Новости за 21.11.2017

“To deal with Jews, you need to be drunk,” explains one Jewish vendor to a gentile compatriot as I walk past. It’s as good an introduction as any to the colorful chaos of Kosherfest, the country’s biggest kiddush that also doubles as a national conference for the kosher industry. This year, the sprawling display filled the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Seacaucus, N.J., showcasing hundreds of booths featuring everything from seltzer to sushi bars.

No member of Donald Trump’s presidential administration is more beloved among supporters of Israel than United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley. But thanks to the vicissitudes of Middle Eastern politics and a possible split within Trump’s White House, Haley has now been publicly criticized by members of Congress for equivocating on a major issue related to Israel’s security.

As we prepare to sit down for a Thanksgiving fressing this Thursday, I’d like to share some words of advice on how to eat. They’re not mine; they were conceived by Moses Ben Maimon, or Maimonides, who was renowned both as a rabbi and a doctor, and his mother could not possibly have been prouder. In the Mishneh Torah, his magisterial codification of Jewish law, Maimonides shares his gustatory advice, which we should all take to heart as we take that first bite of turkey.

Last month, an 80-year-old Israeli Holocaust survivor passed away in Haifa. When her will was read, her family was shocked to learn that the woman, who requested to remain anonymous, left her considerable fortune, as well as her apartment and her reparation payments, to her next door neighbor, a non-Jewish immigrant to Israel.

“Adonai, created in your image, I recognize that my body and soul are in Your keeping. I am grateful for the miracles you have given us through medical research and skill and through the generosity of others. Thank you for the possibility of the miracle of life and the relief from suffering that this transplant will bring me and my loved ones. Thank you for the skill of the doctors, nurses and all those whom I do not know who will care for me as I reach new possibilities in life.”

Cranberries are indigenous to North America—first eaten by Native Americans, and now an indispensable fixture of Thanksgiving dinner and American cuisine more broadly. But if my Ashkenazi mother-in-law’s potted meatballs are to be believed, cranberries also have a Jewish soul. For into the pot, along with the ground beef and onions, she adds a full can of cranberry sauce.

Literary critic Adam Kirsch is reading a page of Talmud a day, along with Jews around the world.

Inside a dark and smoky bar in Jaffa, an alcohol-infused feminist revolution is occurring. The beloved bar, Anna Loulou, which is tucked away on a nondescript side street a few blocks from Jaffa’s flea market, has started offering a happy hour for people who are menstruating. 25% off, to be exact, for all drinks, all night long– and all you have to do is tell the bartender you have your period. The name of this long overdue invention? Bloody Hour.