Ask the Rabbi

Of all the Jewish holidays that we Jews celebrate, the most impactful on our souls and if we are not careful, our bodies, is Pesach, Passover. The story takes place in Egypt where the Jewish people had lived for 210 years. As with many exiles since, at first our stay in Egypt as strangers in a strange land began wonderfully, with Joseph being the viceroy of the land, and the Jewish people having freedom to live as they wished as monotheists in the spirit of their forefathers, and foremothers.

Soon however, things changed. A new Pharaoh began to rule over Egypt. The Hebrews (as we were called then) began to suffer greatly as slaves, and the Egyptians began to mistrust this strange people who dressed, spoke and had different names to them.

Eventually the labor became so back-breaking that the Hebrews started to cry out to their One and true G-d to rescue them. Although he had not grown up among his people, and maybe because of that, Moshe was chosen to be G-d’s implement to punish the Egyptians and to take out His people.

After a series of nine devastating plagues that changed the face of Egypt, the final plague, the killing of the firstborn, was the final straw for the recalcitrant Pharaoh to let the people go. The fact that Pharaoh himself was a firstborn, one could assume motivated him to remove this troublesome population from his country.

Before they left, they were commanded to bring a lamb into their homes for a few days. This may seem a fairly innocuous commandant, however, when we realize that the lamb and sheep in general were considered to be a god in Egypt, this was a particularly dangerous move. A miracle happened and the Egyptians were unable to harm the Hebrews even though they wanted to for committing such an offence. We celebrate the miracle of the Jewish people’s safety at that moment, the Shabbat before Pesach and refer to it as Shabbat Hagadol, the Great Shabbat!

The night before their delivery from Egypt, the Jewish people sacrificed this lamb, used its blood to draw upon the doorposts of their homes, so G-d would Pesach, “Passover” their homes and not hurt them when He killed the Egyptian firstborn.

That night they ate the Egyptian god, as a paschal offering, and left the next day, with matzah on their backs. If they had spent an entire night as completely free people, why did they need to leave in such a hurry the next day? And the answer is that they left quickly, not because they were afraid of the Egyptians, but because of their eagerness to reach Mount Sinai, receive the Torah and become G-ds chosen people.

Once a year we celebrate and really relive that experience by performing the seder (order) by reading the haggadah, eating matzah, and maror (bitter herbs to remember the bitter moments we experienced in Egypt) and drinking four cups of wine to celebrate the incredible miracles of our freedom.

We also are told to remove and not eat any leaven products for the entirety of the Pesach. Leavened bread is different from matzah as it was left to rise. We therefore consider leavened bread to represent “haughtiness” and “laziness” as it is full of air and took time to prepare. We the Jewish people should be like matzah, quick, light, and humble (as it is low) to fulfill the mitzvoth of Hashem. The word Matzot and Mitzvot in Hebrew are actually the same letters!

The Kabbalists say that every year a feeling of that freedom can be felt on Pesach night, and we too can go free from all the things that “enslave” us in our lives, whether that is bad character traits, unhealthy relationships, or anything else that keeps us from maximizing our true spiritual potential.

One of the main focuses of Pesach is the children. Going back thousands of years, children have been the focal point of the seder, by making them ask questions, or hiding the afikomen, or doing things in an unusual manner to pique their interest to ask more questions. One possible reason for this unique aspect of Pesach, is because children represent the next generation in the Jewish line that has come through history. We therefore are commanded in the Torah to specifically tell this story to our children, so that can not only hear the story of the ancestors, but own it as well.

On Purim one of the special mitzvot we perform is giving food gifts to friends. The reason we perform this mitzvah is to bring joy to others and to generally increase happiness among Jewish people on Purim. What better way to make friends happy than to give them food packages!

By doing this we add unity to our people and this in turn allows the Jewish people to be judged favorably in heaven.

We also do this, say Chazal, to ensure that people have sufficient food for the special meal they eat on Purim.

To fulfill this mitzvah one needs to give at least two types of foods to at least one person, but you may of course give as many portions to as many people as you wish. Still, says the Chafetz Chaim, it is better to give more money to the poor, which is another mitzvah of the day, than to over spend on food for friends.

One should send foods that are ready to eat, and do not require cooking. Raw meat or fish should not be sent, but cooked dishes, or ready to eat packaged items like cookies, should be sent.

Two different types of food or two different types of drink, or a food and a drink should be given.

Many people are unaware but the quality of the gift should fit the status of the recipient and the giver. A wealthy person should send nicer packages to others. If one has a wealthier or important friend like a rabbi they should be given better packages than say someone who is less wealthy or esteemed!

