JANUARY 23 • 2020 | 5
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for starters
Jewish Food
F
ood is integral to Jewish
culture; everything
revolves around eating.
All our major holidays are
food-centric. I mean, what’
s
Chanukah without latkes?
Purim without hamentashen?
Passover without gefilte fish?
Rosh Hashanah
without almond
boneless chicken
and Gai Kow? I
have met more
Jews at Chinese
restaurants on
the Breaking
of the Fast than at Kol Nidre
(Counting the number of
Chinese at Jewish delis over
the last 60 years … I’
m guess-
ing maybe three or four, and
they looked confused.)
I think we have the best
food of any culture. I didn’
t
say healthiest. It’
s loaded with
fat and salt, but nothing tastes
better! And, I have nine stents
and three bypasses to prove it.
Little did I know that when
my dad gave me my first piece
of salami at age 10 and said,
“Here, boychek, live a little,
”
he meant it literally. But it’
s
worth it because, like Johnny
Carson said, he once knew a
man who gave up smoking,
drinking. and fatty food … He
was healthy right up to the day
he shot himself.
But, my biggest peeve is the
cost. Our food is so expensive
it’
s probably the main reason
we have so few converts. A
Methodist could never afford
these prices! I remember
bagels, a dozen on a string at
Maxy’
s Grocery, 4 cents each.
Now it’
s a buck. Halavah was
10 cents, now it’
s almost $2.
I’
m old enough to remember
when a schtikel (a little piece)
was a nickel. Now a schtikel is
a dollar. What a shame, and it
doesn’
t even rhyme.
Sunday brunch used to
consist of hot bagels, salami,
hand-cut lox, smoked fish,
schmaltz herring and sable
and cost about $10. Today you
have to dip into your IRA to
pay the bill.
I love sable; it used to be a
staple at Sunday brunch. Now
it’
s $44 a pound, hermetically
sealed under glass, like a muse-
um piece. Believe me, if I were
gonna rob a deli, I’
d leave the
cash and take the sable!
The only time you see sable
these days is on a shivah tray.
It’
s the ultimate shandah.
You’
re dead and everyone is
eating the sable you couldn’
t
afford in life. It’
s to the point
now that when you have to
make a shivah call, you’
re
caught between two emotions
— sadness and salivation.
Dr. Fredric Gold is a retired phy-
sician, residing in Bloomfield Hills,
who tries to see the humorous side
of life.
Fredric Gold
Commentary was
Not Accurate
In this contentious politi-
cal climate, many on both
sides are apt to overstate
their positions. Readers
look to responsible media
for truth and accuracy. The
Jewish News failed to meet
my expectation by print-
ing a recent commentary
by David Schraub (“Why
are Jewish Groups Ignoring
Anti-Semitism from the
Mainstream Right,” page 6,
Jan. 2).
Schraub claims President
Trump is an anti-Semite
based on statements in
his address to the Israeli
American Council. But I
found Schraub carefully
cherry-picked words from
the speech to make them
sound sinister.
Take an example. The
president did not “(suggest)
Jews aren’
t ‘
nice people.’
“ The
transcript shows those words
were in the context of a mild
joke referring to tough nego-
tiations he’
s had with Jews
in the real estate business.
(Would Schraub prefer he
call them “really nice” push-
overs?) Perhaps Schraub is
just humor-deficient and
did not get it; however, his
other “examples” of President
Trump’
s “anti-Semitism” are
equally absurd.
We are facing the dismal
prospect of 10 long months
of political debate before the
election. I know you are able
to provide fair and accurate
coverage. I hope you will.
— Kerry Greenhut
West Bloomfield
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