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https://www.aish.com/f/p/Why_Kids_Need_to_Fail.htmlWhy Kids Need to FailJan 29, 2011by Marnie Winston-MacauleySeven important lessons failure teaches our children.Today, it seems that anything short of unqualified success from our children is a source of quaking self-esteem, if not downright humiliation theirs, and ours. We want them to avoid –failure at all costs.And they're not more successful because of it. Just pick up a paper and read how our children “rank” in school compared with those in other countries, have never been more involved in risky behavior, and are at times “diagnosed” and medicated at the first sign of stress.Is the answer to let our children fail? Abdicate? Is the “antidote” to join the Tiger moms of the world, turning persistence at any price to punishment and humiliation we wouldn’t wish on our worst enemy to avoid humiliation?As with all Jewish teachings, the answer lies in sense, balance, and a thorough understanding of what we’re truly trying to achieve. And that dicey goal is simple: character.Related Article: Are Chinese Parents Superior?The Balancing Act: Using “failure” wisely to teach our children success.My husband, a chess player, insists on letting Jamie, our 11-year-old, win for fear of hurting his ego.I work on all school projects with my kids. If they have a report due, I’ll suggest and correct to make sure they get A’s.My five-year-old daughter, Rebecca, takes ballet. She has always enjoyed it until she wasn’t chosen lead dancer in their recital. Now she whines and complains of stomach aches so she doesn’t have to go. We‘re afraid if we push, we might traumatize her.These parents are exceptional -- exceptionally concerned, and exceptionally involved But like . , too much of “a good thing,” if they continue protecting and fixing at all costs, these parents will likely need to be “involved” till their little ones are on Social Security.

Let’s flash forward...1)My husband lets our son win at chess: Sonny, now 16, expects to be his school’s star chess player. The coach disagrees. He sulks, bemoans the injustice, and secretly worries that he might not be as smart as he thinks he is, while raging against a world that won’t do what he wants it to do.These children avoid opportunities for success – by avoiding opportunities to fail.2)... it’s my job to make sure my kids get A’s. High school. A final history project is due. But the teens are busy texting and tweeting. If they flunk, they’re armed with a barrage of blame, none of whichincludes them. “It’s the teacher’s fault!” “It’syourfault!” they protest to mom. “You’re always hanging over me, criticizing!” or, “You should’ve gotten me a tutor, or bought a final report!”3) ... but I don’t think we should push her. The little ballerina is about to enter Middle School. Or is she? “But I’ll be the youngest and no one will notice me!” she whines. “And if you send me I’ll throw up!”So there we have it the results of well-–intentioned parents who fashioned their children’s life to be “failure free.” They-'ve created youngsters who:have an unrealistic view of themselves and the world, expecting the world to adjust to suit themmanipulate to sidestep even the most basic expectations.lack the skills and confidence to take on challenges.These children avoid opportunities for success by avoiding opportunities to fail.–And their parents have been duped by the modern myth that making life perennially rosy by providing a big fix is the road to self-esteem.The road to genuine success and self esteem is not an easy one. It involves tests, and demands struggles. As it says in Proverbs, \"The righteous falls seven times and stands up\" (Proverbs, 24:16). There are going to be falls and failures, that is guaranteed. The critical test is who has the perseverance to get up. It is through the falling and standing ever stronger that allows us to learn the wrong paths, forge ahead with fewer mistakes, overcome obstacles and realize our great potential.

Children who see themselves as competent and worthy do so because they’ve learned how to live in a world that isn’t all smiles, easy shortcuts, and instant success, yet continue to love themselves and persevere despite their imperfections and shortcomings.Learning from FailureFailure can be one of our children's best teachers and a key strategy in fostering self esteem.1. Define Failure and Success in Your Own TermsToo often we buy into other people’s notion of winning/losing, failure/success. Does “success” mean being chosen “The Batchelor?” Does “failure” mean we haven’t become a Silicon Valley millionaire? It’s up to each of us to dig deep and establish our own values. Do we live with a view that success is an external accomplishment or an internal victory related to character?We don't know if our little Rebecca will ever become an Alicia Markova, but what is the priority: for Rebecca to be a prima ballerina now, at all costs, or for Rebecca to develop the character to persist at what she enjoys?2. Failure as a Window to RealityFailure gives children the true scoop on themselves and the world. Of course we hold their hand when they’re learning to cross the street. Of course we protect them from on-coming tractors and taking on speed bumps. But when we rush in to make success too easy, we lie to them and let them lie to themselves about who they are and what they need to work on.When we quit doing for them what they are perfectly capable of learning to do for themselves, they learn that instant success isn’t the goal. For Sonny who wants to be a good chess player, the true character lesson is in facing the challenge, trying, failing, learning what he needs to learn, and what he’s capable of accomplishing with effort.3. Failure and CourageFailure forces our children to face fear, obstacles, and challenges. “Poor you ing” a frustrated -child teaches blame, excuses, procrastination, then whining to guilt you and the world. Hear their concerns without letting them avoid or manipulate. Your daughter, an A student, hates –gym (didn’t we all?) “Why do I need basketball?” she moans, adding, “Please write me a note to get out of it…” Yes, trying is tough. It demands persistence, practice, sportsmanship. The character pay-off is a child who understands that life doesn’t always work as she wishes it to. It’s neither a tragedy nor a “life” failure. It’s a bump. One she can overcome or learn to manage with independent effort and resourcefulness.4. Failure as a Path to Resilience

Copyright © 1995 - 2020 Aish.com, https://www.aish.com.Aish.com is a non-profit and needs your support. Please donate at: aish.com/donate,or mail a check to: Aish.com c/o The Jerusalem Aish HaTorah Fund PO Box 1259 Lakewood, NJ 08701.Failure teaches children they won’t break. Instead, they’ll learn to bend with the breaks and strengthen their internal metal. Failing is inevitable. By pointing out the value of bending with the breaks and teaching failure as opportunities, children hear: “I’ll not only survive, but I can use what I’ve learned and be better for it!”5. Fostering Creativity and ConfidenceFailure allows children to develop a Plan B; a better way. It encourages children to create new endings with new effort and persistence Jason, age 16 wanted a part-time job. He scoured . his local paper online, called, sent resumes, and nothing. Until Mom suggested they sit down and look for a better way. He paid a visit to all the neighbors, local shops, and e-mailed pals who had jobs. Boom. Two weeks later he was clacking copy on his computer for a neighbor.The ability to fail and re-group with new ideas teaches us those two terrific character-building words: “I can!”6. Our Best TeacherHow often have we not succeeded along one path, only to discover a new and better one along the way? Life is about adjusting and managing reality. Mistakes and mis-steps are not only remarkable learning experiences, but open up endless opportunities. Discovering what works for us and what doesn’t, teaches us who we are, where we “fit,” and what we find most gratifying, in the real world Helping our children see failure, not as disasters, but as our best . teachers, gives them permission to try and grow.7. Rewarding EffortWhen we support effort over achievement, we reinforce the value of building character. Of course we’re thrilled when our Jake makes the team, our Emma brings home A’s, or our Aviva is accepted at Juilliard. But these are milestones usually accomplished after a host of “external” set-backs. More, each will bring their own set of new challenges. What will keep our children moving forward are the internal rewards they’ve reaped, not from winning, but from owning the character to “fail well.”

https://www.aish.com/j/f/Would-Jew-Believe-38-Yom-Kippur-Edition.htmlWould Jew Believe #38: Yom Kippur EditionSep 8, 2013by Marnie Winston-MacauleyInteresting Yom Kippur facts, like…the name used by Palestinians for Yom Kippur.Yom Kippur, our time for atonement and repentance is the holiest day of the year for We Jews. For us, this is obvious; but for a few …ALWAYS WITH THE QUESTIONS …In every congregation, there’s always one whose purpose in life is to drive the rabbi meshugge forever plaguing him with “deep” and not so deep questions. Yossel was one such congregant.“Tell me, Rabbi, why is it that four questions are asked on Passover, but not on Yom Kippur or Rosh Hashanah?”“Oy, Yossel,” said the Rabbi grimacing. “Look, it’s very simple. To see a Jew wail and moan is not unusual, so who needs to ask questions? But to see a Jew happy now that demands an –explanation!”This “Sabbath of Sabbaths” that starts with the hauntingly emotional Kol Nidre and ends with the blowing of the shofar, is a solemn time to mend our relationship with God, casting off our sins through fasting and prayer. Yet it is joyous as well because it commemorates God's forgiveness and is considered a time to start anew spiritually.Let’s look at some Yom Kippur facts. Some you may know, some may be new to you, my dear readers, but all are fascinating!

Palestinians refer to Yom Kippur as the “festival of chickens” as they sold them to Jews for Kapparot.What’s in a Name?The Day of Atonement is known by different names.The Book of Leviticus 23.27 Yom ha-–Kippurim (“Day of Atonements”) Leviticus 16.31 – Shabbat Shabbaton (“Sabbath of Solemn Rest”)The Jerusalem Talmud Yoma –(“the day”) Babylon Yoma –Rabbah (the “Great Day”) Palestine- Tzoma Rabbah (the “Great Fast”)Some today refer to Yom Kippur as the “White Fast,” distinguishing it from the Black Fast applied to Tisha B’Av.Palestinian Arabs refer to Yom Kippur as the “festival of chickens” as they sold them to Jews for the Kapparot ceremony.“Spartacus” FastsThroughout my life, when I was moving further and further from Judaism, I always clung to a single thread Yom Kippur. On that one day I fasted. I might be shooting it out with Burt –Lancaster or John Wayne, or battling Laurence Olivier and his Romans . . . but I always fasted. –Kirk Douglas, born Issur Danielovitc in 1916. The son of Russian immigrants reaffirmed his commitment to Judaism with a second bar mitzvah on his eighty-third birthday.In Any Language …On Yom Kippur, in Sephardic Mikve Israel Synagogue (”The Hope of Israel”) the story of Jonah is told in Papiamento, the local dialect of Curacao in the Caribbean! More, the shul, –established in 1651 is the oldest continuous congregation in the Western Hemisphere and a major tourist attraction for its sacred objects, beauty, history, and its sandy floor which may symbolize wandering the Sinai or the sand used by secret Jews, or conversos to quiet worshiping. Today, the Jewish population is in the low hundreds. Among those buried in Curacao’s Jewish cemetery are the sister of Joseph Touro, who established the Touro Synagogue in Newport, R.I., and the sisters of Baruch Spinoza.Break Fast Around the World

