My “All Star” Celebration on the 6th Night of Chanukah with Jew In The City

When I heard that Allison Josephs of JewintheCity.com had produced a video entitled “Orthodox Jewish All Stars”, I had no idea what to expect. The truth is, it exceeded my expectations as did the all-star launch party that I attended that evening.

When I started to transition my 24/7 lifestyle to a 24/6 way of living, my friends and family thought I was not all there. They thought I was going through an early, mid-life crisis. How could I not go out with a bunch of friends to a restaurant on the busiest night of the week in a major city? What they did not know is that I had met some really incredible friends that had also transitioned their lives. They now kept Shabbat, ate only kosher food, and wore skirts (the men did not wear skirts but they did wear a kippah). Back then, there was no Jewinthecity.com to show that being an Observant Jew was cool. The stereotypes about Orthodox Jews were alive and well. The only way I could clear up any misconceptions was to introduce them to my friends who had also become more observant (an Orthodox Jew). We did not give up going out on a Friday night, we turned it into a celebration of Shabbat.

This year, I celebrated the 6^th Night of Chanukah alongside a crowd of savvy and sophisticated group of Orthodox Jews at the “Orthodox Jewish All Stars” video launch party in NYC. Allison Josephs is the founder and creator of Jewinthecity.com, a website and social media platform founded and directed by Josephs that breaks down stereotypes about religious Jews and offers a meaningful look into Orthodox Judaism through articles, and videos. A miracle has truly happened in that her work has made a difference in the perception of Orthodox Jews by both Jews and non-Jews.

I originally interviewed Allison Josephs about her popular website, Jew in the City, back in June 2009. The sound quality was not so good, but I am proud to know that I was able to schedule this interview with Allison Josephs back then. You can listen to it here:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/jewishshmooznetwork/2009/06/04/how-was-your-shavuot-

Fast forward almost 5 years later, and I was able to celebrate the tremendous growth and success Allison Josephs has experienced since then. This is no surprise, as Allison Josephs is an award-winning Jewish influencer, author, and inspirational speaker. She is also a mensch and as nice as she was when I first met her.

The evening was a lovely celebration, complete with all of the Chanukah fixings; a Latke Bar and Donut Dessert Bar by Michicas Caterers and wine tasting sponsored by Royal Wine. Other highlights of the evening included Dimitry Salita (professional boxer) thanking Allison for all her hard work improving stereotypes in the Orthodox Jewish Community and the Maccabeats lighting the Chanukah Menorah and singing the blessings. Amazing.

The complete list of “Orthodox Jewish All Stars” in the video includes basketball star Tamir Goodman, former HBO senior writer/producer Jamie Geller, YouTube a capella sensation The Maccabeats, former U.S. Supreme Court law clerk and founder of non-profit breast cancer support group Rochelle Shoretz, comedian Mendy Pellin, and Rhodes scholar Miriam Rosenbaum. This video included some of the many “Orthodox Jewish All Stars,” including; Joseph Lieberman (US Senator), Alex Clare (Top 10 Billboard Artist), and Faye Kellerman (best-selling author).

In order to make such a fantastic event even more spectacular, a team of talented “local Jewish All Stars” contributed and made this quite the party. Something else that I really loved about this event is that Gift of Life was there. I was so happy to get “swabbed” and I am now officially in the bone marrow match registry!

I look forward to seeing what’s next for Allison Josephs of JewintheCity.com. You can view the “Orthodox Jewish All-Stars” video on her website, JewintheCity.com. With a mix of light humor and rich content, Jew in the City explores these topics in a pleasant and easy to understand fashion, appealing to anyone who is curious to learn more about Orthodox Jews and observant Judaism, whether Jewish or not.

Additionally, Allison Josephs is the spiritual mentor to actress Mayim Bialik, and was named one of NJOP’s Top Ten Jewish Influencers in 2012. She is often quoted in the media on issues relating to Jewish life and observance, lectures widely across North America, has been featured in The Daily Beast, Huffington Post, and Yahoo News, among many other publications, and has written articles for the Jewish Press and The Forward, among other publications. Josephs, who is married with four children, has been involved in the field of Jewish education and outreach for over a dozen years, and received her Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University in Philosophy.

So, if you feel inspired and want to start keeping kosher, spending Friday night at a Shabbat meal, or even dressing more modestly, you can see that you are in very good company!

 

Hanukkah Hangout Brings Bloggers Together for a Night of Giving, Crafting, Creating, and Sharing

Right before the busy stream of Hanukkah events began, Jewish bloggers gathered together at the Hanukkah Hangout for a night of Giving, Crafting, Creating, and Sharing. The price for entry was a toy for families affected by Superstorm Sandy.

The evening started out with a welcome by Hanukkah Hangout co-hosts Jodi Samuels (jdeal and Metroimma) and Abbey Wolin and Esti Berkowitz (SweetUP). What better way to get better acquainted than using no more than 140 characters as the perimeters. The crowd of bloggers represented both traditional and online media. In traditional blogger event style, iPhones, Androids, and iPads shared the event as it was happening using the hashtag #hhangout. Once all of the introductions had been made, the bloggers started “creating”.

