Opinions

Say this for one of Leawood’s trendiest new eateries, Fo Thai, 4331 W. 119th Street (913-322-3636). Its approach, in notably conservative, suburban Johnson County, is bold. Profoundly bold. Walking from a strip mall parking lot, through the restaurant’s dramatic dungeon-like doors, diners surely sense that they are in for something big. After a few moments beyond those doors, it becomes difficult to even conjure the suburban world left behind. But no matter the decor, in these parts it will always be about the food. And in that regard, Fo Thai’s approach has the potential to alter the area’s culinary landscape.

To some, it will seem like Fo Thai is trying just a little too hard. Its decor is more suited for a Vegas resort or a trendy New York eatery than a Midwestern destination spot. A gigantic Buddha the size of Godzilla — sitting atop water with a wry smirk on his face — overlooks the high-ceilinged dining room. Bathrooms are oddly shaped and memorably elegant. A stream of water flows under spacious booths (and under the ornate bathrooms). A spectacular bar is partitioned from the dining room, turning the place into a trendy, after hours drinking spot. It was for that reason, presumably, that the music one night gradually transitioned from soft holiday music to pounding, industrial dance music. Our waiter, pouring a glass of wine at our table one night with the help of a strange apparatus, could not help but share that Fo Thai is only one of two restaurants in the entire country that uses this quirky decanter for its wine. And why even bother, after all, if as many as three or more other places use it?

In some restaurants, decor and facade are employed in an almost sinister manner to draw attention away from the food. A cynic might be quick to point an accusing finger at Fo Thai, in this sense. But at Fo Thai, the scenery is merely a prelude to the real show. Fo Thai’s food is actually commensurate to the restaurant’s lofty decor. Chef Chee Meng So has, among other impressive credentials, served a notable stint at the Four Seasons Regent Hotel in Malaysia.

Everything is served “family-style” — from appetizers through entrees —-though the limited size of some offerings creates an odd sharing dynamic. What’s more, Fo Thai seems to sport some control issues. Our waiter made it clear, at the outset, that the food would come out of the kitchen in staggered (unpredictable) fashion as the kitchen saw fit. We were left without the feeling that we could, in any manner, dictate the order of the food’s arrival. On the other hand, did we really need to interfere with the process? Maybe we had control issues. As it turned out, the flow of food worked quite well. And control issues aside, we were otherwise the beneficiaries of rather informed and congenial service.

This is “fusion” cuisine — rooted in Thai (and other Asian) food, but spinning off into a number of erratic but interesting directions. We started with the fairly whimsical Lazy Crepes ($8) — a large, crispy swath of flatbread folded like a napkin on a plate, resting alongside a dish of perfect, robust curry chicken sauce loaded with new potatoes. The flatbread was a bit thin to hold up for dipping into the sauce, but that was a minor point. The stellar curry sauce could easily have been eaten with a spoon right out of the bowl, like soup. Chicken Lettuce Wraps ($15) were an example of Fo Thai taking a Chinese restaurant mainstay to the next level. Small, butter lettuce cups were used for wrapping the crunchy, superior blend of water chestnuts, chicken and other vegetables drenched in a well-balanced Hoisin-lime sauce. Herb Crusted Beef Skewers ($12) were made with tender, garlic-flavored beef and served with a nice, complementary, sweet pickled salad with cabbage and vegetables. The amazing peanut sauce served alongside elevated the dish. We even tried some soup, Oven Roasted Butternut Squash Soup ($7), and found it was of nearly perfect quality and texture, with its infused coconut curry. The soup was perfectly smooth, not unpleasantly grainy, like some versions. Only the Edamame ($3), which was surely adequate, failed to inspire.

The entrees truly demonstrated the chef’s uncanny skill, particularly through two rather simple offerings. The Broiled Saikyo Miso Chilean Sea Bass ($32) was a generous portion of the saltwater fish, with a sublime orange miso glaze. Chilean sea bass, highly oily and decadent, is actually Patagonian toothfish, but is never called that on American menus. Who would order it? Fo Thai’s sea bass had a soft buttery texture and nearly melted in our mouths. It was served atop a delicious and slightly sweet black, sticky rice that married well with the fish.

The USDA Prime Angus Beef Tenderloin ($32) was perfectly cooked to the requested medium rare, and underscored the profound difference between great (deeply marbled) prime meat and its inferior brethren. The texture and taste were superb, with a brushing of soy glaze that in no way detracted from the quality beef.