The quintessential break fast worldwide is chicken soup and kreplach (meatfilled-dumplings), however, differences emerge around the globe.Ashkenazim enjoy a dairy meal that often includes pickled and smoked fish, noodle kugel and cheese blintzes.Italian Jews feast on fried sugar-coated doughnuts to symbolize luck and hope for a well- rounded year.Moroccan Jews drink a coffee topped with a fluffy mixture of beaten egg yolks and sugar, while Iraqi Jews prefer hariri, a sweet non dairy “milk” made from almonds. North African Jews also love a hearty meat, bean and vegetable soup.Greek and Turkish Jews delight in a light lemon-flavored chicken soup, preceded by a sweet drink of melon seeds.Sports Heroes and Good Jewish BoysWe shall miss him on the infield and shall miss him at the bat, but he’s true to his religion and I honor him for that.These are the last lines of a poem written by Edgar Guest in honor of Hank Greenberg when the baseball great refused to play on Yom Kippur in 1934. The star of the league-leading Detroit Tigers endured brickbats when he decided to go to synagogue on Yom Kippur rather than up against the second-place New York Yankees at the climax of a key season. But he received a standing ovation when he entered his shul. Hank, born in New York on September 16, 1911, was the first Jew elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1956.Thirty years later, Sandy Koufax, baseball's premier pitcher, shocked experts and thrilled Jews by sitting out the first game of the World Series, which coincided with Yom Kippur. Koufax went on to win the series' most valuable player award. \"In the Talmud, it is written that some attain eternal life with a single act,\" Koufax' biographer Jane Leavy would later write. \"On Yom Kippur, 5726, a baseball immortal became a Jewish icon.\"On Yom Kippur, 5726, a baseball immortal became a Jewish icon.In September, 2001, barely two weeks after the World Trade Center attacks, the Los Angeles Dodgers' Shawn Green, at the height of his career, declined to play on Yom Kippur, donating his day'ssalary of some $70,000 to 9/11 survivors, and breaking a personal streak of having played 415 games in a row.Not all Americans applauded Hank Greenberg’s convictions in 1934. This was an America of openly expressed Jew-hate on the field and off. This was a Detroit whose industrialist icon Henry Ford published newspaper opinion pieces that included such observations as, \"If fans

Copyright © 1995 - 2020 Aish.com, https://www.aish.com.Aish.com is a non-profit and needs your support. Please donate at: aish.com/donate,or mail a check to: Aish.com c/o The Jerusalem Aish HaTorah Fund PO Box 1259 Lakewood, NJ 08701.wish to know the trouble with American baseball, they have it in three words too much –Jew.\"Then there were others …During the Yom Kippur war in 1973, a gentile named William Ikon wrote a letter to the Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph that was published in 250 dailies. He wrote:“... bumper stickers read ‘Jews go home, pack your belongings and go. We do not want Jews. We want oil.’ But before you leave, do us a favor?! Could you leave behind the vaccine formula of Dr. Jonas Salk before you go?! Will you leave behind the capability in politics, your good literature and your tasty food. Please have pity on us. Remember it was from you that we learned the secret of how to develop great men as Einstein and Steinmetz. We owe you for the atomic bomb, research satellites and perhaps we owe you our very existence. I'm not sure I could live a secure life in a land in which you are not found. If at any time you will have to leave, love will leave with you. Democracy will leave with you If you pass by my house, –please slow down and honk ... because I'm going with you.\"L'Shana Tovah and G'mar Hatimah Tovah. Shalom with love, Marnie

https://www.aish.com/j/f/Would-Jew-Believe-39.htmlWould Jew Believe #39Jan 25, 2014by Marnie Winston-MacauleyW o ul dJ ewBel ie e v th a t…Bug sBunnyw a sJ ew i s h ? !“WHAT’S UP DRAIKUPS?”In the eternal search to de-closet Members of the Tribe (MOTS), one British film scholar, David Yehuda Stern, has come up with none other than the famed witty wisecracker, Bugs Bunny.According to Ma’ariv, Stern, who left no hutch unturned, revealed his “patch” of evidence at a recent British University lecture. True, the evidence is mostly circumstantial, but it might hold up in a court in Miami Beach … if the jury was in danger of missing the Early Bird. First, notes Stern, the world’s most famous rabbit was created by Jewish producer Leon Schlesinger and voiced by the King of Voices, the Jewish Mel Blanc. Then there’s the snarky rabbit’s “Jewishy” accent and sarcasms. He also lived in a Jewish section of New York. Stern notes one episode in which the Bugster flashes back to his childhood at the turn of the 20 century, which was th filled with Orthodox Jews and immigrants where he may have learned to use his wits to avoid attempts to eliminate him friend and foe (or sometimes both) alike which brings us to his ––unorthodox relationship with Porky Pig. Is it true? Why else would a savvy wabbit settle in the Apple, instead of a Veggie State, like Blue Earth Minnesota … behind the Jolly Green Giant? I say we put it to the ultimate test. Give him a little gefilte fish and see where he puts the carrot?Give him a little gefilte fish and see where he puts the carrot.REVERSE \"NAZI SALUTE\"

The mayors of Marseille, Tours, and Bordeaux have banned “comedian” Dieudonné M’bala, currently on tour, from performing in their cities, as he has been accused of anti-Semitism especially with the creation of his “quenelle” which is similar to a “reverse Nazi salute.” This not so subtle gesture has gained popularity with Jew haters and foes of Israel. More, the consequences are real. Interior Minister Manuel Valls has linked the salute to an increase in anti-Semitic remarks and violent acts in France. Last year a French Islamist killed a rabbi and three pupils at a Jewish school in Toulouse. More, photos were taken of individuals making the sign at Berlin's Holocaust memorial and near the gates of the Auschwitz Nazi concentration camp in Poland. Dieudonne, 46, says the gesture is a merely statement of his anti-Zionist views, not anti-Semitism! Right. And the Holocaust was a figment of 20 million peoples’ imagination.EH MATE? “GEFILTE” ACROSS THE POND?What’s England without its fish ’n chips? A country doomed to steak and kidney pie? This is a fate they don’t have to suffer thanks to We Jews. Here’s the emmes, we think. In the Encyclopedia of Jewish Food, Claudia Roden credits 16 century Portuguese Conversos for th introducing fried fish to Britain. Even Thomas Jefferson wrote about eating “fried fish in the Jewish fashion” at the end of the 18th century, and the first British-published Jewish cookbook (1846), included a recipe for the dish. As for putting it all together, experts credit the teaming of the Jewishy fried fish with fried potatoes to the foresight of Jewish fishmonger, Joseph Malin, who noticed the spuds frying in a nearby Irish shop and thought: “A perfect match!” – thereby creating the first fish and chips shop in 1860 on Cleveland Street in the heart of Cockney country. Despite disputed claims, in 1968 the National Federation of Fish Fryers presented a plaque to Malin's of Bow in honor of their founding role in the chippie (or Tippie in Cockney) business. Today you can get a “tip” in any one of 8,600 fish and chips shops in Britain and not just in Cockneyville whose residents would no doubt say: “CanJew Adam and Eve it?”THEY LIKE US! THEY REALLY LIKE US!?According to a recent poll released by the Pew Research Center, Israel is the sixth favorite nation among USians with a rating of 61% favorable. The “crown” went to Canada (81%) which took the number one spot, followed by Great Britain, Japan, Germany and Brazil, respectively.Some of the nations seen unfavorably include: Saudi Arabia (57%), China (55%), and Russia (54%).While the Pew Center maintains that these feelings are temporal and relate to world events, in terms of Israel there was a decidedly partisan flavor. Said the Center: “More Republicans than Democrats have a favorable impression of Israel (74% Republicans vs. 55% Democrats)”

Copyright © 1995 - 2020 Aish.com, https://www.aish.com.Aish.com is a non-profit and needs your support. Please donate at: aish.com/donate,or mail a check to: Aish.com c/o The Jerusalem Aish HaTorah Fund PO Box 1259 Lakewood, NJ 08701.… “Tea Party Republicans have especially positive views of Israel: 86% Republicans and Republican-leaning independents who agree with the Tea Party view Israel favorably, compared with 68% Republicans and GOP leaners who do not agree with the Tea Party.”Meanwhile numbers don’t lie (no matter what the label on the dress, I’m a size two). Sadly, the good news doesn’t come with a prize, but personally I’d settle for a copy of the report sent to all government officials…and while we’re at it, how about free healthcare?IT’S ICONIC, IT’S BACK, AND IT’S KOSHER!There are some edible products that are simply American icons such as Oreos, Tootsie Rolls, M&M’s – and they’ve followed the wave and gone Kosher or offer a Kosher alternative!The newest to join our Kashrut Club is that huge, fluffy, balloon-emblazoned bread that squished in tiny hands of today’s Boomers. Though first sold in 1921 and in 1930 it became the first major brand to be sold pre-sliced, it hit the big dough during the 1950s thanks to the most iconic children’s TV fave: “The Howdy Doody Show!” Every child in America would salivate when Buffalo Bob held up the balloony loaf and told us that “Wonder Bread builds strong bodies 8 ways!”Ah but it’s been a bumpy ride of late. Flower Foods acquired the Wonder Bread brand when Hostess fell into the red, and got a well-deserved reprieve. Where prior, it was certified by the less widely accepted Triangle-K, it will now get kosher certification in the New York area from the Orthodox Union (OU)! The plan is to expand the designation to all locations.How ironic! The brand that led to the popular phrase \"the greatest thing since sliced bread,\" is now 100% Kosher! So much for the Jewish inspired “white bread” jokes! Altogether I’d say it’s a win-win for all!

https://www.aish.com/j/f/Would-Jew-Believe-40.htmlWould Jew Believe #40Apr 26, 2015by Marnie Winston-MacauleyD id J ew k n o w aJ ew in nve et td ho e os sy s a u c e ta ke ou t p a c k et sw e ll ak n o w a n d love? Who nu?THE JEWISH DODGE?I may be the last to notice, but if you’re like me and shluff through commercials (or eat) I’ll share. A few weeks ago, during a Dodge automobile commercial, I thought I saw a flash cut of The Star of David. Pastrami dripped from me. I mentioned it to a few people who thought I went more meshugge. Until I saw it again. And again. As a “mature” Jew, I immediately thought this was the company’s way of hooking the Jewish driver, and maybe delivering a pfffft to the notorious anti-Semite, HenryFord. So I researched. The original Dodge emblem was a circle with the familiar interlocking triangles with the DB (Dodge Brothers) also part of the outer design. The answer is, we don’t know for sure, but the most likely explanation is the Dodge boys (who weren’t Jewish) used the two Greek letter Deltas, and yes, back in the day, it is possible, they were giving their rival Ford a zetz. However, in 1938, when the company exported models, the logo was chopped by a triangle, probably not to give Hitler a heart attack. (Pity!)INQUISITION IS OVER!It took 500 years, but recently, the Portuguese Cabinet approved offering dual citizenship to the descendants of Sephardic Jews whose ancestors were tortured, murdered or forced to convert (many becoming Conversos, practicing Judaism in secret) during and prior to the official Portuguese Inquisition in 1536. This follows on the heels of a similar law proposed in

Spain. \"There is no possibility to amend what was done,\" Portuguese Justice Minister Paula Teixeira da Cruz said. \"I would say it is the attribution of right.\" Today a monument stands in an area of Lisbon that was once the site of a pogrom and reads: \"In memory of the thousands of Jewish victims of the intolerance and religious fanaticism murdered in a massacre that began in this place on April 19, 1506.” As Portugal is a member of the 28 nation European Union, citizenship offers perks which include entry into a huge market. Jews everywhere who can prove ancestry may apply. It’s been a long time in coming, and while the stain can never be removed, modern Portugal is at least attempting to reconcile the brutal injustices of the past.JEWISH PENICILLINA Jewish Lady in a theater when an actor collapses yelled: “Give him some chicken soup. Give him some chicken soup!” The producer yelled back: “Madam, he’s dead. It wouldn’t help,” to which she replied: “It vouldn’t hoit!”Who hasn’t heard this classic? Well, once again our belief in Jewish penicillin was affirmed, when on a February 12 segment of “The Doctors” TV talk show featuring the flu, they made a megillah out of mama’s mucous-fighting elixir. Of course some got dithered about the psychological vs. the physical, yet they acknowledged the soupy flu fighters power which including steam, protein and amino acids, along with vitamins and minerals helps. Plus mama doesn’t charge – usually.\"DON'T CRY FOR ME ARGENTINA ….IT WON'T BE EASY, YOU'LL THINK IT STRANGE”To many Jews, Argentina is a strange place with odd leaders who become musicals … and of course, as a “friendly” country to Nazi criminals (and Iranians). Certainly current Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner is embroiled in strange and perhaps nefarious doings that make Eva Peron seem like Imelda Marcos.First up … there was the story that ran through a legion of media sources that she “adopted” a Jewish child to stop him from turning into a werewolf. Their fact-checkers must’ve been on Manischewitz overload. Not entirely true, friends. Reports were rampant that the Prez was acting on the Latin American tradition that the seventh babe born to an Argentine family can become a godson to avoid his transformation to Remus Lupin. According to the “The Guardian,” while she did “adopt” 21-year-old Iair Tawil last Hanukkah, making the strapping son of a rabbi a first Presidential Jewish godson, nevertheless, the general press was guilty of mixed legends.Argentine historian Daniel Balmaceda stated there is no link with the werewolf tradition and the seventh child becoming a presidential godchild. The whole meshuggas started in 1907, when an Eastern European couple asked the then-president José Figueroa Alcorta to become

