By JAIMEE LYNN FLETCHER, The Orange County Register
LOS ALAMITOS–Two local groups are looking to teach Jewish heritage and tradition using pickles.
What can you learn from a pickle?
According to the Chabad of Cypress and the Los Alamitos Hebrew High, the crunchy condiment not only gives a good history lesson but it can also offer some sound health advice.
The groups on Wednesday and Thursday will host a kosher pickle workshop at the Hebrew High School.
Each participant will get their own pickle jar and add ingredients that will include garlic, dill vinegar brine and kosher salt.
Pickle making must be conducted under the supervision of a rabbi and specific utensils must be used to be labeled, kosher. Rabbi Shmuel Marcus will be teaching this year’s pickle course.
So why pickles?
“Many people seem to want to know what makes a kosher pickle, kosher,” Marcus said.
The idea came to Marcus when he visited a Jewish family to share prayer with them – something he does often in the community, he said.
“An 86-year-old man told me, ‘I used to make pickles’,” Marcus said. “Then he suggested that I do a workshop for my students at Los Al Hebrew High.”
What started as a fun school project for his students quickly turned into an in-demand community event that pulled hundreds of people from all faiths.
At one time, more than 200 people showed up to learn to make a kosher pickle.
“More people came for that than Yom Kippur,” Marcus said.
And, with that, a tradition was created and a 50-person limit was put on each workshop to keep the event under control.
Making a pickle jar is Marcus’ clever way of explaining the basic rules of kosher life.
Kosher involves dietary restrictions based on religious beliefs as outlined by the Torah. The health benefits of kosher living also play a role in choosing to follow the lifestyle but are not a driving motivation.
Animals that are eaten must be clove-hooved and chew their cud – so no bacon with those eggs. Seafood to be consumed must have fins and easily-removable scales – which means no lobster dinners.
These are just some examples of the guidelines laid out in the Torah for those of Jewish faith.
Marcus said kosher is also becoming a trend for non-Jews looking to reap the health benefits of the lifestyle
Kosher, or Kashrut, which translates to “fit”, offers guidelines on how food is prepared. Strict slaughter house rules, prohibiting combining meat products with dairy and consuming insect-free fruits and vegetables has health benefits appealing to those outside the faith.
Curious about kosher? Visit www.jewishcypress.com.
Mendel