7-Eleven announced last week that it is closing more than 400 stores in North America, where there are currently more than 13,000 locations. The convenience store chain began in 1927 when one of the locations of the Southland Ice Company in Dallas began selling milk, eggs and bread in addition to ice. This successful strategy led to the creation of the Southland Corporation which expanded these convenience stores, renamed as Tote’m Stores. In 1946 they changed the name of the expanding chain to 7-Eleven, reflecting the extended hours that the stores were open, which was very unusual at that time. Southland went on to open more stores and also to purchase competing convenience store chains, achieving a value of more than $5 billion in the mid-1980’s, before taking a huge financial hit during the stock market crash of 1987. Southland eventually filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy and ownership was transferred to a Japanese corporation. What is a Jewish connection to 7-Eleven?

‍ 7-Eleven (14454510498) by Mike Mozart  is licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

A. 7-Eleven opened their first store in Israel in January of 2023 at Dizengoff Center in Tel Aviv. The Israeli franchisee, Electra Consumer Products, announced plans to invest more than 60 million New Israeli Shekels to open dozens of additional stores in the coming years.

B. The Star-K kosher certification organization publishes a list of more than 300 kosher flavors of 7-Eleven Slurpees available in the United States, including Dad’s Hawaiian Shirt, Tiger’s Blood, and Monster Mutant Red Dawn.

C. In April of 2024, Electra Consumer Products, the Israeli franchisee of 7-Eleven stores, announced that it would be closing all ten of their stores after having lost more than 60 million New Israeli Shekels over the last year.

D. The 7-Eleven store in Monsey, New York, sells certified kosher Big Bite hot dogs, chulent and kishke, to accommodate the needs of the huge Orthodox and Chassidic community in that town. The store’s advertising features the slogan Kosher Heaven at 7-Eleven.

E. When franchisee Electra Consumer Products opened their first 7-Eleven store in Israel, they promised that their stores would be kosher, to ensure that the large Orthodox population would patronize the store. However, the Chief Rabbi announced that Jews should not enter 7-Eleven stores because of the quote from Joshua 7:11 which reads “Israel has sinned! They have broken the covenant by which I bound them. They have taken of the proscribed and put it in their vessels; they have stolen; they have broken faith!” As a result, the 7-Eleven stores in Israel have all shut down.

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New York Mayor Eric Adams was recently indicted on federal charges of bribery, fraud, and soliciting foreign campaign donations, going back as far as 2014 when he was Brooklyn Borough President. Some of the charges relate to his acceptance of luxury travel and other benefits from Turkish individuals in exchange for pressuring the New York City Fire Department to improperly approve a permit for the opening of a Turkish consular building.  Adams denies the charges and says he has no plans to resign. Adams is an outspoken opponent of antisemitism and a strong supporter of Israel, having visited the country on three occasions. After the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack, Adams spoke at a New York Stands With Israel rally, saying “Your fight is my fight...You marched with us with Dr. King...And I’m saying we’re going to stand with you and stand united together.” What else has Adams said to indicate his love for Israel?

‍ Eric Adams Israel by VINnews  is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

A. He said that after his term as New York mayor is up, he plans to move to Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv, to take training courses at the Midrasha, the Mossad training facility located there.

B. He said that if he ever gets married, he would definitely hold the ceremony in Jerusalem.

C. He said that when he retires, he is interested in living in Israel, probably in the Golan Heights.

D. He said that after he completes his time as mayor of New York, he plans to move to Jerusalem and work in security at Yad Vashem - The World Holocaust Remembrance Center.

E. He said that he plans to regularly visit Israel, so long as Turkish Airlines continues to offer first class service to Tel Aviv.

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A round challah is one of the primary traditional Rosh Hashanah foods, with a number of explanations. One is that the shape is symbolic of the fact that the year is round, returning to the beginning at Rosh Hashanah. Another explanation is that it represents the crown of God. Other traditional Rosh Hashanah foods include apples dipped in honey, pomegranates, and fish heads. Yet there is also a tradition in some Jewish communities wherein nuts are not eaten on Rosh Hashanah. What is the reason for this prohibition?

‍ Round challah by Mark D. Zimmerman is in the public domain

A. When nut trees are planted their roots shouldn’t be covered as it is unhealthy for the plant. On Rosh Hashanah we should not cover our sins. So therefore, nuts are seen as symbolic of our uncovered sins, so we do not eat them on Rosh Hashanah.

B. We don’t eat nuts because the gematria (numerology) for the Hebrew word for nut, egoz אגוז is 17, the same value as the Hebrew word for sin, Chait חט (though the word Chait is actually spelled חֵטְא in Hebrew with a value of 18, but the Rabbis want us to stay as far away from sin as we can so the restriction still applies).

C. The restriction was originally against eating peanuts, as congregants would throw the shells on the synagogue floor just as they did with peanuts in the movie theater or ball park. The restriction eventually grew to include all nuts.

D. In medieval times, nuts were used in gambling games as a prize. In response, nuts have been banned from the Rosh Hashanah table to discourage gambling on the holiday and throughout the year.

E. Nuts are forbidden because eating nuts can cause an increase in phlegm, which might make it harder to pronounce the words of the prayers.

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Donald Trump and J. D. Vance have been promoting the lie that Haitians living in Springfield, Ohio have eaten neighbors’ pets. During his debate with Kamala Harris, Trump uttered the absurd statement that “They’re eating the pets of the people that live there, and this is what’s happening in our country, and it’s a shame.” Of course, according to Jewish law, one would not eat pets such as cats and dogs under any circumstance, as these are not kosher animals. Judaism has many laws governing what animals are kosher and what rules apply to preparation of kosher food. But Judaism also has rules regarding the feeding of pets, including which of the following?

‍ Racist Springfield, Ohio cat-eating hoax  is in the public domain via Wikimedia Commons 

A. It is forbidden to derive benefit from chametz during Passover. Therefore we can only feed our pets kosher-for-Passover food during that holiday.

B. It is forbidden for meat and milk to be cooked together, but that only applies to kosher meat. So we can feed our pets a Reuben sandwich if the corn beef isn’t certified kosher.

C. It is forbidden for meat and milk to be cooked together, but that only applies to meat from “kosher” animals. So we can feed our pets a ham and cheese sandwich.

D. It is forbidden for meat and milk to be cooked together, but that only applies to meat from “kosher” land animals. So we can feed our pets chicken quesadillas but not beef quesadillas.

E. It is forbidden to serve our pets Milk Bones, as bones are considered to be meat, and therefore can’t be mixed with milk.

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