Let's all eat trafe for Chanukah! - NancyKay Shapiro

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Let's all eat trafe for Chanukah!

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Dec. 2nd, 2007 | 10:53 am

A holiday scene:

The Place: Balducci's, today.
Personae: Me, shopping for low-carb food.
Action: I'm sort of staring at the meat display, lots of salamis and sausages, and then various hams. And the hams' price signs have all been tagged with festive PERFECT FOR CHANUKAH banners. Which I blinked at for a couple of secs, trying to decide if this was an example of truly monumental cluelessness or ... nah. It's just the Department of Monumental Cluelessness, Well-Meaning Division.

Photos taken at the Balducci's on 8th Ave at 14th Street, on Sunday, 12/2.

Update: As of Tuesday morning 12/4, the hams are now tagged with green "Perfect for the Holidays!" signs.

By Popular Demand: If you're tickled by the Ham for Chanukah pic, visit my store at cafepress.com, where you can get it on a mug, or on greeting cards (stock up now for next year!).

Tags: chanukah ham, greenwich village, new york city, pics

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Comments {1657}

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from: eac
date: Dec. 2nd, 2007 03:57 pm (UTC)
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Um. Um. But you're in NEW YORK CITY, for god's sake.

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from: Anonymous
date: Dec. 7th, 2007 04:41 pm (UTC)
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That would be, for G-d's sake.

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from: denny_dc
date: Dec. 2nd, 2007 04:14 pm (UTC)
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cluelessness? it's beyond that...it's like they must be from outer space...just landed on the planet yesterday. i'm really stunned. that's like...gosh, i don't know what that's like.

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from: ukchrisp
date: Dec. 2nd, 2007 05:42 pm (UTC)
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Oh dear :( there really isn't much to say to this stupidity is there *shakes head*

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from: samifidler
date: Dec. 2nd, 2007 06:37 pm (UTC)
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Balducci's - I'm rendered speechless - I mean it might be understandable in a neighborhood minimart, but Balducci's is an upscale, sophisticated, not to mention expensive, establishment. They certainly ought to know much ,much better.

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from: 2loud_2proud
date: Dec. 2nd, 2007 08:10 pm (UTC)
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Um, wow. And there were three separate signs? How did no one notice this?

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from: nancykayshapiro
date: Dec. 2nd, 2007 08:19 pm (UTC)
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It's a deep mystery indeed.

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Let's all eat trafe for Chanukah!

from: Anonymous
date: Dec. 3rd, 2007 02:17 am (UTC)
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OY!

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Ham

from: Anonymous
date: Dec. 3rd, 2007 01:21 pm (UTC)
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Why do they hate the jews?

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Re: Ham

from: Anonymous
date: Dec. 4th, 2007 02:25 pm (UTC)
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lighten up!

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from: Anonymous
date: Dec. 3rd, 2007 03:52 pm (UTC)
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I hope bacon was on sale too. . .

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balduccis

from: Anonymous
date: Dec. 3rd, 2007 04:14 pm (UTC)
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that would make me boycott balduccis -- how stupid can they be?

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Re: balduccis

from: nancykayshapiro
date: Dec. 3rd, 2007 05:01 pm (UTC)
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I really don't think this is malicious.

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Balducci

from: Anonymous
date: Dec. 3rd, 2007 04:55 pm (UTC)
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Apparently in Ridgefield Ct, they are not as clueless. Go figure? I raced over to our store and they have no such signs and were horrified when I told them what was on the Internet. This is not exactly a Jewish town,but they know better.

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Re: Balducci

from: nancykayshapiro
date: Dec. 3rd, 2007 05:00 pm (UTC)
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Ah, so now we know it's not a corporation-wide policy, but something that just happened in my local branch. Which was pretty much what I assumed -- it seems to be that most of the people who work there, while all friendly and service-oriented, are from backgrounds where they're not familiar with things Jewish.

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Balducci's

from: Anonymous
date: Dec. 3rd, 2007 05:36 pm (UTC)
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You hypocrite! Your blog has a photo of YOUR bacon and egg breakfast. Stop eating traife and people might take you seriously.