Abbey Wolin, SweetUP co-founder and founder of Not2Shabbey.com, gave a quick demonstration on how to take an ordinary piece of glass and make into something special. While some bloggers were with Abbey, the other bloggers competed in the Manischewitz Chanukah House Decorating Contest. Bloggers were split up into teams and created their own Chanukah House.

The bloggers were having so much fun creating and schmoozing that some of them did not get a chance to finish decorating their Chanukah Houses. However, the Chanukah Houses that were completed before the end of the evening were judged by a friend of our host for the evening. The decision was challenging, as each house had a unique and attractive design. The winning house was selected and the winners (Jessica Bernstein, Rafi Bernstein, and Gloria Kobrin) took home this beautiful kosher Godiva Chocolate package as their prize.

Thank you to the sponsor of this prize package, LeChocolatier, http://www.lechocolatieronline.com/sweet-holiday-planter.html. You can also save 10% on your order by using the code hhangout when you check out!

The winning house!

The neighborhood of Chanukah Houses created at our event

Not to worry, each Chanukah House is still eligible to win the Manischewitz Chanukah House contest. All photos can be uploaded easily to the Manischewitz Facebook page up until December 15th. Who couldn’t use an extra $500 this year? Besides, it is a lot of fun and a great activity for a Hanukkah party!

Manischewitz also has a fun Chanukah Cookie Decorating kit that your kids will just love. Just make sure they use their fingers to spread on the icing, not to eat it. Yes, this is the mission impossible!

 

Thanks again to all of our wonderful bloggers that came out to join us for the evening! Also, thanks to all of our fantastic bloggers that were tweeting and facebooking along with us that evening.

This holiday, consider giving back to those that suffered from the devastation of Superstorm Sandy. Many, many families have been affected and finding the extra time and money to give their children a gift this holiday season has had to take a back seat. Now, we can all help make this holiday special for them.

All toys collected from this event were donated to Achiezer.org.

Chanukah Day 7: Win a Tin of Walkers Shortbread

We just lit the 7^th candle and we are now in the 7^th day of Chanukah. Today was full of sweetness. I finally had the opportunity to try out the Babycakes Donut Maker with my friend. She decided to host a Chanukah party for a group of her 6 year old daughter’s friends. The project was to have fun and decorate donuts (hence the Babycakes machine). We both agreed, this is a great appliance, and a great gift idea!

The donuts came out beautifully! Here are some images so you can see just how easy it is to make professional looking donuts. This was also very cost-effective. Buying Kosher donuts at the bakery is much more expensive. We were able to have our donuts and eat them too!

The kids loved decorating them with powdered sugar, chocolate and vanilla icing, and sprinkles. Some kids even saved a donut to bring home.

Speaking of sweet things, I have something great to giveaway for the 7^th day of Chanukah. Have you heard of Walkers Shortbread? Walkers have been baking shortbread in the Scottish Highlands since 1898. They still use only the finest pure ingredients with no artificial colours, flavourings or preservatives. Suitable for vegetarians and certified Kosher OU-D. If you have not yet tried these products, you could get a chance by entering my giveaway. You will get to try the products I loved, like the Scottie Dog Shaped Shortbread Cookies, Mini Festive Stars and Mini Chocolate Chip, Shortbread Rounds, Quadruple Chocolate Chunk Cookies, and the Milk Chocolate Oatcake & Fruit Cookies.

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED. Congrats to Jen! I am giving away all of these cookies and I will choose a winner by tomorrow, December 27, at 11:59pmEST.

Please leave a comment below with the name of the product from Walkers Shortbread that you would like to try.

More chances to “win a tin”:

Follow @primetimeparent on twitter
Like Healthy Kosher Food and Beverages on Facebook

Tweet: I just might win a tin of #Walkers Shortbread and Cookies from @primetimeparent http://bit.ly/4wxe8y

I was not compensated for this post. I was given samples of the Walker Shortbread products to review.

Chanukah Days 5 & 6: Celebrate At Home

Friday night was the 4^th Night of Chanukah and Shabbos! A double header for us Sabbath observant Jews. My husband made latkes that flew off the serving platter. Sure, they were full of oil (symbolism of Chanukah) but they were also delicious. The kids loved them and so did I! The recipe was easy as ever. Simply combine pealed Idaho potatoes, onions, egg, salt and pepper in a bowl. Mix it up. Put at least ½ of oil (we use canola) in a pan. Make sure it is hot before adding the potato mixture. I asked my husband how to know when the oil was hot enough. He told me the secret. Drop water on the oil and if it dances, it is ready for your potato latke mixture. Drop in the pan and when they are brown and crispy flip, about 5 minutes on each side. Another tip in making latkes, do not drain the the water with the potato starch. It is this starch that keeps the latkes together. Latkes are an appetizer that you can serve even when it is not Chanukah. I know that we will definitely have these again and again.

