>>9588846 (lb)

Hebrews; literally, he brews

Growing up in a Jewish household gifts you have many anecdotes to share at a not strictly kosher – I said strictly, OK? – dinner party. You can talk about the scientific differences between regular best friends and camp best friends, why learning twelve years worth of Hebrew has still left you embarrassingly unilingual, and the unique libations you’ve sipped along the way. Yes, Judaism is pretty into wine (there are entire laws dedicated to it), but if you grew up in a mezuzah-adorned home, you know there’s more to the religion than vino. For instance…

1. Jack Daniel’s

This is Jack DanielsI know what Jack Daniel’s is, not because of college, but because I grew up watching old men in synagogue (shul for the MOT’s here) drink it. I don’t know why Jack was their refreshment of choice, but I always saw them sip some of the Tennessee whiskey between services.

1. Scotch

The high rollers in the building would bring out expensive Scotch. Believe it or not, there are a lot of kosher certified Scotches out there, and they are the fancy Friday night gifts of choice.

36 Gifts and Gadgets For Anyone Who Loves Drinks

1. Kedem Grape Juice

Otherwise known as crack for children at kiddush. Mixed with Fresca, it’s irresistible.

1. Bartenura

bartenura headerOnly slightly more alcoholic than Kedem grape juice, the blue bottle Moscato is the no-brainer offering to bring to your friend’s house when you’re sleeping over on shabbat. Bartenura is also my grandma’s wine of choice.

1. Shoko BeSakit

Translates to “chocolate in the bag.” This is, appropriately, chocolate milk in a bag – a commonality in Israel. When Jewish students make their first pilgrimage to the holy land in high school, they’ve only heard of this strange, unicorn of a drink discussed in hushed tones from older students. By the end of the trip, they’re hooked.

1. Potato Vodka

Passover is coming up. Better stock up on the Chopin.

1. Manischewitz

Manischewitz Cocktail HeaderI purposely did not lead this article with Manischewitz, because it’s become a false representative of all kosher wine. There’s a lot more than Manischewitz, OK? That being said, we all drank Manischewitz at one point. Usually, we felt like huge rebels for doing so underage. We did not know the joke was on us.

1. Turkish Coffee

Typically consumed after a meal of shawarma. Points if you drank it without gagging.

1. Mint Tea

This one is for all my Moroccan, Tunisian, and Persian friends. Real mint tea is a delicious treat. I’m talking real leaves in the tea, not a two-bit tea bag. Which brings me to my next drink…

1. Wissotzky Tea

You drank this if you were JewishThis tea comes in a million different tempting flavors. But it’s a trap! It’s so bad. Just bland. Dry. But I will still drink it faithfully, because as a Jew, I value my traditions.

1. Prigat Juice

That super nice Hebrew teacher always brought this to class parties, along with imitation Oreo cookies. The banana flavor of Prigat was particularly delicious. Still waiting for banana juice to come to the U.S.

1. Slivovitz

This is a type of plum brandy, and hey, it’s actually not bad. It’s often certified kosher-for-Passover, and it makes an interesting addition to cocktails. And it’s typically high in alcohol, perfect for getting through a long seder.

1. Dr. Brown’s Cel-Ray Soda

You drank this if you were Jewish

For some reason, this celery flavored soda seems to only be available at Jewish delis and Passover programs. It straddles the line between repulsive and somewhat refreshing.

1. Seltzer

Seltzer is the tap water at Eastern European Jewish homes everywhere.

1. That One Surprisingly Kosher Spirit

Sometimes, you’ll buy an obscure, hand-crafted brandy made in Wyoming or something and discover that it’s kosher. You’re not sure why, you’re not sure how, but you are sure that you’ll be bringing it to the next family meal and impressing the shit out of everyone else.

Published: September 10, 2015

https://vinepair.com/wine-blog/the-15-things-you-drank-if-you-grew-up-jewish/

>What's in the big black box? A rock.