Thai Tom Yum Fried Rice (with vegetables) ($10) was beautifully presented in a picturesque mound, with perfectly cooked rice and an interesting array of crunchy (not overcooked) vegetables. Wok Thai Basil Soy Glaze Chicken ($20), included mushrooms, red peppers, green beans, a slow burn, and the intriguing flavor of anise (licorice). That is where Chef Chee Meng So excels: putting flavors that would seem to be oddities in unusual places, and making them somehow work perfectly.

Fo Thai will undoubtedly push willing Kansas Citians outside of their culinary comfort zones. And maybe it’s about time.

Food:  *** 1/2
Service:  *** 1/2
Atmosphere:  ****
Out of Four Stars

As a Jewish-American who grew up partly in Israel, I worry for Israel’s future. Iranian nuclear ambitions, Hamas and Hezbollah missiles, and new efforts to delegitimize Israel’s existence all threaten Israel. And nobody knows how the Arab Spring will shake out.

Israel also faces internal threats to its democracy. Jewish extremists have recently vandalized Israeli army bases in response to government attempts to dismantle illegal settlement outposts, raising questions about the rule of law. Free speech and women’s equality have also been under attack.

Hearing the Republican presidential candidates try to outdo one another in declaring their pro-Israel credentials hasn’t helped me sleep any better at night. In fact, I’ve been lying awake worrying that one of them could get elected and make things far worse for Israel. From Mitt Romney to Rick Santorum, the GOP speakers at the Jewish Republicans forum represent a group of dangerous friends.

The vision they offered echoes the most right wing elements in Israel — further right than Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu himself. They spoke as if being pro-Israel means being anti-Palestinian. This is the opposite of what Israel needs from the United States, and the opposite of what is morally right.

If this flawed thinking became America’s foreign policy, it would delight the far right in Israel, but it would be disastrous for Israel in the long run, disastrous for the Palestinians and disastrous for the region.

I’ll limit my critique to Romney and Newt Gingrich. Romney keeps saying that President Obama has thrown Israel under a bus. That would be true only if throwing your friend under a bus meant giving your friend tremendous support, keeping heavy pressure on his biggest enemy (Iran), killing the leaders of extremists who hate your friend (al Qaeda) and occasionally letting your friend know the truth when you have an honest difference of opinion.

The reality, as Israeli military brass have said, is that security and intelligence coordination are better under Obama than any previous U.S. administration. Obama’s tough sanctions against Iran are squeezing its regime and setting up possible international intervention. And Obama’s refocusing of American military priorities away from Iraq and onto al-Qaeda has led to the killing of much of that group’s top leadership.

Finally, the main issue over which Obama has differed with Netanyahu — the continued building in the settlements — is an issue over which huge numbers of Israelis and a large percentage of Jewish-Americans also differ with Netanyahu. (Memo to the GOP: George W. Bush’s administration also publicly condemned Israeli building in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, more than once.)

Listening to Romney accuse Obama of throwing Israel under a bus makes me gag, not only because it’s a lie, but because of what it tells me Romney doesn’t see: namely that Israel is going to miss the bus if Israeli and Palestinian leaders don’t move quickly toward a workable two-state solution.

Smart, even-tempered American leadership is needed to keep Israel and the Palestinians focused on a two-state future. If the two-state solution dies, all that’s left is the one-state option which, for demographic reasons, spells the end of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.

Gingrich’s statements about the Palestinians being an invented people surpass Romney’s folly. The only people pushing this belief in the Jewish community are on the far, far right (even Netanyahu publicly recognizes the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people for statehood). Gingrich also suggested that Palestinians should have relocated to other Arab countries. Gingrich has not only opened painful wounds in the Palestinian community, he has also displayed a kind of rhetorical recklessness that makes one wonder what verbal bombs he would be likely to lob in every foreign policy arena.

Gingrich seems to have forgotten that all of the national identities in the Middle East are relatively recent inventions. Both Palestinian and Israeli national identity developed side by side, especially in the aftermath of World War I, when the Ottoman Empire lost control of the region and the League of Nations awarded to Great Britain stewardship over a territory then called Palestine.

Gingrich says, “There never was a country called Palestine” as if this proves his point. Yet the place that Jews sought to emigrate to in the 1930s and ’40s was a place they called Palestine.