Drinking on Purim is based on a Talmudic statement that it is a mitzvah to enjoy and celebrate on Purim. It is not a mitzvah to drink so much that we act in a non G-dly manner. However, we do drink more than usual on Purim. This is based on a number of reasons, such as the idea that “the wine is drunk, the secrets are revealed” and since Purim is all about the inner aspects of our love for Judaism and G-d being revealed, we drink more wine than usual.

It has become a wide spread custom to dress up in costume on Purim. One reason is because of the hidden nature of G-d in the story of Purim. The Megillah is the only book in all of Jewish scriptures where G-d’s name is not mentioned. So Purim represents the idea of G-d “hiding” Himself in this world, and performing hidden miracles, as opposed to revealed miracles (think Passover and the plagues) on behalf of the Jewish people. We represent G-d hiding Himself, by also hiding ourselves in costume. Clothing is also mentioned many times in the Purim story, with Achashverosh dressing up at his party, to Mordechai wearing sackcloth and ashes, then Haman dressing up Mordechai in fine clothing before he parades him through the streets of Shushan, and Esther dressing in her finery before she walks into see Achashverosh.

As you can see, Purim is a very deep and important holiday for the Jewish people, and is on no way a “Jewish Halloween”! On the contrary, the deeper Jewish sources say that if you break down the words Yom Kippur you get, “Yom, K, Pur” which means ” a day like Purim”, but only “like” Purim, but not as good. We can connect to G-d through fasting, but can reach much higher levels though physical enjoyment!

After the destruction of the first temple in Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezer exiled the Jews from the land of Israel and many ended up in Persia, in the city of Shushan. According to many opinions the city is now called Hamadan, where the burial sites of Esther and Mordechai still exist and are visited by Jews every year on Purim till this day.

The leader of that time was someone by the name of Achashverosh. He was a dictator who had risen up militarily, but had taken a wife for himself of royal blood by the name of Vashti, in order to consolidate his power. Achashverosh throws a six month party to celebrate his third year in power and in a drunken state, has Vashti killed after she refuses to dance for him and his henchmen in her royal crown….only her royal crown.

Now single, Achashverosh begins the search for a new queen, and Esther, the niece of Mordechai, after much coaxing, takes the position.

Haman enters the scene, and as a descendant of King Agag, an Amalekite, he attempts to annihilate the Jewish people, particularly because of his annoyance at one Jew, Mordechai, who refuses to bow down to him!

Esther eventually reveals herself as a Jew, and the evil decree against the Jews is rescinded. Still some pockets of Jews are attacked and, whilst fasting for a redemption, win their battles. This is one reason why we fast on the 13th day of Adar.

In great celebrations for the incredible miracles performed on behalf of the Jews by Hashem, Esther and Mordechai establish that date every year for celebration, with four Mitzvot: sending food gifts to friends, giving charity to the poor, hearing the Megillah twice, once by night and one by day, and a festive meal eaten during the day.

One of the harshest decrees the Greeks made against the Jews was that they were forbidden from studying their holy Torah. One way they managed to study in private was to have children play with spinning tops (dreidels) outside the places of learning and this would be a distraction for the Greek army enforcing their laws.

A deeper source says that this dreidel also symbolizes the nature of the miracle. On Purim we play with the grogger. Since the miracle of Purim was a hidden miracle the grogger symbolizes this by having the hand below turning the grogger from underneath, in a hidden way, as G-d turned the events in a hidden fashion.

However on Chanukah we are celebrating the open miracle of the story, so the dreidel represents that by having the hand on top turning it around, it symbolizes G-d turning the events of the story in an open and revealed fashion.

Chanukah is difficult to do on a few calories. Unlike Purim, there is no obligation to have a seuda (festive meal) on Chanukah.  It has become a custom however to have a meal which shows gratitude to G-d for the miracles that happened for the Jewish people.

One of the main miracles that happened for the Jewish people was that  when the Jews recaptured the holy temple after the Greeks had defiled it, a vessel of oil was found in perfect condition with the seal of the Kohen Gadol (High Priest) still intact. Rather than lasting for one day, this oil miraculously lasted for eight days, which gave the Jewish people enough time to press more olives and have the oil delivered to the temple in Jerusalem.