The Black Stone (Arabic: ‎, al-Ḥajaru al-Aswad, 'Black Stone') is a rock set into the eastern corner of the Kaaba, the ancient building in the center of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is revered by Muslims as an Islamic relic which, according to Muslim tradition, dates back to the time of Adam and Eve.[1]

The stone was venerated at the Kaaba in pre-Islamic pagan times. According to Islamic tradition, it was set intact into the Kaaba's wall by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in 605 CE, five years before his first revelation. Since then it has been broken into fragments and is now cemented into a silver frame in the side of the Kaaba. Its physical appearance is that of a fragmented dark rock, polished smooth by the hands of pilgrims. Islamic tradition holds that it fell from heaven as a guide for Adam and Eve to build an altar. It has often been described as a meteorite.[2]

Muslim pilgrims circle the Kaaba as a part of the tawaf ritual during the hajj and many try to stop to kiss the Black Stone, emulating the kiss that Islamic tradition records that it received from Muhammad.[3][4] Muslims do not worship the Black Stone.

The Black Stone was originally a single piece of rock but today consists of a number of pieces which have been cemented together. They are surrounded by a silver frame which is fastened by silver nails to the Kaaba's outer wall.[7] The fragments are themselves made up of smaller pieces which have been combined to form the seven or eight fragments visible today. The Stone's exposed face measures about 20 centimetres (7.9 in) by 16 centimetres (6.3 in). Its original size is unclear and the recorded dimensions have changed considerably over time, as the pieces have been rearranged in their cement matrix on several occasions.[2] In the 10th century, an observer described the Black Stone as being one cubit (46 cm or 18 in) long. By the early 17th century, it was recorded as measuring 1.40 by 1.22 m (4 ft 7 in by 4 ft 0 in). According to Ali Bey in the 18th century, it was described as 110 cm (3 ft 7 in) high, and Muhammad Ali Pasha reported it as being 76 cm (2 ft 6 in) long by 46 cm (1 ft 6 in) wide.[2]

The Kaaba has been associated with fertility rites of Arabia.[27][28][failed verification] Some writers remark on the apparent similarity of the Black Stone and its frame to the external female genitalia.[29][30] However, the silver frame was placed on the Black Stone to secure the fragments, after the original stone was broken.[31][32]

A "red stone" was associated with the deity of the south Arabian city of Ghaiman, and there was a "white stone" in the Kaaba of al-Abalat (near the city of Tabala, south of Mecca). Worship at that time period was often associated with stone reverence, mountains, special rock formations, or distinctive trees.[33] The Kaaba marked the location where the sacred world intersected with the profane, and the embedded Black Stone was a further symbol of this as an object as a link between heaven and earth.[34] Aziz Al-Azmeh states that the term "Al-Rahman", also used for a deity, was used for astral gods in Mecca and might have been associated with the Black Stone.[

Islamic tradition holds that the Black Stone fell from Jannah to show Adam and Eve where to build an altar, which became the first temple on Earth.[49] Muslims believe that the stone was originally pure and dazzling white, but has since turned black because of the sins of the people who touch it.[50][51] Its black colour is deemed to symbolize the essential spiritual virtue of detachment and poverty for God (faqr) and the extinction of ego required to progress towards God (qalb).[16]

According to a prophetic tradition, "Touching them both (the Black Stone and al-Rukn al-Yamani) is an expiation for sins."[52] Adam's altar and the stone were said to have been lost during Noah's Flood and forgotten. Ibrahim (Abraham) was said to have later found the Black Stone at the original site of Adam's altar when the angel Jibrail revealed it to him.[16] Ibrahim ordered his son Ismael – who in Muslim belief is an ancestor of Muhammad – to build a new temple, the Kaaba, into which the stone was to be embedded.

Another tradition says that the Black Stone was originally an angel that had been placed by God in the Garden of Eden to guard Adam. The angel was absent when Adam ate the forbidden fruit and was punished by being turned into a jewel – the Black Stone. God granted it the power of speech and placed it at the top of Abu Qubays, a mountain in the historic region of Khurasan, before moving the mountain to Mecca. When Ibrahim took the Black Stone from Abu Qubays to build the Kaaba, the mountain asked Ibrahim to intercede with God so that it would not be returned to Khurasan and would stay in Mecca.[53]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Stone