Charlie Render

I was born in Israel and I live in Israel so naturally I’m Israeli and I’m proud. Living in Israel has its ups and downs but after reading the paper and watching the news about the life of Jews in other countries it seems to me that I live in a wonderful place without antisemitism and prejudice.
In Israel we are all Jews that is what I see at school when I look around me. Of course there are other nationalities and religions in Israel but still Israel is a country for Jews. It is like an oasis in the middle of the desert.

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In Israel being a Jew is not unique. My family and I eat kosher food and don’t mix dairy products with meat. We do it even without thinking and without special intention. When we go to the supermarket the meat we buy is kosher and so are the rest of the groceries. On Shabbat my parents don’t work and we don’t have school because Israel is a Jewish country. Sometimes we need to intensify the fact that we are Jewish so we do that with special little rituals like the ritual of the challah baking on Friday morning.

I’m not religious, but on Friday mornings I like to get up early in the morning and bake challah bread with my mother. This is a small but an important ritual that takes place in my house. The challah baking ritual began even before I was born with my sister, Maya.  Now that my sister is in the army, I find myself baking the challah with my mother only almost every Friday. This ritual got me closer to my mother and when we sit together to eat Friday night dinner we look proudly at our challahs, knowing that we did something special for the Shabbat.

Before this past year, one of my favorite Jewish traditions was going to Synagogue on Saturdays.  I would dress up, grab my beloved Siddur I received from my bar mitzvah, and spend 3-4 hours praying in Hebrew, listening to the Rabbi’s Dvar Torah, and gossiping with fellow members of the congregation, all for the reward of some truly incredible bagels and lox.  However, with the start of this pandemic, this ritual hasn’t really been possible, so I’ve had to find other ways to connect to Judaism.  I go to The Weber Jewish Community High School in Sandy Springs, Georgia.  It’s an egalitarian school, so prayer isn’t mandatory.  I don’t usually go;  they’re very early and as a 17-year old kid, my self-inflicted sleep deprivation makes anything in the early morning pretty difficult. 

I go to classes like Hebrew and Modern Jewish History.  I’m lucky to have those classes and it’s been great to express my Judaism through learning and studying.  I believe connecting with my Jewish community and learning about Judaism are just as important as praying or reading Torah. Since one of those things can’t be traditionally done as I’m stuck at home, I’ve been connecting and studying like never before.  I’m involved in organizations like BBYO and Young Judaea, as well as the AJC and the Jumpspark fellowship program.  These really are the highlights of my week;  They offer a break from the monotony of school, homework, video games, exercise, and sleep. 

One that stands out, however, is the Jumpspark program.  With Jumpspark, I work with Israeli teens just like me to tell our stories of Jewish identity in America and Israel. I’ve learned a lot about Israel from my Israeli friends in Jumpspark or otherwise.  My work in Israel advocacy is one of my most beloved connections to other Jews in Israel, but talking to Israeli friends helps me get new perspectives, and they’re all wonderful, interesting people.  My greatest friends live at home, in the USA.  I connect with other Jews in the US, as many others do, through groups like BBYO.  I’m the Mazkir, AKA communications czar, for my local BBYO chapter.  It’s a good bit of work but incredibly rewarding, when we can all get together in zoom or in an open park and just hang out.  In lieu of in-person religious involvement, I’ve found meaning and depth in just connecting with other Jews.

Judaism is the main part of my identity. I think the reasons for that are: that in my close community everyone celebrates the holidays whatever their beliefs, my family does kiddush every week before Friday dinner. Also, my grandfather was a holocaust survivor and his story impacted the way I see Judaism and my need to be part of Jewish people.

For me, being an Israeli means contributing to the community, speaking Hebrew, and celebrating our civilian holidays like Independence Day.

Judaism and Israeli history are really woven together in my school work. In school every morning we stand to Hatikvah. Through school we  travel across Israel and learn stories from history or the Torah. Also in history class, I am learning about the Holocaust and that has made such an impact on my Jewish identity. A couple of years ago my school took my class to Mount Herzl Cemetery. Mount Herzl Cemetery is the site of Israel’s national cemetery and other memorial and educational facilities. There we learned about the people that lost their lives for Israel. It was very emotional and gave me a new perspective on what it means to be an Israeli. 

Outside of school I volunteer for Krembo Wings (https://www.krembo.org.il/en/), a youth movement for children with and without disabilities. Youth movements are the way that a lot of teenagers contribute to the community here in Israel. 

Although being Jewish is the main part of my Jewish identity, I also spend time reading, meeting friends, drawing, or doing homework.

Do you need Shabbat dinner inspiration? For their final project our Amplifying Israel teen fellows for February, Lulu Rosenberg and Shaked Nitka, created a joint cookbook of Shabbat dinner recipes:

“We were able to show how even thousands of miles away, we all share the connection of our Judaism and especially through our Shabbat dinners and meals! We hope you enjoy seeing our recipes and that you might even try them out!” Shaked & Lulu

Shaked’s Recipes from Israel!

