DETROIT

Is Coca-Cola The Real
Thing For Passover?

ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM

Assistant Editor

I

t's the real kosher thing
all year, but Coca-Cola is
often in the midst of con-
troversy at Passover.
The Council of Orthodox
Rabbis of Greater Detroit
lists Pepsi, but not Coke,
among items approved
kosher for Passover. The
Va'ad is not saying that
Coke is not kosher for
Passover, according to Rabbi
Mordecai Wolmark, head of
kashrut supervision for the
Va'ad. But neither will it
recommend the beverage.
"Questions have been
raised regarding the produc-
tion of the syrup used in
Coke," Rabbi Wolmark said.
Some local observers say
the argument surrounding
Coke at Pesach has nothing
to do with the product, but
stems from issues of politics
and personality. Similar
controversies in the past
resulted from competition to
secure rights to kashrut
supervision and occasional
wrangling between Lubavit-
ch and non-Lubavitch
rabbis.
The rabbis who oversee the
production of Coke insist the
product contains no ingre-
dients that would render it
non-kosher for Passover.
Rabbi Aryeh Ralbag of
New York gives hashgacha,
approval, to the syrup used
to make the Coke marked

kosher for Passover, in-
cluding the syrup used for
Coca-Cola bottled in Detroit.
A member of the Union of
Orthodox Rabbis and af-
filiated with the Orthodox
Rabbinical Association,
which uses the triangle K
heksher (mark of kashrut),
Rabbi Ralbag said the con-
centrate he oversees is
kosher for Passover.
"We have rabbinical
supervisors from beginning
to end of production," he
said. "We know all the in-
gredients used for the
kosher-for-Passover Coke
and they are all made under
proper conditions."
Questionable ingredients
in the soda concentrate can
include corn syrup.
Corn is in the class of foods
called kitniyot, which at
Pesach includes legumes,
grains and grain-like plants
not counted among the five
grains (wheat, rye, oats,
barley and spelt) that pro-
duce hametz. The prohibi-
tion of kitniyot is observed
mainly by Ashkenazic Jews.
Unlike hametz, kitniyot may
be owned on Passover, but
may not be eaten.
Rabbi Ralbag says the
kosher-for-Passover Coke
contains "no leavening and
no kitniyot. We have
thoroughly checked it out."
Coca-Cola products carry-
ing Rabbi Ralbag's heksher
as kosher for Passover are
Coke, Caffeine-free Coke,

JN Grove
Will Be Dedicated

Manfred Werner:
Memory honored.

Family and friends have
purchased a grove of 1,000
trees in memory of Manfred J.
Werner, under the auspices of
Jewish National Fund. This
grove will be located in the

American Independence Park
near Jerusalem.
Werner was a respected in-
surance representative in
Southfield for many years. He
was active with Histadrut,
Labor Zionist Organization,
Zionist Organization of
America, Adat Shalom
Synagogue, Israeli-American
Baseball Association, Jewish
Community Center and JNF.
His wife Doris said, "Man-
fred always believed in the
work of Jewish National
Fund and the building of the
land of Israel. It is a fitting
tribute that the Werner fam-
ily and friends have chosen to
memorialize him in such a
significant manner." With her
brother David and sister-in-
law, Fayga, she will visit
Israel after Passover and
dedicate the Manfred J.
Werner Memorial Grove

Community Center Plans
First Spring Book Fair

SUSAN GRANT

Staff Writer

O

Coca Cola: The kosher question
continues .

