The Canadian Jewish News, Friday, July 25, 1975 - Page 5
ion
By SHELDON KIRSHNER CJN Staff Reporter
This is the third article of a three-part series on Jewish-style and kosher restaurants in Toronto, as well as restaurants devoted to Middle East dishes. ^Staff reporter Sheldon Kirshner sampled a wide variety of dishes in a month long assignment.
TORONTO —
The Pickle Barrel (5863 Leslie) offers the habitue of delicatessens fairly pleasing surroundings and fine, solid food which is hard to beat anywhere. With its old-fashioned India fans, its red brick walls and its ancient mustard jars lined up along shelves much like toy soldiers, the Ptcfcle Barrel fuses the musty past with the frenetic present.
Diners with fussy palates need not worry about their range of food; it is wide and vast. As the outsized menu indicates, you can pick and choose from a dazzling variety of appetizers.' pickle barrel sandwiches, colossal sandwiches, salads and broiled, baked and barbecued meat. I started with cabbage rolls (.95), which were nice. The pa_strami Romania style ($1.60) was appealing while the corned beef on rye (also $1.60) was just as tangy. An old dill pickle, presumably from the Kckle Barrel's pickle barrel, intensified the pileasure of the repast.
My guest, who also happened to be in "a lean and hungry mood, began with rather, spicy barley soup (,65). She went on to have a corned beef on rye, and concluded with a farmer's salad ($1.75). It consisted of chopped green vegetables smothered with sour cream and piled with cottage cheese. The ingredients were fresh, but she thought there was a dearth of vegetables. A
backhanded compliment if 1 ever heard one.
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Pumpemik's (280 Wilson) isn't great nor is it bad. That's the kind of restaurant if is-^ innocuous, quiet, inoffensive and rather
ask the rabbi
can^t
brother^s widow
1. Can a woman marry her husband's brother after the former's death?
In the book of Leviticus (18:16) the rharriage of a man to his brother's widow is forbidden. In the book of Deuteronomy (25, 5—10) such a marriage is, however, enjoined if the dead brother has no children. But in the same passage it is stated that, as an alternative, the ceremohy of chalitza, "drJav/ing off the shoe," can be performed and then the widow is free to remarry.
Nowadays, it is the well-nigh universal custom for chalitza to be carried out and the marriage of the brother to the widow is not allowed. So the simple answer to your question is that, according to the Orthodox position, in most places it is never permitted for a woman to marry her husband's brother after the former's death.
2. How do you account for Hebrew being read from right to left?
Of the most ancient scripts the direction of Egyptian hieroglyphics was not fixed, but Assyrian cuneiform read from left to right. The Hebrew script was read from right to left from the beginning, but it is doubtful whether any special "reason",fpr this can be discovered.
copyright JONS, 1975
dull. If you're looking for a gourmet meal, go somewhere else; if you're interested in plain, unadorned food, it can be recommended. Pdmpemliu is licenced, and a drink or two may add zest to what is otherwise pedestrian fare.
I selected the salmon steak ($4.25), which came with garlic bread, onion soup and home fried potatoes. The soup was passable, and the salad unimpressive. Sad to say, the fish was somewhat dry. My guest, wishing to keep his girth to manageable proportions, ordered the open-face hot roast beef sandwich with gravy, cole slaw and French fries ($1.75). He pronounced it satisfactory, no more, no less. The coconut cream pie (.60) was fluffy and up to standard.
Schmerel's (824 Sheppard West) drips with Eastern European atmosphere. It is the kind of restaurant your Polish-bom parents might want to visit regularly. The owners. Mr. and Mrs. Schmerel Cyniamon, speak Yiddish or English when they mingle with their customers, as is often the case. The wall decorations are rather kitschy — who can surpass a Chassidic Superman emerging from a phone booth? — but it hardly matters.
It started with a hefty slab of out-of-the barrel schmaltz herring (.75), which was swimming in oil. Then I had kreplach soup (.95), which was light and ^uite to my liking. The rib Steak ($6.50), though juicy, was a bit over-tenderized.
