Keepin' It Kosh

Young Detroiters learn the ins and outs of a kosher kitchen through Partners' class.

Barbara Lewis I Contributing Writer

J

osh Sabes is setting up a kosher
kitchen. He's one of a growing group of
formerly non-Orthodox Jews who have
become interested in traditional Jewish
practices through their involvement in
Partners Detroit's Young Professionals
Division.
Sabes, 28, of Oak Park got involved
with Partners, a program of Southfield-based
Yeshiva Beth Yehudah, after a friend invited
him to a weekend ski trip to Crystal Mountain
that Partners held last February. He felt an
instant rapport with the other young adults he
met and has been keeping Shabbat ever since.
Sabes says he grew up in a "kosher-style"
home. His family didn't mix milk and meat
products and didn't eat pork or shellfish, but
they didn't maintain separate sets of cooking
and eating implements as required by the laws
of kashrut.
When he moved to an apartment in Oak
Park in August, Sabes was determined to have
a fully kosher kitchen and set about learning
the rules.
To help people like Sabes, Rabbi Leiby Burn-

42 December 2014

I RED THREAD

ham, director of Partners'
Young Professionals Division,
has started a weekly "Keepin'
It Kosh" class. The first ses-
sion on Nov. 8 attracted 18
participants.
Burnham said he has more
than 500 people in their 20s
Rabbi Leiby
and 30s on his Young Profes-
Burnham
sionals mailing list. About 80
regularly attend the group's
programs, and a core group of about 30 have
become close friends who are very active with
the organization.
The kashrut class was requested by the
students.
"We like to get together for meals, and I love
to cook," said Yael Aviv of Southfield. "The
group would come over Thursday night and
we would cook for Shabbat or the holidays.
Kashrut was new to most of them so they'd ask
me lots of questions."
Although Aviv, 30, has been kosher all her
life, she thought she could use a refresher on
the topic. She asked Burnham if he would

teach the group.
Most of the students knew the basics, but the
rabbi's first class opened their eyes to some of
the details of keepin' it kosh.
Many were not aware that U.S. law allows
food manufacturers to use cochineal, made
from dried beetles, as a food coloring. For
many years, Burnham said, Starbucks' straw-
berry Frappucinos were colored with cochineal.
Following an outcry
Above: Rachel Lory of
when that information
Oak Park, Lindsey Man-
became public in 2012,
dell of West Bloomfield,
the company switched
Josh Scafe and Elizabeth
Gretzinger, both of
to a vegetable-based
Southfield, Jaimee Wine
extract.
of Royal Oak and Josh
Modern food pro-
Sabes of Oak Park listen
duction methods make
to Yael Aviv of South-
field explain her kosher
it increasingly difficult
kitchen.
to know exactly what
goes into our food,
Burnham said, and that's why it's so important
to rely on kosher certification.
With Thanksgiving approaching, the rabbi
also discussed the question of whether turkey
can be kosher.