Once Shabbat ended, we continued our regularly scheduled Chanukah program. We lit the candles and sang Mazur together. The kids couldn’t wait to get back to their coloring sheets. I also decided to make my own Chanukah Party Play List (see below). This was a big hit and the kids were still singing the words to “Chanukah Fever”and “The Funky Gold Menorah” when they went to bed.

First Night of Chanukah: Celebrate The Miracle With Jewish Food From Around the Web

I can’t believe tonight is the first night of Chanukah, or is it Hannukah, or Hanukah?? However you spell it, this is one of my favorite Jewish holidays. Not only because it is so rich in meaning (and the food is rich too, oy) and symbolism. Who else would eat vats of oil for 8 days straight!! Lite, baked,or fried, this holiday can help us all see the miracles around us every day. Especially if we don’t gain inches!! So, let’s get this party started with some good Jeiwsh food!

If your Jewish holiday cooking book is falling a part, or has to much caked-on (what is that?) flour to see an entire recipe, I can help. I have included some links that you will find helpful in preparing a festive and delicious feast (sans cookbook) for your friends and family. I already feel guilty because I may have left somebody off this list. Please let me know if you have stumbled upon a great Chanukah recipe or blog that I could share with my readers.

8 Ways I Try to Keep My Kids Busy Over The Holidays

There are so many activities happening in and around New York for Chanukah this year. Kids just want to have fun, so I have included 8 ways to keep kids busy for 8 days and beyond this Chanukah.

Live Concerts. Every year since we were introduced to the Mama Doni Band, we never miss a Maccabeat at her Chanukah Fever concert. Just yesterday I took 4 kids to her performance the 92ndY in Manhattan. We danced. We sang. We noshed. This year, Streits has sponsored Mama Doni’s tour and generously gave Streit’s Chanukah Gelt and free music downloads to everybody. You can check out some of Mama Doni’s videos about Chanukah here.

$250 Delicious Chanukah Giveaway!

The Biggest and Most Delicious Chanukah Giveaway! Worth $250!

Do you love trying new Kosher foods? Is it fun for you to find the latest, gadgets to help you in the kitchen?

You will want to enter the Biggest and Most Delcious Chanukah Giveaway!

I am very thankful to the incredible vendors that attended Kosherfest this year. They have provided the below items, which total $250! Here they are:

Chanukah metal cookie cutters from Rite Lite & Shulsinger Judaica Large silicone dreidel baking molds. Dreidel shaped paying cards, and Box of Chanukah candles

JOY OF KOSHER magazine – Chanukah edition (Jamie Geller)

Menorah shaped large chocolates from SUGAR-PLUM

Box of protein bars fron SIMPLY BAR

SCHNEIDER’s Crispy fried onions cans

Lipton kosher boxed soups from KEDEM Foods

TISHBI gift pack of champagne jams and preserves

Rabbi Mints from Rabbi Mintz

Silicone Trivets with Chanukah shape/theme – THE KOSHER COOK

Kosher Keepers plastic food storage containers (imprinted with
dairy, parve, meat) from KOSHER KEEPERS

The Case of the Missing Menorah DVD from Shalom Sesame

….and a CHEESE BASKETS from
Les Petites Fermieres and ($85 dollar value, wow!)

To enter this swaggy giveaway, please reply to the question below. The first entry is mandatory; the other three are optional. The more you enter, the better your chance is of winning.

What is your favorite way to eat potato latekes?

Follow primetimeparent on twitter

“Like” Healthy Kosher Foods and Beverages on Facebook

Tweet about this contest:

I might win the biggest and delicious #Chanukah giveaway by @primetimeparent http://bit.ly/4wxe8y

This contest HAS BEEN EXTENDED!!! New end date Sunday, December 11, and 1130pm. This contest is only open to US residents (sorry Canadian friends). I did not receive payment for this giveaway, however, I did get to sample these products at Kosherfest.

Mama Doni’s Chanukah Fever Is Still Glowing Strong

Chanukah is just around the corner and Mama Doni & The Mama Doni Band have partnered with Streit’s Matzos this year! I remember when I first interviewed Mama Doni, Doni Zasloff Thoms in real life, on Blog Talk Radio just before the release of “Chanukah Fever” CD in November 2009. You can listen to the interview here! One of my best ever!!

a-shmooze-with-doni-zasloff-thomas-aka-mama-doni-about-her-new-cd-chanukah-fever

I am so proud to let you know that Mama Doni’s CD will be available in ‘select’ Costco locations (kvelling) starting the week of November 21!

Delicious Hannukah Latka’s From Jamie Geller

My friend Jamie Geller has some delicious latka recipes for you to try!!! Check it out on Good Day New York!!

A Social Media Schmooze With Metroimma

On Monday night, Metroimma.com and Primetimeparenting.com (that’s me) co-hosted another successful Jewish Social Media Shmooze in NYC. Jewish bloggers and entrepreneurs participated in an online and offline discussion about social media. Don’t Jewish people always shmooze? Why is this night different than any other night?