The Charlotte Jewish News - October 2012 - Page 31
Cooling the Rhetoric in Your Sukkah of Peace
By Edmon J. Rodman
Los Angeles (JTA) — In an
eleetion year, a sukkah divided
against itself eannot stand.
Espeeially in the swing states,
where eaeh party is basieally
elaiming that if the other wins
we’ll all be living in sukkahs,
politieal dinner eonversation this
Sukkot eould really topple an
already shaky house.
With potential verbal sparring
over whieh eandidate is best for
Israel, health eare, and inereasing
Unele Bemie’s ehanees of finally
landing a job, the evening has all
the hallmarks of a below the
Beltway battle.
For the festival, we are sup
posed to build a “sukkah sh’lo-
meehah” - a sukkah of peaee. But
how mueh peaee ean there be in
the eonfines of small hut when
your family or friends are divided
about who is getting their vote for
president?
In our season of joy in this elee
tion season, will our guests be
unhappy and at odds like the lulav
and etrog before they are assem
bled - willow, myrtle, palm — dis
parate elements seeking a whole?
As Lyndon Johnson said in
quoting Isaiah, “Come now let us
reason together.” Flow best ean we
eome together over our differ-
enees and keep a holiday sense of
joy and eamaraderie?
Should we be politieally eorreet
with the ushpizim - the guests
from the Bible that are symboli-
eally invited, one eaeh night, into
the sukkah — and for every liber
al Flillel invite in a eonservative
Shammai?
Polities and family dinners sel
dom seem a good mateh. As a
ehild, I remember a Passover
when two of my uneles nearly
eame to blows over what my
mother deseribed later simply as
“polities,” and another Seder that
was almost ruined when my moth
er and her brother tussled over the
morality of Woody Allen.
Flow about just invoking and
enforeing the universal table rule
of no eonversations about polities,
religion, or sex? It’s a plan, but
just try selling that to your liber
tarian dentist unele, former flower
ehild aunt, or brother-in-law home
for a visit from the West Bank.
Where is all this division eom-
ing from? Despite our disagree
ments, aren’t Jews more or less a
politieal bloe?
Looking for adviee about how
to prepare for a politieally divided
sukkah, I eontaeted an expert on
politieal issues and
Ameriean Jewish affairs
— Steven Windmueller,
emeritus professor at
Flebrew Union College in
Los Angeles.
A sukkah filled with
Jews of divergent opinions
was no surprise to
Windmueller. Going
against the eommonly held
view, he already had writ
ten that the “Jewish vote”
was aetually a “series of
voting eonstitueneies.”
Aeeording to Windmueller, sit
ting around our sukkah tables we
might find a mixture of these five
groups:
* Southern and Midwestern
Jews, “who have longstanding
family ties to these regions and
their respeetive home eommuni-
ties,” he said.
* Immigrant Jewish eommuni-
ties, who arriving from Iran, the
former Soviet Union, or other
soeieties “frequently identify with
the foreign poliey prineiples of the
Republiean Party.”
* Traditional religious Jews,
who “emulate the politieal pat
terns of the Christian evangelieal
eommunity.”
* Red diaper baby voters, who
like their grandparents, identify
with “soeialist eauses and left-
wing politieal ideas.”
* Urban Jewish elites, who are
supportive of Demoeratie Party
eandidates and identify with “an
array of liberal organizations and
often high-profile soeial eauses.”
Imagine a sukkah filled with
one from eaeh group trying to
sway your lulav.
When I explained to
Windmueller my fears about a
politieally divided sukkah, he sug
gested that we eaeh “eome to the
table with an open hand.” And to
be on the safe side, he also
advised, with a laugh, to keep any
knives off the table.
How about just
invoking the
universal table rule
of no conversations
about politics,
religion, or sex?
Windmueller said the more
reeent division among Jews is not
a result of turning Republiean or
fioeking to the Demoerats as
mueh as beeoming independents.
Fie sees younger Jews espeeially
as being tied less to the politieal
orientation of their families.
As to whether Jewish voters are
turning away from President
Obama, “The amount of move
ment we are seeing is aetually
small,” said Windmueller, whieh
he estimated this eleetion eyele at
9-12%. Fie doesn’t see a dramatie
ehange in the Jewish vote like in
2004 for Reagan or 2008 for
George FI. Bush.
Windmueller adds that the issue
of Israel, whieh has been reeeiving
mueh partisan eoverage in the
Jewish media and has the most
potential to eause a Sukkah eon-
flagration — is “not a top priority
for many Jewish voters.”
“Not even in the top five,” he
said, listing the eeonomy, health
eare, Soeial Seeurity, and interna
tional terrorism as among the pri
orities of Jewish voters.
As to how to help keep the hol
iday peaee in this eharged-up sea
son, Windmueller suggested eom-
ing to the table “prepared” with
more than just the usual politieal
slogans.
“You don’t want to lose friends
and family over an eleetion,” he
said.
“People are seared to have
their minds ehanged,” said
Windmueller, who rarely talks
about polities at the dinner table
and has found that even at temple
speaking engagements, organizers
often are nervous that he will
sneak in an endorsement.
For a more eongenial evening,
he also suggested stieking elose to
issues on whieh many Jews ean
still eome together - the Iranian
threat, the eoneem over eivil order,
and the health of our soeiety.
Shaking those subjeets together
in eaeh politieal direetion might
not bring an evening of peaee, but
at least we’d be talking. ^
(Edmon J. Rodman is a JTA
columnist who writes on Jewish
life from Los Angeles. Contact him
at edmojace@gmail.com.)