My guest began with an extremely good liver knish in gravy (.85), which naturally whetted her appetite for the main course, breaded veal cutlet ($3.75). The veal was tender, but slightly too breaded, and the French fries a little Underdone. Our only major complaint was the glaring absence of pastry or cake. Although they were listed on the menu, the waitress said none were available. Maybe it was not one of their best nights. But don't be put off by this criticism. Schmerel's is really a great little place.
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Shopsowitz's (295 Spadina Avenue) was my first — and let me assure you — my last encounter with a self-service delicatessen. By the time I finished the schmaltz herring ($1.20), my pastrami on a roll ($1.60) had gone cold and tasteless, this being the result of the need to order everything at once. I might add that mv orange drink (.30) tasted exactly like Tang. It may sound like nit-picking, but restaurants should bie better equipped to serve half-decent beverages.
My Mexican guest found his corned beef on rye too bland and his gefilte fish ($1.20) not piquant enough. We both enjoyed our strudels.
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Pause before setting fool in the Sova (3457 Bathurst), a licenced kosher restaui-ant in the heart of the golden ghetto. You should pause because the Sova is fairly expensive and hardly fit for a tight budget. They offer full course meals accompanied by appetizers, soups, desserts and tea and coffee.
I opted for the roast duck dinner with farfel and kasha ($6.50). The duck was amazingly dry and not very meaty. The appetizer, meat balls in gravy, was only adequate. The matzoh ball soup was too bland for my taste.
My companion chose a dinner platter of breaded veal cutlet ($4.50) with mashed potatoes. She said it was thick and juicy, far better than the emaciated duck she. sampled. The cole slaw plate which the elderly waiter placed on our table was excellent — the best T have tasted in Toronto.
For some strange reason, there was only Auic other diner in the Sova on the Sunday aftcrnwn wc were there, so the service was quick and efficient. Incidentally, the waiter looked like a character out of an Isaac
Bashevis Singer novel.
* ' * -■ * * « *
* The Stone Cottage Inn (3750 Kingston Road) is a most incongruous place, located in a most unlikely setting and housed in an old British-type inn. Who would ever think that this was the venue for a Middle Eastern restaurant? Eid Atlia, the co-owner, an Egyptian-Christian who has lived in Canada
for 20 years, selected the Scarborough site because he was looking for cheap accommodation when he started in the business some years ago. He did not know whether Egyptian food would go over well with a Canadian clientele. Well, it has and Attia says he has noJntention of moving to a more central locale.
The decor of the restaurant is dazzlingly Oriental, with intricate carpets and beautiful Egyptian wall hangings. The lights are low. with tiny candles gracing each table. Unfortunately, the room temperature was oppressively hot, reminiscent of Egyptian weather. Attia said it was due to faulty heating, not to his imagination.
And what of the menu? There is ia full
range of appetizers, meat (Middle Eastern
and Canadian style) and desserts. I had
Egyptian shishkebob — marinated lamb
and vegetables on a thin layer of rice-
($6.50). It was good, but the price was
cxorbitant.My guest tried two of their
appetizers — taboula ($1.25), an authentic
Egyptian dish made of cracked wheat,
tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers,
onions, mints, parsley and lemon juice, all
finely chopped. It was really good, a change
of pace. Her dolma ($1.50). composed of
grape vine leaves stuffed with seasoned rice
and meat, was delicious. We both chose the
same dessert — baklava and Turkish coffee.
The baklavai was dreamily good.
■* .* ■*■ » *'.■»
Switzer*s Famoas Delicatessen (322 Spadina Avenue) was crowded and bustling with activity when we arrived at noon. The garment men were there and so were all the university kids. The place was iii an absolute uproar, biit the seirvice was nevertheless remarkably good.
r felt that my kishka ($1.10) was too bland, but the baby beef ($3.10) was aromatic and lender. My guest said his beef knish appetizer (.65) was too dry and contained too much potato. But he was happy with the mixed meat plate ($3) of pastrami, roast beef and corned beef. He; said the cole slaw (.45) was fresh and tangy. oiic of the best he had ever had.