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Re: Balducci's

from: nancykayshapiro
date: Dec. 3rd, 2007 05:43 pm (UTC)
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I never said I don't eat pork -- I eat it daily.
I just think it's hilarious that a food shop in Manhattan would promote ham as a Chanukah product.

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from: wolfette
date: Dec. 3rd, 2007 06:55 pm (UTC)
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oh my goodness - may I link to this?

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from: nancykayshapiro
date: Dec. 3rd, 2007 06:59 pm (UTC)
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Sure.

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Are you really surprised

from: Anonymous
date: Dec. 3rd, 2007 07:34 pm (UTC)
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This doesn't surprise me at all, given the number of times I have had to identify vegetables to checkout staff, not knowing the provenance of a cut of meat is wholly unexceptional.

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Re: Are you really surprised

from: lots42
date: Jan. 17th, 2008 04:37 am (UTC)
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Not seeing how dumb it is to put ham and Jewish people together is far, far different then not knowing the lump of green is a BlippityBloo fruit from the Island Dumbdork. Give the employees some slack.

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from: pagawne
date: Dec. 3rd, 2007 07:39 pm (UTC)
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Can we say "D*U*M*B?

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Chappy Cholidaze

from: Anonymous
date: Dec. 3rd, 2007 07:50 pm (UTC)
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This is HILARIOUS!! On behalf my colleagues, many thanks NKS for some great work-avoidance! I really don't see how any Jew -- trafe-eating or not -- could be offended by this. Obviously some low level, probably minimum wage, English-is-not-their-primary-language, overworked employee made up the signs at the management's direction and only looked at the product -- not the message.

Balduccis should definitely be mortified. However, this is obviously an honest mistake. We don't exactly need to bring in the ACLU and the Anti-Defamation League here. The public embarrassment is punishment enough.

While I am a trafe-eating-Jew -- a connoisseur of ham I am not. That product looks awfully big to be called a "petite ham."

~ Ken

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Re: Chappy Cholidaze

from: nancykayshapiro
date: Dec. 3rd, 2007 08:06 pm (UTC)
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I too found it hilarious and not malicious. No need to call the Anti-defamation league -- I didn't even say anything to store mgmt because I didn't want to deprive others of the chuckle of coming across this little no-no.

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from: Anonymous
date: Dec. 3rd, 2007 07:55 pm (UTC)
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OY.
Do they have hand-outs with delicious holiday recipes like latkes fried in lard?
OTH, if you were shopping at a kosher grocery, you wouldn't see such things, nu?

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from: nancykayshapiro
date: Dec. 3rd, 2007 08:06 pm (UTC)
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Latkes fried in lard -- now there's an idea!

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Photo Shop?

from: Anonymous
date: Dec. 3rd, 2007 08:00 pm (UTC)
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Am I the only one who think these look photoshopped? Or at the very least a prank. I'm not sure how anyone at Balducci's would allow this to happen.

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Re: Photo Shop?

from: nancykayshapiro
date: Dec. 3rd, 2007 08:07 pm (UTC)
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I took the photos myself and I don't even HAVE Photoshop. Believe me, it's no prank.

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from: zianuray
date: Dec. 3rd, 2007 08:11 pm (UTC)
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Yeah, for Orthodox - or others who keep Kosher -- that'd be ... uh. Wrong.

For Reform? Yum! My Dad's second wife and their daughter are Jewish (Reform) and Dad converted -- so yeah, they eat ham. And enjoy it.

PS-- friended you -- hope you don't mind!

Edited at 2007-12-03 08:15 pm (UTC)

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from: nancykayshapiro
date: Dec. 4th, 2007 03:14 pm (UTC)
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Why should i mind?

