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'94 Ethics Conference
Offers Jewish Outlook

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PHYLLIS MEER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

M

Go Fish!

"Man is like a steward charged
with preserving and dignifying
that life. We are required to fol-
low a regimen as described by
Maimonides. Man must eat
and drink to sustain himself
and seek healing when he is ill
and be concerned about per-
sonal hygiene and clean air."
Rabbi Lipner and others dis-
cussed the Torah's stance on
smoking.
`The Torah prohibits us from
engaging in willful destruction
of property of any kind," said
Rabbi Lipner, explaining that
halachic experts believe the hu-
man body falls into this cate-
gory.
Dr. Mark Fiore of the Uni-
versity of Wisconsin Medical
Center presented scientific data

How good is the gefilte on your Passover plate?

KIM ROSNER SAXE SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

C

Institute for Jewish Med ica l Ethics

ore than 500 scien-
tists, physicians and
Torah scholars con-
vened in San Francis-
co last month for the fifth
annual International Confer-
ence for Jewish Medical Ethics.
"The purpose of the confer-
ence is to give Jewish physi-
cians an opportunity to come in
contact with their heritage and
ethical system based on the
Torah," said Rabbi Pinchas Lip-
ner, dean of the Institute of
Jewish Medical Ethics, which
sponsored the event.
Attending the conference
were U.S. Secretary of Health
and Human Services Donna
Shalala, Dr. Fred Rosner, a
physician and medical ethicist,
and Lord Immanuel

Dr. Rosner speaks at the International Conference for Jewish Medical Ethics.

Jakobovits, former chief rabbi
of the British Commonwealth.
A number of Detroit physicians
also attended.
Some of the topics included
preventative medicine and
smoking. Dr. Rosner, who has
written many books on Jewish
medical ethics, addressed pre-
vention.
'Preventative medicine is a
centerpiece of the Jewish sys-
tem," he said. "The physician's
task has always been to prevent
and cure illness. It's often more
difficult to keep people well
than to cure them."
Dr. Rosner referred to the
Jewish physician and philoso-
pher Moses Maimonides, who
said individuals should follow
a diet of moderation and get a
good night's sleep, among oth-
er things.
"Our bodies and souls are a
gift from God," Dr. Rosner said.

demonstrating the dangers of
smoking. Nearly 420,000
deaths a year — at a cost of $60
billion annually — are smok-
ing-related, he said.
Dr. Fiore believes that physi-
cians have the obligation to
counsel patients against smok-
ing. He proposed other ways to
combat the deadly habit: treat-
ing smoking as a chronic and
addictive illness, promoting
smoke-free buildings, enforcing
laws to prevent minors from
purchasing tobacco, raising the
excise tax.
Rabbi Lipner's goal with the
International Conference on
Jewish Medical Ethics is to
reach the 52,000 Jewish physi-
cians in the United States and
18,000 Jewish physicians in
Canada. He would like to see
physicians "imbued with the
spirit of the conference and start
classes in their own cities." Cl

e x p w irsMrt i r

aution...Do not try this at
home."
This warning echoes
through my head when-
ever my husband sings the
virtues of homemade gefilte fish
— then not-so-gently implies
that I should prepare some.
It's not that I don't enjoy
pleasing him, but the thought of
gefilte fish always make me
wonder: What's in it?
After some investigation, I
found out.
The word gefilte is Yiddish for
"stuffed." Traditionally, ground
fish (usually carp, whitefish,
pike, mullet or a combination of
these) was mixed with other in-
gredients and stuffed back into
the skin of the fish, then cooked.
Today, the process has been
simplified by forming the fish
mixture into balls or oblong
shapes and then poaching them.
If desired, the entire fish can be
used: the head, skin and bones
for the broth, and flesh for the
fishballs.
Only products that include
carp are actually labeled gefilte
fish. Others bear the name
"Fishlets," "All Whitefish,"
"Whitefish and Pike," and so on.
Gefilte fish is a nutritional
component of our Passover
seders. One piece offish from a
14.5- or 24-ounce jar yields
about five grams of protein. By
comparison, two ounces of tuna
canned in spring water yield 14
grams of protein. Since a piece
of gefilte fish is a combination of
ingredients, unlike pure tuna,
its protein contribution is dif-
fused.
We can eat gefilte fish guilt-
free. A typical list of ingredients
includes: water, carp, mullet,
whitefish, pike, egg whites,
matzah meal, onions, salt, nat-
ural flavor and monosodium glu-
tamate (MSG). If you like it in
jellied broth rather than liquid
broth, you will find that thick-
ening agents and stabilizers
such as carrageenin and veg-
etable gums (ie. guar gum) have
been added.
MSG is a flavor-enhancer
used for foods containing pro-
thin. Many people are sensitive

to MSG and if they
consume it, they come
down with "Chinese
Restaurant Syn-
drome." Symptoms in-
clude some or all of
the following: tight-
ness in the chest,
shortness of breath, a
rapid pulse, a burn-
ing sensation in the
back of the neck and
forearms, as well as
headaches.
If someone attend-
ing your seder is sen-
sitive to MSG, you What's in it?
can easily accommo-
date him with certain varieties
of Manischewitz or Mother's
gefilte fish, which are made
without MSG. Check the label
carefully.
Furthermore, if health con-
cerns, such as diabetes mellitus,
make you opt for gefilte fish
without sugar, look for the Man-
ischewitz brand. There are
many varieties.
But beware: One piece offish
contains approximately 270 mil-
ligrams of sodium. That is 10
percent of the U.S. Recom-
mended Daily Allowance (U.S.
RDA), which suggests that
adults consume 1,000 to 3,000
milligrams of sodium each day.
(The average U.S. citizen takes
in 5,000 to 7,000 milligrams a
day.)
If you have high blood pres-
sure, take note: Mother's prod-
ucts include a low-sodium gefilte
fish without MSG.
The only commercial varieties
I found to include a Nutrition
Fact Label (a breakdown of pro-
tein, carbohydrate, fat, calories
and RDA information), were the
Premium Gold varieties. Pre-
mium Gold gefilte fish contains
cottonseed oil and three to five
grams of fat per piece. If you are
the least bit concerned about
your fat intake, either for car-
diovascular reasons or weight,
chose one of the dozens of other
varieties without additional fat.
My research into gefilte fish
led me to several wonderful
recipes. My most prized recipe,
however, comes from Southfield

resident Rose Weinstein, 91.
"This (recipe) has been tried,
tasted and true," she assured
me. "This one you can count on."
So, to my sweetheart hus-
band, who is so hooked on that
homemade gefilte, I'll promise
you this: When you purchase
that food processor for our an-
niversary, this recipe for gefilte
fish will be the first thing I
make!
Rose Weinstein's Gefilte Fish
Broth:
1 quart water
3 chopped onions
2 carrots, sliced
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Fishballs:
3 pounds ground fish (white-
fish, pike, carp)
1 onion finely chopped
3 eggs, slightly beaten
3 tablespoons matzah meal
112 teaspoon sugar
1/2 to 3/4 cup ice water
Bring broth to a boil, then
lower heat and simmer. Com-
bine the fishball ingredients and
mix until a paste-like consis-
tency is achieved. With wet
hands, form mixture into golf
balls. Drop one by one into boil-
ing broth. Cook fish covered for
one hour. Cook an additional
one-half hour uncovered. Re-
move the fishballs with a slot-
ted spoon and chill. The fish
may be used as an appetizer at
the seder meal. The recipe eas-
ily will serve 12. ❑
Kim Rosner Saxe is a registered di-
etitian and nutritionist.