Copyright © 1995 - 2020 Aish.com, https://www.aish.com.Aish.com is a non-profit and needs your support. Please donate at: aish.com/donate,or mail a check to: Aish.com c/o The Jerusalem Aish HaTorah Fund PO Box 1259 Lakewood, NJ 08701.godfather to their seventh son, carrying on a custom from Czarist Russia. Yada yada, this soon became an Argentine tradition and law (1974). The werewolf craziness started with Argentina’s “gauchos” or cowboys, adapted by old European legends. In the Argentinian version, the lobizón morphs into part pig and dog Tuesdays and Fridays. For We Jews, the Shabbos event may usher in a whole new group of curious congregants, but the pig part?Nah.On a far more serious and tragically ironic turn of events, the world is still investigating the horrific and mysterious death of Jewish prosecutor Alberto Nisman four days after releasing the results of his findings, implicating President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and other government officials of secretly conspiring with Iran to cover up information into the 1994 bombing of a Buenos Aires Jewish community center, killing 85 people. I’ve no doubt that her “godson” along with millions of Jews, are repeating these lyrics with a bitter twist. “Cry for me, Argentina” … and let justice prevail.WHO NU? THE SOY SAUCE PACKET & THE JEWThe connection between Jews and Chinese food is real, and it’s deep. The connection between baggies of soy sauce packets in Jewish homes is also deep, if sometimes deeply messy. While the packet’s origin is an unsolved mystery, the story of how it became popular is known – and Jewish. That’s the story of Howard Epstein, who, as the founder of the majorsoy-sauce brand Kari-Out, is seen as the macher of packaged American soy sauce. Packaging is in his DNA. His father manufactured those long plastic tubey things for freezer pops.Howard, now 81, made his first foray into the biz with packaging popcorn over a half century ago. The popcorn pooped. One of his dad’s tea bag salesmen suggested he put his gelt into soy packaging which he did in 1964. While it was difficult to break into the Asian market, Epstein entered at just the right time when people were eating at home and looking for carry-out condiments, along with taking flights where food was served. Today, Kari-Out has a 50 percent market share and can even be found in Iceland. So, the next time you get ahankering for ordering in Kosher Chinese, throw a thanks to the Jew who founded your secret soy sauce stash.

https://www.aish.com/j/f/Would-Jew-Believe-41.htmlWould Jew Believe #41Sep 15, 2015by Marnie Winston-MacauleyWords from the Talmud are being sung in Zulu by an African choir?!HOLD THE BACK PAGERecently, in an unprecedented move, the Iranian Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, which accredits foreign journalists granted the Jewish Daily Forward a very short-term (a week) reporting visa. According to the Forward, the deal was two years in the making. As for the whys, as The Forward is one of the most highly read Jewish papers in the United States, the decision was no doubt an effort to influence American Jewish opinion on the Iranian nuclear agreement, by showing “good faith.” Oy Vey! “Short term?” What will the Iranians do -once they get hooked on the Bintel Brief (The Forward’s one time Yiddish advice column)?Breaking news: more Yiddish words added to the “Offi cial Scrabble Players” Dictionary”!ZULU ZINGLIDShould you be in Africa and wish to hear the Talmud tractate Pirke Avot, known as Ethics of the Fathers, you won’t be disappointed. Thanks to South African Rabbi Eliezer Auerbach who is also a composer, and lyricist Thuli Mazibuko, the holy words are now a song in Zulu! In fact, the Rabbi along with African singers in the Wits University Choir have delivered Jewish

theology with the song: “I Langa Lifisha Uyaqugquzela” to the masses and it turned out that Zulu and the melody were a perfect fit. In Avot (2:20) it is written: Hayom katzer v'hamlacha meruba(The day is short, and the work is much.) And now … rev up your vocal cords and sing in “Jewlu!”I langa I langa I langa lifisha. Nomsebenzi benzi moningi. Basebenzi baya vilapa iholo labo lilingi.I langs lifisha nomsebenzi muingi basebenzi baya vilapa iholo labo liliningi umphati uyaqugquzela(For more information about the song click here)“SCHMUTZ” FOR 23 POINTS!Jewish Scrabblophiles got even more of a break in the fifth edition of the “Official Scrabble Players” Dictionary.” “Schmutz,” and “schtum” are now among “acceptable” Yiddish words. These new words, added to the 2005 edition, give Scrabble players even more YP (Yiddish Power). In the earlier edition one could find all transliterated letters in the Hebrew aleph bet (but strangely not “alephbet” itself). It also allows for a variety of spellings for words including “shadchan,” “tallis,” “aliyah,” and “mitzvah.” More, it’s chock full of “sh’s” (with and without the “c”) as in shlep and shlub. One word you won’t find is “jew.” Of course the proper use of the word takes a capital “J” and the lower case … let’s say it’s not complimentary. Terrific for We Jews, but a little less so if you’re stuck with a “j” and “w.”MUSIC TO A JEWISH MAMA’S EARSIt’s finally here. A high tech way to track our children! Not only should mamas breather easier, but the device, from the Israeli company, Trackimo, can be a life-saver. In July, Israelis in the community of Beit Aryeh became part of a pilot program in which 150, mostly teens and young adults, were equipped with a new GPS tracking device to insure they can be quickly located in an emergency. This was done following the kidnapping of the three Israeli teens who were murdered by Hamas terrorists. The search took officials days to discover the tragic outcome. The device connects to a cellular network using a SIM card to immediately inform emergency services, providing the location of potential victims, who only have to press a button to send out the SOS. This amazing device is essential during emergencies. Trackimo made its official North American debut during the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.The company already has distribution deals in Latin America, Europe and Israel. The new distribution partnership in North America will offer its product to the mass market.

Copyright © 1995 - 2020 Aish.com, https://www.aish.com.Aish.com is a non-profit and needs your support. Please donate at: aish.com/donate,or mail a check to: Aish.com c/o The Jerusalem Aish HaTorah Fund PO Box 1259 Lakewood, NJ 08701.“We are very excited to be able to provide Trackimo’s cutting-edge technology at an entirely new price point that virtually sets a new mass market segment for tracking devices,” said Shai Bar-Lavi, CEO and Chairman of Trackimo, Inc. Warning: For those in say, New York or Los Angeles, an “emergency” doesn’t include “I’m still shopping, DWBH!”A JEWISH RIPPLE?Remember when a cup of coffee was a nickel and came in only caffeine or not? Those days –are long gone, as java has become the new “caviar” in coffee places throughout the world.Just as we thought of mortgaging our home for a cup, yet another ripple is upon us that may have us going into our IRA. It’s called, “The Ripple Maker” a product of SteamCC, whose CEO is Israeli, Yossi Meshulam. Now, instead of reading your paper or Smartphone while “javaning,” you can read the java! The Ripple Maker is a foam printer so your latte can now “say”: “Ai! Ai! Ai! Do I love you!” or even: “You know you’re wrong! Admit it” – in any language. (OK, I exaggerate.) One can choose a design from among the hundreds available on a touchscreen. It’s then printed via tiny openings that spray the coffee extract through a nozzle, and voila! The coffee “becomes” you through latte art. The branding and use in advertising is huge. In fact, the company recently announced an agreement with Lufthansa.The Ripple Maker will be used in the German airlines’ first-class and business lounges. Of course, depending upon the message, Meshulam still has to invent a Ripple Repellent should the recipient decide to fling the foam onto the messenger.

https://www.aish.com/j/f/Would-Jew-Believe-High-Holiday-Edition.htmlWould Jew Believe: High Holiday EditionSep 5, 2015by Marnie Winston-MacauleySome fascinating facts about Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.The high holidays are upon us. We Jews worldwide gather together to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year and God’s creation of the world and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Together, they comprise some of the most sacred events in the Jewish calendar. The following are some fascinating facts and customs related to the awesome period.Kreplach believe it or not, is a metaphor, meaning that God’s strict justice will be tempered on side of mercy.UNITED NATIONS RECOGNITION OF YOM KIPPUR?In May of 2014 a strong movement was afoot asking the U.N. to recognize Yom Kippur as an official U.N. holiday. While the relationships between Israel and the U.N. has at times been dicey, nevertheless among the 10 official holidays, Christmas and Good Friday and the Muslim holidays Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha are recognized and Yom Kippur was not. Indeed, events were often scheduled during the High Holy Days, which many feel was a slap in the face to those who celebrate our highest of holidays. Thirty-two countries wrote on behalf of the proposal to the General Assembly, saying, the U.N. \"recognizes the major festivals of many of the world's main religions, yet Judaism is not represented” and \"We believe that the

United Nations calendar should reflect the organization's founding principles of coexistence, justice and mutual respect. We urge the United Nations to correct this inequity and recognize the holiest day of the Jewish faith.\"What happened? You tell me: “General Assembly January 2015: Sixty-ninth session (A/res/69/250), Article 5: [The United Nations] acknowledges that Yom Kippur is a significant local holiday which is observed in the host city of the Headquarters of the United Nations, invites United Nations bodies at Headquarters and other duty stations where observed to avoid holding meetings on Yom Kippur, and in this regard encourages this arrangement be taken into account when drafting future calendars of conferences and meetings.” Did you know that Yom Kippur was “Local to Manhattan” and members are “invited” not to meet?Wow. In addition to the many languages spoken at the U.N. we also have “government ese” –-an odd, razor sharp lingo designed to make things unintelligible. After giving up, I finally called and spoke to a U.N. Librarian from Ethiopia. I asked her simply: “Do you work on Yom Kippur?” Her answer? “Yes.”KREPLACH: MEATY & MEANINGFULKreplach, an Ashkenazi Yom Kippur Eve tradition, is a meat-filled dough, often used in soups, yet it has a deeper significance. The filling symbolizes justice, while the dough connotes compassion. Kreplach then is a metaphor, meaning that God’s strict justice will be tempered on side of mercy.TALK ABOUT MAZELThe day before Rosh Hashanah, in 1280, an early mystic, Abraham Abulafia, was intent on converting Pope Nicholas III to Judaism, so the Pope could partake in the celebration. It seems the Pope wasn’t exactly thrilled when he learned of Abulafia’s plan, and sentenced him to be burned at the stake. But ... before they lit the match, the Pope suddenly died. As for Abulafia, he didn’t win … but he lived.COME BLOW YOUR HORN1. Guinness World Records: Shofars have long inspired competition, given its sound and importance. In fact, the shofar sounds an amazing 100 times on Rosh Hashanah. On September 21, 2014, a group shofar blast, organized by the Partnership of Jewish Learning and Life in Whippany, N.J gathered 1,022 people who blew the tekiyah, sh'varim, and teruah sounds on their own shofar and made history by being the largest shofar ensemble–.2- Horns by the One Ginormous Mammal: The Shofar is made from different animal horns, most often the ram, sheep, or goat. The Yemenite shofar, that accompanied these Jews from Africa, dwarfs the others with its spiraling and size given the mammal it comes from: The African Kudo. Found in Eastern and southern Africa, it tips the scale at 600 pounds!