The word Chanukah means to dedicate. The Assyrian Greeks had taken control of the land of Israel and were imposing decrees upon the Jewish people that were becoming intolerable. The Greeks wanted to “enlighten” the Jewish people with their way of looking at the world. When the Jews rejected this way of life, the Greeks began to make decrees on the Jewish people to break their spirit such as denying the the chance to perform bris milah on their sons, or from keeping Shabbat, or from making their calendar.

When this did not stop the Jewish people from leaving their faith (some did), the Greeks attacked the symbol of Jewish wisdom and pride, the holy temple in Jerusalem.

After rousting the Greek army from the temple, the priests of that time entered the temple and rededicated it to G-d, (Chanukah) and found a little kosher olive oil left with the high priests seal to last for one day, which miraculously lasted for eight days.

Reheating foods on Shabbat is a complicated and intricate area of Jewish Law. Here are some basics but please note that there are many more details to cover. Consider this a primer or akin to the first part of a 10 part course. Of course, you should always consult your own local rabbi if you have further questions or need more clarification.

According to the laws of Shabbat, Ein Bishul Achar Bishul, which means once something is cooked, it is impossible to cook that food again, therefore, according to this, once a food is thoroughly cooked, it may be reheated an an existing flame on Shabbat.

As with most areas of Jewish law, there are exceptions to this rule. A distinction is made between liquids (including solid foods in liquid) and solid foods that are dry. A liquid that is cold, soup in the fridge for example, is not permitted to be reheated on Shabbat. This is because once a liquid has cooled down, it reverts to its original state of being uncooked, unlike a cooked piece of chicken, which retains its status of being cooked. So a liquid, like soup or a water urn, should be warmed up before Shabbat and then should remain on the fire, or plugged into the wall for Shabbat.

Solid and dry foods, for example peas, or chicken (slight dampness or gel on the chicken is not a problem) may be reheated once they are fully cooked (before Shabbat) on Shabbat. The Rabbis were concerned that warming up cold foods, even the dry and fully cooked ones, would lead to cooking a raw food on Shabbat, which is a full Torah Melacha of Shabbat.

In order to help people remember that this is warming up, and not cooking, food, the Rabbis decreed among other things that the flame be covered with something, as a heker, reminder, of Shabbat. In Talmudic times this used to be ashes sprinkled over the fire, and the coals being dispersed, nowadays we have a “blech” cover or “platta” in Hebrew. This cover has other purposes, such as diffusing heat.

This blech allows us to have food on the fire from before Shabbat, and even allows us to return food that was on the fire to the fire. If however one wishes to take cold food and place that on the fire, e.g cooked chicken from the fridge, the rabbis made another stringency, that you need another item between the blech and the food. For example if you have cold cooked peas in your fridge from before Shabbat, to warm them up, you would need a blech, and another item such as an overturned pot or tray to be put on the blech, and the peas may then be placed on that pot.

Some people are lenient (many Sephardic poskim) and permit a thin sheet of aluminum place over the blech as sufficient for this purpose.

For more intricate details of the law there are some great Shabbat kitchen reference books on the market, in particular The 39 Melochos: An Elucidation of the 39 Melochos from Concept to Practical Application by Rabbi D Ribiat, and any of the books shown here.

It may be related to how on Sukkot we are at the end of the summer, and bringing in the bounty from the fields, we are “stuffed” or “wrapped” in Gods blessings. It is at this time when we could become conceited with our possessions, and newly acquired success, when we leave the comforts of our homes and live in a flimsy roofed sukkah, and thereby put our faith in God.

Also there is an idea that real blessing only comes from things that are hidden from the eye. We therefore cover our blessings from everyone out there, and show our appreciation from God.

Some Stuffed Recipes:

Quinoa Stuffed Tomatoes

Mushroom Stuffed Chicken Breast

Roasted Veal Rib Stuffed with Cranberry

Stuffed Cabbage

Onions Stuffed with Curried Couscous

It is a mitzvah to eat and drink heartily on Erev Yom Kippur. Our Sages write: The Torah (Leviticus 23:32) states: And you shall afflict your soul on the ninth of the month in the evening.

Do we fast on the ninth? We fast only on the tenth! This comes to teach us that all who eat and drink on the ninth, and fast on the tenth, are considered by Scripture as if they had fasted on both the ninth and the tenth.

The reason why eating on the ninth is considered so great a deed that it is equivalent to having fasted, is that by doing so, we show our joy that the time for our atonement has arrived. By extension we thus show that we are concerned with our sins.

