Original Article Published On The Jewish Ledger

GUILFORD – For the Greenberg family, Thanksgiving is all of the Jewish holidays rolled into one.

“This is our holiday!” says Wendy Greenberg, mother of Adam Greenberg, an outfielder who has thus far played on Double and Triple A teams in the Chicago Cubs organization.

“With Adam on the road ten months of the year, it is hard to celebrate the September holidays and Passover together as a family,” notes Wendy, who said she and husband Mark were pleased that four out of five of their children were together this Thanksgiving.

Max, 20, had a good excuse or not being there – he his studying abroad in Australia. His absence was partially offset by the attendance of new brother-in-law Mike Ball, who joined the family in June when he married Keri, the Greenberg’s oldest daughter. Adam 23, is finally home after what he describes as “ten months straight of baseball, baseball, baseball.”

This is Greenberg’s time to “rest mind and body” and otherwise “regroup.”

As a member of a small group of Jewish ballplayers which includes Sandy Koufax, Hank Greenberg and current players Shawn Green and Gabe Kapler, Greenberg, with his obviously Jewish name, has heard all of the usual questions.

“Are you related to Hank Greenberg?” he is frequently asked.

“It is always put in my face,” Adam says. “The truth is – my grandfather’s name was Hank Greenberg. So, yes, Hank Greenberg is my grandfather (but no relation to the famous baseball player). But, until I saw the movie about the baseball player, which was pretty amazing, I hadn’t realized what he had to go through (as a Jew) when he played baseball – with the fans, his service in the military, etc.”

At Guilford High, Adam excelled on the baseball, soccer and basketball teams. He was the first player in Connecticut history to be named to four All-State teams, and he graduated with honors. Even with his busy schedule and dedication to sports, Greenberg found time to attend Hebrew school at Temple Beth Tikvah in Madison, where he celebrated his bar mitzvah.

Following graduation, Greenberg attended the University of North Carolina, where he was a scholar/athlete, majoring in communications.

Following Adam’s career has been a family affair for the close-knit, athletic clan. Various family members trekked to North Carolina to see Adam’s baseball games. And the family speaks with Adam daily during the season.

“He shares his highs and lows,” reports Wendy.

There were a few lows at UNC, when Greenberg would hear negative comments from teammates about being Jewish.

“Most had never met a Jewish person. I did hear a few wisecracks, but most were just curious and wanted to learn. So I found myself explaining a lot about Judaism,” says Greenberg.

Greenberg, 5’9”, is able to play all three outfield positions, with a reputation as a solid lead-off hitter with a high on-base percentage.

In 2002, Greenberg was drafted by the Cubs in the ninth round of the First-Year Player Draft. He has spent several summers in the Florida State League with a team in Daytona. After a stellar season playing in the outfield and hitting.291 in 91 games, he was sent to West Tennessee, a Double-A team before being again promoted – this time, Greenberg was sent to the Triple-A Iowa team, for the playoffs.

Then he had a chance to compete for the big league job, when he was sent to the Arizona Fall League. There, he hit.328 and stole four bases in 67 at-bats with the Mesa Solar Sox.

Where will Greenberg be when spring training comes? “They don’t tell you until the day before you have to leave,” notes Greenberg.

As of now, Greenberg is still a member of the Cubs organization. But he was not

“protected” by the Cubs and is therefore not a member of their 40-man roster. This means that, under Rule 5, he is eligible for the one-day draft in December—where he may remain with the Cubs or be picked up by another team.

For now, Greenberg will enjoy his time home with his family and await word of where he will report come February.

Original Article Published On The Jewish Ledger

Kosher – tasty, diverse and healthy – is all the rage

Believe it or not, there are now 82,000 kosher certified products available to consumers. This statistic is one of many fascinating “impressive facts” reported by Lubicon Marketing and Consulting studies and listed in the Kosherfest 2004 Official Directory and Buyers Guide.

Kosher is all the rage. It is increasingly tasty, trendy, diverse and healthy. And it is big business here and around the world.