Copyright © 1995 - 2020 Aish.com, https://www.aish.com.Aish.com is a non-profit and needs your support. Please donate at: aish.com/donate,or mail a check to: Aish.com c/o The Jerusalem Aish HaTorah Fund PO Box 1259 Lakewood, NJ 08701.3. The Liberty Bell Connection and Yom Kippur: The shofar appears a whopping 69 times in the Torah, but WouldJew believe it is also found on the historic Liberty Bell in Philadelphia Pennsylvania? America’s founding fathers inscribed the Biblical phrase ““Proclaim liberty throughout all the Land unto all the inhabitants thereof” (Leviticus 25) on the historic Liberty Bell in Philadelphia. Writes Rabbi Jack Abramowitz of the OU, “The shofar is normally blown on Rosh Hashana. In the Jubilee year the fiftieth year, following seven Sabbatical cycles it ––was also blown on Yom Kippur. The purpose of this shofar blast was to “proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.”The portion from Leviticus was cast on the Liberty Bell in 1753.“You shall proclaim with shofar blasts, in the seventh month, on the tenth of the month; on the Day of Atonement, you shall sound the shofar throughout your land. And you shall sanctify the fiftieth year, and proclaim freedom throughout the land for all who live on it. It shall be a Jubilee for you, and you shall return, each man to his property, and you shall return, each man to his family.”(with thanks to Chaviva Gordon-Bennett at About.com)Shana Tovah and shalom with love to you and yours. Marnie

https://www.aish.com/j/f/Would-Jew-Believe-Passover-Edition-2014.htmlWould Jew Believe: Passover Edition, 2014Apr 5, 2014by Marnie Winston-MacauleyOdd and outrageous Passover tidbits…like Cher’s Seder with Gene Simmons?!CHER DOES SEDERIn Fred A. Bernstein’s “The Jewish Mothers’ Hall of Fame,” Florence, a Holocaustsurvivor and mother of rock star, Gene Simmons, shared her Yiddishkeit with Gene’s pop-star pals. One year Gene brought Cher and her family to his mom’s home for a Passover Seder.Mom was thrilled. “I said, ‘Gene, you’re bringing Cher? She’s such a fancy, schmancy lady.’ And Gene said, ‘No, she’s just an ordinary, nice person.’ And Gene was right.” All wore yarmulkes for the services, led by Gene. Gene’s chauffeur also attended. “I always invite him in,” said Florence. “What’s another plate?”Joan Rivers: “Seders in L.A. are so showbiz…”YOU BET!Outside New York City, the Kosher for Passover certification on Fox’s U Bet’s syrup (which -includes a recipe for the New York Egg Cream on its back label) has helped to ensure that the drink lives on, even if only as a tasty chaser for matzo. Personally, I love the stuff.CELEB PASSOVER TWEETS:The Forward kept a record of the most interesting Pesach tweets. I now borrow a few:Joan Rivers: Heading to Melissa’s for Passover. Seders in L.A. are so showbiz – until Elijah arrives, we’ve hired a seat filler from the Oscars.

Ari Shapiro: ‘tis the season to throw out the half jar of horseradish that’s been in my fridge since last Passover & buy a new one. Fa la…Steven Van Zandt: Yes there was a Seder in one of the backstage rooms last night. Russo’s line was Wrecking Matzo Ball!Andy Borowitz: “Chocolate bunnies? Too obvious. Let’s go with bitter herbs and saltwater.” –The man who invented PassoverDan Levy: Passover is a great holiday if you don’t hate your parents and love being constipated.THE GREAT SINKER/FLOATER DEBATEYou love light, I love heavy. Is there a greater debate than sinkers vs. floaters? The battle of the matzo balls has been going on forever. There are the traditionalists who use shmaltz vs. the revisionists, healthy people who like fluff. (OK I’m prejudiced.)Joan Nathan prefers her matzo balls \"a little bit al dente.” (Wha? Are we talking spaghetti?) Food writer and restaurant critic Mimi Sheraton favors a slightly solid center, surrounded by a fluffier exterior: \"I like to feel the matzo balls against the spoon, but I hate when they are hard and gummy.\" Her secret? Enough fat to produce a silken texture but not so much that the balls are greasy.Jack Lebewohl, owner of Manhattan's Second Avenue Deli, is diplomatic: \"You prefer what you're used to,\" he asserts. Yet, he serves his trademark enormous, fluffy, golden matzo balls since his brother Abe opened it in 1954, using their mother's recipes. But even Jack has his strong opinions: He insists that schmaltz is the only appropriate fat, joking that matzo balls made with butter or oil are \"assimilated.\"INTERESTING MATZO FACTS:In 1888, a Lithuanian immigrant named Dov Behr opened the first matzo-making factory in Cincinnati, Ohio. Behr adopted the name Manischewitz, named his factory the B. Manischewitz Company and developed an entirely automated method of matzo production. In advertisements, Manischewitz boasted that \"no human hand touches these matzos!\" By 1920, he was the world's largest matzo producer -- at 1.25 million rectangular, sheet like matzos a day -- but he always adhered to kosher rules. As Manischewitz’s popularity grew, so did the general perception of matzo. Machine-made matzo was uniform in size, shape, taste and texture. Manischewitz endured some controversy for his use of machines, but after he spent 13 years studying the Talmud in Jerusalem, even the most hardened traditionalists eventually considered him an acceptable authority on matzo.MORE INTERESTING MATZO FACTS:

Copyright © 1995 - 2020 Aish.com, https://www.aish.com.Aish.com is a non-profit and needs your support. Please donate at: aish.com/donate,or mail a check to: Aish.com c/o The Jerusalem Aish HaTorah Fund PO Box 1259 Lakewood, NJ 08701.1. A matzo bakery was invited to the 1938 New York World's Fair, but for unknown reasons never appeared.2. In 1973, Apollo 17 astronaut Gene Cernan shouted, \"Man, oh, Manischewitz,\" the matzo company's slogan, in the middle of his moonwalk.3. In 2008, competitive-eating champion Joey Chestnut ate 78 matzo balls in eight minutes for a $1,500 prize.Have a healthy and kosher Passover! Love, Marnie

https://www.aish.com/j/f/Would_Jew_Believe_The_Passover_Edition.htmlWould Jew Believe: The Passover EditionMar 31, 2012by Marnie Winston-MacauleyPeople used to make artistic designs using matzah perforations…PASSOVER & CALENDAR: THE FOUR JEWISH NEW YEARSComparing our Hebrew Calendar with the secular calendar for the uninitiated, can be a little like comparing long division and quantum physics. As comedian Freddie Roman has quipped, “You always hear people say ‘Is Pesach early this year or late?’ Jewish holidays are never ‘on time.’” In Judaism there are four new years (Mishnah in Rosh Hashanah 1:1.) The first new year is the 1st of Nisan, and the first month of the Hebrew calendar though years are counted from the 1st of Tishrei, the seventh month. The 1st of Nisan was considered the new year for counting the years of the reigns of kings in ancient Israel. It’s also the new year for the ordering the Jewish holidays. The month of Nisan is closely tied with Passover which always begins on the 15 day of Nisan and is seen as the anniversary of the founding of the Jewish th people when they escaped from Egypt during the Passover story.“You always hear people say ‘Is Pesach early this year or late?’ Jewish holidays are never on time.”“Ever since I was a little kid, I remember Dad having an open house for Passover. Actors, fellow comics, singers, you name it, they were all there for the Seders. Dad did about 15 different versions. One thing vividly stands out in my mind. I went to open the door to let Elijah in and standing there was –Gregory Peck. He asked if he was too late for theservices and I said, ‘No, go right in, Dad’s expecting you.’” – as told to the author by Sandy Hackett, son of the late Buddy Hackett.FIGURE FOURThe number four seems to dominate at the Passover Seder.*There are four cups of wine, each one representing a verb recalling God’s miracles re: freeing the Jews from Egypt.

*The Haggadah speaks of four children, the wise, the wicked, the simple, and the one who does not know how to ask.*The Haggadah also poses the legendary four questions asked by the youngest child at the Seder table.MATZAH MENTIONABLESMatzah, integral to Passover, commemorating the unleavened bread the Jews in their haste, ate as they fled Egypt, has some fascinating twists.*The perforations retard fermentation and prevent dough from rising. In early times, artistic designs were often perforated, a practice later banned as the extra time increased the possibility of fermentation.*By law, kneading to baking must be eighteen minutes maximum, to avoid fermentation.*Originally matzah was round. The square matzoh-making machine was invented in England in 1875. But round hand made matzah has made a resurgence amongst some communities.*Matzah on Passover must be made from one of five grains: wheat, barley, spelt, oats, or rye.PIONEER PESACHWhether in war, or in western territory, some observances became difficult to exercise in the wilderness for Jews. Yet they were enormously resourceful to remain kosher. Families would grow their own vegetables or raise cows and other livestock. Still, holidays such as Passover still proved a problem. The few Jews supported each other and came together to celebrate.Pesach during the Civil War [Excerpted]“In 1861 I became attached to the 23rd Regiment destined for West Virginia. Twenty of my coreligionists were united in a request to keep the holy days. Our next business was to buy matzos. The morning of Erev Pesach, a train arrived HaG-Dahs. While a party built a log hut for services, others foraged cider, a lamb, chickens, eggs, and a weed [in lieu of bitter herbs]. For charoses we used a brick. In the wild woods, we offered G-D our prayers and sacrifice, since a number of my comrades have fallen. I have myself received wounds, but no occasion gives me more pleasure than Passover of 1862.”Pesach on the Prairie [excerpted]“Prairie Dogs Weren't Kosher\" (Linda Mack Seldoff, 1977) describes the earnestness with which Jewish pioneers observed Passover through the recollection of a young Jewish boy in Arizona. [Excerpted]. “Before the holiday, his mother, my sister, and he would get the house

Copyright © 1995 - 2020 Aish.com, https://www.aish.com.Aish.com is a non-profit and needs your support. Please donate at: aish.com/donate,or mail a check to: Aish.com c/o The Jerusalem Aish HaTorah Fund PO Box 1259 Lakewood, NJ 08701.ready, which included whitewashing the walls and scouring the floors. His mother made the utensils kosher for Passover with scalding hot water. The furniture was carried down to the [slough] and scrubbed and allowed to dry.”In 1959, Seymour Siegel quoted from the journal of a young Jewish girl in Mesa.“When we got ready for Passover, we even scrubbed the door knobs. We had a library with books in it. For Passover, my mother made me go through every one of those books, shake them out, God forbid someone would be reading a book a crumb would fall out.”Pesach in the Old West [excerpted]In his “Keeping Passover,” Ira Steingroot describes Pesach in Nogales, Arizona. “Mother seldom went to the temple as it was too far away (Nogales to Tucson in those days took about 2 to 2 ½ hours). All holidays were celebrated at home, where the baked goods were made. Families went to Sonora, Mexico to buy the fish for the gefilte fish for Passover. The Matzohs were bought in Tucson. Jewish families would come together and celebrate the sacred observance in one house.”Just as these communities of old celebrated Passover so too we celebrate it again this year. A happy, healthy Pesach to all our wonderful readers!

