Shop feeds need, offers convenience for observant Jews
BY MATT MANOCHIO
DAILY RECORD
ROCKAWAY -- Until recently, Isaac Levin got his kosher meats in New York City and other kosher products from a store in Livingston.
Now the 22-year-old White Meadow Lake resident only has to travel a couple of miles.
The Carmel Israeli Market opened this month in the Rockaway Boro Plaza on Route 46 --something Levin said was long overdue.
"I've been waiting for this to happen for a long time," he said while shopping there last week. "I'm very happy that they have meat and cold cuts."
Chicken and beef are two of the most popular products that the store carries, said Jenny Amrani, who runs the store with her husband, Yahav.
The Rockaway Township residents said they opened the store out of necessity.
"I used to drive to Brooklyn all the time to get my meat," Jenny Amrani, 30, said of the inconvenience and time it took to make those trips.
"My husband said, 'Nobody's doing it. Why don't we do it?'" she said.
So Yahav quit his job at a moving and storage company and opened his kosher shop on Sept. 10.
"To get a good stock of it, you have to drive all the way to Livingston, so this is a lot better," said Rockaway Township resident Scott Weisberger, 36, who shopped there in advance of Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, which begins today at sundown.
"The best thing is you don't have to look at the labels. You know everything is kosher," Weisberger said.
The store carries a wide range of products, including, dairy, meats, juices, sauces, spices, canned food, snacks and frozen foods, among others.
Jenny Amrani said the store also carries specialty items. They include organic products; Middle Eastern, Chinese and Japanese foods; and nondairy ice cream.
"We enjoy the most the rabbis who come and shop here," she said.
Rabbi Asher Herson, of the Chabad Center of Northwest New Jersey, also was happy to see the store open.
"This is a great thing for the community, and it's the first of its kind," he said. "So it's very exciting. Word is still getting out. It offers people a tremendous opportunity."
Kosher food conforms to, or is prepared in accordance with, Jewish dietary laws. Animals, for instance, are slaughtered in such a way as to not make them suffer. The meat is soaked in salt, and the food is blessed by a rabbi.
Herson said local supermarkets do carry some kosher products.
"On the other hand, that's not their forte," he said. "(Carmel) has a full selection of meats and chicken, stuff you can't get anywhere local."
Jeff Kooper, 56, of Rockaway Township, bought a couple of items and simply told Jenny Amrani, "We need you guys here."
BY MATT MANOCHIO
DAILY RECORD
ROCKAWAY -- Until recently, Isaac Levin got his kosher meats in New York City and other kosher products from a store in Livingston.
Now the 22-year-old White Meadow Lake resident only has to travel a couple of miles.
The Carmel Israeli Market opened this month in the Rockaway Boro Plaza on Route 46 --something Levin said was long overdue.
"I've been waiting for this to happen for a long time," he said while shopping there last week. "I'm very happy that they have meat and cold cuts."
Chicken and beef are two of the most popular products that the store carries, said Jenny Amrani, who runs the store with her husband, Yahav.
The Rockaway Township residents said they opened the store out of necessity.
"I used to drive to Brooklyn all the time to get my meat," Jenny Amrani, 30, said of the inconvenience and time it took to make those trips.
"My husband said, 'Nobody's doing it. Why don't we do it?'" she said.
So Yahav quit his job at a moving and storage company and opened his kosher shop on Sept. 10.
"To get a good stock of it, you have to drive all the way to Livingston, so this is a lot better," said Rockaway Township resident Scott Weisberger, 36, who shopped there in advance of Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, which begins today at sundown.
"The best thing is you don't have to look at the labels. You know everything is kosher," Weisberger said.
The store carries a wide range of products, including, dairy, meats, juices, sauces, spices, canned food, snacks and frozen foods, among others.
Jenny Amrani said the store also carries specialty items. They include organic products; Middle Eastern, Chinese and Japanese foods; and nondairy ice cream.
"We enjoy the most the rabbis who come and shop here," she said.
Rabbi Asher Herson, of the Chabad Center of Northwest New Jersey, also was happy to see the store open.
"This is a great thing for the community, and it's the first of its kind," he said. "So it's very exciting. Word is still getting out. It offers people a tremendous opportunity."
Kosher food conforms to, or is prepared in accordance with, Jewish dietary laws. Animals, for instance, are slaughtered in such a way as to not make them suffer. The meat is soaked in salt, and the food is blessed by a rabbi.
Herson said local supermarkets do carry some kosher products.
"On the other hand, that's not their forte," he said. "(Carmel) has a full selection of meats and chicken, stuff you can't get anywhere local."
Jeff Kooper, 56, of Rockaway Township, bought a couple of items and simply told Jenny Amrani, "We need you guys here."
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