His efforts to discredit the legitimacy of Palestinian identity are just as offensive as Arab or leftist propaganda that discredit the legitimacy of Israel.

Modern Palestinian national identity is, in part, rooted in the history of the last century of map-drawing and nation-creating in the Middle East. That doesn’t make it fake — it just locates it in history, along with all the other nationalities that have emerged in the region in the past 90 years.

The bottom line is that Jews and Arabs both have long historical roots and ties in the Holy Land, and the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians involves relatively new nationalities and ancient religions. Gingrich is playing offensive, dangerous word games in a way that deeply hurts people. And as a Jew, I’m offended by the idea that the right way to be pro-Israel is to be hateful toward Palestinians.

I want the United States to be an enduring ally to Israel, supporting Israel’s security, sharing intelligence and military expertise, and defending Israel against unfair accusations in international forums. I also want the United States to be an honest broker, facilitating negotiations between Israel, the Palestinians and the wider Arab world.

I want the United States to be a friend to Palestine as well as Israel, to support moderate elements within both societies, and to give a push to all of the parties involved when they need one to keep the peace process moving forward.

With little fanfare, Obama has delivered on all fronts. I’m grateful that Obama has stood by Israel in all the ways that matter, and I’m even more grateful that he’s stoically endured a torrent of unfair accusations and lies from his political opponents on Israel.

A final thought: As a rabbi, if I’ve learned anything about the heart of Judaism it is that it values leadership that seeks justice, peace and reconciliation. The ancient rabbis taught that good people seek to turn enemies into friends and see the divine image in every person, even those with whom they have conflict.

These GOP candidates offer a kind of leadership that seeks to exacerbate the hatreds in the Middle East. They opportunistically hope that striking this hard-line posture will garner Jewish votes in that other Promised Land: Florida.

What I look for in a president, as a Jew and a person with deep concern for Israel, is leadership that seeks to strengthen Israel while also reaching out to the Palestinians — leadership that’s committed to brokering a way out of this nightmarish conflict that poisons the lives of my Israeli and Palestinian friends alike.

Like every president before him, Obama has made mistakes in seeking to advance Israeli-Palestinian peace, but he’s been a great friend to Israel, his eyes are on the right prize, and his leadership offers hope.

Rabbi Maurice Harris grew up in both St. Louis and Israel. He was ordained by the Reconstructionist movement and currently works as an instructor at the University of Oregon. His first book,”Moses: A Stranger Among Us,” is due out in 2012 from Cascade Books. This article originally appeared in The Register-Guard of Eugene, Ore.

Making a difference

SAFEHOME wants to thank two wonderful congregations for inviting our agency to participate in December programs:  The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah’s Mitzvah Fair and Chabad on the Plaza’s Jewish Women’s Circle.

The Mitzvah Fair serves as a positive, unique way to teach young children about different agencies in the community and then empowers the children to donate their “mitzvah bucks” to an agency(s) of their choice. Not only does this introduce the children to philanthropy at a young age, it also introduces them to agencies that can make a difference in someone’s life.

During Chanukah, the Jewish Women’s Circle invited me to speak about domestic violence and then all the guests made “no-sew” blankets for SAFEHOME’s residents … what a wonderful gift for the women and children. When everyone lit their Chanukiot, warm candlelight permeated the room. These donated, hand-tied blankets represent caring warmth from the women who made them, as well as their wish that our residents go from darkness to light (safety) in their lives.

SAFEHOME also extends deep appreciation to the Flo Harris Foundation for realizing the importance of granting monies for the Jewish Outreach Program on Domestic Violence. You never know when someone is going to use or pass on a piece of information. Talmud teaches us that saving one life is as if you saved an entire world. Thank you for helping SAFEHOME save lives.

Susan Lebovitz, CVM
Jewish Outreach Coordinator
Volunteer Manager

Israel is again facing a very dangerous and unstable time. The Arab spring has turned into an Arab nightmare of Muslim extremism, and the spread of dangerous weapons among strengthened terrorist groups. Israel cannot afford to have a reluctant U.S. president, like Barak Obama, who will not be there when Israel needs saving or unquestioned and immediate support. Only a president who appreciates the Israeli-US alliance and values Israel as the most important U.S. ally in the Middle East will not use the upcoming danger as a bargaining chip to weaken her further.