Attendees at Kosherfest 2004, held Oct. 26-27 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York, had a chance to read statistics (“the kosher market has a dollar value of $6,750,000,000), attend seminars (two examples: “The Low-Carb Scene: Passing Fad or Ethnic Opportunity,” and “Marketing Pareve to a Health Conscious Mass

Market”), see, touch and (most importantly) taste many new kosher products first hand. As this was my fourth Kosherfest, I entered with a “strategy” – I’d visit the Connecticut vendors, see what’s new from Israel, check out people who came from such faraway countries as Australia, Argentina and Hungary, stop by the folks from more unusual American states – including Kentucky, Iowa, Wisconsin and South Dakota – and finally see if I could spot new trends or unusual products.

Delegates are invited to sample foods, take a brochure (and often a freebie – magnet, pen, bag of chips, candy, etc.), and daven Mincha “every half hour, on the half hour” (as the signs advertise).

What follows is a subjective account of one reporter’s “day at the fest.”

Local Businesses

I was pleased to see two companies from the Nutmeg State who I had met last year.

Asian Menu Sauces (http://www.asianmenusauces.com) of Stamford, Conn., was again displaying their fine line of sauces, marinades and dips. And Bigelow Tea Company of Fairfield, Conn., (http://www.bigelowtea.com) was offering samples of their flavored teas. I was delighted to learn that flavored teas are now certified kosher for Passover.

Westport Baking Company and The Challah Connection (http://www.westportbakingcompany.com; http://www.challahconnection.com) a Westport, Conn., company started 10 years ago as a “challah subscription service” and now offering kosher baked goods all over the country, was passing out literature describing the many ways they can work with businesses to “make your baked goods purchases meet your business objectives.”

Vendors from Israel

Kosherfest attendees have all come to love the “Fine Foods from Israel” display which keeps getting bigger and better. This year, more than 40 different Israeli food and beverage companies were in attendance – and they represented hundreds of products – from ice cream, cookies and candies, to prepared meals, deli meats and wines.

The “Fine Foods from Israel” campaign is pleased that U.S imports have risen 60 percent in 2004, and food, beverage and wine production represented 30 percent of Israel’s industrial revenue, or more than $12 million.

So, what’s “hot” from Israel this year?

Israel won several awards in the “new products” competition, including

Jerusalem Gourmet Rugelach (from Jerusalem Gourmet Products) in the Best New Dessert category, Tirat Tzvi smoked marble turkey in the Best New Meat or Deli Item category, and Kineret Nuggets with cheese in the “Best New Israeli Item” category.

Matzot Avid Ltd. of Bnei Brak won the award for its matzah storage box in the best new packaging design category.

I was impressed with the range of deli products displayed by Of Tov Products of Beit Shean, Israel. Of Tov is the largest and most modern state-of-the-art chicken and turkey plant in Israel and the Middle East. They are major suppliers of the McDonald’s restaurant chain in Israel.

Their range of schnitzel (breaded cutlets), grilled products (turkey shwarma, chicken shishlik, and hamburgers, to name a few), and tasty Hod Lavan deli meats (turkey pastrami, turkey breast, etc.) and frankfurters caught my eye. I could only dream of how tasty they would be with one of the many new wines from Israel – including Ella Valley Select Cuvee Semi Dry (Allied Importers) and the eight new selections from Israel’s Noah Winery, imported by the Abarbanel Wine Company.

Dairy food aficionados would be impressed with the range of sheep and goat milk products produced by Pastures of Eden, including goat milk cheese and sheep milk feta Balkan style.

If you are overwhelmed by the choices and momentarily forget which blessing to say after you eat a certain food, try purchasing the Food Blessing Pen, produced on Moshav Netaim. The pull-out blessing page is stored inside the pen and “rolls out” as needed.

Kosher products from around the world
Muller (http://www.mullerfood.com.ar) of Buenes Aires, Argentina, offers “Argentine Purest Kosher Beef,” and has such products as pastrami, meatballs in tomato sauce, Bolognese sauce, and roast beef in tomato sauce. The Muller brochure notes that “our meat comes in pouch packaging: it does not require refrigeration or special preservation methods. It is meant to keep for long periods of time while maintaining its original flavor.” The brochure then mentions what any kosher traveler likes to hear: “ideal for trips and outings, to take on vacation or for meals at home.”

When I came across Ron Gross and Arie Moses and their beautiful refrigerated display at the Canterbury Foods booth, I wondered how they could possibly get themselves and their wonderful line of Lemnos Foods (http://www.lemnosfoods.com) to New York – all the way from Victoria, Australia.

