The 2010 edition of the Nice Jewish Guys calender is now available. And here you were wondering what to get your girlfriends for Chanukkah. [via Jewcy]- A 700 year old Torah scroll from pre-Inquisition Spain - the oldest complete scroll in existence - was sold by Sotheby's to a private collector for $398,500. [via Tablet]
- The White House has appointed a new "U.S. State Department special envoy to monitor and combat anti-Semitism." [via Forward]
- Dozens of Zionist rabbis are praising Israeli soldiers who refuse to obey military orders to evacuate settlements. [via Haaretz]
- Artist Richard Kamler was barred from displaying a collage made of cut out portions of the Torah and the Koran at an exhibition in New Haven, Connecticut. Said one of the exhibition organizers: "You're not going to cry 'fire' in a crowded movie theater, even if you have free speech." [via Tablet via NH Independent]
- Negotiations for a prisoner swap that would free Gilad Shalit have stalled over the list of top militants who would be handed over in the exchange. [via AP]
- The airline easyJet is withdrawing all copies of its in-flight magazine, easyJet Traveller, after a fashion spread was published depicting models at the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin. The photo shoot took place without permission. [via NewStatesman]
Photo via Nice Jewish Guys
Over the past few days there is one question that has appeared in my inbox several times and that I've also heard discussed among friends and colleagues: Is turkey kosher? The general consensus seemed to be that no, turkey was not kosher. Being a vegetarian myself, I was hard pressed to weigh in on these conversations. Our Thanksgiving dinner consists of things like butternut squash lasagne, mashed potatoes, salads and freshly baked breads. Turkey? Not so much.
But today I decided to do some digging on the topic and discovered that, contrary to apparent popular belief, turkeys are indeed kosher. At one point their status was uncertain because turkeys were unfamiliar to the ancient rabbis and hence, they were not specifically identified as kosher animals. As a result, some people asked: sure, turkeys are birds but are they a kind of bird that is kosher?
There was much discussion on both sides of the debate, as Kahrut.com recounts. Some rabbis pondered whether turkeys could cross breed with chickens, and if so, what implications that might have in terms of its kosher status. Others pointed out that the wild turkey has three characteristics of a kosher bird: it "has a crop... it has an 'extra' toe, and its eggs have the indicators of kosher eggs." In the end many rabbinic authorities, including Rabbi Soloveitchik, attested to the acceptability of the turkey. One of the primary reasons behind their rulings (though by no means the only) was that the majority of the Jewish community had accepted turkey as a kosher species. As Kashrut.com concludes:
The turkey is no longer new and its kosher status has been addressed by both the great and not-so-great Jewish minds over 250 years and has received near-universal endorsement. To call it into question now is to impugn the dozens of responsa, and more so, the millions of honorable Jews, who have eaten turkey for almost half a millennium. That is not the Jewish way.
So that solves the mystery. Turkey is kosher and there is no reason you can't enjoy it as the centerpiece of your Thanksgiving table. (Also, here's an interesting side note: did you know that "at a whopping 26.9 pounds per capita in 1996, Israelis consumed about 45% more [turkeys] than Americans?" Who would have guessed!)
Related About.com articles:
Last week I wrote about an incident in Israel where a woman was arrested for wearing a prayer shawl. Many of you responded to the post (thank you) so I thought you might be interested in reading a letter from Nofrat Frenkel, the woman who was arrested, which appeared in The Forward today.
It begins: "Every morning, since I was 15, I have worn a tallit for morning prayer in my home. During my army service, I was forced to swallow many negative comments by other soldiers who prayed in the army synagogues, some of which did not even have a women's gallery, because female soldiers never set foot in them. After leaving the army, I began to visit the Kotel every Rosh Hodesh. The atmosphere at the Kotel, the feeling that all those women praying around me were also turning to God and pouring out their hearts to him, inspires me with the joy of Jewish fraternity. Here is one place in which, shoulder to shoulder, all the hearts are calling to God..."
The rest of Nofrat's letter can be read here. Responses from readers in the comments section are fascinating in and of themselves, ranging from "Kol HaKavod. You do us proud." to comments that accuse Frenkel of insecurity and throwing her beliefs in the face of other worshipers.
Future rabbi Yuri Foreman has become Israel's first boxing world champion. [via Forward]- Hundreds of people peacefully protested outside Sen. Joe Lieberman's Stamford, Connecticut home last Sunday to show their support for universal health care. "When we heard not only would he vote against it, but he'd use his power, his position as a swing vote ... to block it from coming to a vote, we had to send a message so he knows people who vote overwhelmingly favor the public option," said Rabbi Stephen Fuchs, of Congregation Beth Israel in West Hartford. [via ConnPost]
- The White House has cut the guest list for its annual Hanukkah party and candle-lighting in half this year. Financial reasons were cited as the cause, but some rabbis think the cut might fuel "feelings in some quarters of the American Jewish community that the White House is giving them the cold shoulder." [via JPost]
- A Baptist congregation known for its anti-gay views has turned its attention to the Jewish community, protesting speeches by President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Jewish Federations of North America conference. Protesters carried signs that read "God Hates Jews" (among other things) and warned passersby that Jews would soon be in hell. [via USA Today]
- This November Costco plans to begin selling "The Illustrated Torah" at stores near significant Jewish populations. [via Forward]
- Apparently some folks are trying to turn dreidel spinning into a major league sport. [via Tablet]
Photo via Getty Images / Al Bello
