Hidden Sugar in Cottage Cheese- an alert from a reader

Just that you know and be alert!

I purchased a new, cheaper brand of cottage cheese yesterday. My son and I tasted it this morning and it tasted 'different' than 'regular' cottage cheese. My son checked the ingredient list, which I did not think of doing before purchasing and sure enough this cheese has more 'additives' than 'whole ingredients'. Amongst this mishmash of ingredients were maltodextrin and cultured destrose! Brand name: 'Ateres'. Needless to say that container is now in my trash can!

I never thought I have to check cottage cheese, from now on I'll check everything, even bottled water!

New recipes in our OA Recipe Exchange

Home made pastrami

Garlic za'tar chicken and sweet potatoes:

Italian Eggplant "Bread"

OA "Latkes"

Grilled Salmon

Abstinent Cheesecake - this replaces a breakfast meal

follow the link on the right of the page- click on the recipe card or go to:

http://tiforoafood.blogspot.com/

The end does not justify the means.

A person should not determine his course of action solely for the purpose of the accomplishment. A person is obligated to do that which is demanded of him, and it is for Hashem to bring results. It is incumbent upon man to act, not to accomplish.

Yosef's brothers justified their cruelty to him by their belief that he was a vainglorious dreamer. This was the cause of their ability to justify their actions. We have to be sure that every action we take is correct, regardless of the anticipated result.

from the Sefer "Reb Chaim's Discourses" The shmussen of the Mirrer Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Shmulevitz ztl page 99

Woe to Us on the Day of Rebuke

The Midrash tells us that Yosef's brothers were overwhelmed by his rebuke, yet the Pasuk says that all that he said was, "Ani Yosef- I am Yosef".  Where is the rebuke that the Midrash refers to? 

This teaches us that rebuke is not verbal castigation that we have come to see it as, rather it is making a person aware of the the fact that he has erred.  When a person realizes that he has lived his life with a totally mistaken perspective, then rebuke has accomplished its purpose.

from the Sefer "Reb Chaim's Discourses" THe shmussen of the Mirrer Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Shmulevitz ztl  page 98

The cleansing power of the Chanukah lights.

When we look at the Chanukah candles it cleans our eyes from the impure things that we looked at.

from a Shiur by Rabbi Ephriam Wachsman about Chanukah

Rabbi Wachsman on Chanukah

In the Al Hanisim we talk about the few conquering the many. in our time when the Yetzer Hara is so strong, even a small good deed is as important as a great dead that the Tanaim did in their time.  Klal Yisrael is in a time of spiritual difficulty.  This is a time when we can give Hashem tremendous Nachas Ruach from small actions.  Hashem is close to anyone who wants to be close to him.  A small amount of light lights up the darkness.  Chanukah is a time of darkness when our small acts of light can cause tremendous good.

from a Shiur on Chanukah by Rabbi Ephraim Wachsman

Rising above our suffering.

We have all heard stories of gedolim who were able to withstand tremendous suffering without being effected by it.  Great Rabonim who where able to go through surgery without anesthesia because they were so involved in their Torah learning.  The question was asked if this means that they will have to undergo other suffering to gain a kaporah.  The answer given was that the nisyonos that we have to go through are from Hashem but the suffering that they cause is in our own hands. 

We have the ability to rise above our suffering and to focus on the positives in our lives.

from a teacher who wihes to remain ananymous.

Chanukah is a time of greater Kedusha.

Many Chasidic sources discuss the fact that Chanukah is the final day of judgement for the new year.  Since we learn that our judgement is sealed on Hoshanah Rabah, why do we say that we have this extended period of judgement.

When a person was sentenced to a death penalty by a Beis Din, but he ran away and went to another town, if witnesses went to the local Beis Din and said that he was Chayev Mesa  (deserving of the death penalty)from another Beis Din, they did have to retry him.  If the man escaped and ran to Eretz Yisrael he was entitled to a new trial becasue with the greater kedusha of Eretz Yisrael he might be found incocent.

Chanukah is a time of greater Kedusha.  We have a spark of the kedusha from the Beis Hamikdash in our homes, and therefore we may be entitled to a better judgement.

heard from Reb Yakov Pascal

The internal spark of Kedusha .

The Hashmonim had ignited their internal spark of Kedusha to such an extent that when they lit the menorah and it burned for 8 days it was a physical reflection of their internal reality.

from a Shiur by Rebbetzin Heller about the Deeper Meaning of Chanukah on Aish.com

When we change our internal self it changes the external world.

WikiLeaks: A Chanukah Miracle

I am copying Rabbi Lazer Brody's Post here because it is so important!

One might think that Wikileaks is an international conspiracy network staffed by an army of the world's top intellegence agents and information analysts, with sleepers in every country and moles deeply penetrated in every government. That's not all; WikiLeaks has exposed and outsmarted many leading intelligence agencies and governments, to the dismay and embarassment of many a two-faced politician who says one thing in public and something totally different in private.

This very moment - while we're spinning our dreydels and singing Chanuka songs with our children and grandchildren - governments are frantic about plugging the leak that has splattered their secrets on computer screens around the world.



But no - there is no massive clandestine army agents, analysts, sleepers and moles. All of WikiLeaks is founder Julian Assange and a few volunteers.



Who is 39 year-old Julian Assange? The local media here calls him a former computer hacker. According to our very reliable hi-tech sources here in Israel, Assange masterfully developed a tiny bit of code that he succeeded to plant in US State Department (among other) emails and network systems which enabled him to be privy to tons of diplomatic mail.