Classic Coke, Diet Coke,
Caffeine-free Diet Coke,
Sprite and Diet Sprite.
The Coke products' syrup
used in Detroit is produced
in Atlanta, Rabbi Ralbag
said. Sweetener and car-
bonated water are added
locally, where the final pro-
duct is bottled.
Rabbi Chaim Bergstein of
Bais Chabad of Farmington
Hills oversees kashrut for
the bottling of Coke in the
Detroit area. He receives the
syrup concentrate from
Atlanta in specially coded
boxes from Rabbi Ralbag
and says he has no reason to
believe the syrup is not
kosher for Passover.
Rabbi Ralbag "has assured
me he has gone as far as any
human being could go" to
guarantee that the syrup is
kosher for Passover, Rabbi
Bergstein said. Rabbi Bergs-
tein said repeated tests have
been made on the syrup to
assure it contains sugar, not
corn syrup.
Other groups, including
the Orthodox Union (which
uses a circled U as its
heksher) and the Star K in
Baltimore, reportedly
sought rights to supervise
the kosher-for-Passover
Coke. A spokesman for one
of those groups said they
dropped the project after
Coke refused to turn over its
"secret formula," thus mak-
ing it impossible to know
whether all non-kosher for
Passover ingredients were
removed from the syrup.
Yet Mark Preisinger,
spokesman for the Atlanta-
based Coca-Cola corporation,
said Rabbi Ralbag does
know all ingredients for the
syrup.
The only thing secret
about the soda's "secret for-
mula" is the process and
quanities, he said. 0

ne book fair is no
longer enough for the
Maple-Drake Jewish
Community Center.
So the JCC, which hosts
the annual Jewish Book Fair
in the fall, will present the
First Annual Spring Book
Fair April 22 through April
24.
"We're trying to see if the
community can support two
book fairs," said Adele
Silver, the center's cultural
arts director. "We're just
testing the water."
Unlike the fall book fair,
which runs for 10 days and
features numerous speakers,
the spring fair is basically a
book sale, Silver said. It's a
much smaller event and only
features one speaker — chil-
dren's author Eve Feldman.
Feldman, who recently
published her first book
Seymour The Formerly Fear-
ful, will speak about writing
books with Jewish themes at
10 a.m. April 22.
The book, which is intend-
ed for children between the
ages of eight and 13,
features Seymour, an ac-
cident-prone child who is
afraid of everything.
When his fearless Israeli
cousin comes to town,
Seymour learns to be less
afraid. But when his cousin
has to go to the hospital,

Seymour is able to ease his
cousin's fear.
Other childrens' books will
be on sale during the spring
book fair, Silver said. "We
hope to encourage children
to read during the summer."
Adults can also find
summer reading at the fair
including books which were
popular during the fall fair.
Because this is the first of

Eve Feldman:
Children's author.

what Silver hopes to become
an annual event, she doesn't
know what to expect. Last
year, the fall book fair
brought in 40,000 people to
the Center.
Although the two book
fairs differ in size, the pur-
pose is the same, she said.
"The idea is to put Jewish
books in the hands of Jewish
people." El

Agencies Are Seeking
Volunteer Helpers

With the increasing
number of Soviet Jews corn-
ing to the Detroit area,
volunteers are needed to help
resettle and absorb them in-
to the Jewish community.
Other opportunities for
volunteer service also exist.
To recruit participants for
its Hours for Ours program,
the Women's Division of the
Jewish Welfare Federation
will make a presentation
about volunteer opportunities
for men and women at 9 a.m.
May 3, at the Harriett and
Ben Teitel Jewish Federation
Apartments.
The day will begin with
continental breakfast and
registration, followed by the
program and a tour of the
apartments and the Jewish
Vocational Service. Agency
volunteer coordinators will
answer questions, and
volunteers will share their

experiences.
The JFS-RS is seeking
English tutors to visit the
new Americans in their
homes.
Drivers, shoppers and
translators, especially per-
sons who speak Russian or
Yiddish are needed.
The JVS warehouse is look-
ing for persons to help take
inventory and to make dona-
tions of furniture, household
goods and clothing.
JVS is asking members of
the Russian community to
make recommendations at
their places of employment on
behalf of the new Americans.
The agency also is seeking
drivers for its clients.
Babysitting will be
available at a charge. For
reservations by April 17, call
the Women's Division of
Federation, 965-3939, Ext.
163.

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

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