Switzer's reminds me of Ben's in Montreal. Both are noisy and frolicksome and utterly likeable.
* •« ■■*.,■ «■ . ^ ; * ■ * The United Bakers Dairy Restaurant (338
Spadina Avenue) is warm and congenial, and its food inspires poetry or effusive compliments. To put it simply, it is among the best Jewish-style restaurants 1 have had the pleasure of dining in.
Dazzled by the wide variety of dishes? 1 found it difficult to settle on anything. But finally. I decided lb begin with the chopped egg and onion appetizer ($1). My mother never made it any better. What more can 1 say? My salmon salad ($2.50) was fresh and delightful, and the, honey cake (.35) fantastic.
My companion had vegetable soup (.55), which she said was chock full of green beans, lima beans, barley, carrots and potatoes. Her cheese blintzes with sour cream ($1.60) were slightly sweet and just right. Her baked apple (,40) was warm and juicy.
One question: why don't the owners of United open a northern branch to service people who arc too lazy to go all the way downtown?
* * * * ' * '■ ■; * ■
Yitz's (346 Eglinlon West) is a strangely sterile place — despite the catchy house siyns. the nostalgic movie posters and the blow-up photos of famous men. Still and all, I can't complain about its food and its motherly scr\'ice.
Hiked their chicken matzo ball soup (.65). and enjoyed the meat platter of hot corned beef, pastrami and tongue ($3.55). The salad side dish, cold sauerkraut (.50)lacked zest. The apple strudel (.75) was poor.'
My guest thought his barley mushroom soup rich and a meal in itself. He found the boiled beef tlunken in the poi ($3.95) soft, with the meal sliding off the bones ever so gently. The cucumber salad (.50) was sharp and sweet. The Viennese cakel (.75) waS nothing to rave about.
(Editor's note: Sheldon Kirshner claims he did nol'gain any weight as a result of this assignment — a claim we find hard to accept.)
A rafat awarded peace
s mora
ByJ.B.SALSBERG
There are times when one thinks that he has seen and heard the worst of political dishonesty and cynicism in the generally immoral sphere of international politics. But just then an especially shtK-king and unusually revolting scene appears on the jaded stage of world politics. And one wonders whether there is no limit to depravity ori the international front.
It seems that we have now reached such- a new low in international morality. It happened in Moscow and. not without significance, the nauseating occurrence remained practically unknown in our parts of the world, though it was brazenly popularized in other pans of our cynical world.
Oil June 3. Pravda, the official organ of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, announced that the World Council of the World Peace Congress decided to present a few "champions for peace" with "golden peace medals." Among the privileged few was, no other, than Yjlsser Arafat, the leader of the major murderous and foremost peace-obstructing organization in the worid — the PLO.
\ read this news in utter disbelief but, unfortunatclv. it is true. The Kremlin-
controlled World Peace Congress did actually award a "golden peace medal" to Yasser Arafat, assumingly for his world-renowned contribution to world peace by hijacking and bombing civilian passenger planes; for operating a world-wide syndicate of murderers, assassins and kidnappers; for murdering, in cold blood, innocent civilian men, women and children; for bombing crowded shopping areas; for obstructing Middle East peace by insisting that a member state of the UN, Israel, be destroyed, and for addressing the UN Assembly with a "peace loving" revolver hanging from his hips so as to emphasize his peaceful intentions.
Yes. it all seems grotesquely unbelievcable but it is true. Yes, it is an insult to one's intelligence and to one's fundamental concepts of truth and decency. But it only adds to the mounting pile of evidence that the present rulers in the Kremlin are — aS the Chinese maintain right along — an unprincipled cabal of "new Czars" and imperialists, who recklessly manipulate principles and truth to further their unprincipled objectives.