https://www.aish.com/j/fs/48923512.htmlWouldJew Believe #3Mar 29, 2008by Marnie Winston-MacauleyOutrageous, odd, fascinating Jewish facts and figures.AND IS THE MOON CREAM CHEESE?The King of Jewish food, the bagel, has become universal. But who knew how universal? While many scientists believe that the universe is expanding spherically, some are starting to wonder if the universe is bagel-shaped, according to Tony Rothman, professor at Illinois Wesleyan University, which he discusses in detail in his book, Doubt and Certainty. Oy. If it becomes a \"certainty,\" the Talmudic debate over whether the universe is poppy seed or onion alone, will take another 3,000 years!TEFILLIN WINS WORLD SERIES?Can a brilliant Jewish athlete and a pair of tefillin affect the World Series? Just ask Rabbi Moshe Feller, director of the Upper Midwest Merkos-Lubavitch House. What Jew didn't kvell when, Sandy Koufax, the Dodger's ace pitcher, refused to play on Yom Kippur during the 1965 World Series. (The Dodgers lost that opening game to the Minnesota Twins.) Ah ... but there's more. Rabbi Feller, an avid baseball fan, met Koufax at his hotel, saying: \"... Because of you, more Jews knew about when Yom Kippur was going to be this year than they do with a calendar. ...\" And, he presented Koufax with a set of tefillin. The Dodgers won the series, and Koufax became the Most Valuable Player. Since then, Rabbi Feller started the first \"tefillin mission,\" putting them on baseballers like Mike Epstein and Ken Holtzman. So for you future athletes: you better eat your Wheaties...and put on your tefillin.For you future athletes: you better eat your Wheaties...and put on your tefillin.HITLER'S JEWISH PSYCHICDuring the 1930s, Germans including Hitler -- were into the occult. Erik Jan Hanussen, the –European Houdini, was a Jew, a fact Hitler didn't know when he made Hanussen his psychic advisor. In 1933, in despair over his political future, Hitler recalled Hanussen's prophecy that he would become Fuhrer within a year and the two had over a dozen meetings. More disturbingly, Hanussen loaned large sums to Nazi leaders. After the burning of the Reichstag

in February, 1933, German communists were blamed, but speculation \"leaked\" of Hanussen's involvement. Top Nazis hated the Jew who held their IOU's, and knew ugly secrets about them and Hitler. On March 1933, Hanussen was executed. His heinous role in Hitler's ascent –has been largely unknown to this day.HOLOCAUST AND HIP HOPCan it be? It can, and is. Grammy award-winning Israeli violinist Miri Ben-Ari and Israeli rapper Kobi \"Subliminal\" Shimoni, co-produced a hip-hop music video that expresses their feelings about the Holocaust, titled \"God Almighty When Will It End?\" in English, and \"Adon Olam Ad Matai?\" in Hebrew. Oy? True, some rebbes and cantors feel \"hipping\" and \"hopping\" is a long way from the hora. But many others feel this \"unorthodox\" music by young Israelis, part of the Gedenk (Remember) Movement, are inspiring and informing youth about anti-Semitism and the Holocaust. Who knows? Maybe Madness is one method to teach ... madness.LOIN OF GIRAFFE, KOSHER?You bet. The long-necked animal chews its cud and has cloven hooves. So why aren't we buying happy meals from Giraffe King? Well for some reason, Giraffe burgers just never really caught on in Ancient Israel, which means we don't have a continuous tradition for eating giraffe, and you know how we Jews feel about tradition (see: Tevye). But even if Bubbies around the world somehow banded together to bring giraffe back, to produce a deli sandwich would cost over $100 a pound! Now that can't be kosher!$100 a pound! Now that can't be kosher!YIDDISHE \"STRIPS\"As kids, American Joomers (Jewish Boomers) chuckled over the adventures of goyishe comic characters such as Little Lulu and Dagwood. Even ifmany of comic strip writers were Jewish, actual Jewish comics were underground or not specifically Jewish. Things have changed. In 1986, Art Spiegelman's adult comic-book history of the Holocaust, \"Maus\" was not only a best-seller but won a Pulitzer Prize. And, our kinder can now identify and root for comic Jewish superheroes, such as Sabra, Seraph, Rambam, and Ragman.But for those of us who missed the boat on those new Jewish comics, we can take solace in the fact that many of the superheroes of yesteryear had Jewish roots. For example, if Superman were created today, his creators, tribesmen Joe Schuster and Jerry Siegel, might have given a Hebrew name on his home planet of Krypton Kal-El ben Jor-El!–Interestingly, some goyim have been swept up by the Jewish-inspired toon craze. Witness: Kal-El Coppola Cage, born in 2005 to Nicolas Cage (Coppola) and wife, Kim who saddled their son with Superman's Kryptonian name. True, Cage had been up for the lead in a Superman

Copyright © 1995 - 2020 Aish.com, https://www.aish.com.Aish.com is a non-profit and needs your support. Please donate at: aish.com/donate,or mail a check to: Aish.com c/o The Jerusalem Aish HaTorah Fund PO Box 1259 Lakewood, NJ 08701.flick. But to paraphrase another comic character, \"Holy Chutzpah, Batman!\"TWO IS BETTER THAN ONE?Everyone knows that Chanukah occurs but once a year, right? Wrong. Over a thousand years from now, in the year 3031 of the Gregorian calendar, there will be no Chanukah! Ah, but the following year, 3032, there will be two -- one in January, and the other in December. That's, count 'em 16 gifts per! (And don't forget the latkes.) Tip: Leave a time capsule to be opened in 3000, with instructions to your loved ones to start saving their shekels and potatoes.–To purchase Marnie's book Yiddishe Mammas just in time for Mother's Day click here (Yiddishe Mammas).

https://www.aish.com/j/fs/48924437.htmlWouldJew Believe #4May 11, 2008by Marnie Winston-MacauleyOutrageous, odd, fascinating Jewish facts and figures.MAMA-LIEBER!Election \"season\" is upon us. So, what have some Jewish mamas done to help? The Yiddishe mama queen, was Senator Joseph Lieberman's late mother, Marcia \"Baba\" Lieberman. When her son was running for Vice President, she played matchmaker for machers and sent then some nosh. Following her son's acceptance speech for his party's nomination in 2000, \"Baba\" invited Senator Al Gore over for a bissel cheesecake and coffee. She also sent reporters care packages that included Manischewitz bagel chips, postcards (to write to their mamas) with the following handwritten note: \"Please be kind to my son! Enjoy. Marcia Lieberman (Joe's mom!).\" When reporter Charlie Gibson asked her how the press responded to this \"bribery,\" she responded, \"They love it.\" See -- Jewish guilt is bi-partisan.–JEWESS BEATS WHITMAN AND TWAIN\"Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddl'd masses yearning to breathe free…\" Many Jews take pride in the fact that this great quote, inscribed on the Statue of Liberty, was part of the poem, \"The New Colossus\" by Jewess and fervent Zionist, Emma Lazarus. What many don't know is that poor Lady Liberty, donated by France, laid around in pieces for several years awaiting funds to build the base and assemble \"her.\" In 1883, an auction was held, and though Walt Whitman and Mark Twain contributed manuscripts, the highest bid, $1,500, was received for \"The New Colossus\" written by the young Lazarus. It was not until 1888 that Lady Liberty assumed her place in the New York harbor. Sadly, Lazarus died a year earlier at age thirty-eight38. But her words were inscribed on a tablet inside the Statue in 1903. Thankfully, instead of arriving to see a tsebrokhen arm here, a leg who-knows-where, immigrants were greeted with the mighty \"stand-up\" lady and words of hope and inspiration.HE'S OUT THEREWhether loathe or love him, Sacha Baron Cohen, who hit the big screen as Borat is, of course, Jewish, with an Orthodox upbringing, participation in Habonim and a year on kibbutz to his credit. All this, despite his wildly \"anti-Semitic\" antics that he believes takes on anti-Semitism,

in his humor and his 2006 film, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. Despite some controversy over the comic who possesses a hint of Groucho and a bissel Andy Kaufman, in 2006, The Forward named Baron Cohen one of its Forward 50, who are \"making a difference in the way American Jews, for better or worse, view the world and themselves.\" His humor, they noted, perhaps opens a dialogue on prejudice .A JEWISH SANFORD?Let's face it. Until recent history, career choices for Jews were limited, generally to peddling, money lending, the rag trade, and jun. When law schools and medical schools had \"Jew –quotas\" it left some of our landsmen rummaging through the garbage to make ends meet –literally. Many of the wealthiest Jewish families today began by collecting junk and scrap metal and making a mint. Butk. T the biggest hauler, hands down, had to be a Jewish merchant from Emessa. According to chronicler Paulus Diaconis, after one of the seven wonders of the world, the Colossus of Rhodes fell, a Jewish merchant, in around 650 C.E., loaded it as junk on 900 camels, taking the Gold Star for Best Shlepping of Any Millennia. Is this the emmess – the truthemmes? There are other legends, but many point to the man from Emessa somewhere in the \"messa.\"ON ACCOUNT OF A CARTJews have always loved shopping — almost as much as talking almost as much as logic. –Which brings us to Sylvan Goldman. Who, you may ask, is Sylvan Goldman? Only the man credited with inventing the single most important invention in retail. The Humpty Dumpty store owner in Oklahoma City noticed his customers shlepping around goods in small bags, baskets or their hands. Shlepping, while good for checking things out, is not good for checking out large cargos of merchandise. So the ingenious Goldman converted folding chairs, mounted them on wheels and introduced the first viable — shopping cart, in 1937! Ah, but at first, he miscalculated. It seems the male of the day didn't mind the shlep, while the women had \"enough already\" pushing baby carriages. So, the clever Goldman hired fake shoppers with carts to get the trend going. Shopping (and spending) went from handfuls ––to cartfuls (to gold cards)! Goldman's cart was put on display at the Smithsonian.AMERICA GOES KOSHERThe \"Kosherization\" of America started in the 1960s when several Jewish companies began advertisingbegan advertising to a mass audience. Hebrew National hot dogs introduced their famous \"We answer to a higher authority\" campaign, designed to reach all Americans by symbolizing superior quality. But fewer ads were more memorable than Levy's rye bread!Their slogan, \"You don't have to be Jewish to like Levy's\" also featured a rye-munching Indian chief and, among others, an Irish cop. Add a Soldier, a Construction Worker, a Cowboy, and a Biker, and voila! A new song, \"YMHA\" could be their jingle!