Time out, sports fans: Assange and Wikileaks are basically no more than a bunch of talented and innovating hackers that are trying to gain legitimacy by being whistle blowers. But with all their talent, they are nothing but a stick in Hashem's hands. Remember the first of the 13 tenets of our faith: "I believe with a full and complete belief that Hashem is Creator and Director of all the creations, and He alone did, does, and will do every doing." So, it's not Assange and WikiLeaks that exposed the world's dirty laundry, it's Hashem.



Who would ever believe that one man and his tiny staff could reveal the world's most intimate and embarrassing secrets? This is certainly a Chanukah miracle of mega proportions.



Israel and the Jews have been bashed even more seriously in international forums than usual lately. Despite the fact that we have much to clean up in our spiritual act, Hashem - by way of His little stick called WikiLeaks - has smacked those who besmirch us on the nose. What a wonderful Chanuka present. Here are a few examples of Hashem's magnificent loving-kindness:



1. Hashem has exposed the arch antisemite Erdogan, Turkey's PM who has done everything to destroy Turkey's relations with Israel, by showing that he is a corrupt maniac with eight bank accounts loaded with private funds in Switzerland.



2. By way of WikiLeaks, Hashem is revealing the true face of the Turks, showing that they support Al Qaida. Hashem is telling Turkey that if it continues to mess with the Jews, they'll pay the same price that all the other Jew-haters of history eventually paid, from Haman to Sadaam.



3. The world tried to sell Achmadinejad and Iran's nuclear threat as Israel's problem, as if no one else was interested in neutralizing Iran. Hashem via WikiLeaks has shown that Saudi Arabia and Jordan have been begging the USA to act forcefully against Iran, much more than Israel even.



4. The entire world - except for a few fellow tyrants - can't stand Achmedinejad. Thanks to Hashem via WikiLeaks, the truth is revealed, namely, that Achmedinejad and Iran are not just Israel's problem.



5. Hashem via WikiLeaks has revealed the Arab duplicity in regards to the Gaza War (Operation Cast Lead) two years ago. Israel informed both Egypt and the PLO that they were going to attack Gaza. So much for the alligator tears of Mubarrak and Abu Mazzan...



6. Hashem via WikiLeaks has released compelling evidence to vindicate Jonathan Pollard for many of the serious charges that he was falsely accused of. Contrary to Jew-hater Casper Weinberger's testimony, Aldrich Ames was the CIA traitor that revealed the names of every U.S. spy in the Soviet Union, and not Jonathan Pollard, who deserved only 2-3 years behind bars, not 26, with the count not over yet...



I could go on and on, but it seems that Israel is the only country that has emerged not only unscathed, but rewarded as a result of WikiLeaks. Thanks to Hashem, 500 years of Israeli diplomatic and image-building efforts couldn't do what WikiLeaks has done for us.



Politics of course don't interest us, because our Torah and Teshuva decide the course of world events and not the politicians. But, lets look at the spiritual lessons of WikiLeaks:



A. If one man can reveal the most intimate, carefully guarded conversations and communiques, imagine what the Heavenly Court can do.



B. Hashem - via WikiLeaks - is reminding us that every single thought, utterance and action is recorded; we'll each have to reckon for everything we did in this world, better or worse.



C. To paraphrase the Mishna, don't ever say behind closed doors what you wouldn't say on the first page of the New York Times.



D. Now that we know that everything we do is transparent, it's time for teshuva.



E. We have nothing to fear from our enemies - Hashem fights our battles, even when all the odds are against us and everything seems lost. When you fear One, you fear no one.



Happy Chanukah!

Who is your Ezer Knegdo?

The Baal Shem Tov said that the phrase "ezer knegdo" does not only apply to your spouse.  Any person in your life that bothers you, whether it is a child or a coworker or just a random person on the street, was put there by Hashem to help you to grow in the right direction and reach your Tikun.

Heard in a Shiur by Perl Abromovitz

Escaping the Prison of Thoughts

The Maharal says that the voice of the Yetzer Hara sound like our best friend and it says, "I have so little and I want so much".  We have to redirect our thoughts towards spirit not physical things to escape the prison of our own thoughts.

from a Shiur on Aish Audio:

Shelanu: Escaping the Prison of Thoughts # HT 678


by Heller, Rebbitzen Tziporah

The Ladder of Wealth

Jacob dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set earthward, and its top reached Heavenward. [Gen 28:12]

Jacob dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set earthward, and its top reached Heavenward. [Gen 28:12]A wooden ladder with ten identical rungs was leaning against the side of a house. The top rung looked down on the rungs below it - especially the lowest one.

"As you can see" boasted the top rung, "the owner of the house has set me above you because of my superiority."

A passer-by overheard and quickly turned the ladder upside-down. Now the former top rung could boast no longer. The new top rung, too, refrained from boasting - for fear that the same fate might befall it.

The ladder is a metaphor for money. In Hebrew the two words (ladder) סולם and (money) ממון are numerically equal.

Don't let wealth make you arrogant. Remember that the ladder of wealth can be turned upside down in a minute.

The ladder is "set earthward" - it looks to people as if their efforts at business or professions bring them wealth. But in reality, "its top reaches Heavenward" - it is G-d who decides whether a person will make money or lose it.

Source: from the writings of the Ben Ish Chai  from Shirat Devorah

Gratitude brings us to Teshuvah

The more that we thank Hashem and see the greatness of his presence, the more that we live on Hashems terms and not our own. When we face the true reality of the world and accept it as it is, we gain the ability to grow. Gratitude brings us to Teshuvah more then anything else. The more we see all of the good things that Hashem does for us the more that we will want to return to Hashem.

from a Shiur by Rebbetzin Heller about the Deeper Meaning of Chanukah on Aish.com

What is more important?

It is a mitzvah to take care of your health.

It is a minhag to eat fattening food in large quantities.