Information of the latest bit of sordidness from Moscow came our way via a public statement made by Esther Vilenska. a long-time Israeli Communist leader, which was reprinted in the politically schizophrenic Vochenblat (a bi-weekly) which appears in Toronto. Esther Vilenska, mind you, doesn't protest the granting of the golden peace medal to Arafat — she only expresses her disagreement with that action. But she does this as a member of the World Council of Moscow's Worid Peace Congress who, I would like to believe, wasn't consulted about Moscow's choice any more than were many other non-Russian members of the World Council.
Vilenska is careful to emphasize her support for an independent Palestinian
state but, she states correctly, Arafat leads a terrorist body that is ostensibly striving for the rights of the Palestinians while his political aim is to "abolish the right of national self-determination for the Jewish people."
Now that we have the information of "^Moscow's elevation of Arafat to the pedestal of peace champion we can better understand the behavior of the automatons who head the inconsequential and completely ossified Canadians branch of the World Peace Congress. While Canadians of ail walks of life and of all political persuasions were protesting the admission of the PLO crime-experts to the UN conference on crime, the political zombies of the Canadian section of the Moscow-manipulated Peace Congress pleaded tor the admission of the Arafat, delegates. They must have been in receipt of Moscow's press-release regarding the honoring of Arafat before anyone else in Canada was aware of that cynical deed. That was. of course, their cue to follow suit.
In their telegram to Prime Minister Trudeau . the Canadian puppets (among whom are also a few Jews) warned him that a denial of admission for the PLO delegates would be "an affront" to alL Canadians (they speak, of course, for all Canadians) and will prove that the Canadian government allows itself to be influenced by the pressure of "certain groups". (Is that a euphemism for Canadian Jews?)
But. enough is enough. Moscow, that always manipulates its "peace movement" (from which the Chinese are excluded) for its political objectives, has now crowned Arafat as a champion of peace and as the merited recipient of the "golden peace medal." It is another shamcfu! and disgusting manifestation of the immorality of our times and of the political and moral degeneration of Moscow.
Who's poorer than one who hasn't tto for the study of G-ds Torah?' asks ratobi
By RABBIMEIR GOTTESMAN
Parshat Aykev
Hee^shamer Pcha pen tishkach et Hasbem Elokecha.... Beware lest thou forget the L—rd thy G—d...
Sometimes, our most valuable possessions are right under our noses, but we don't even realize they're there...
Once a wealthy businessman boasted to the Chofetz Chaim how rich and successful he was.''Tell me, nly son,'' the saint asked, "do yoii at least spend an hour or two each day studying the Torah?
"Rabbi. I can't," the man apologized, "I'm too busy looking after my interests..." "Oy", the Chofetz Chaim cried, "you say you're rich — but who's poorer than a person who has not time..."(Ituray Torah)
Time can be dynamite -—when a Jew uses it to draw close to the Ribono shel Olam. Sometimes a person says to himself — "It's been so long since I opened up a chumash, or kept the Sabbath, it's too late to change now..." But even ifsomeone has been away from Yiddishkeit for 50 years, there's always a way...because G—d Himself pitches in. Consider...Moses taught,"what does the L—rd thv G^d ask of thee — kee
im Il'yeerah — but to fear the L—d..." And our Rabbis added: hakol beie'day shomayim chutz mee'yirat shomayeem...everything is in the hands of Heaveii except,the fear of Heaven..."
What did they mean? But sometimes a person stays up all night praying that G-^d help him buy a certain house, or marry a certain girl, or give him a refnah shUdmah
— health. Maybe the almighty will say yes
— or maybe no. But if a Jews cries — "Ribono shel Olam, help me do Teshuyah..:" G—d will never turn him down...(Cheedushay Hareem)
A Jew must be ready to walk through fire to serve the Almighty. But sometimes it's hard to have real faith — we wonder, why does He allow so much suffering? But there is a reason for everything — even if we don't understand it. Doesn't the Torah itself say
"ka'asher yiyaser ish et b'no — like a father chastens his son, the L—-rd thy G—d chastens you..." When a loving father wants to teach his child to walk, he stands a few inches away, and the child takes a step. As the child gets closer, the father moves a little further, and then again, step by step
— until the child can stand on his own like a real mensch... ,
Our loving Father in Heaven uses the same method. Sometimes he gives us a bit of tzorus so that we turn to Him in prayer; and keep more of His commandments. And then when we've reached a certain level, we have new headaches and times of testing — all that we should rise closer and closer to Him. Sometimes it's not easy — but after all, why did G—d put us on this earth in the first place? To see how many sailboats we can race, or how many rounds of tennis we could play? The whole universe was created only that we should keep the mitzvahs...