Of course the youghurts, haloumi, feta cheese, ricotta dip, paneer were all shipped and (luckily) arrived at roughly the same time as Gross and Moses.

The cheeses are dually certified, assuring both observant Muslims and Jews that they are in prepared accordance with their dietary laws.

Moses and Gross, like so many at Kosherfest, were in search of a distributor.

Not that Australia only produces kosher cheeses. Gigante Coffee of Victoria, Australia (http://www.gigante.com.au) proudly displayed their high quality coffee beans, and Beckett’s Flat Winery (“in the heart of the Margarent River Wine Region” of Western Australia) at http://www.beckettsflat.com.au displayed their kosher wines, including 2003 and 2004 Kosher Shiraz, Chardonnay, Cerise and Semillon Sauvignon Blanc. Their brochure indicates that they are “seeking international distribution.”

One way to judge the likely success of a new product is by the line at the vendor’s booth. The founder’s of Chip n Dip of Johannesburg, South Africa (http://www.chipndip.co.za) are marketing a rather simple concept: French fries in a cone shaped cup with various topping sauces available. From spicy ketchup to honey mustard to 1000 Island, to garlic and herb, hot chilli and mushroom, customers can enjoy fresh, hot French fries with their favorite toppings “pumped” on top.

Sadly, I didn’t see Danziger Gold from Julianstown, Ireland (http://www.danzigergold.com) and their line of alcoholic beverages, and I didn’t have time to visit kosher-certified vendors from France, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

The great States of the U.S.

I was impressed to see some off-the-beaten-track states represented. Daniel Meuers of Roland Marketing of Fridley, Minnesota was displaying Franny’s Organic Jumbo Raisins. Great Skott Foods of Milwaukee, Wisconsin was displaying their line of premium nuts and dried fruits (I loved the dried peaches).

Eagle Ranch Pistachios of Alamogordo, New Mexico (http://www.eagleranchpistachiosm) was displaying their line of Heart of the Desert products, including pistachio nuts, pistachio brittle, pistachio caramel popcorn and pistachio crunch. And their pistachios now come in green lime and lemon-lime flavors!

My Family Farm of Fort Thomas, Kentucky

(http://www.myfamilyfarm.org) was giving out samples of their cookies and crackers, from Artic Bear Lemon cookies, to

Brown Bear Chocolate Dipped Vanilla Cookies, to Surf Snacks Pizza Baked Crackers to Captain’s Catch Cheese Baked Crackers (the closest kosher kids will get to goldfish crackers!). Not only were the products tasty, but they are certified organic and/or all natural, they contain no hydrogenated oils, artificial colors, flavors or preservatives, and the company has a mission: “to use earned income to help effective non-profit organizations obtain the resources they need to protect, nurture, and empower children.”

Solomon’s Finest Glatt Kosher Meats made the trek from Bridgewater, South Dakota, while the Agri Processors meat people made the slightly closer trip from Postville, Iowa. The Mitzvah Farms cheese people (owned by Jerry “Yoseph” Abrams) and represented at Kosherfest by Reuvein Jacobs, also came from Iowa. Their town of Waukon is right near Postville. Their cheeses, including A Bis’l Swiss’l, Muenster Mench, Yetta’s Chedda and Hava-Na Varti, and their five types of pizza may soon make their way to supermarkets on the East Coast.

World Harbors of Auburn, Maine (http://www.worldharbors.com) came to display their four “trendsetting sauces,” including Argentine Style Chimichurri, Cuban Style Mojo, Australian Style Bar-B Sauce and Island Mango.

Kosher Fly-Away LTd (http://www.kosherflyaway.co.uk) was asking, “Why shelp when we can ship?” Their company offers glatt kosher meals and Shabbat provisions delivered to your vacation or business destination in the United States, Europe, Ireland and the United Kingdom. And LaBriute, for the second year in a row, attracted crowds with their “portable, shelf-stable, self-heating TV dinners” (http://www.labriutemeals.com).

