RABBI Q WINS DALLAS KOSHER BBQ CHAMPIONSHIP — Mendel Segal, the Kansas City rabbi who finished second in last year’s inaugural competition, came back to Texas for another helping and won the Dallas Kosher BBQ Championship on Sunday, Oct. 30.
Rabbi Segal, who organizes the annual KC Kosher BBQ Championship and is executive director of the local Vaad HaKashruth, had the top overall score compiled from the four meat categories to take home the Grand Champion trophy. The Kansas City Barbecue Society sanctioned the event and provided certified judges to rate each team’s brisket, chicken, turkey and beef ribs. Besides his day job with the Vaad, Rabbi Segal also runs his own RaBBi-Q barbecue business.
“I was slightly disappointed last year,” he said. “But I’m thrilled I could make it back and win this time. My plan was to figure out what works, stick to the plan and have fun,” said the rabbi after the win in a story published by the Texas Jewish Post.
THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE HOME — Following last week’s election of Donald Trump as president-elect, the various Jewish religious movements issued notes of congratulations to Mr. Trump. Many statements, including the one issued by the Reform movement, mentioned other issues. “We welcome all: Jews and non-Jews, people of all races and religions, of all sexual orientations and the immigrants among us. That welcome is the essence of who we are as a community, and who we are as a country, and that remains as true today as it has ever been.”
Congregation Beth Torah’s Rabbi Javier Cattapan discussed that statement in his sermon on Friday night, saying, “Inside our congregation, the highest ethical values of our tradition are still valid and relevant. We are still a welcoming congregation and movement. We reject misogyny, homophobia, xenophobia and bullying.”
Rabbi Cattapan, who is an immigrant from Argentina and began his tenure at Beth Torah in July, has lived in the Midwest for 22 years. He and the Reform congregation have latched on to the Safety Pin movement, which PBS describes as a movement where “some Americans are wearing safety pins as a symbol of solidarity with victims of racism, homophobia and religious discrimination.”
The movement began this summer after British citizens voted to leave the European Union. Rabbi Cattapan noted the safety pins became “a symbol of solidarity with refugees and other migrants.”
FORWARD 50 — On Tuesday, The Forward released its annual list of Jews who have impacted American life. Its intro points out “Jews dominated the cultural landscape, in television, cinema, music, books, fashion, theatre — up to Bob Dylan’s Nobel Prize. We also made an unexpectedly strong showing in the sports arena, thanks to Theo Epstein’s leadership bringing the forlorn Chicago Cubs to a World Series win and Aly Raisman’s stunning Olympics display.” Both Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner are on the list as well as Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz, who some may remember was the rabbi at Kehilath Israel Synagogue for a short time in 2012-2013. As co-founder of Jews for Human Rights in Syria, Rabbi Yanklowitz “has advocated for a more welcoming attitude toward Syrian refugees, both in the United States and Europe.” You can read more about Rav Shmuly and see the entire list of Forward 50 — A Year of Curses and Many Blessings on forward.com.