On other Festivals we partake of fixed meals as a means of expressing our happiness in having the opportunity to fulfill mitzvot. This joy is in itself a source of merit. Since we cannot partake of a festival meal on Yom Kippur, we do so on the day before Yom Kippur instead. The festive meal on Erev Yom Kippur provides us with the physical strength needed on Yom Kippur to focus ourselves on prayer, supplication, and reflection that will lead us to teshuvah.

It is customary to eat fish at the morning meal on Erev Yom Kippur.

The Midrash (Bereshit Rabbah 11) recounts:

“R. Tanchuma taught: It once happened in Rome on Erev Yom Kippur that a Jewish tailor went to the market to buy fish. There was only one fish available, but there were two buyers: the tailor and the servant of the Roman governor. Each offered a progressively larger sum until the price reached twelve dinar, which the tailor paid.”

When the Roman governor asked the tailor why he was willing to spend that much money on a fish, he responded “Sir! We have but one day during which all the sins that we commit throughout the year are atoned for. Shall we not honor that day when it comes?” The governor replied: “Since you have explained your behavior, you may go.” A miracle happened for this tailor and a jewel was discovered inside the fish which supported him for quite some time.

We do not however eat like gluttons on this day, instead we eat many small meals as the day goes on.

In some chassidic circles there is a custom to eat ‘Lekach’ honey cake on erev Yom Kippur too.

Rosh Hashanah would not be the same without dipping the apple into honey or some other sweet substance like sugar. The Talmud Shabbat 88a compares the Jewish people to an apple tree in the orchard. This, say the sages, teaches you that just as an apple tree starts to bear fruit before its leaves grow, so too did the Jewish people put ‘We will do’ before ‘We will hear’ at Mount Sinai. So apples have a quality in their development that they are willing to grow without the protection of the blossom, we as a nation have a similar quality, we push ourselves to grow, even if we are not certain of our spiritual success.

When Yitzchak blesses Yaakov he references this Jewish nation and apple connection by telling him “Behold, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field which the Lord has blessed” (Bereishit 27:27). This field, says Rashi, was an apple orchard. When Yitzchak smelled the scent of an apple orchard, he realized that Yaakov’s children were truly worthy of blessing. He saw in the sweet scent of apples an omen that even when Yaakov’s children become entrenched in sin, they have the ability to swiftly extract themselves from their plight. Love of God was so much a part of Yaakov that he passed that love along to his children as an almost hereditary trait. This ability to love God and return to Him from any distance is represented by the scent of an apple orchard.

So the custom is to dip that apple, i.e. the Jewish people, into something sweet, such as honey or sugar (I am not sure if artificial sweeteners work for this, we want our sweetness to be real!) asking God to allow His people to have a sweet year of only goodness.

During the year on Shabbat we eat Challahs that are braided. One reason for this is because each strand of the challah represents one of the six days of the week that we have completed, and now turn all those strands into Shabbat enjoyment, as if to say, all the six days of work are now complete, let us rejoice in the culmination of these days and enjoy the fruits of our labor by thanking and recognizing G-d on this very special day.

On Rosh Hashanah however we have a custom to make round as opposed to braided challahs. Why is this?

One opinion is that since on Rosh Hashanah we are crowning G-d as King over us, we make a challah that looks like a crown!

The word for year in Hebrew is ‘shana’. This word is related to the word in Hebrew for ‘repeat’. The year for us has a cyclical nature. We travel through the year until we reach the end, and start again. The challah represents this continuous circle of life, by reminding us that the Jewish year is about to be completed and we need to focus on restarting and improving the new year from it’s start. The word shana, also means to ‘change’. As the year comes to a close and we restart the cycle, we also want to make the upcoming year a year of change and newness.

Circles play a big part in Jewish life. We place a circular ring on the bride under the chuppah, we also dance in circles at weddings and other celebrations. King Solomon was famous for wearing a ring with the words “this too shall pass” inscribed upon it. Rabbi Avigdor Miller used to say this was because when life was challenging for him, he would look at his ring and think, “life is tough now, but it will be better soon such is the cycle or ring of life.” So too when things were going well, he would look at the ring and remember that even the good times do not last, and a hard times are always around the corner, such is the cycle of life.

On Rosh Hashanah we look at the challahs and remind ourselves that no matter how bad or good the last year was, we are part of the circle of life, and the new year will bring good times and also challenges with it. We pray to G-d that he protects the upcoming year, and gives it all blessing just like the blessing we make over the challah.

An Ashkenzaic custom is to not eat nuts on Rosh Hashanah, and some say right through till Yom Kippur. A couple of reasons are given for this. The Maharil says that nuts increase the saliva in the mouth and may interfere with the prayers we say during the high holidays. Since during these days we are praying more than usual, some refrain from nuts that could interfere with that.