Healthy and KosherThere are more ways than ever to eat healthy, organic, low fat and low carb, and you can even take off a few pounds the “kosher way.” The Kosher Diet Club (http://www.kosherdietclub.com) promises ways to lose 7-10 pounds the first week and 20-25 pounds in a month through its 13 step program and its diet capsule. Underberg (http://www.underberg.com) offers a “natural herbal digestive” to be used after each meal. Navitco (http://www.navitco.com) offers you a chance to “live long and strong” by using their “new and advanced probiotic formulas.” Maxi-Health Research Inc. (http://www.maxihealth.com) offers “the path to a healthier future” through use of its kosher supplements. And Laundau offers vitamins, minerals and herbs.

Doctor B’s offers home-cooked, home-served kosherlite meals which are “low fat, low cholesterol and luscious.” (ww.drblite.com).

Luscious sugarfree cookies, brownies, cakes and loaves are available at http://www.bakedgoods.tv; you will also find a big selection of wheat free and low carb desserts.

Nana’s cookie bars (http://www.healthycrowd.com) offers a big selection of gluten-free cookies (also: no eggs, no cholesterol, no dairy, etc.) -sugar free, low carb, low fat pasta, pizza, base sauces and pesto/pastes are available at http://www.rosiesproducts.co.uk (rosie’s).

Ener-G Foods (w.ener-g.com) offers gluten, heat and dairy free products and has been manufacturing allergy restrictive foods for over 40 years.

There were a number of organic products on display including Ah!Laska certified organic chocolate syrup and syrup products, and there was a “be organic” display by the Organic National and International Certifiers (http://www.oranicnandi.com).

Original Article Published On The Jewish Ledger

WOODBRIDGE — It is amazing how much a group of 15 mothers, mostly with children in the under 12-year age range, can remember about their own teen years.

Sydney Perry, director of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven and veteran executive director of the Department of Jewish Education, presented “The American Bar/Bat Mitzvah: Religion or Party?” the second in a series of six workshops in the Jewish Parenting series, sponsored by the Women’s Division of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven.

Perry began by challenging each woman to reflect on her adolescence and bat mitzvah, if she celebrated one.

After the group discussed the developmental and social issues facing teenagers, Perry provided a historical and sociological overview of bar and bat mitzvah. She then offered examples of how the Jewish religion offers a “built in progression” through the yearsfrom learning the song

“Torah Tzivah Lanu Moshe” at age three, to shaking a lulav at school age, to being allowed to read the Haftarah (in some communities) at age nine, to learning to put on tefillin just before bar mitzvah.

Some members of the group shared fond memories of their own bnot mitzvah, while others still feel sad and “incomplete” at not having the opportunity to celebrate a bat mitzvah.

Laura Campbell shared the story of her mother’s adult bat mitzvah, celebrated a few weeks earlier after two intense years of study. And the women encouraged Lauren Arch to consider celebrating her own adult bat mitzvah. Perry pointed out that bar and bat mitzvah marks a change in status, and that each woman in the room had automatically become a bat mitzvah and begun taking on the responsibilities of a Jewish woman.

Nonetheless, Perry acknowledged the feelings of those who didn’t actively celebrate their own change of status and offered suggestions for being more involved in Jewish learning and synagogue life, especially as they go through the bar/bat mitzvah preparation process with their own children.

While some in attendance were attending their first parenting workshop, many are “regulars” of the series.

Betsy Flaherty reports that she “comes to all the workshops” and that she “walks away with an incredible amount of information”from both the presenters and the other women.

“I love the feeling of camaraderie,” notes Flaherty. Joanna Cooper, mother of three, attended last year, noting, “The more information you have, the better choices you can make.”

Robyn Teplitzky, campaign consultant, shared a simcha pillow and a “mazel tov” chair designed by local artist, Jeanette Kuvin Oren on which a child is lifted at his or her bar/bat mitzvah. The chair remains as a beautiful piece of living room furniturebetween uses at family simchas.

And Teplitzky passed around a copy of “Mitzvah Chic,” by Gail Anthony Greenberg, which offers suggestions for making bnai mitzvah creative and meaningful.

While Perry is often playful and funny in her presentations, her message is clear. She is serious in stressing the importance of “thinking about the days after bar and bat mitzvah.” She acknowledges how special the bar and bat mitzvah can be, but she encourages families to

emphasize knowledge and synagogue skills which will be useful for a lifetime of involvement in Jewish communal life. And Perry is unapologetic in stressing the need for ongoing Jewish education, beyond the bar and bat mitzvah years.