By the time you read this, the Iowa caucus and its Republican winner will be old news. On the national scene, the record shows that both leading Republican presidential candidates, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, appreciate Israel as an ally and both will be better for Israel than Barack Obama.

Israel has always lived in a very hostile neighborhood but in the aftermath of the unprecedented regional shakeups of the last year, Israel is facing the biggest danger and risk to its survival since 1973.

In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamic fundamentalist group and the more radical Islamists known as Salafists, took about 70 percent of the vote in the first two rounds of the parliamentary elections.

The long term danger to Israel is that the peace treaty with Israel will be revised or canceled and that a war with Egypt will break out. In the short term, the danger is from terrorist attacks. After the fall of Mubarak, the Egyptian army has been too preoccupied to stop the weapons smuggling and flow of terrorists to Hamas-controlled Gaza, and to Egypt’s Sinai which borders Israel.

As a result, Al Qaeda and other Jihadists have strengthened their hold in chaotic Sinai and they and Hamas have been able to import advanced anti-tank and anti-aircraft rockets and missiles that were looted from civil war ravaged countries such as Libya and Yemen. Consequently, Hamas has amassed more than 10,000 rockets in its arsenal including some that can reach the outskirts of Tel Aviv and portable, shoulder fired, anti- aircraft missiles called Manpads which can shoot down a civilian passenger plane.

In Lebanon, Hezbollah, the Iranian backed terrorist group, possess more than 60,000 rockets which can reach all major populations centers in Israel. In the chaos of the Syrian civil war, Hezbollah reportedly has been moving heavy weapons from Syria into Lebanon. As one well informed observer of the militia stated “There is so much stuff coming across the border, Hezbollah does know where to put it.”

Syria possesses the region’s largest known supply of chemical and biological weapons and more than 1,000 scud ballistic missiles and warheads. In the chaos of the likely collapse of the Assad regime, many of those can end up in the hands of terrorist groups.

In Morocco and Tunisia the Islamists have won recent elections, and many Libyan and Yemenite rebel leaders are aligned with Al-Qaida. While U.S. officials warn that Iran will have a nuclear weapon within one year, if not less, Turkey, which is led by an Islamist party, has downgraded its long term military and diplomatic relations with Israel.

Finally, the recent pull out of American troops from Iraq and their scheduled departure from Afghanistan will leave Israel alone and isolated in the Middle East as well as encircled by those who intend to destroy her. Israel cannot afford to have a president who for the last three years has tried to create a new alliance with the Muslim world by distancing itself from Israel and who did not hesitate to abandon another ally like Mubarak.

In contrast, both Romney and Gingrich have made it clear that the United States should be willing to stand by its allies and both have criticized Obama’s ambivalence toward Israel. Both have repeatedly pledged to bolster and repair the U.S.-Israel alliance. Romney’s statement that “Our friends, like Israel, should never fear that we will not stand by them in an hour of need,” and Gingrich‘s political courage to state the truth that the Palestinians are “invented people,” are the perfect responses to Obama’s Muslim outreach.

Now the Republicans must be careful in making sure in the upcoming presidential primaries that they will nominate the candidate who has the best chance to beat Obama.

Shoula Romano Horing was born and raised in Israel. She is an attorney in Kansas City and a national speaker. Her blog: www.shoularomanohoring.com

In a talkback on the report of eight-year-old Naama Margolese getting spat on and called a whore on her way to school in Beit Shemesh for not being dressed what the ultra-Orthodox deem modestly, talkbacker Eleanor says: “This group (the rabbis) must be stopped.” (“Israeli city braces for 10,000-strong protest against exclusion of women, Haaretz.com, Dec. 27, 2011)

Eleanor, unfortunately the “rabbis” will not voluntarily stop. Instead, the police must go, i.e., do their jobs as public servants. Law enforcement and swift crackdown is the only response that will bring the desired results. Not only are the rabbis not going to cede their power, but the perps may not even be taking orders from “above.” I hate to say it, because it’s such an oft-used cliche about another minority, but if the shoe fits, wear it: The only language they understand is that of (police) force.

Does not anyone see the irony in the second paragraph of the article? The protest march venue was moved after Haredim threatened  violence if it was held at Orot Banot? Excuse me? So let’s get this straight: The thugs succeeded in moving the March Against Thuggery by threatening to use violence if their demands aren’t met. Yoo-hoo! Police: Anybody there? Aren’t you the ones who are armed and trained in crowd control, and if necessary, arrest those who commit violence? You certainly had no compunction about doing so in October 2000 against Arabs, did you?