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Chanukah Ham

from: Anonymous
date: Dec. 3rd, 2007 08:14 pm (UTC)
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A story from McGovern's campaign for presidency: in an effort to attract Jewish vote in a part of NY city with a large percentage of observant Jews among the "registered voters", he apparently went to a kosher eatery where, in presence of a crowd of regular patrons, reporters & photographers (don't know whether there were TV cameras or not) he asked for a "kosher hot-dog and a glass of milk". His handlers probably told him that observant Jews eat kosher meat; I am sure that he was hoping to impress the target audience with his "wholesome" habits. Unfortunately, little knowledge is a dangerous thing. As to whether or not this particular display is there as a consequence of a malicious slight or of corporate policy or of local idiocy, I cannot say. But permit me to remark that I sincerely doubt that the same Balducci's would advertise a ham for Ramadan

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Re: Chanukah Ham

from: saavik
date: Dec. 3rd, 2007 08:35 pm (UTC)
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"But permit me to remark that I sincerely doubt that the same Balducci's would advertise a ham for Ramadan"

Probably because they would be firebombed if they did (/trenchant cynicism)

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from: siliconshaman
date: Dec. 3rd, 2007 09:06 pm (UTC)
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*facepalm*

Even my dear clueless grandmother...who once asked a gentleman of African descent if it look a lot of time to tan that much... knew better than that!!

The stoopid, It burns it does!!

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from: vixyish
date: Dec. 6th, 2007 09:53 pm (UTC)
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...was the gentleman's answer "about nine months"? ;)

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from: robriki
date: Dec. 3rd, 2007 09:17 pm (UTC)
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Oh my, that's funny!

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from: Anonymous
date: Dec. 3rd, 2007 09:41 pm (UTC)
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Can I assume that these hams had a Reform hechsher (circle-R) somewhere on the labels?

Eliyahu

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Kosher Ham

from: nebris
date: Dec. 3rd, 2007 09:45 pm (UTC)
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In return for this amusement, I shall tell you a story; my friend Stew was a Shabos Goy when he was kid - NJ in the 1930's - so while Gentle, he knew a few things.

As an adult, he worked in advertising.

So, once he had this location shoot for a TV commercial out in Oklahoma. The shoot also coincidence with Passover and a Jewish buddy of his at the ad agency asked him if he would drop in on some of his family who had lived out there for a while.

They were happy to hear from Stew and invited him over for the Seder. However, it seems this particular group of Hebrews had become a bit...'dislocated' from their Judaism. [You already know where this is going lol]

After all the bitter herbs, Dai-Dainu's, and such, out comes the main meal: a lovely honey baked ham. Stew kept his mouth shut, but did tell his friend that maybe he should 'have a little talk' with his relatives about Kashrut etc.

~M~

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Re: Kosher Ham

from: nancykayshapiro
date: Dec. 3rd, 2007 09:57 pm (UTC)
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Ha!

Though I've never been there, it seems like it ought to be well nigh impossible to live in Okla and not eat pork.

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from: zkzkz
date: Dec. 3rd, 2007 10:05 pm (UTC)
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I wonder, hypothetically, if someone did actually have data that a significant number of jews did in fact buy ham for channukah what the factors in deciding how to market that would be. I mean, if you market it too aggressively like above you're more likely to turn off any potential treyf-eating jews than sell them. And you would risk bad press and bothering other clients who were happily buying non-kosher non-treyf or kosher stuff. But if there's a market for it I bet they would find a way to market to it.

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from: Anonymous
date: Dec. 7th, 2007 01:55 am (UTC)
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For Chanukah, Ham is kosher ONLY if its fried in oil

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real kosher people are not threatened by this

from: Anonymous
date: Dec. 3rd, 2007 10:17 pm (UTC)
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just like truly devout Jews who do not feel pressured by the surrounding Yuletide atmosphere because their identity is secure, one who takes the hit and pays extra as a rule for kosher food is aware of the reasons for kosher
let's face facts - amid a measure of humility - kosher options, shopping, and consumerism were never so good
yes, it is funny, and one might mention this to mgmt, but to lament so loudly is way out of the true spirit of kashrut - it is an internal thing and not for public and plangent posturing

Benno Mekimi

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