Oven-baked rice with chestnuts and cashews

Ingredients:

★ 2 cups of rice

★ 2 packs of chestnuts cut into cubes

★ Cashew

★ Chopped medium onion

★ 2 of tablespoons of soy sauce

★ 2 of tablespoons of date honey

★ 1/4 cup of oil

★ 4 cups of water

Instruction:

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees
2. Put the cashew and chestnut onion rice in a baking pan and mix
3. Add the soy sauce and date honey and mix
4. Add the oil and mix.
5. Add the hot water and mix
6. Put in the oven for 1 hour
7. After baking, use a fork and gently open the rice
8. And the rice is ready😋

Pita with za’atar

Ingredients:

★ 1 kg flour

★ 700 m”l of cold water

★ 1 teaspoon of dried yeast

★ 15 grams of salt

★ A little flour to flour the surface

★ Olive oil to grease the bowl

★ Za’atar and olive oil mixed together

Instruction:

1. Put water, salt, and yeast in the mixer bowl and stir. Turn on the mixer and add the flour gradually
2. Grease a bowl with a little olive oil and transfer the dough to it. Cover and soak overnight in the fridge.
3. Remove the bowl from the fridge and bring it to room temperature
4. Divide the dough into eight equal balls and place in a mold And let the dough apple for 2 hours.
5. Prepare a work surface and sprinkle flour generously on it.
6. Flatten the dough ball with your hands
7. Spread as a tablespoon of the za’atar and oil mixture on each pita
8. Bake in the tabun at a temperature of about 500 degrees for 2 minutes
9. Bon appetit😋

Sfinj

Ingredients:

★ 1 kg white flour

★ Fifty grams of fresh yeast

★ 1/2 cup white sugar

★ 1/2 teaspoon of salt

★ 800 m”l water

★ oil for frying

Instruction:

1. In a large bowl mix together flour and yeast
2. Add sugar and salt and mix
3. Add half the amount of water and put the dough for a minute
4. Gradually add the remaining water and continue kneading for another minute
5. Cover the bowl and wait until the dough is twice as large
6. Mix the dough with your hands to remove the air Cover and wait again
7. Make a little ball out of the dough and make a hole in the middle of it
8. Fry the ball in the oil until it gets a golden color and dip in sugar
9. Continue throughout the rest of the dough
10. Bon appetit!

Lulu’s Recipes from Atlanta!

Shabbat Chicken

Pound chicken flat and dip it in Jason’s seasoned bread crumbs until both sides are covered and then saute in olive oil until brown, flip, and cook until brown again (chicken will not be fully cooked at this point). Put the chicken into a baking dish, (we use a 9×13). Pour chicken soup stock to cover chicken (typically 1-2 cups is enough to cover- we use the parve Better than Bouillon Chicken Flavor). Then, add 2 cups of mushrooms on top (drained), cover and cook at 350 for at least 40 minutes. The longer you cook it, the more tender the chicken becomes!

This is a Shabbat staple in my house. This chicken always reminds me of warm meals in my house with my family and friends!

Lemon Garlic Chicken and Pasta

4 chicken breasts

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 lemons- 1 thinly sliced and 1 juiced

3-4 cloves of garlic minced

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Ground black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Coat a large baking dish or skillet with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Arrange lemon slices at the bottom of the dish or skillet. In a large bowl, combine the remaining oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper and toss to coat. Place the chicken in the same bowl with the olive oil mixture and coat thoroughly and then place in the dish or skillet. Pour any remaining olive oil mixture over the chicken. You can also add a lemon slice on top each piece if you like. Roast covered for skinless or uncovered with skin for 50 minutes.

While chicken is cooking, cook a packet of whole wheat spaghetti per the instructions on the box. Save 1 cup of the pasta water before draining. Add the water back to drained pasta, drizzle olive oil on it and also add a few pinches of pasta spices- (we like dried oregano, dried basil, dried thyme and garlic).

Put pasta on a plate and top with chicken and a lemon spice!

Rugelach

½ cup + 2 teaspoons granulated sugar

1 package of active dry yeast

½ cup of warm water

¼ cup of margarine

1 teaspoon of salt

2 eggs, beaten

4 cups of all purpose flour

In a large bowl, stir 2 teaspoons of sugar with ¼ cup of warm water until dissolved. Sprinkle in yeast; let stand until frothy (about 10 minutes). While you are waiting, heat remaining water in a small saucepan, add the rest of the sugar, margarine and salt until the margarine is melted. Let cool until lukewarm and stir into yeast mixture. Add the beaten eggs. Then stir in 3 and ¼ cups of the flour, about 1 cup at a time. Knead until smooth on a lightly floured surface- about 10 minutes or so. Add extra flour if the dough is too sticky. Transfer to a large bowl greased with oil and turn dough to grease all over. Cover with plastic wrap; let rinse in a warm draft-free place until doubled in bulk- about 1- 1 and ½ hours.

Roll out the dough, cover lightly with oil, sprinkle cinnamon-sugar or sweetened cocoa. Cut into triangles and roll from large end into peak of triangle. You can brush with beaten egg mixed with water. Let rise again for 45 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10-15 minutes until the rugelach are medium brown.

This is my great grandmother and Bubbie’s recipe- it is my favorite!