And why does Haaretz insist on describing Naama Margolese as “religiously observant?” What does her level of observance matter? No 8-year-old, or 80-year-old, or anyone of any age or level of observance, of any faith or denomination, should have to undergo bullying anywhere, certainly not on her way to school.

When will we, and the legislature, press, police and other institutions, call a spade a spade? This is bullying, it’s harassment, and it’s assault, all of which we have laws against. Police: enforce, for God’s sake! Today it’s “just” the ultra-Orthodox spitting on the Orthodox; tomorrow it’s the ultra-Orthodox spitting on us all.

Sidebar: My daughter’s youth movement winter camp joined the protest, for which I’m proud. Since the protest was hastily organized only after the camp began, the camp organizers had to go into action quickly and get all the parents’ permission for the kids to protest. I of course gave mine, along with my blessing, but not all the parents did. I’d like to ask those parents two questions:

Where are your kids supposed to learn solidarity with the downtrodden and social activism if not in their youth movement? Where are they supposed to learn about rights, and not letting terror win out, if not from us, their parents?

If you think your neighborhood is safe, that this outrageous behavior is confined to Beit Shemesh (where we, the “enlightened” don’t live), you’re in denial. The Haredim are spreading, and with them their vigilante rule — Coming Soon to a Nice Suburb Near You.

I confess, I was a little scared; I reminded the counselors to watch out for our kids, and I trust them to, although I don’t expect them to hover. But it’s times like these when I remind myself that Tzviya Lubetkin was only 14 when she crawled through the sewers beneath the Warsaw Ghetto to evade the Nazis while delivering arms to the ghetto fighters. I’m not being melodramatic; obviously I’m grateful that my children are spared such scenarios, likely thanks in part to the Tzviya Lubetkins. The point is that if young people during the Holocaust wittingly placed themselves in danger in order to fight for their freedom, then surely we should encourage our kids to take slight, what are really negligible risks, in order to speak out against injustice, should we not?

Yam Erez, formerly Miriam Reiz, is a Kansas City native now residing in Ketura, Israel.

Israel vs. N.Y. Times

Thomas Friedman is right. (“Israeli officials escalate war of words with N.Y. Times, Dec. 22) Even though he did not spell it out, Israel has its own version of the “tea party” in the form of a fringe group of radicals consisting primarily of extreme right wing Orthodox Jews who, even though they represent only 10 percent of Israel’s population, control Netanyahu and his coalition government.

Marvin Fremerman
Springfield, Mo.

I was recently reading a book that reminded me about my first days in the United States. It’s about a group of exceptional women in Liberia who decided to do anything in their power to stop the massacre and the civil war that ultimately destroyed the country. They forced both sides to peacefully stop the bloodshed and start peace negotiations. One of them wrote an amazing book about her journey, in which she tried to explain to Westerners what she had been through. As you can imagine, a big part of her journey was living under the reign of terror.

You might wonder how her life and experiences in war-torn Liberia had anything to do with me, who comes from a progressive, first-world country. As I began planning my work here, I thought of ways to try and explain what happened in Sderot, Israel — a significant and war-torn part of my life — to American ears. As I thought it through, I began to understand so many things that I just couldn’t see in all my years in Israel. I understood how abnormal the situation in Israel is, how far away it is from anything people in the United States or Europe experience in daily life.

And I understood that Liberian woman well.

While Israel is not Liberia, it is a strong, democratic country that can defend itself well. You see more people dead in the streets of New York than you would in Israel. That said, Israelis constantly live in fear of annihilation, and everything we do is focused on preventing our demise.

Can you imagine living your life in constant alert? Every bag that was left on the street is a potential bomb; every suspicious man that gets on the bus is a potential suicide bomber; and every breaking news alert is a potential war. Unfortunately, we are not neurotic or paranoid for nothing.

There are many good things in Israel, lately the attempt is to talk and mention only technological achievements — to show other sides of Israel. I think it’s important, because every Jew can be proud in the state of Israel for that matter, but one needs to know more aspects of Israeli life in order to truly understand why we think and act the way we do. The outside perspective — mostly drawn from watching world news and the public relations Israeli companies are doing to promote Israel’s technological achievements — is not enough for a complete understanding. There are all kinds of truths about Israel, and this is one of them: in Israel there are children who decide where to play based on proximity of the playground to the bomb shelter. These same children know only a reality in which rockets are constantly fired on their homes and schools. For these children, no place is safe, and everyone — even children — must be brave all the time. Many of them become adults overnight. In order to understand that reality, one needs to ask: What if it was me? If those were my kids? My grandkids?

