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By Lily Mak
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May. 1, 2009 |
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Where on campus can you find kosher pizza? Are you familiar with the term matzo?
Earlier this month, Jew Crew club members deepened understandings of their culture through making matzo — an unleavened flatbread with a history.
Approximately 30 members had the opportunity to roll the dough and put their first hand-made matzos in the oven for the yearly Pesach (or Passover) on April 9. “Even though we always eat (matzos) over Passover, which is a holy holiday during the month of March and April that lasts eight days, celebrating the freedom of the Jewish people enslaved in Egypt, this is the first time I made it myself,” sophomore club vice president Samuel Rothmann explained.
According to club member sophomore Reuben Raff, matzos symbolize the strife of the Jewish people because in their rush to leave Egypt, they could not wait for the bread to rise.
Students said they appreciated the opportunity to try something new. “I learned that matzos need to be baked in under 18 minutes to taste good, and all we needed were dough and water,” freshman club member Maria Idomskaya said.
The club was able to make matzos through funding from their parent organization, Jewish Student Union, and its representative, Rabbi Shimon Margolin, who holds weekly lessons about Judaism during club meetings.
The club was able to make its own matzos with the help of two brothers who owned a matzo factory in Brooklyn who were touring the country with their huge oven and brought it to the club, according to freshman club member Rose Carr.
Aside from baking a cultural dish, Margolin taught club members through informational clips and videos. “By watching the videos brought by the Rabbi Margolin, we learn about the Jewish holidays and become more familiarized with our culture,” Rothmann said.
Not only do members come for greater understanding of the Jewish culture, but also for Margolin’s weekly kosher pizza. “Kosher is a healthy diet to help people live longer,” Raff said. “You cannot eat shellfish and pork because shellfish eat red tide, which is an algae dangerous to human beings and pigs are fed trash and other unhealthy things. Another dietary law is that you cannot mix milk with meat as part of this beneficial diet for safer and longer living.”
Besides weekly pizza and videos, the club officers plan outings. “We are planning to go to Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and on our second annual snow trip,” Rothmann said. “And all our trips are subsidized, about 15 percent by the club’s parent organization, and the rest of the money we try to make off from events like Kermesse and co-curricular day.” Rothman described these moneymaking opportunities as a way to bond with club members and accomplish a common goal.
Jew Crew club was formed last year in hopes of uniting the Jewish community on campus and educating students about Judaism. “Jew Crew is a place to reach out to Jewish and non-Jewish students an opportunity to learn about Jewish culture and connect with Jewish students in Lowell and the Bay Area,” club president senior Arthur Odesskiy said.
Rothmann emphasized the openness of the club. “New members are welcome to join our activities, and anyone can come and just learn something about Judaism,” Rothmannn said. “We are not trying to teach or explain the religious aspect, but more of the philosophical aspect to expand your horizon and knowledge.”
Come learn about Judaism, eat kosher, and plan trips with the club in Room 244 every Thursday after school.
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