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Newsletter : 9fax0430.txt
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>Israel Faxx
>JN April 30, 1999, Vol. 7, No. 81
Sephardic Tradition: Locusts are Kosher
By Arutz-7 News Service
A conference at Bar Ilan University focusing on the consumption
of locusts in Jewish law and practice may have both culinary and
religious implications. In Leviticus 11, the Torah permits eating
certain species of locust -- but the question is, which species?
Researcher Dr. Zohar Amar, speaking at the conference, noted that
"from the extensive rabbinic sources [on the subject], one gets the
impression that during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods, Jews
possessed a clear tradition of the consumption of kosher locusts.
In the course of time, however, there has been a significant
breakdown: Already in the Middle Ages, Ashkenazi Jewish communities
lacked the ability to identify the kosher species, and they
certainly didn't possess any ongoing tradition on the matter."
Not so in the Jewish communities of North Africa and Yemen,
however. Speaking to Yediot Acharonot, Amar said that in
Yemen, grasshoppers are a snack food. "The body of the creature is
fried in oil or butter, or alternatively, is used as a soup base.
In the times of the Mishnah and Talmud, Jews used to preserve
locust in salt or vinegar. To this day, chocolate or sugar-coated
grasshoppers are sold in the markets of France, Japan and South
Africa."
Beit El resident Netanel Shorr, who recently co-authored a book on
the subject, also speaks excitedly of the natural and mystical
qualities of the erstwhile pest. Shorr says that testimonies of
Yemenite and North African Jews may help identify the exact species
of kosher locusts, so that all Jewish diners would have a halakhic
[Jewish law] license to feast on the insect.
Dybbuk-Removal Ceremony Arouses Broad Interest
By Arutz-7 News Service
The Israeli media have reported the removal ceremony of a dybbuk
[wandering soul] that was performed by Kabbalist Rabbi David Batzri
and 30 other rabbis in a Jerusalem yeshiva.
The event has aroused reactions from many quarters, ranging from
total scorn to a desire to repent. It was broadcast live over
hareidi radio stations, and many people were invited to the
ceremony, in order to "publicize the sanctification of God's Name,
and to cause more people to believe in the existence of an
afterlife," according to Batzri's son, Rabbi Yitzchak Batzri.
Rabbi Batzri [the son] said a woman whose husband had died 3-1/2
had recently been plagued by the soul of her husband, which
"entered her body and spoke from within her in his own voice to his
sons and friends.
"The woman underwent terrible suffering. Finally, after great
hesitations, my father agreed to perform this ceremony, feeling
that the life of the woman was at stake -- for the dybbuk had
threatened to kill her by choking."
The younger Rabbi Batzri explained that a "wandering" soul suffers
more than one that faces immediate divine punishment. In the
exorcism ceremony, the elder Rabbi Batzri is heard talking
forcefully with the dybbuk, whose short answers are delivered in a
raspy and sometimes unclear voice.
"My father told the dybbuk over and over that he has no right to
harm anyone. The dybbuk said he had committed many sins, but did
not want to elaborate. My father then performed a 'tikkun'
[sublimation of the soul], and forced the dybbuk to exit the
woman's body through her toe. She later felt great pain there for
a few hours, but now, thank God, she is perfectly healthy."
The entire ceremony [in Hebrew] is posted on the Arutz-7 web site
at http://www.a7.org/sound/sound.htm.
The Ice Cream War
By IsraelWire
Ice cream manufacturers waited until after the Passover holiday to inaugurate the beginning of the ice cream season. This year is personified by an international battle between ice cream producers over their share of the Israeli market.
Competing are the giants Nestle-Motta and Unilever, and for the
first time the competition is close. Nestle-Motta is owned jointly by
Osem and Tnuva (who previously produced the Tene-Noga ice
creams). Unilever owns 50% of Strauss ice creams.
A third international company that is fighting for a share of the
ice cream market is Ben and Jerry's, which suffered setbacks
lately. A deal is approaching completion in which the U.S. Ben and
Jerry's company will acquire 50% of Ben and Jerry's Israel, which
will turn their Yavne factory into the main producer of Ben and
Jerry's ice cream for the Middle East. In the category of
super-premium ice creams, Haagen-Dazs is also fighting to improve
their slim cut of the Israeli market.
Israeli ice cream sales reach NIS 1 billion annually, mostly
between April and October. This figure accounts for 60 million
liters of ice cream consumed annually. The average Israeli nearly
10 quarts of ice cream a year, compared with about 23 quarts
consumed by Americans and 15.5 quarts eaten by Europeans. The
favorite flavor in Israel is chocolate, while the favorite flavor
in the United States is vanilla.
According to a Nielson survey, Strauss leads the ice cream market
with 55%, while Nestle-Motta follows with 35%. Ben and Jerry's and
Haagen-Dazs equally split the remaining 10% of the market. However,
according to Strauss managing director Shmuel Goldberger, the
recorded market survey does not include ice cream sales in kiosks,
cafes, and at the beaches. There are also some 40 smaller ice cream
manufacturers, such as Beersheva Ice Cream, Rio, Feldman, and Dr.
Lick.
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