Try a Sukkot Bash with a Thanksgiving Flair
Jamie Geller
By Jamie Geller
(JTA) - I
would rather host
50 people at my
house for a
Shabbat than
travel overnight
with my kids. So
that means if I
don’t want to miss the big family
party. I’d better bring the party to
me.
On Sukkot, if you have lots of
eompany, surprise them by raiding
ye olde Thanksgiving reeipe box.
Believe me, the reeipes will taste
eompletely different in your
sukkah and they are a ereative
ehange from standard holiday
fare.
Over the years, my husband and
I have hosted eountless kiddushes,
major holiday get-togethers for
family, Chanukah parties, and
other events - even a Shabbat for
50 when I had a five-week-old
newborn.
No, I’m not superwoman and I
don’t try to be. I delegate like
erazy, and it works out fine.
That’s one of my seerets. Flere
are more on eooking for a big
erowd without going bonkers.
Menu Choices
* Plan your menu with the pre-
eision of an astronaut going to the
moon.
* Delegate, delegate, delegate.
* This is why God ereated
turkeys.
* The more people at your
table, the simpler the menu should
be.
* Stay on the beaten path.
How to Make it Happen
* Wateh out when multiplying
ingredient quantities for larger
yields.
* Be realistie about your equip
ment and your spaee.
* Refrigerator spaee has a way
of shrinking too.
* Relax (yeah, right!)
* Two small platters are better
than one big one.
Below are some Sukkot menu
ehoiees.
Southwestern Turkey Breast and
Green Chili Stuffing
Prep time: 15 min.; eook time:
60 min.; ready time: 1 hr. and 15
min.; servings: 8.
Ingredients:
For Turkey
1/2 t. ehili powder
1/2 t. mustard powder
1/2 t. kosher salt
1/2 t. dried oregano
1/2 t. ground eoriander
1/4 t. eayenne pepper
1 boneless skinless turkey breast
(2 to 2-1/2 lbs.)
For Stuffing:
1 T. olive oil
2 medium onions, ehopped
1 bag frozen eom, defrosted (10-
oz.)
2 eans ehopped green ehilies,
drained (4.5-oz.)
1 T. ground eumin
8 e. eubed bread (day old or dried
out overnight)
1-1/2 e. ehieken stoek
1/2 t. kosher salt
1/2 t. freshly ground blaek pepper
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In
a sm. bowl, eombine all spiees for
turkey rub and mix well. Plaee
turkey breast on a greased baking
sheet or roasting pan and rub all
over with spiee mix to eoat well.
Bake for about 1 hr. or till internal
temperature reaehes 170. Let rest
10 min. before slieing. Fleat olive
011 in a Ig. skillet over med.-high
heat. Add onions and eook 5 min.
or till softened. Add eom, green
ehilis, and eumin and saute 3 min.
or till fragrant. Transfer to a Ig.
bowl and add bread eubes, stoek,
salt, and pepper; mix to eombine.
Transfer to a greased baking dish.
Bake with turkey breast for 1 hr.
Yield: 1 turkey breast and 8 e.
stuffing
Prep time: 5 min.; eook time:
10 min.; ready time: 15 min.; serv
ings: 8-10.
Ingredients:
2 lbs. green beans, washed and
trimmed
4 T. apple eider vinegar
2 T. olive oil
2 t. honey
1/2 t. kosher salt
1/2 e. slieed almonds
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400. Spread
green beans on a Ig. sheet pan in a
single layer. Toss with vinegar,
olive oil, honey, and salt. Roast 8
to 10 min. or till tender but still
erisp. Transfer to a serving platter
and sprinkle with slieed almonds.
Cider Glazed Vegetables
This simple apple eider glaze
works well with any fresh or
frozen vegetable you have on hand
for a quiek side dish. The reeipe
uses green beans, but it’s great on
slieed earrots, parsnips or other
winter root vegetables. Also try it
with other types of vinegar or
nuts.
Pumpkin Pie with Caramel
Whipped “Cream ”
To save time, use a store-
bought prepared graham eraeker
pie shell instead of making your
own.
Prep time: 15 min.; eook time:
50 min.; ready time: 1 hr. and 5
min.; servings: 8
Ingredients:
For Pie:
1-1/2 e. erashed ehoeolate gra
ham eraekers
4 T. margarine, melted
1 e. pumpkin puree (15-ounee)
1 e. soy milk
2 Ig. eggs
1/2 e. brown sugar
2 T. maple syrup
2 t. ground einnamon
1/2 t. ground nutmeg
For Caramel Whipped Cream:
4 T. earamel sauee
2 e. non-dairy whipped eream
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350. In a sm.
bowl, eombine erushed graham
eraekers and margarine and stir.
Press mixture into a 9” pie plate in
an even layer, aeross the bottom
and up the sides. Bake for 10 min.
and remove. Inerease oven tem
perature to 400. In a Ig. bowl,
eombine pumpkin, soy milk, eggs,
sugar, maple syrup, and spiees;
whisk. Gently pour into pie shell
and bake 40 minutes or until set.
Let eool eompletely or refrigerate
overnight for best results. Gently
fold 4 T. earamel into whipped
eream. Spread over ehilled pie just
before serving and slieing.
Yield: 1 (9”) pie «
(Jamie Geller was “The Bride
Who Knew Nothing" - until she
found her niche as everybody’s
favorite kosher cook next door.
She is the author of the best-sell
ing “Quick & Kosher” cookbook
series, creator of the Joy of
Kosher with Jamie Geller maga
zine and host of the popular Quick
& Kosher cooking show online at
youtube.com/joyofkosher and on-
air on JLTV.)