“When I teach sixth and seventh graders, I ask them if they know how to read and write. They laugh and say that of course they do. When I ask them if they plan to stay in school and continue learning, they laugh again say that they do know they will need to learn more complex math and science, read harder books, and learn to write more sophisticated essays.”

Perry then turns to the group and tells them that, if they don’t continue their Jewish learning after bar and bat mitzvah, they will “be frozen in the seventh grade.”

Perry concluded her presentation by speaking about the “Build a Tzedakah Fund,” where bar and bat mitzvah age children “learn to spend Jewishly.” The theme of learning to care for others was clearly important to the women in attendance. They had earlier heard a presentation by attendee Leslie Zackin, who is also Women’s Division President and General Campaign Chair.

She took the opportunity to introduce the work of the Women’s Division, followed by the screening of “The Power of a Woman’s Gift,” a video which shares stories of women’s feelings of empowerment through their gifts to the Federation.

Original Article Published On The Jewish Ledger

NEW HAVEN — What do Duke University, the State of Israel and the Knights of Columbus Museum have in common? They have all been fortunate enough to host an extraordinary exhibit of lithographs by Scottish architectural and landscape painter, David Roberts. Roberts spent 11 months traveling extensively throughout the Near East in 1838 and 1839.

“Roberts was quite a breakthrough individual,” reports Larry Sowinski, director of the Knights of Columbus Museum. “He was one of the first Europeans (under Ottoman Rule) to undertake such an expedition.” And Roberts’ route to the holy land is rather interesting.

Roberts was born in 1796 and was recognized at an early age for his skill in making accurate renderings of building and land around Edinburgh. As his family lacked finances for formal training in the arts, Roberts was apprenticed to a house painter at age 12. He later became a scene painter with a traveling theatre company. He always enjoyed outdoor and topographical paintings, and he was attracted to foreign lands. He traveled to Spain in the early 1830s, where he sketched gypsy costumes and Moorish architecture. Sales of his sketches of Spain were so successful that he now had enough money to finance his journey to the Near East.

After spending months in Cairo, he crossed the Sinai Desert to Mount Sinai and St. Catherine’s Monastery, then on to Petra and to the Holy Land. Roberts entered holy places, accompanied by body guards, with his sketch pads in hand. By the time he returned to England, Robert had three full sketchbooks and more than 272 watercolors.

In 1996, the State of Israel and the State of North Carolina engaged in the Israel/North Carolina Cultural Exchange. The Duke University Museum of Art was one of two dozen North Carolina cultural institutions which participated in the examination of Israeli arts; “Jerusalem and the Holy Land Rediscovered,” an exhibit of 123 of Roberts’ prints, was housed at the Duke Museum.

Sowinski has been in discussions with the Duke Museum for the Roberts exhibit for many years. “The lithographs don’t travel for more than eight weeks a year, and they haven’t been on display in more than two years,” notes Sowinski, “and we are lucky enough to get an extension to have the exhibit for ten weeks.”

Sowinski reports that 90 tinted and hand-colored lithographs will be on display at the Knights of Columbus Museum from Nov. 1, through Jan. 9, 2005. The Knights of Columbus Museum is, perhaps an unusual home for such an exhibit. The Knights of Columbus, incorporated in 1882, is the world’s largest Catholic fraternal service organization. The Knights of Columbus prides itself for its volunteer service and charitable contributions; in the past decade, they have volunteered nearly 400 million hours of service and raided and donated nearly one billion dollars to charitable causes. And Knights of Columbus Insurance has been protecting member families since its founding.

Sowinski doesn’t find the museum’s interest in the Holy Land exhbit strange at all. “We need an exhibit like this at this juncture in history” says Sowinski, who recounted in detail the centrality of Jerusalem for Jews, Christians and Muslims. Sowinski has been promoting the “Holy Land” exhibit in Catholic publications by inviting them to “Celebrate Catholic Christmas in Connecticut.” In Jewish publications, readers are

invited to “Visit the Promised Land in New Haven.” The exhibit will feature the 90 lithographs, each with a caption and more recent photo of what each of Robert’s sites looks like in modern Israel.

The “Holy Land” exhibit runs from Nov.1-Jan. 9 and is open seven days a week from 10am until 5pm (closed Thanksgiving and Christmas Day). The Knights of Columbus Museum is at State Street in New Haven Call 203-865-0400.