Focus

Cooking Op Memories

Holocaust survivors' stories and recipes make a special feast.

Ethel Hofman
Philadelphia Jewish Exponent

T

peaceful, joyful times. But the idea and
creation of this book is both uplifting and
inspiring. Fast-forward to 2005, when
Sarah and Jonathan Caras, a young, newly
married American couple made aliyah
to Jerusalem. Wanting to give something
back to their new country, the two vol-
unteered time at the Carmei Ha'ir Soup
Kitchen, which serves some 500 meals
daily to poor, hungry Israelis.
Within months, mothers Joanne Caras
and Gisela Zerykier traveled together to
Israel to see Sarah and Jonathan. Among
the sites they visited was the Carmei Ha'ir
Soup Kitchen.
Joanne explained, "It looks like an
elegant restaurant ... waiters take orders,
and the people are served with respect
and dignity. Whoever can pay does so,
and those who cannot don't. Money is col-
lected in a tzedakah box."

Events moved
quickly. Gisela's
mother, who
lived in Belgium,
passed away, and
so Gisela's mov-
ing tribute to her
mother, a Holocaust
survivor, was the
spark that created the
idea for the cookbook.
With family support,
stories and recipes from
survivors worldwide
were collected. Some are
told in detail; others are
shorter because they had
never before told their sto-
ries to anyone, not even to
their children.
There are stories and
poems written in desperation
as well as joy. Black-and-white
photographs show children with parents,
holiday gatherings around a festive table,
teenagers in gardens — all illustrating the
carefree times before the Holocaust.
There are also photographs showing
how survivors married and flourished.
Families expanded to include children,
grandchildren and even great-grandchil-
dren — a continuing Jewish legacy and,
to quote so many survivors, "our greatest
blessing."
The recipes, although secondary, beau-
tifully illustrate Jewish life before the
Holocaust. Each evokes warmth, care, love
and the tantalizing aromas and tastes of

he title is somewhat of a mis-
nomer. The Holocaust Survivor
Cookbook, published by Caras &
Associates, goes far beyond a collection of
recipes, memorable though they may be.
The table of contents starts out with a list
of Holocaust survivors, some 135 people
from all over the world.
The personal experiences — some
related to family members — are both
heartwarming and tragic. They tell of
renewed lives away from the disastrous
scenes of childhood, while others relay
chilling memories of happy times trans-
formed overnight into nightmarish reality.
Several of the stories come from Metro
Detroit. You learn that Ann Eisenberg of
West Bloomfield survived Auschwitz and a
tortuous death march with the help of her
An Idea Was Born
sister, Rose.
Barbara Schecter Cohen of Bloomfield
Joanne was so moved that she decided to
raise money to support the soup kitchen.
Township writes of using forged papers
acquired by her father
so she and her mother
ELLEN ROSE'S CREAMED SPINACH
could pose as Polish
2 packages frozen chopped spinach
Christians. They were
1 medium onion, chopped fine
sent to a German farm
3T margarine
where her mother
2T flour
labored and she was
Salt and pepper
doted on by a German
Cook the spinach according to directions. Do not
woman who cared for
drain. Set aside. Brown onion in margarine. Stir in flour
her.
and stir until flour browns. Stir in the liquid from the
Fira Kaplan of
spinach and stir until smooth. Add spinach and season
Southfield writes
to taste. If it's too thick, add a little water.
about surviving as a
very young child with
her mother in Russia, about seeing her
brother for the last time, of escaping from
certain death on several occasions, and
of the final kindness of a stranger who
Cookbook makes a memorable
helped save them.
Chanukah gift.
And Esther Posner submitted the story
of her father, Fred Rose of Southfield, who
saved Esther and his wife, Ellen, by pulling
them from a truck bound for the train sta-
inda Cohen of Franklin, daughter of Holocaust sur-
vivors Shary and Leon Kabiljo, saw a small story in
tion and a death camp. The Dutch under-
the Jewish News that asked for stories and recipes
ground found them a hiding place with a
from Holocaust survivors and their families to be included
young family, where they stayed hidden
in the upcoming Holocaust Survivor Cookbook.
for a year. Posner remembers her father's
Cohen sent in her parents' story of young newlyweds
optimism, faith in God and his protective
on the run, who joined the partisans and finally made it to
spirit.
American as well as a Yugoslavian recipe she remembered
These and many more experiences
from her own childhood that her children are crazy about.
preface recipes reminiscent of more

The Local Connection

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November 29

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2007

home cooking remembered by those who
suffered so much.
As the editors suggest, `Accept them as
they are, modify them or use them as a
starting point — and remember the his-
tory they contain." II

IN Story Development Editor Keri Guten
Cohen contributed to this story.

Jewish Exponent Food Editor Ethel G. Hofman

is author of "Mackerel at Midnight," as well

as a past president of the International

Association of Culinary Professionals.

"I never dreamed it would be in this beautiful book,"
Cohen said. "I did it so my kids would have it and because
I feel so strongly about Holocaust survivors dying every
day – this is such a beautiful way to remember them and
for their stories to be heard and to help the soup kitchen
[Carmel Half] in Israel."
Cohen was so moved, she proposed that the Shaarey
Zedek Sisterhood sell the book as a fundraiser. So far, 250
have been sold. She believes the cookbook is a memorable
Chanukah gift.
Contact Linda Cohen, (248) 855-8925, or e-mail her at
flinda®comcast.net to reserve a book. Cost is $36, with
checks made out to the Shaarey Zedek Sisterhood. Cohen
will contact you to arrange pick-up. Some copies of the
book also are available at the Holocaust Memorial Center
gift shop in Farmington Hills. I