For at least 64 years, the Israelis have faced a harsh reality, and we continue to stand proud in spite of it all. It makes all of us stronger in many ways. We love our country and believe in our just cause. We may not always agree on how to protect it — both the left and the right in Israel believe in what they are doing to ensure the longevity of a Jewish state. So we continue to discuss and debate whether the best way to protect Israel is to sign a peace agreement with the Palestinians right now or to be more suspicious about making peace with this same group. But we all agree that we must protect our country. I guess that’s what any of us would feel when fighting to defend our homes.

This is not an advocacy article; there is no propaganda here. This is a mere testimony of my experiences, and an attempt to give you one more point of view of how people in Israel think.

“Angels at the Table” by Yvette Alt Miller, Continuum Press, $34.95 hardcover, 394 pp.

Yvette Miller is an Orthodox woman in Chicago who grew to become observant over the years, and made Shabbat observance a serious and significant part of her life. She is married with four children, ages 2 to 9, teaches Sunday school, and contributes to Jewish websites.

“Angels at the Table” is really a basic book for the person who has no knowledge about Shabbat and how to observe it or for someone who wants a reference work to any aspect of the 25 hours of Shabbat observance.

The 15 chapters of useful advice provide step by step instructions and include: an overview of Shabbat, the rules and laws of the evening, dinner table blessings, dinner and after, early morning, morning services, lunch, afternoon, Saturday evening, Torah questions for the Shabbat table, songs for Shabbat, activities on Shabbat and 69 traditional recipes.

While the recipes are really good, the style of presenting them leaves something to be desired. Recipes are sometimes simplistic (e.g., “zest the lemon” — grate the lemon’s shiny yellow surface). She neglects to tell readers to preheat the oven and sometimes when cooking on a burner, forgets to mention into what kind of pan to put ingredients.

The book concludes with the blessings after a meal and an appendix.

The details are infinitesimal. For example in the “Shabbat early morning” chapter, she discusses awakening prayers, the mindset, breakfast, dressing (including kippah and tzitzit), women’s hats, modesty, makeup and hair, and the unchanging aspects of Jewish dress and behavior.

Her style is very chatty and personal without being preachy, and that is one aspect of the book that makes it enjoyable to read, even if you know the rules and laws and customs. There is history, there are anecdotes, and the reader really comes to know Miller.

This would be a great gift for someone embarking on conversion or considering becoming observant whose knowledge of Shabbat is rudimentary or to a newly married couple or a family with young children exploring how they want to relate to Shabbat observance.

Here is a typical Shabbat recipe from the book.

Easiest Roast Chicken

Serves 6
1 whole raw chicken
2 Tablespoons olive oil
Large dash salt
Large dash pepper
Large dash garlic powder
1-2 sliced onions
4-5 sliced garlic cloves (optional)
1/4 cup fresh herbs — sage, rosemary, tarragon (optional)
Optional rib:
1 lemon zest and juice
2 Tablespoons virgin olive oil
2 Tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon cumin
Large dash salt
Large dash pepper
(numbering is mine)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place chicken in a roasting pan, feet side down. Sprinkle with oil, then salt, pepper and garlic powder. Scatter onion slices around the chicken; place a few onion slices in cavity and under skin. (As an option, place garlic and/or herbs under skin too.)

2. Lightly cover chicken with foil, leaving an opening between the foil and pan. Place in oven and bake at 400 degrees F. for 1-2 hours until skin is crisp and golden brown and juices run clear when you prick the chicken above the thigh.

To make rub, grate the shiny skin of the lemon and combine with juice, oil, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Spread on chicken skin before roasting.

What are monsters? In storybooks they frequently emerge as strong, wicked, mysterious beings whose purpose is to do harm. In movies, they sometimes look like huge, frightening creatures dripping with venom. In real life, monsters appear as … Oh, wait. They don’t. When we’re young, we’re taught that monsters exist only in stories and fairytales. And, of course, it’s not logical to fear something that isn’t real. I grew up believing that monsters live only where they belong, in books and myths. My experiences as a participant in the Together We Remember program, turned that notion upside down. What I learned is that monsters can in fact become a very real threat to humanity.