(Adapted for the Maggid of Mezrich) • Especially when it comei to Israel, it's incredible how the nations of the world' gather against her — but in the end, victory is sure to come. For example...Moses told the Jews that Israel is' 'eretz zais shemen — a land of olives that produce oil..." What's the big deal? But Moses said, "listen, just like when you mix oil with other liquids, it always rises to the top —- you will wind up victorious. But it's going to be tough going. The only way you get oil is when the olives are squeezed hard, and you're going to have to struggle. But have faith..."(Chatam Sofer)
We are all in the hands of G—d. Once the Brisker Rabbi asked one of his former pupils who opened a store, "so, how's your business coming along?"
"Fine", he answered. "We're showing good profit. A few minutes later the Rabbi asked again, "how's your business doing?" . "Fine", the student said, "we have plenty
of customers." Finally, when the Rabbi asked him a third time, the student got impatient. "Why do you ask me so rnuch about my business." The Rabbi laughed, "when I asked you about your business, I didn't mean the store — that's in G—d's hands, not yours. I asked you about your business...how many brachos you make, how many pages of Talmud you study — that's in your hands...
May our brothers in Israel spiritually and materially. Shabbat Shalom.
Please note our Sparks from the Torah TV schedule: /l^erro Cable, Mondays at 7:30, Wednesdays at 5; York Cable, Tuesdays at 8; Willow Downs Cable, Tuesdays at 8:30; Keeble Cable, Thursdays at 8.
ews
and Facts
MYTHS;
Arabs are anti-Zionist.*not anti-Jewish.
Europeans, not Arabs, persecuted Jews. Arabs should not have to "pay" for persecution they did not participate in.
Jews have nothing, to fear from a pluralistic state where Jews will live in peaj:e as a minority with their Arab neighbors. * FACTSl
Sandi Arabia: No Jews are allowed to enter the country, not evien U.S. soldiers
stationed in Dahran. A British diplomat of Jewish origin was not accepted. A French journalifit who was a Jew was not permitted to accompany a cabinet minister of France on a visit to the country.
Yemen: In 1948, the Jewish population was 54,000. Today, it is nil. Jews were always treated as infidels; they could not ride horseback, carry arms, own property or build houses taller than those of .Moslem landlords.
South Yemen: In 1948. the Jewish population was 7,000. Today, it is nil. Mob violence during the Six-Day War killed many Jews. The British Government then in Adan evacuated the remaining 350 Jews in June 1967.
Syria: The 1948 population was 45.000. Today, it is estimated between 2,500 and 4,500.' -
Before the Six-Day War, the Jews who remained in Syria were terrorized by night arrest, interrogation, imprisonment and torture. Jews were not allowed to leave the Damascus ghetto.
After the Six-Day War. the situation deteriorated. An airport was paved over the Jewish cemetery in Damascus. School examinations are deliberately scheduled on Saturday to prevent Jewish participation. Jews are singled out as such on identity cards. Palestinian refugees are housed in
the Jewish Quarter to prey on residents.
Jews are not permitted to leave the country, to go more than 4 kilometfcrs from their place of business, to sell real estate, to work for the government or banks, to have telephones or driving licences, to bequeath any of their property to their heirs. Most Jews working for Arab merchants have been dismissed, and Jewish" shops are_ officially boycotted.
Egypt: In 1948. the Jewish population was 75.000. Today, it is 60.
There was a major pogrom in 1945. Thousands of Jews were imprisoned in 1948.1956and 1%7. When war broke out in 1967, homcsand property were confiscated. After that war. Jews were put into concentration camps, administered by former SS men. ,
Libya: In 1948. the Jewish population was 40.000. Today, it is 40.
