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Written by: Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 29 September 2014

Created: 29 September 2014

Last Updated: 29 September 2014

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The community is invited to celebrate Sukkot at Westchester Reform Temple on Wednesday October 8 from 5 to 8 pm. The temple will be filled with an assortment of booths where there will be learning, music, fun and food all without an admission charge.

"At WRT, we strive to reimagine and reinvent our traditions and our celebrations to make our holidays more meaningful," says Senior Rabbi Jonathan Blake. "This year, we're using booths, or Sukkot, not only to recall the temporary dwellings our ancestors used during their wanderings, but also to engage Judaism and this festival observance in a new way that reflects the energy of WRT's community and education."

The evening will offer something for everyone:

-5:00 p.m. Young children and their families can enjoy a pizza dinner (nominal charge) before a short service in one of the congregation's sukkot.
-5:30 p.m. Sukkot Service for participants of all ages.
-6:00 p.m- to 8:00 pm: Attendees of all ages will enjoy The Koby Hayon Acoustic Trio, which will
perform Israeli and Jewish music
7:00 p.m. Adult study will include a Sukkot meditation program.
8:00 p.m. Rabbi Blake will host Spirits in the Sukkah, an adults-only gathering featuring both study and the tasting of locally-distilled whiskey and other spirits.

Smorgasburg food vendors Woezo, Chickpea and Olive and Amore Pizza will provide a mix of vegetarian, West African inspired food and pizza for purchase.

"The booth, or sukkah in Hebrew, is the location for celebration and the central image of Sukkot," says Sorel Goldberg Loeb, Director of Education at WRT. "We will move our afternoon classes out of their permanent rooms and away from their permanent routines to temporary shelters outside our building. There, our students will learn the traditions of Sukkot, taste new foods, and hear some wonderful Israeli music. Getting our students in a new setting will both stimulate their learning and reflect the holiday."

For more information, contact the congregation at 914-723-7727 or [email protected] or visit the website at wrtemple.org.

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Written by: Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 23 September 2014

Created: 23 September 2014

Last Updated: 29 September 2014

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Based on the concept of "We Care 'Cause You Care," Scarsdale Synagogue Temples Tremont and Emanu-El, s launching agrass-roots social action program.The first activity is focused on an initiative spearheaded by several of its members to encourage fellow congregants and the wider Scarsdale community to register as possible bone marrow donors. Bone marrow and blood from matching donors are used as a treatment for leukemia and other life-threatening blood diseases.

The Synagogue's initiative is being conducted in cooperation with the Gift of Life Foundation, a leading bone marrow and blood stem cell donor registry. Gift of Life has also partnered with the Union of Reform Judaism (URJ) to run bone marrow recruitment drives. The drive is scheduled in connection with Kol Nidre and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) observances. On that Friday, October 3rd, and Saturday, October 4th, people who volunteered for the bone marrow registry will be asked to provide a tissue sample that will be easily and painlessly obtained by simply touching a sterile cotton swab to the inside of the person's cheek. Potential donors must be between the ages of 18-60 and in general good health. The bone marrow drive's slogan is: "Swab a Cheek, Inscribed for Life."

DNA information from that sample will then be preserved in the Gift of Life bone marrow registry. A registrant whose DNA matches a patient's need can then be asked to make the donation of either marrow or blood, with the decision to do so being completely voluntary.

Scarsdale Synagogue's grass-roots program is designed to enable members, who feel passionately about a worthy cause not yet embraced by the Congregation, to find and connect with other members with a similar interest. This group of committed individuals will then be better able to pool their energies, and gain the active support of the Synagogue, to pursue the Jewish ideal of tikkun olam (repairing the world).

"Our members already engage in a variety of charitable and similar activities we support," said Jeffrey C. Brown, Scarsdale Synagogue's Senior Rabbi. "These include a food bank addressing hunger in Westchester and the North Bronx, along with our Mitzvah Day outreach program that this November will benefit the Westchester Diaper Drive, Midnight Run and many others. The cool thing about the grass-roots program is how it enables our families to more readily find like-minded fellow congregants to enhance individual efforts on behalf of other worthy causes, with the scale and impact that group activities can bring to bear."

Commenting on behalf of the membership, Synagogue President Donna Vitale Ruskin said: "With the support we get from our clergy and including selected resources available from our broad-based funds reserved for tzedakah (charitable giving), our congregants will be better able to help others through activities supported by the Synagogue. We expect that this new approach will further engage our community, as we continue to reach out and live our ideals through supporting both Jewish and secular humanitarian causes."

About Scarsdale Synagogue
Scarsdale Synagogue Temples Tremont and Emanu-El is a Reform Jewish congregation committed to creating, with and for its 450 member families, a covenant community of shared lives and real relationships. Founded in 1961, the Synagogue was joined by the memberships of Tremont Temple of the Bronx in 1976 and Temple Emanu-El of Southern Westchester in 2008. For further information, contact: Roberta Aronovitch, Executive Director at (914) 725-5175 or by email at [email protected].

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Written by: Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 21 August 2014

Created: 21 August 2014

Last Updated: 21 August 2014

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It's tomato season. And I know I can't enough of all the wonderful varieties that are available – red, yellow, heirloom, plum and cherry tomatoes abound. Ramsey's Farm in Scarsdale has a bounty of ripe tomatoes of all varieties for sale. What to do when you have too many? Before they go bad, consider these recipes from Emi Boscamp at the website Food 52 to use summer's beauties even when they've lost their firmness and are too soft to slice into a salad.

Bruschetta:

Roast chopped tomatoes (or sliced cherry tomatoes) in the oven under they are caramelized. Then, melt some cheese on crostini (or keep it plain), throw on your tomatoes, season, and you have a delicious hors d'oeuvre to serve to all your summertime guests.

Tomato Sauce:

Boil the tomatoes for a minute, peel them (here's how), chop them, then let them simmer into a tomato sauce, and add whatever seasonings you like. Go with garlic, anchovies, capers, and crushed red pepper for Pasta Puttanesca, or butter and onion for Marcella Hazan's Tomato Sauce.

Find more great recipes for summer tomatoes here:

(Photos and text courtesy of Food52)

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Written by: Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 23 July 2014

Created: 23 July 2014

Last Updated: 23 July 2014

Hits: 5661

Taiim Cellar in Scarsdale Village has reinvented itself as a Mediterranean wine and tapas bar and is now offering a selection of small plates that can be enjoyed inside the sleekly designed restaurant or outside at tables on Boniface Circle. The restaurant installed a new ventilation system in the kitchen and is now permitted to grill, widening the possibilities of what they can serve.

We stopped by this week to sample the new offerings and were pleasantly surprised to find a comfortable table outside and many appealing small plates from which to choose.

Along with a glass of chilled rose, we started by sharing an endive, watermelon, pickled celery, feta and mint in a yogurt dressing. It was crisp, crunchy and refreshing. Next up was the Fritto Misto –fried calamari, shrimp and fennel served with a rich truffle aioli sauce. Maitre D' Danny highly recommended the calamari in smoky tomato sauce shown here and the flavor was indeed unique.

However my favorite was the grilled skirt steak "Bavette" with cipollini onions in romesco sauce. Next time we'll be ordering two of those. It was sizzling and delicious.

Also on the menu are Taiim's signature selection of hummus, a good choice of panini sandwiches, plus salads and an extensive cocktail list. Prices are reasonable, portions are generous and it's easy to enjoy a quick bite.

Stop by for lunch or dinner and tell Danny you saw the write up on Scarsdale10583. Taiim Cellar, 11 Boniface Circle, Scarsdale, 914-723-6900, www.taiimcellar.com.