Copyright © 1995 - 2020 Aish.com, https://www.aish.com.Aish.com is a non-profit and needs your support. Please donate at: aish.com/donate,or mail a check to: Aish.com c/o The Jerusalem Aish HaTorah Fund PO Box 1259 Lakewood, NJ 08701.\"Dear God ...\"Hundreds of people a year write prayers and difficulties and mail them to, you guessed it -––- God. The address? \"God, Jerusalem, Israel.\" So where does the mail go? Does God get them? Let us hope. But it's a trip. First they go to the Israeli Post Office's Dead Letters Department, then each letter, collected in a velvet bag, is posted into a crack in the Western Wall. Perhaps more importantly, does God answer all the letters? Of course he does but if –people want faster service, it wouldn't hurt to include a self addressed stamped envelope.Marnie's \"A Little Joy, A Little Oy\" 2008 Calendar won a gold award for Best Subject from the Calendar Marketing Association! You can pre-order her 2009, \"A Little Joy, a Little Oy\" calendar on Amazon now, along with her book \"Yiddishe Mamas: The Truth About the Jewish Mother\" in time for Mother's Day.

https://www.aish.com/j/fs/48930802.htmlWouldJew Believe #5Jun 28, 2008by Marnie Winston-MacauleyOutrageous, odd and interesting facts, including Sidney Franklin the first A m eri c a n b u ll r erid--aJ ew .MY SON THE GENIUS!This phrase was probably on the lips of Hyman and Rebecca when in 1884, their seven-year- old, Joshua Lionel Cowen (born Cohen) attached a small steam engine to a wooden locomotive and blew up the wallpaper. As a teen, this genius invented an electric doorbell—-- then dropped the idea when his teacher at Peter Cooper Institute called it impractical. Worse, he lost a fortune selling rights to his electric flowerpot. True, it wasn't a hit, until the buyer detached the tubes and marketed ... the Eveready Flashlight. A little wiser, Joshua, with a friend, launched the Lionel Manufacturing Co. in 1900. After attempting to sell portable electric fans, he again turned to his boyhood fascination and attached the fan's motor to a miniature wooden railroad car. This time it didn't explode. It moved. And Lionel trains was born. As inventor of the quintessential Christmas gift, Joshua Lionel Cowen joins the list of brilliant and talented Jews (such as Irvin Berlin) who could rightly say, \"Ho Ho Ho\" during the Christmas season!HE THREW THE BULLThere are many Jews who top lists of Famous Firsts, from Lipman Pike, the first pro baseball player, to Sylvan Goldman, papa of the shopping cart (which was in this column last month). But here's one that threw me. The first American to successfully \"throw the bull\" was a Jew.His name: Sidney Franklin. His game: Bullfighting. (His mental status? Meshugge.) Born in Brooklyn, New York on July 11, 1903, he dropped out of Columbia University yet, went to Mexico, and rose from novillero (apprentice) to matador de toros in 1932. He fought bulls in Spain and Latin America, and counted Ernest Hemingway among his legion of fans. Oy, what a waste. If Sid had also been a shochet, he could've fed half of the world's Sephardim!

If Sid had also been a shochet, he could've fed half of the world's Sephardim!NINE DEGREES OF SEPARATIONQueen Padme Naberrie Amidala in those Star Wars prequels, is sabra Natalie Portman when not in sci fi Geekland. The actress, \"discovered\" while buying pizza on Long Island (what else?), like many aYiddishe meydl is small in stature, and big on brains. The Hollywood Superstar is also a Harvard grad (what else?). During her time in the \"Yahd,\" fans (OK stalkers) began emailing every undergrad named \"Natalie\" in the Harvard cyberspace. Well, needless to say, the group (of nine) \"Natalie-not-Portmans\" were so amused, they formed the so-called \"Harvard Natalies\" to exchange all those juicy tomes, never mind marriage proposals! Which only proves that if you look hard enough, some good can come from any situation. Even a bissel \"identity theft.\" Oy.PLAY IT, MURRAY!Of all the sound stages, in all the studios, in all the world, a school teacher walks into Warner Bros. and makes film history! In 1931, a university senior played \"As Time Goes By\" (from –Broadway's Everybody's Welcome) so often his pals grew sick of it. The song lingered in Murray Burnett's memory. In 1938, Burnett, a Jew, traveled to Vienna to rescue relatives and learned of escape routes through Casablanca and a cafe, La Belle Aurore, packed with refugees, along with a Black piano player. In 1940, the New York City teacher wrote a play with friend, Joan Allison, called Everybody Comes to Rick's. It was purchased by Warner Bros. for $20,000, transformed into Casablanca, released in 1943. So here's looking at you, Murray!THE KOMISH SKIESMy friend and colleague in \"letters,\" Tim Boxer, had the pleasure of flying the Israeli airline, ISRAIR. In 2006, the airline started regularly scheduled service to Kennedy. But, as Tim learned, the \"service\" is anything but \"regular.\" Their logo (on the slippers they slip you), is \"Fun is in the air.\" And the quips are flinging and flying from \"cast\" and crew, dressed in polos and jeans. A query? The captain announced, \"We'll be happy to answer all your questions about Israir. Questions about any other airline ... we don't care.\" Taxiing in, the \"Catskill\" captain reminded, \"Don't forget to take all your personal belongings, including spouses and children. Anything left behind will be distributed among the flight attendants.\" And his parting shot? \"Last passenger has to clean the plane.\" But, it's not all fun and games. In late 2006, the airline introduced the first Sky-Torah scroll on its aircraft, to be used for prayer in flight. The five books of Moses are to be used on board for Monday and Thursday prayers when a part of the Torah is traditionally read during worship. Altogether, in my opinion, an excellent idea, especially when tummlers are flying the komish skies!

Copyright © 1995 - 2020 Aish.com, https://www.aish.com.Aish.com is a non-profit and needs your support. Please donate at: aish.com/donate,or mail a check to: Aish.com c/o The Jerusalem Aish HaTorah Fund PO Box 1259 Lakewood, NJ 08701.MATZAH CENSUS AND SENSIBILITYForget census takers, forms, and huge government departments! If you want to count Jews, look to the matzah! That's what was done in 19th century New York City. The Jewish population was estimated by the production of matzah! Our numbers were a minimum 40,000, using an average of five pounds a person. Of course, should some chazzers eat 10 pounds, the system is fapitzed ... oh, and the proper adjustments have to be made for egg instead of plain salted ... and…On second thought, better to use matzah balls. But then, are they sinkers or floaters, or ... never mind.IS THERE A WRITER IN THE HOUSE?This one, I got courtesy of Jay Leno and am \"sharing\" with my wonderful readers. On a particular night after Yom Kippur, Jay Leno encountered dead silence after delivering his monologue on The Tonight Show. Thinking fast, he quipped in an aside, \"It's tough to get good jokes written during a Jewish holiday.\" So much for those who say there's no such thing as \"Jewish humor!\" (And no, I'm not telling which Jewish comics told me that.)Marnie Winston-Macauley is the author of Yiddishe Mamas: The Truth About the Jewish Mother\" and the award- winning \"A Little Joy, A Little Oy\" 2008 calendar. Her 2009 calendar can be pre-ordered on Amazon.

https://www.aish.com/j/fs/48933007.htmlWouldJew Believe #6Aug 16, 2008by Marnie Winston-MacauleyO u tr eoa gu s , odda n d fa s c in a t in gJ ew i s h fa ct s in clud in g… cr er oa tsn t h em n oonamed after rabbis.AND SPEAKING OF FISH ...Lox, whitefish, and gefilte aren't the only major Yiddish fish. The animated hit, \"Finding Nemo,\" is swimming in Jewish waters! Jewish actor, Brad Garrett, is the voice of Bloat (who else?), while Albert Brooks plays the nervous (what else?) Marlin, who overcomes his fears (of course) to find his captured son Nemo. The title role belonged to then nine-year-old Alexander Gould. The Jewish California native is a second generation show biz vet as his mom was a child actress. Both Alexander and his two sisters have followed suit. The young man told the Philadelphia Jewish Exponent that he \"guessed Nemo was Jewish.\"Oh ... and he doesn't eat fish! Can you blame him?JEWS OUT OF THIS WORLD! ...Rabbis, rabbis, everywhere -- yes even on the moon. Or at least there are Jewish craters on the moon named for rabbis. One, \"Rabbi Levi,\" was no doubt dubbed so to honor the 14th century Rabbi Levi ben Gershom known for his important contributions in mathematics, astronomy, and navigation. But crater-Levi is not a lone Moon Jew! Another crater was also named for a Jewish sage, 12th century Rabbi Abraham Ibn Ezra. The Spanish scholar was known for his astrological explanations for Scriptural passages. Now, all we need do is figure out how to fix a mezuzah to the entrance of these craters. Hmmm. Better call my friend Hadassah who works at NASA.A JEW, WHO NU? ...Who among us hasn't known, heard of, or read about someone raised gentile, later learning they were actually \"one of the tribe\"? Most famous, perhaps, is former Secretary of State Madeline Albright who was said to have learned she was Jewish in 1997. As a writer, I've researched many such \"revelations\" -- from Conversos who were often told the truth on their

Now, all we need do is figure out how to fix a mezuzah to the entrance of these craters. Better call my friend Hadassah who works at NASAbubbes' deathbed, to an entire village with oddly unquestioned Jewish traditions (Venhaver, Portugal). So imagine my surprise when John Stossel, anchor of ABC's \"20/20,\" specials, and author of books exposing myths and lies, told me a life story which just may have contributed to his passion for the truth. Stossel didn't know he was Jewish until he was a teen! Raised in the Congregational Church, hesaid, \"One day I made a remark about a Jewish boy picking his nose and my brother said –‘what the heck do you thing you are?'\" Although his mother claimed she told him of their heritage, he doesn't recall hearing this information. He embraced Judaism at about age 30. His wife is Jewish, and his brother-in-law is a Jewish activist. The Stossel family even observes the Sabbath! Whew! Another \"myth\" uncovered. Hey John, got a job for me over at 20/20?John??RELATIVITY THEORIES? ...Most of us know (and tell our children) that Albert Einstein was no prize in school and was backward in speech and in math. Naturally, Albert, born in Ulm Donnau, Germany in 1879, worried his parents, Hermann and Pauline. The Einstein family pow-wowed and pondered the reason. And so, the interest in Albert's head began first to explain his deficiencies, then –later, to explain his genius. Little Al's grandmother thought her grandson's head was much too fat, while Mama Pauline, worried that her child's head was lopsided. \"Alright, OK, so he'll take violin lessons,\" must have run through her head when she insisted her child, the nebekhl, study the instrument. When Einstein died, his brain was removed without permission and in contravention of Jewish law by Dr. Thomas Harvey in 1955. Einstein, one of the greatest minds of the 20th century and creator of the Theory of Relativity, was found to have a brain that looked much like any other -- gray, crinkly, and, if anything, a trifle smaller than average.IS THIS A JOB FOR A JEWISH GIRL? ...With the Olympics in full swing, I'm reminded of a conversation I had with Melanie Strug, mother of gold medalist, Kerri Strug. In 1996, the tiny 17-year-old Jewish athlete became a hero. At the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, the only way the United States' Women's Gymnastics team could win their first-ever gold medal, depended upon Kerri's final vault. In her first vault, she fell, tearing ligaments, and spraining her left ankle. Barely able to walk, Kerri readied ... then nailed an almost perfect landing, and the gold for the Team. For most moms, this would be enough, no? But to Jewish mom Melanie, \"School was most important. I thought you can't make a career out of gymnastics.\" And she made sure her daughter was

