.

Ma nishtana ha lila ha zeh?

No slivovitz? And answer my other 2 damn posts awready why don'tcha.

Plotnicki, I have a tremendous urge to sit at Ratner's and slam back freezing vodkas and eat blintzes with you and argue all day. Alas. Once upon a time you put a talmud in the middle of such a table. I am told it's a great, great deal of fun arguing in that way. Not at all unlike what we do all the time. (Do you drink vodka?)

What means by you "still feel like a Jew?" You still haven't answered my question about what you mean by "pro-Jew." Pro-WHAT? Remember what you wrote in that OTC thread about your rabbi telling you that you don't have to believe in God? I know lots of orthodox Jews who just plain don't think about God all that much. The observe because they observe because that's the way it is for them. I was quite close to a rabbi who died a few years ago and sometimes he would call himself "orthoprax" - meaning that his practice was entirely orthodox but his points of view were very modern. Many orthodox Jews do just that - they observe, even very vigorously, but they don't think all that much about why. Nor are they required to. (Mind you, I do *not* think this is a good thing, at all). Yeah you might say well then why all that prayer? They say them by rote. Hey, I light Shabbes candles every Friday and I say the bracha. You think Im thinking about what the prayer means, or god? Not at all.

"...how the world I live in works..." - the world in which you choose to separately, dinscintly, identify yourself publicly as a Jew. If that ain't segregationist, I don't know what is. And mind you, I'm not using the word in a negative sense. You are. And what about the bris, which I assume your sons had? A clearer segregationist mark couldn't exist. And it's completely possible to be a gracious guest and keep one's own kosher limitations. Let's say you don't like brussel sprouts. You really don't like them. You're gonna eat them anyway, or will you eat everything else you're served and just say you don't like brussel sprouts? I have had lots of kosher people eat at my house - with many variations of observance. They were anything but superior in attitude or ungracious. And it makes for interesting conversation. Let's face it - you got a major bone to pick with religious Jews and their observances. But it's personal. "I am comfortable in that world. So I accept all of the inherent conflicts, ambiguities and inconsistancies that come with that world and I juggle them so they make the most sense in spite of it all." - Why is that not okay for other Jews, but okay for you? And what about these points?

Yes. Read my post above. Takes all kinds, Steve. I think you're speaking (of course) from your own personal experience with some orthodox Jews, which was, unfortunately, unfortunate. Thankfully there are all kinds of people, and Jews, in the world. "They" is a very big word.

Having worked with many orthodox Jews, I can confirm what Steve says. They might not say so to your face, but they hold in contempt someone who is not as "righteous" as they. On the other side, we have had a number of sporadic social contacts with highly religious (orthodox) Jews and never felt completely comfortable. We always felt like they were uncomfortable having us in their homes, so we never pursued a social relationship with them, nor they with us. There was clearly a large gulf that separated us. This is not unique to Jews, but that's what we are talking about here. Dietary restrictions are a pretty fundamental barrier to easy social realtionships, since so much of social contact revolves around food. Vivre-I agree with Steve. Thank you for that wonderfully lucid post. That is the opposite of my experience. I was in the diamond business for many years, and also lived in Israel. I know an awful lot of religious Jews - Hasidim included. Satmar, Lubavitch, Bobov, etc. My universal experience with them has been one of acceptance, the desire to teach, interest in my become more observant without pushing it on me...I have been in their homes, with their families - warmer environments I can't imagine. Maybe it's because I don't judge *them* on any level. I am myself, I easily talk about my choices and reasons, and I listen to theirs. We kibbitz, we shmooze, we talk about children and education and health and everything else under the sun. Just like any other friendships. The food is just one minor aspect of the relationship. I have never, ever been made to feel inferior, or less Jewish. As a matter of fact there is no such thing as less Jewish, by Jewish law. If I'm born to a Jewish mother, I'm a Jew. Period. I may be less observant, even an apekoyres, but still a Jew. With the potential to be a religious Jew - I was once told that it's a mitzvah for a Hasid to hang out with a non-observant Jew, because he might have the chance to bring that non-observant Jew closer to observance. You'd be surprised what a little open-minded dialogue can do. Hasids are people, too. Wackadoo wackadoo wackadoo.

"If Jews want to stay kosher at home, fine. But they should not impose their dietary restrictions on non-Jews because it might make those people feel inferior in some way." That's absurd. They're not imposing their restriction on non-Jews. Other people can do whatever they want. Someone else's choices about diet doesn't make somebody else anything. It's about *their* choices. It's got nothing to do with imposing anything on anybody else. When I stopped eating pork, most everybody I know just thought I was nuts, not superior.

"...how the world I live in works..." - the world in which you choose to separately, dinscintly, identify yourself publicly as a Jew. If that ain't segregationist, I don't know what is. And mind you, I'm not using the word in a negative sense. You are. And what about the bris, which I assume your sons had? A clearer segregationist mark couldn't exist. And it's completely possible to be a gracious guest and keep one's own kosher limitations. Let's say you don't like brussel sprouts. You really don't like them. You're gonna eat them anyway, or will you eat everything else you're served and just say you don't like brussel sprouts? I have had lots of kosher people eat at my house - with many variations of observance. They were anything but superior in attitude or ungracious. And it makes for interesting conversation. Let's face it - you got a major bone to pick with religious Jews and their observances. But it's personal. "I am comfortable in that world. So I accept all of the inherent conflicts, ambiguities and inconsistancies that come with that world and I juggle them so they make the most sense in spite of it all." - Why is that not okay for other Jews, but okay for you?

I see, you single out Hasidic Jews as gonifs? As opposed to every other kind of gonif on the earth? I know a lot of Hasidic diamond guys. A lot. Some are gonifs, some are not. (actually the plural is ganevim). And there are far more religious people of other faiths who are gonifs. What's the percente of Jews in the world - it's tiny. And percentage of Jews who are Hasidic? Tiny.

You really didn't address these points yet.

But Steve, then why did you voluntarily choose to ritualize Judaism at all? Why "mark" yourself or your children as segregated in any way? And what does this mean: "there is a difference between being separate as a matter of being alike in a cultural way and creating cultural barriers..." - what's the difference between "being separate" and "being segregated?"