I think the only good thing that came out of my recent trip to Far Rockaway to visit the old man and fulfill my obligation to kivud av, was the kiddushim I got to take part in. Far Rockaway isn’t really a foodie paradise, but the kiddushim are good old fun. Like all New Yorkers, Far Rockaway residents are rude and pushy when it comes to kiddush and I like that. There’s nothing like elbowing your way into the crowd only to see that once you get there it’s an absolute free for all.
I do need to give a yasher koach to the White Shul for having a truly good selection of herring. Cream sauce, wine sauce, salmon in cream sauce and something else I could not put my finger on – graced the long tables in their sukkah on shmini atzeres. My father claims to like the way the Rabbi speaks, but I think for him it’s all about the food. They have good herring and decent booze, all of which takes about 10 minutes to run out.
I suggest to go armed with a good sturdy fork, because if you want to actually get herring, you need to pick it out while others are doing the same. Dozens of people, young and old, men and women, could be scene digging through the onions to get to their herring. It was rather gross to me, but within 5 minutes I had shed my Californian sensibilities and was able to be just as nasty and rude as the other kiddush goers. I hogged crackers, because the cracker to herring ration is very small and I stole crackers from people who left their plate for a minute to say good yuntiff to someone.
Toward the end of the kiddush, about 10 minutes in, the place looked like a hurricane had whipped through it. Plates and dirty napkins were stacked everywhere. A few hopeful pickers, were rumaging through the herring containers in hopes that they find something. I overheard someone say, after they had found some prized herring, that the left side never ate as much as the right side. I even found some dry and uneaten crackers, which I ate with creamy onions and herring juice. The only thing that no one touched were these piles of honey drenched kichel with fake cherries, I tried it and it was gross.
Find more herring kiddush at 4torah.com
Sounds like paradise
come a few steps over to the five towns and you’ll have a sushi bar…
I used to love herring. Then I went to the deli around closing time to get some. It was a little picked over, but I figured “It’ll be fine.”
An hour of projectile vomiting and a resulting cracked rib put the kibosh to that idea.
Years later I can’t look at or smell herring without feeling ill. I am sad about this.
We usually have a couple of types of herring Shabbat Mevorchim in Shiloh and for special occassions. We’re more civilized than the White Shul, but schnapps is rare. We do serve salads, very healthy and kugel.
I grew up in the White Shul and they never had shul-wide kiddushes, except on Simchat Torah. The shul was always a bit of a baal agan, but it has become a super-haimish place now, teeming with people and very frummy. The new rabbi is very intense, but also kind of funny.
Rabbi Feiner is intense, talks rapidly fast in his divrei Torah. You gotta keep up.
He was so raspy I had to get out of there and hit up their library full of dusty books on modern orthodox philosophy that no one has read in years.
I find his delivery almost inaudible- he speaks super fast and screams.
This used to be a modern (a bit to the right) orthodox place. Now it’s frum yeshivish.
Ha. It’s even better than that. It’s got lots of vintage Conservative rabbi stuff too. Ginzberg, Gordis, Graetz. (Don’t know why they all start with G.) I love old shul libraries that are teeming with stuff that the rabbi would consider rank heresy.
Hesh u need to write a post on kiddush ediquitte. That being said, you’ll need two diff posts. One for boro park and one for 5 towns.
There’s always good cholent at the Agudah across the street