Copyright © 1995 - 2020 Aish.com, https://www.aish.com.Aish.com is a non-profit and needs your support. Please donate at: aish.com/donate,or mail a check to: Aish.com c/o The Jerusalem Aish HaTorah Fund PO Box 1259 Lakewood, NJ 08701.prepared. \"When she moved away from home [Arizona] to study gymnastics in Houston (with famed coach Bela Karoly],at age 13, we were devastated. Before we made the decision to let her go, we went to Houston to check this out.\" Mrs. Strug wasn't thrilled. \"A lot of the kids let school slide. School was always number one with us. Gymnastics was not going to be her future.\" Mom's planning paid off. In addition to Olympic Gold, Kerri holds a B.A. in Communications and a Masters Degree from Stanford. When I spoke with Kerri, she was with the Justice department's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. The lesson?Gold may tarnish, but learning lasts a lifetime. Now, that's what I call a \"Golden Rule!\"

https://www.aish.com/j/fs/48936917.htmlWouldJew Believe #7Sep 13, 2008by Marnie Winston-MacauleyO u tr eoa gu s , odda n d fa s c in a t in gJ ew i s h fa ct slik e...a Yidd h i sw ordw in s th e National Scrabble Championship.SCRABBLE SHMOOZINGThe Date: July 29. The Place: Orlando, Florida. The Event: The 2008 National Scrabble Championship. The Winner: New Zealander, now residing in Malaysia, Nigel Richards, a 30- something engineer. The Prize: 25K. Final Score: Richards-412, Brian Cappelletto-401. The Hot Word: \"Shuln,\" the plural of shul. Wait. Wha ... ? SOMEONE QUICK! GET THE DICTIONARY!THAT'S NOT ALLOWED. IT'S ... YIDDISH!Wrong!We all know that Yiddish and Yinglish have entered English lexicon, but you know you've \"arrived\" when Yiddish words are kosher in Scrabble. And many are! In addition to \"shuln,\" shlep, shlub, shlumpy, shmaltz, shmo and shmooze are now acceptable in the Dean of word board games. So, next time you play, don't be a \"shmo\" ... a little \"shmaltz\" and \"shmooze\" can get you 25K, which in my book, is worth the shlep!If you're a Scrabble \"pro,\" , don't be a \"shmo\" ... a little \"shmaltz\" and \"shmooze\" can get you 25K.\"KOSHER\" STEAM?PROBLEM: You're at a Kosher resort calling Mama to describe the mmm-so-good fleishig (meat) –especially the brisket, and those \"to die for\" milchig (dairy) cheese blintzes, when, horrified, she stopsyou in mid-moan. \"Wait! They were both on the same steam table?\" she inquires. \"Don't touch! The steam made everything treif (unkosher)!\"This was the steamy problem that faced Dov Zioni, and other Israeli engineers at the Institute for Science and Halakhah, where Jewish law is applied to technology. .

LOGIC: He used the \"Dog test!\" to determine first, that steam is food, in accordance with the Halachik criterion \"If dogs won't eat it, it's not food.\" Steam, of course, is condensed water –which dogs drink. Hmmm. The challenge then, was \"de-fooding\" the H2O destined for the steam table. What then, turns the doggie palate off?THE SOLUTION: Dov experimented and found it! Add a bissel pine oil to Rover's water bowl and his canine palate will howl in protest. Such steam then, is not food, and hence ... we have \"kosher\" steam!BRITNEY REVEALED UNHEALEDNot a good time for Britney Spears. No kidding. The courts know it, producers know it, the ex knows it, her fans know it. Oh, and not only does she know it. She's \"un\"- proclaiming it. Not long ago she had a Hebrew healing tattoo removed. Originally inspired to \"go ink\" in 2004 by Madonna, the Kabbalah celeb queen, it seems Britney felt \"hypocritical\" sporting the tat given her less than healed life. Of course, had the troubled singer known that \"tattoos\" are \"no-nos\" for Jews, she would've \"gotten\" the fact that she shouldn't have gotten the thing in the first place, and wouldn't need yet another \"healing\" experience!MASON THE MENSCHJackie Mason! Free associate, and I'll bet you the word \"sensitive\" is not among your top ten picks. So imagine my surprise when I first met the legendary comic 20 years ago and found that right below the Shmoozer lies a Mr. Sensitivity. Picture it. 1986. The Borscht belt stand- up, who took a hit from Ed Sullivan, was now himself, a hit on Broadway -- with his \"World –According to Me.\" Interviewing him required only two things: 1.) Getting his attention; 2.) An addiction to corned beef. Because that's all you were getting ... \"with a half-glass tea. You'll have half, I'll have half... there's plenty for two, nu?\" I was making progress with number one. But number two? I love deli. My DNA has a D-gene. For deli. But my digestive system ... oy. I finally got him alone. We were meeting in his lobby on Park Avenue. Fency-dency and deli- free, right?Interviewing Jackie Mason requires only two things: 1.) Getting his attention; and 2.) An addiction to corned beef.Wrong. Jackie was jubilant. Guess what just opened that week across the street? My colon spasmed its disapproval.As we walked in, two of the Israeli owners plotzedwith joy. \"Wait! A picture! Signed! For their wall!Jackie and I sat. And ate. And ate. And ate somemore. We had time. The owners were calling their partners in Brooklyn and Queens to come pose. Double oy.

Copyright © 1995 - 2020 Aish.com, https://www.aish.com.Aish.com is a non-profit and needs your support. Please donate at: aish.com/donate,or mail a check to: Aish.com c/o The Jerusalem Aish HaTorah Fund PO Box 1259 Lakewood, NJ 08701.By the time the black and white cookies came out, Jackie had taken no less than 25 pictures, and stopped by each table with a bissel shtick. Smiling and joking, he happily returned to the table.\"Pssst,\" he whispered. I leaned in closer. \"Sha! Don't say. But the food here ... Khalushes (hideous)! Oy-oy-oy! Did you taste that corned beef?! Shhh! (Taste it? I had enough to feed all the Jews in Jersey.) That corned beef ... it could kill a person. Are they hearing? \" he asked, waving at the owners who were still waiting for the troops from Queens and Brooklyn to arrive for a group shot. \"I don't want they should hear. Oy ... you have more napkins?\"\"For what?\" I wondered. And then I noticed it. Despite all his flinging and flying, there was no food left on his plates! And then I saw it! After another friendly wave to the owners, I witnessed the most disgustingly caring event I had ever seen or were to see, by a celebrity.In between the shmoozing, oohing, and ahhing, Jackie had taken bites out of everything ... then put the half-eaten morsels in napkins, which he deftly hid around the deli. .Brooklyn and Queens arrived. \"So how was the food?\" the group asked eagerly. \"Ai-ai-ai! I tell you honestly, there isn't a place in this deli I couldn't find a nosh!\" he said enthusiastically, as he put his arms around the five Israeli owners for that final picture and wished them great –\"Mazel!\"From that day forward, when I hear the name \"Jackie Mason,\" the first thing I think of is that bissel taste of lousy corned beef but the first word I think of is \"–Mensch.\"Marnie Winston-Macauley is the author of Yiddishe Mamas: The Truth About the Jewish Mother\" and the award- winning \"A Little Joy, A Little Oy\" 2008 calendar. Her 2009 calendar can be pre-ordered on Amazon.

https://www.aish.com/j/fs/48938877.htmlWouldJew Believe #8Oct 11, 2008by Marnie Winston-MacauleyOutrageous, odd and interesting facts including ... the power of chicken soup -- for pandas.PEANUTTIEST IDEA!Jewish? Relocate and be paid way more than peanuts! The catch? Your new hometown must be Dothan, Alabama, the Peanut Capital of the World. Population: a mere 58,000 of mostly faithful Christians. To keep Judaism alive in Dothan, Larry Blumberg has been spearheading a drive since September, ‘08, to attract Jewish families. The lure? Gelt (no, not the chocolate kind). New Jewish \"Dothaners\" who join their synagogue and stay at least five years will receive an incentive of to $50,000! And that ain't peanuts.A JEWISH JIGGLEIt will be all giggles and jiggles at the end of the month at Beyond the Borscht Belt, a Jewish theater festival in Columbus, Ohio. As if a play wasn't enough, the organizers are getting \"interactive\" by holding a competition to bring a plot point to wiggling life. The play, \"The Snowflake Theory,\" by Nancy Gall-Clayton, features a Jewish mama trying to come to terms with her children. She seeks guidance from a new rabbi, whom she impresses with a truly astonishing, gravity-defying sculpture of gelatin. And here's where the \"fun\" starts. Locals –are competing to create the jiggly prop like our moms made in the fifties and sixties: festive tiers of wobbly color with fruits and veggies suspended at angles that would amaze physics experts at NASA. Ah ... but here's the rub. Kosher gelatin won't hold a shape because its made out of vegetables as opposed to animal bones). So organizers were looking for Kashrut advice, or Mama can always impress the rabbi with cling peaches floating in a cherry red sea!AFGHANISTAN'S LAST JEWHis home? A small room off the synagogue in Kabul. His bed? A thin mattress. His furnishings?

A small table with dusty prayer books, some folding chairs, a crumbling carpet, a few photos, one of a Hassidic Jew, and a blackboard with his name \"Zebulon Simantov.\" For reporters.–Where over the centuries there were tens of thousands of Jews in Afghanistan, about 5,000 Jews left in 1948 for Israel, and the rest, after the 1979 Soviet invasion. When Isaac Levy, who occupied another room in the synagogue died three years ago ... Simantov became the very last Jew in Afghanistan. A courageous man, a pious man, a determined man, one would think. Sadly, uh uh. About Levy? Simantov said they didn't speak for years. About missing his family in Israel? No! A mention of a friend. He owed him money! Forget fervor. Fury best describes this holdout. And hand-outs. The 45-year-old was more passionate about demanding gelt and Black Label than telling a pious tale. Then again, perhaps this lone man is no different from his countryman or maybe, just maybe, he knows he's a –paskudnyak (a revolting, corrupt person) who's better off being the last in Afghanistan, then being a mensch among men -- anywhere.GIVE ‘EM SOME CHICKEN SOUP!Nebuch. When two three-year-olds were tired, and stressed out from running around, what did the trick? \"Jewish penicillin\" of course: Chicken soup! So big deal, you're thinking? It is, when the \"toddlers\" are pandas! In addition to their regular diet of bamboo, the Wuhan Zoo in China has been feeding its two pandas, Xiwang and Weiwei, home-cooked chicken soup (OK, rooster soup), to fortify them for dealing with gawking crowds, and to warm them for winter. It's been a hit, according to zoo officials. Ah, but the question remains ... is bamboo kosher?Ah, but the question remains ... is bamboo kosher?OSCAR FOR PRESIDENT?What happens in Las Vegas doesn't always stay inLas Vegas. Oscar Goodman (D), the tell-it-like-it-isflamboyant mayor, the exe mob lawyer who defended the likes of Meyer Lansky and Anthony \"Tony the Ant\" Spilatro, has enjoyed immense notoriety nationwide. He appeared in the film Casino, was the subject of a book, Of Rats and Men, in 2005, and is known for his love of spirits (the kind with alcohol). Lately, there's been talk of Oscar occupying the highest office in the Land.And who knows? Oscar's wildly popular. Where does this Jewish boy from Philly get his chutzpah? His mother, he told me. \"She was perfect.\" Laura Goodman, who died in 2004, was an artist. Although she wasn't a milk and cookies Mama, she was always there, encouraging. \"You're the handsomest, smartest person in the world. You can do no wrong. If anything bad