The deeper Jewish sources say, that it is connected to the numerical value of the Hebrew word for nut, Egoz, which has the same numerical value as “Chet” (sin), 17. Since we want to stay far away from sin as possible, some stay away from any foods, which may even conjure the idea of sin in our lives. Although the number 17 is also the gematria for “tov” (good), some respond that it is better to not even allow sin to be even mixed in with good during these days.

More important than these customs of course, is to pray fervently and to enjoy all of our meals on these very special and holy days!

The Talmud in Kritot 6a tells us that certain foods are customarily eaten on Rosh Hashanah. Abaye said, “Now that you have determined that omens are significant, at the beginning of every year a person should accustom himself to eat gourds, fenugreek, leeks, beets, and dates …”

The custom developed not just to eat the foods, but also to place our hands over them and to recite a prayer for the upcoming year over these foods. The prayers would be clever play on words, so that the food eaten actually symbolized what we want from the new year. We are kind of eating our prayers!

The Avudraham says: “On the gourd (krah) they would say: “Our bad decrees should be torn up” (yikrah); on the fenugreek (rubya) they would say: “Our merits should be numerous” (yirbu); on the leek (karti) they would say: “Our enemies should be cut off” (yikratu); on dates (tamarim) they would say: “Our sins should be removed” (yitamu). They would then add a pomegranate and say: “Our merits should increase like (the seeds of) a pomegranate.” Some would preface, “May it be Your will, Lord our God and God of our forefathers …”

Rabbi Menachem Meiri in Chibur Hateshuvah says that we do this in order to focus ourselves on the importance of the day even during the meal. In order not to allow our practices to seem like sorcery, the custom began to actually say words of prayer over the simanim. The sages were concerned that we might just spend the entire day eating and not focusing on the spiritual service of the day, so prayers were added to remind us that judgement is happening all the time.

Even when we ask for our enemies to be “cut off” “yikartu” we are, says the Meiri, really praying that foreign ideas that can draw us away from our service to G-d be cut off from our lives.

Some people I know even create their own simanim. They take raisins, and crush them, and serve with celery sticks for dipping into them. They are of course praying for a ‘raise in salary’! Or some are careful to eat figs, so that they are asking G-d to help them ‘fig-ure’ out what to do with their lives this year! Of course all this comes to allow us to feel close to the greatness of the day.

Some mitzvot are directed primarily towards women. Separating challah from dough is a beautiful example of such a mitzvah. The Torah tells us(Bamidbar 15:20) “From the first of your dough you shall set apart challah.” Originally this portion of the dough went to the cohen. A possible reason this mitzvah is directed towards the woman is because the talmud calls Adam the “Challah of the world” (the portion of the world separated for serving Hashem.) Just as Hashem formed man from the dust of the earth, we separate challah from dough. Since Eve caused Adam to sin by giving him fruit from the tree of knowledge, this mitzvah may be coming to rectify that original sin.

If a woman makes dough from one of the five grains, (wheat, barley, spelt, oats or rye) and she uses more than 2.64 pounds, she must separate a small piece. The bracha however can only be said if she separates more than 4.95 pounds of flour, according to the Chazon Ish. Some opinions are more lenient as converting talmudic measures to modern day measurements, are not an exact science. Rabbi Chaim Naeh permits the blessing said over 3.66 pounds. Some sephardim who follow the Ben Ish Chai will only make a blessing when using 5.47 pounds! As always check with your LOR (local orthodox rabbi) to find your own custom.

This mitzvah brings great merit to the people who perform it. It is not uncommon for women to make separting challah “bracha parties” where they come together and separate the challah in unison and recite the blessing so all can respond. On a recent trip to Israel I was at the kever of the Rambam, my wife told me that about twenty women arrived early friday morning with their own dough, and each one separated the dough to the chorus of a loud ‘amen’ from all those in attendence! The talmud says “the one who answers amen to a bracha, receives more merit than the one who makes the bracha”, this may be how this custom began.

You first make the blessing “Baruch Ata Adonoi Eloheinu Melech Haolam Asher K’dishanu B’mitzvotav V’tzivanu L’hafrish Challah. Then seprate a portion of about a k’zayit (a shot glass amount). You then burn the piece in the oven with aluminum foil, so the oven does not absorb the flavor of the challah.