Your textbook monster might have green hair, menacing fangs and a giant spiky tail, but that isn’t what makes it evil. The reason monsters are to be feared is their intent. They generally seek personal gain and are willing to stop at nothing to reach their goals. Sometimes monsters believe that their evil behavior is for the good of many, and it may even seem that way to society. So if society approves, then are the monster’s actions truly bad? Before I participated in the Together We Remember learning program and visit to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., generously funded by Sam Devinki and sponsored by Midwest Center for Holocaust Education and CAJE/Jewish Federation, I believed the answer to that question was relatively straightforward: leaders who have the support of the people are doing their jobs well. Now I’m beginning to learn that this is not always the case.

Hitler and Nazi Germany fit perfectly into the evil leader/public approval model, Hitler being the monster of the Holocaust. Not only did he see no harm in killing millions, he truly believed that in doing so he was improving living conditions for everyone else. I learned that Hitler was an elected official. Not only did the German public not put a stop to what he was doing, they actually elected him into office. Learning that Hitler had such great public support got me thinking — was it really possible that Hitler convinced every person in Germany that killing was acceptable? What if these people had pretended to support him because they saw their peers doing the same and because they were afraid of doing otherwise?

I’ve come to the conclusion that the solution is not slaying the monster, as is portrayed in storybooks, because another monster may very well take its place. To take care of the problem, people — bystanders — must not let themselves become subject to the pressure society puts on them to conform to the social “norm.” Had more bystanders taken a stand against Hitler, they might have been shut down by Nazi power. If everyone together had voiced their true opinions, would Hitler have risen to his position of authority in the first place? In addition to teaching the history of the Holocaust, the Together We Remember learning experience showed 11 ninth-grade students that true courage is standing up for what’s right, even if that means defying public opinion. One person truly can change the world.

Sophia Porter was one of 13 students from the Kansas City area to visit the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in November as part of the Together We Remember program.

QUESTION: Can you tell me something about when one lights a menorah on Friday night, especially with Shabbat being so early? Also exactly when does one light the Chanukah menorah on Saturday night at the end of Shabbat?

ANSWER: On the Friday night of Chanukah, this year Dec. 23, we always make sure that we light the Chanukah candles before sundown and before the Sabbath candles are lit. It is better not to light the Chanukah candles at all on Friday night than to light them after dark, which is a violation of the Sabbath laws. On Saturday night, Dec. 24, any time after Havdalah after dark, it is permissible to light the Chanukah menorah (chanukiah).

Jewish law requires that on every night of Chanukah, the candles must burn at least one half hour after dark. Since on Friday night we must light the Chanukah candles before Sabbath candlelighting (4:43 p.m.), it is traditional to use larger candles such as Shabbat candles or tall tapers for the chanukiah itself. For Chanukah, one might light either an oil or a candle menorah, the only requirement being that whichever type of light is used, that it be clear and bright.

There has been a great deal of discussion as to the use of an electric chanukiah. Since it is not definite as to whether or not an electric menorah fulfills the obligation of the lighting of Chanukah lights, it is best to avoid the use of such a chanukiah, except for purely decorative purposes.

In general, on a weekday night other than Sabbath night, the Chanukah candles are to be lit approximately at dark. If, however, one is not at home or this time is inconvenient, they can be lit at any time during the entire night. If one has to leave home prior to dark and may not return for the rest of the evening, the Chanukah candles may be lit about an hour before dark, provided that Chanukah lights will burn for a short period of time after dark.

On the first night of Chanukah, which was Tuesday, Dec. 20, three blessings below are recited immediately prior  to the lighting of the candles (not while lighting them). On all other nights, we recite only the first two blessings.

Chanukah candles are placed from the right to left side until finally on the eighth night the chanukiah is full. We light the newest candle first; therefore, we always begin by kindling the candle at the left and proceed toward the right.

The Chanukah candles are to be lit simply for religious reasons and are not to be used for any secular purposes such as lighting other objects, reading lights, etc. However, this limited use of the light applies only during the first half hour of their burning. The rabbis of old determined that the required burning time of a Chanukah candle is one half hour, and after that time, they may be used for any other purpose or even extinguished.

It is customary to place the chanukiah in the window of one’s home, on the main table around which the family gathers, near the door, or any place where lighting of the candles will become a public event.