Kosher Felafel Day
at the Saratoga High Rock Farmers Market
sponsored by Saratoga Chabad's "Taste of
Tradition"
Scan of
Article in The Saratogian Newspaper
Scan & Text of
Article in the Daily Gazette Newspaper
Kosher Day at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market
article written by Suzanne Voigt
Despite being raised in a town
that was 75% Jewish, I, a gentile, never really knew what it meant to
eat Kosher. I did know that
when I was invited into my friends homes I loved the light, distinct flavors
of their foods and I especially savored the after school snack of
falafels. This Wednesday, July 18, the Saratoga Farmer’s Market (3-6pm at
High Rock Pavilions) will be celebrating what it means to eat “Kosher”.
Rabbi Abba Rubin of Chabad, a vendor at the
Saratoga Farmers’ Market and Diane Whitten, Nutrition Educator for
Cornell Cooperative Extension, will team up to prepare samples of kosher
prepared falafels using many fresh market ingredients.
I cannot wait to sample these
great treats after so many years away and I am pleased that I have finally
been educated on What does it mean to
eat “Kosher”? According to Rabbi Jonathan Rubenstein, of
Temple Sinai of Saratoga Springs, founder of the nonprofit Slice of Heaven
Breads, (a vendor at the Saratoga Farmers Market), the laws of
Kashrut are derived from
Biblical commandments and rabbinic commentary on biblical passages. Simply
put, foods that are prohibited (treyf)
include pork products and shellfish, and some other animal products.
Permitted animals must be slaughtered by a
shochet, a ritual slaughterer.
The blood must be completely removed from the meat; eggs that have blood
spots are not permitted. Dairy products and meat products are not served at
the same meal, eaten using the same utensils, or prepared in the same pots
and pans.
People who observe strictly the
laws of Kashrut have separate
dishes and utensils for dairy dishes and meat foods. Some who are less
strict will not have separate dishes but will refrain from serving meat and
dairy products together and will not serve or eat foods that are
treyf. Others simply avoid
serving or eating treyf. And
some people make a distinction between what they will practice at home and
when eating out. Products that are “certified kosher” are produced under
supervision of an authorized rabbinical organization and carry a symbol of
that organization on their label.
The restrictions are meant to
“make us holy.” Many commentators feel that the practice of
Kashrut is meant to instill in
us a greater reverence for all life. Since the laws mainly pertain to
animals, meat, and the method of slaughter, some authorities see a
vegetarian diet as the ideal embodiment of
Kashrut, and view the permission
to eat meat as a concession to human weakness.
At the Saratoga Farmers’ Market,
Slice of Heaven Bread is not a strict Kosher vendor, but Chabad is. Both
are represented at the Market on Wednesdays. The falafels available for
sampling this Wednesday, July 18, will be prepared following the laws of
Kashrut. I hope you come and enjoy a wonderful ethnic treat. I know I
won’t miss it!