The first nine days of the Jewish month of Av are days of acute mourning. The nine days, as they are known in the Jewish calendar are so sad, that Jewish people historically have refrained from eating meat (or chicken) and drinking wine during this time. These nine days lead us into the height of our mourning with a fast day on the ninth of Av, which commemorates the destruction of the second temple, by the Romans, in 70 CE.

If this tragedy happened thousands of years ago, why do we not eat meat or wine during these days? The reason is that eating meat and wine has traditionally always been done on days of Jewish celebrations. As the old saying goes, “every Jewish holiday is the same – they came to kill us, we won, let’s eat!” in this case however we did not win, and the temple still lays in ruins in Jerusalem till this day. To still feel the pain of that on going tragedy, we don’t eat meat and wine, which signify happiness and success. We hope and pray that the third and final temple be built in Jerusalem very soon.

Some recipes to guide you through:

Avocado Stuffed Salmon with Wild Rice

Parmesan and Sun-Dried Tomato Crusted Tilapia

Creamy Ziti

Stir Fried Tofu with Soba Noodles

Crispy Seitan Stir Fry

Smothered Tempeh Sandwiches

Polenta Casserole Au Gratin

At most of my appearances, I talk about my life. Talk about my food.  Talk about my friends.  So if you’ve seen any of my presentations, you’ve heard me rave about Rabbi Lawrence.  As I morphed from non-religious TV producer to sheitel-wearing kosher cookbook author, Rabbi L. and his fab wife Anita were right there for me.

C’mon. You’ve heard of Anita — my terrific friend, neighbor, and inspiration for girls who grill. I talk about her all the time.  Anyway, after I became engaged, I dragged Hubby-to-be to Monsey to meet them. Been like one big happy family ever since.

Now that I’m doing the kosher food scene full time — questions about kosher food and holiday customs always come up. Hey, I got religious, but I’m no rabbi! I have no problem admitting that I don’t always have all the answers. (According to Hubby this is such a rare confession that he wants to frame it.)  I thought about it – who do I know who is qualified, accessible (and fun)? I was stumped for a while.  So I closed my eyes and clicked my heels together. Before I could say, “There’s no place like home,” it hit me!  He’s been there all the time. Why not go for the best of the best?

Ladies and gents, allow me to introduce the Official Rabbi of Joy of Kosher: Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff.

Funniest rabbi on the planet. And his humor gets the perfect umph from his British accent, which you won’t be able to hear when you read his answers, but which you will be able to hear when you see him on my cooking videos.  I guess it’s a British thing, but he often says “darling” – and you’ve got to love a rabbi who can say darling to everybody and get away with it. He calls his wife Princess, and while I’m spilling stuff, I’ll mention that he is Sephardic and took a lot of ribbing from neighbors when he and Anita had four girls one after the other. Finally had their boy, and not a minute too soon. (It’s a Sephardi thing.)

Not to mention that he has a wicked laugh, can impersonate Austin Powers pretty well, dressed up as Ali G a few purims ago, interned at MTV and wears a Hermes with a big H that he insists stands for Hashem (or Hajioff).

Now for his official stats… Rabbi Lawrence has smicha from Ohr Someyach in Monsey NY, is the Educational Director aka Chief Spiritual Officer at the Jewish Enrichment Center in NYC and is the Rabbi for Birthright Israel in NY (and now here with us at Jok.com!).

Originally from London, England, Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff graduated with honors in political science from Manchester University. After working for two years for MTV in news production, and winning the national competition ‘Jewish Stand-Up Comedian of the Year’, Rabbi Hajioff traveled to study in Israel and then Monsey to receive his rabbinical smicha ordination from Yeshiva Ohr Somayach.

He’s already warned me that he loathes to lift a finger in the kitchen (“Princess” does it all), but he does love great food. Good enough for me. I’ll be shooting a few videos with him soon so you can get to know him.  He will be writing for us regularly about all things kosher and is here to answer all your Qs, day and night.

Well, rather you can submit them day and night by emailing info@joyofkosher.com with the subject: Ask the Rabbi and he will answer them as soon as he can, ok?

So excited – can’t wait to watch our resident rabbi in action!  Now there’s nothing that JoK can’t handle. Bring it on, people…

Here are some links to help you get to know Rabbi Lawrence a little better including some fantastic classes.

http://jeconline.com/

“The Jewish Home: Where Kindness Begins” http://jeconline.com/media/video/jewishhomekindnessflv-0

“Health and Healing in Judaism” on eating right http://jeconline.com/media/video/health-and-healingflv

A video on Tisha be’av…really on Shalom Bayit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8ZOjb0FKfQ