Rabbi Joseph Potasnik Talks about Turkish Cuisine and Culture

Janine Aloisi: We’ll get back to Jennifer’s Kitchen in a moment. Next I’d like
you to meet Rabbi Joseph Potasnik who’s a member of the New
York Board of Rabbi’s. We had a very meaningful interview with
him. And he also spoke some interesting things about Asure in
Turkish Culture.

Joseph Potasnik: My name is Joseph Potasnik a rabbi, Executive Vice President of
the New York Core of Rabiis, this is the largest we call
interdenominational organization of its kind in the Rubinic World
which means we have rabbis of all the different branches of Jewish
life orthodox, conservative reform, reconstructions and somehow
we find vocabulary for all people to part to each other even though
there are different approaches religion for example there are those
who believe that the Torah, the bible came from God and there are
others who believer that came from human beings and regardless
of what your belief is we say there has to be a place where people
can discuss the differences with one another without destroying
each other without denigrating each other and this is that address.

It’s interesting that here you are observing Asure and the word eser
in Hebrew is 10, now if you look at the Jewish calendar on the 10th
day in the Hebrew month of tishure we have what is called the Day
of Atonement, young keeper. There’s a Muslim month on the 10th
day you Asure. So again we find a common denominator and
another Day of Atonement we understand that we don’t need it, it’s
a fast day.

Why do we fast what’s the purpose of it. The purpose it very
simple that we talk about helping the hungry and helping the
homeless and helping those who are hurting, how do you going to
help them if you don’t know how it feels.

So we say you have to suffer that day, you have to know what to
use to go without food because that will sensitize you to the
suffering of others and if you look at the Asure concept and Noah
was one who tried to convince the world to change its ways to
withdraw to give up paganism to believe in God, to develop a more
ethical kind of value system. He was ridiculed by many and finally
he had a retreat and goes to ark and took animals into the ark to
save that part of the world so they could start again.

So it’s a day like the Day of Atonement Asure when you have to
look at your behavior and you have to say what changes do I have
to make in my self to inspire other people to think about how to
make this a better world if I can help people. May I should be
visiting the sick more often.

Maybe I should be giving more charity but all of us make mistakes
and all of us can do better and we often say that a pencil has an
eraser because you’re going to make a mistake and we’re going to
write everything perfectly and you have to learn to correct those
mistakes.

So Day of Atonement Asure stay or reflection today we’re saying
what have I done wrong, I know what I have done right, it’s
always I always find people remember all the good things they did
and they try to forget some of the bad things but let’s remember
some of the things that we could have done should have done but
maybe this year will correct those mistakes and improve our
behavior.

I talk about fasting but also food is important I don’t have to
convince of those who are listening but you know you have
Ramadan in the Muslim tradition and how people take it so
seriously and they will go all day without eating and again that also
gets people to improve the relationship to God to one another but t
there comes after fasting comes feasting so you have a chance to
say look I know where it is to be without food but I also learned
how to have food when I say I have to food I see sometimes when
people go to sit out and eat. It just grab the food they quickly and
run away.

Well after Ramadan after your keeper you sit down and you have a
meal with family, with friends, but it’s a meal that is enjoyed with
certain appreciation for the fact that you have food or people who
don’t have food, appreciation for the people who prepared the
food, appreciation for God who give you the ability to eat the food.
So it’s not just the matter of a meal, it’s not just a matter of a feast,
it’s a matter of a celebration of all the blessings of life because
when you’re fasting you realize what you don’t have. When you’re
feasting you also have to recognize what you do have.