Pogroms .occurred in ('Tripoli and Benghazi in i945 (100 were murdered then) and 1967 (18 were murdered). Jews were burned in their shops, hurled from rooftops or beaten to death. Almost all synagogues were sacked. All Jews were imprisoned in I96"7. and after the war, brutal pogroms occurred in which another 18 Jews were killed. r
In 1970. the government, \iQder the present leader. Qadaffi. confiscated all
in
.Icwish property, cancelled all debts owed to Jews since June 5. 1967, cancelled all Jewish claims for compensation, herded all hivmclcss Jews into special camps, forbade any vv)mmercial dealings with Jews and prevented emigration of the few remaining Jews.
Jordan: No Jews survived the annexation of the West Bank in 1948, prior to which time, more than 5,000 Jews lived there. There .is no Jewish persecution today because there are no Jews.
Iraq: In 1948, the Jewish population was 125.000. Today, h totals perhaps 600.
The Jewish community there is 2,700 years old, and no Jewish community since Hitler, has suffered as much.
Pogroms occurred in Baghdad in 1941 and 1949. In 1952, the government ended any emigration rights. When, in 1963. the Ba'ath Party took power, synagogues and schools were taken, the sale of property wais forbidden, freedom of movemeiit was restricted, and all Jews were forced to carry yellow identity cards. A year later,, communal institutions were closed, and any dealing in land and shares by Jews was forbidden.
After the Six-Day War, further Jewish property was expropriated, bank accounts of Jews were frozen. Jews were dismissed /from public posts, businesses were shut.
trading permits were cancelled, and telephones were disconnected.
These restrictions were contained in specific statutes and regulations, Iraq Law No. 10 of 1968 and Iraq Law No. 64 of 1967. .\lt hough these laws were formally "rescinded" in June, 1969, they are still in operation.
In 1%8. saires were jailed, and 19 were sentenced to death in staged trials aiid barbariously hanged in public in Baghdad,
Baghdad radio, on January 27, 1969, called upon Iraqis to "comeand enjoy the feast" following which a half million men, women and children paraded and danced past the scaffolds where the bodies of the hanged Jews swung.
Since that time, Jews began disappearing and today, more than two dozen of them are still missing.
Tunisia: 1948 population was 23,000. Todav, it is perhaps 9,000.
Jews have been attacked by rioting inobs, and synagogues and shops have been burned. The government, however, denounced the outbreaks, and the President apologized to the Chief Rabbi, promising compensation. The goveniment asked the Jews to remain, but did not prevent anyone from leaving. Hundreds emigrated to France.
Algeria: In 1948. the Jewish population
was 150.000. Today, it is perhaps 1.000.
The majority of the Jews left with the French in 1963. There have been no reports of persecution of those who remained.
Morocco: In 1948, the Jewish population was 300,000. Today, it is perhaps 35,000.
Riots directed agaiiist the Jews and anti-Jewish propaganda are instigated by the Istiqial Party. King Hassan, however, has tried to protect the Jews, but the Jewish middle class has virtually disappeared. Younger Jews are anxious to leave.
. treatment of the Jews in Arab lands is hot unique. Almost every minority has suffered, discrimination and worse under Arab rule. Arab school books continue, to contain anti-Semitic references; , ■ .
The Syrian Minister of Education, in writing to the Director-General of UNESCO, in 1968, stated: "The hatted which we indoctrinate into the minds of bUr /Children from their birth is sacred." V 'A
The PLO has distributed '" Mein JKampT' in Arabic. El-Fatalv^ has published "the protocols of the Bders of Son," the /^^^i^^^ traditional anti-Semitic tract which "des^ ; i^'l cribes" a Jewish'plan to fule the worid, to *i destroy all nonrJewish societies ijy^wait;^,^^^^r^^^v'^^|^^ riots^ crinies, manipulation of the j^ifesiiaiiiej V •^^^ educational systems J«!w^sh:^oh6mic' pqwer:^a:;'^^^^^^^^^^