Copyright © 1995 - 2020 Aish.com, https://www.aish.com.Aish.com is a non-profit and needs your support. Please donate at: aish.com/donate,or mail a check to: Aish.com c/o The Jerusalem Aish HaTorah Fund PO Box 1259 Lakewood, NJ 08701.happens, make it good\" were her mantras. Despite her constant support, Mama took a hand to Oscar once. \"I got an unsatisfactory grade in music ... so I tried to commit suicide by –swallowing a mothball.\" The Mayor-to-be was eight at the time.While she used unconditional encouragement with the family, this was not always the case with others. \"Oh, she was opinionated and critical, but never about her family. When she finally moved to Las Vegas at age 91, instead of living with us, she insisted on her own apartment. We got a call from the manager. They wanted her out.\" It seemed the elder Mrs. Goodman was a rabble-rouser. Her objection? \"No live food.\" It all came from cans and boxes. \"I hate it!\" she complained. So, she took action and got real potatoes. Strong and –fiercely independent, she expected the same from her children. And without question, her son is also a \"do-er.\" You never can tell. An Oscar in the White House, might have a 6-1 odds of flushing out, and sending terrorists to our cells!

https://www.aish.com/j/fs/48945441.htmlWouldJew Believe #9: Holiday EditionDec 13, 2008by Marnie Winston-MacauleyO u tr eoa gu s , odda n d tineres t in gJ ew i s h fa ct slik e… t he ex i s t e n ce ofa spec ia l C h a n u k a hBeer:8M alt , s8H ops , a n d 8 % A lco ohl. CL 'h a im !THE GREAT DREIDEL ESCAPELegend has it that the dreidel, was actually a ploy used during the time of the Maccabees when Antiochus forbade studying the Torah and synagogue worship. To deflect spies, Jews who were studying in secret kept a top on the table. If a soldier discovered their hiding place, someone would spin the dreidel tricking the intruders into believing they were merely playing a game! Should you wish to play ... no problem.The Yiddish word dreidel comes from the German, \"drehen,\" meaning \"turn\" or \"spin\".INSTRUCTIONS: The Yiddish word dreidel comes from the German, \"drehen,\"(\"turn\" or \"spin\"). The top has a Hebrew letter on each of its four sides: nun, gimmel, hey, shin, the first letters of Nes GadolHaya Sham, meaning \"A Great Miracle HappenedThere.\" (In Israel, the last letter of the dreidel is a Pey, meaning \"Here.\" Ready? The player spins the dreidel. When it stops, the letter facing up decides your game fate.NUN - nothing happens - the next player spins GIMEL - the player takes the potHEY - the player takes half the potSHIN - player puts a token (pennies, nuts, raisins, or chocolate coins) into the pot.WARNING: THE DREIDEL IS NOT RECOMMENDED FOR USE BY:1. CHILDREN TO FOOL PARENTS INTO THINKING THEIR CLEANING–2. ADULTS TO FOOL THE BOSS INTO THINKING YOU'RE WORKING–3. ANYONE TO FOOL THE IRS INTO THINKING YOU'RE PAYING–BUBBIE AND ZAYDIE ARE COMIN' TO TOWN?

Jewish kinder don't have to sit by while Christian children write Santa. In 1981, writer Daniel Bloom created a letter-writing campaign to Bubbie and Zayde and has since received over ten thousand letters. In 1985, he wrote, \"Bubbie and Zayde Come to My House,\" about these grandparents who fly from house to house on the first night of Chanukah, singing songs and telling stories. In 2006, the book was republished (Square One Publishers), however, the concept has had its detractors among some over the \"Santa\" similarity. But Bloom, who has lived in Asia for over 25 years, says the letters he receives and answers aren't about gifts, but express excitement about the holiday and hope for a flyby from Bubbie and Zayde. On El Al ... could be the first or the last night of Chanukah oh and leave out on a plate a –bissel bobka (chocolate is best) and two glasses tea!THE CHOSEN BEER?Had it with sugar shock on holiday wine? One young California entrepreneur, Jeremy Cowan, has solved the problem. The literature major was hit with inspiration: The world was lacking a good Jewish beer! So, in 1996, at age 27, he \"hopped\" to the rescue and founded the Shmaltz Brewing Company to put out HE'BREW beer. The first, Genesis Ale, he told me, is a \"rich, smooth, light brown ale, perfect from Bris to brisket.\" Messiah Bold followed, along with Miraculous Jewbelation, which he calls, \"The most extreme Chanukah Beer ever created: 8 Malts, 8 Hops, 8% Alcohol.\" L'Chaim!WHEN CHEERS WENT L'CHAIM!Jewish actress Bebe Neuwirth, didn't know she was signing on to play a Jewish woman, Dr. Lilith Sternin-Crane, in T.V.'s Cheers. The fact was revealed when a Chanukah storyline was written after she was well into her run on the show. Both she and the writers were unaware of the legendary Lilith in the Talmud and rabbinical folklore. Ironically, the name chosen for Neuwirth in the sitcom, whose character is, well, itchy, bore a strong resemblance to the original image of the Jewish Lilith.Pat Morita of Karate Kid fame said, \"Why not?\" he said. \"After all, I'm half ju and half jitsue!\"A YIDDISHE LAMP CHOPI love being Jewish. ... When I did my first Chanukah special with Lamb Chop, I felt I was really putting my menorah in the window for the first time. \" Shari –Lewis. According to author Tim Boxer, when the lategreat Shari Lewis aired her 1995 PBS special, Lamb Chop's Special Chanukah, she was eager to \"put my menorah in the window\" to \"enrich the lives of non-Jewish viewers.\" The creative Lewis invited Pat Morita, the Japanese actor who played Mr. Miagi in the Karate Kid to participate. \"Why not?\" he said. \"After all, I'm half ju and half jitsue!\"

Copyright © 1995 - 2020 Aish.com, https://www.aish.com.Aish.com is a non-profit and needs your support. Please donate at: aish.com/donate,or mail a check to: Aish.com c/o The Jerusalem Aish HaTorah Fund PO Box 1259 Lakewood, NJ 08701.Lewis, a multiple award-winner, puppeteer, ventriloquist, producer, and author, was a pioneer in children's programming. She used \"tough love\" on her puppet progenies, Lambchop, Charley Horse, and Hush Puppy, and taught values through entertainment. But her most beloved creation was her daughter and my friend, Mallory Lewis, who joined her mom as writer-producer. Following Shari's death in 1998, Mallory, who is an author, puppeteer, singer, and incredible entertainer, has continued performing with Lambchop. A special fan is Mallory's young son. While Mallory's little \"sis\" Lambchop adores Chanukah ... she's not too crazy about Seder plates!

https://www.aish.com/j/fs/48950561.htmlWouldJew Believe #10Jan 17, 2009by Marnie Winston-MacauleyO u tr eoa gu s , odda n d tineres t in g fa ct slik e...J ew s in nve et d ba a an ns??HAVE AN EGG ROLL (FACTORY), MR. GOLDSTONE?The place? A library. The section? \"Jews' Businesses.\" The titles? The Jews - Why Are They Rich? The Most Effective Methods for Jewish Businesses, The Jewish Road to Wealth. Oyyy. Now what? An anti-Semitic librarian?! Here she comes. \"You a Jew?! Very smart! Very good at business. Like an Einstein.\" Wait a minute! On which galaxy have we landed?\"You a Jew?! Very smart! Very good at business. Like an Einstein.\"Not a galaxy ... a city. Shanghai! Perhaps the only place on earth with a best-seller titled The Jews' Business Wisdom and the Art of Proper Behavior According to the Talmud. And it's meant as acompliment!Jews in China date back to the eighth century. Then, from the 1930s through WWII, Shanghai welcomed 18,000 Jewish refugees, escaping Nazi Europe. They developed a rich cultural and communal life until 1942, when, under Japanese rule, the Jews were forced into what was known as \"The Shanghai Ghetto.\" After the rise of Communist China, virtually all fled to the newly recognized State of Israel. Today, Shanghai is home to 2,000 Jewish newcomers.So, the next time you wonder why you can't exist without your weekly dose of take-out, it's not some meshugeh dietary need for dim sum. No ... it's a love affair that's been going on for over a millennium! And what better way for a Jew to show love, then to ess a bissel sweet and sour not unlike Jewish and Chinese history. Now that's what I call \"Kosher!\"–(GIVE A SHUDDER!) HITLER NAMES HIMSELF GODCould the most despicable presence in history, architect of the Holocaust, the \"devil\" incarnate, do the ultimate evil and attempt to replace God's word? Hitler tried. An institute –in Germany unearthed a Nazi bible ordered by Adolf himself to expunge all references to Jews and make Nazism and himself holy doctrine. His instructions to his lackey writers?:––

\"The Bible must become Jew-free and the German people must see that the Jews are the mortal enemy who threaten their very existence.\" The tome even includes 12 Nazi \"Commandments.\" Several (edited) included: \"Keep the blood pure!\" and \"Honour your Fuehrer and master!\" Jewish words were eliminated. Out went Jerusalem, Zion, Hosanna, Galilee, and Moses, as well as mercy, and love, in the insidious 275 page sacrilege he called German with God. It was printed in 1941 and widely distributed. However, even Hitler and Himmler saw it as a fraudulent \"panacea.\" Both believed in their ultimate domination of a pagan world that goose-stepped to their whim. Even then, most of these \"Bibles\" were destroyed, proving yet again, while evil may reign for years, God's law is immortal even at –the hands of the most malignant human in history.YES, \"JEWS\" HAVE SOME BANANASThis could be the least-known fact in Famous Jewish Firsts. So \"least-known\" that even I wouldn't bet my de-frizzer on it. But hey ... it comes from \"The Gray Lady\" herself, circa 1900 and the \"American Hebrew,\" 1909. Both report that the glorious yellow banana, was introduced to our shores by a Jew, Solomon J. Marks! His Times obit? [Undated] \"Solomon J. Marks, who died suddenly of apoplexy at his home, 1.160 Forty-first Street, Brooklyn, on Thursday, was credited with having shipped the first shipload of bananas ever sent from the West Indies to the United States. Mr. Marks was then one of the largest banana raisers in Jamaica. The commander of the little schooner that brought in the bananas was Capt. L. E. Baker, later President of the United Fruit Company. He came to this country four years ago, and interested himself in real estate in Brooklyn.\" Ironically, the one other Jew who may have been in on the secret? Woody Allen! His 1971 film Bananas was a nod to the Marx (get it?) Brothers' Cocoanuts, their first actual film and that title didn't make sense, either! The whole –fascinating, unsung mishegoss makes you want to name your next child Chiquita ... (unless your surname's \"Cherkinsky\").The glorious yellow banana, was introduced to our shores by a Jew, Solomon J. Marks!YIDDISHE BIKER MAMA?In 1894, a Boston gentleman made a bet with a Yiddishe Mama named Annie Cohen Kopchovsky. The challenge? To be the first female to circumnavigate the world by bicycle. Ah, but more.–The mother of three had to start peddling with not so much as a kopek, earn five thousand dollars above expenses and make the ride in 15 months! Her reward? Ten grand. Most of us, –back then, would call the whole thing meshugge and return to baking challah. Not plucky Annie. The resourceful lady, making the trip solo, survived physical injury, mechanical problems with her bicycle, and picked up endorsements, press attention while \"speechifying\"

Copyright © 1995 - 2020 Aish.com, https://www.aish.com.Aish.com is a non-profit and needs your support. Please donate at: aish.com/donate,or mail a check to: Aish.com c/o The Jerusalem Aish HaTorah Fund PO Box 1259 Lakewood, NJ 08701.all the way to Japan and back. Not only did she complete her trip in ten months, she proved that a woman could wear the \"bloomers\" in the family (and helped popularize the things).She collected her $10,000 prize and then rejoined her family. Oh, and by the way ... Annie had never ridden a bicycle until a few days prior to the challenge! It was like reality TV before TV: \"Survivor: Yiddishe Mama!\"