Beijing’s only kosher restaurant opened 10 months ago, drawing the small Jewish expatriate community, tourists, curious Chinese and even a few Muslims. Business has been so good at Dini’s Kosher Restaurant, that they are planning to expand operations and open another store in the Olympic Village prior to this year’s Olympics.
The new store will allow folks to eat a kosher meal without having to travel into the city. The restaurant’s manager, Dini Freundlich, expects that the restaurant will serve 400 meals a day. Minyanim will also be held at the new store.
(Source: USA Today Arutz 7)
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29 Responses
why are jewish, people going to the olympics?? this is literally what happened in Rome with the circuses and theaters. why is this good news? this is worse then when i heard there are kosher hotdogs at the Yankee Stadium!!
Kosher Olympics! Hmmm… This shmeks of a Purim shpeil! 😉
Kol Hakovod to Chabad.
They are doing a wonderfull job.
Chabad does phenomenal work. Wherever you are in the world, you wont ever be standed without kosher food, minyanim. ect because of Chabad. Thank you.
I think it is more important for any Jew who is in China to protect themselves against exposure from lead, radioactive material, etc.
Seudas Achashveirosh. Better to stay home and learn Torah.
I have a book at home called the Rebbe’s Advice by Rabbi Chaim Dalfin. There is a story of a Shaliach who wanted to use a reference to the Olympics. The Rebbe objected. He sait that the Olympics have their roots in Avoda Zoro mamesh. I am surprised that Chabad would try to Kosherize the Olympics
is cholent and kugel going to be on the menu? or only sushi and rice?
Now all I need is to decide which sport to compete in
#4 Flatbush Bubby –
I think you’ve been a little misled by the popular media. China is the world’s leading manufacturer, and the reason we’re seeing so many reports on lead content and other hazardous materials is not because the streets of China are overrun with poison, but because the US wholesalers, retailers, and importing companies have been lax in doing quality assurance when producing goods. For example, rather than spend the extra money for a water-based or latex-based paint on toys, the Chinese factory will respond to the importer’s request for “the cheapest price possible” and go for the lead-based version.
The mass hysteria you’ve seen in the media has been mostly US retailers deflecting the blame onto China as a whole, rather than on themselves for being less concerned with quality and safety than on price.
You can get good Chinese food near home. Stay home, give the money you save to zedakah and learn torah.
For those who are going, can you trust the hashgacha of someone who believes in the second coming?
#11 Left Brooklyn –
As I’m sure you know, American “Chinese food” and “food in China” have little to do with each other 🙂
Most kosher food that I’ve seen & had in China was Israeli-style (falafel, mediterranean/sephardic fleishig).
are they having group flights from JFK or Newark? cuz if they’re planning on selling atleast 400 meals a day, the people have to be shipped from somewhere. LOL!
Left Brooklyn – Why are you painting the whole Chabad movement with one very stupid stripe?
I know the Chabad shaliach Rabbi Shimon Freundlich personally. I and hundreds of other FRUM YIDDEN have spent countless Shabbos meals at his table. Ask all the yungerleit that travel to China, and spend days in a dusty little village, in a hotel room you wouldn’t let your mother in law sleep in, eating cans of tuna – what a MECHAYAH it is to be SHABBOS in Beijing (2 places), or Shanghai (2 places), Guangzhou, Hong Kong, or Bangkok (Do i need to continue?)
Guess what? 2 SATMAR chassidim paid for the MIKVEH in Beijing!!!
Last year in Guangzhou at the Canton Fair, there was a Hachnossas Sefer Torah at Chabad. 350 FRUM BUSINESSMEN showed up. Why? HAKAROS HATOV!
So, since it seems you do not travel outside your Daled Amos, please crawl back under your rock, and keep your insipid insights to yourself!
Forget the OLympics in China, they are a country of inhuman rights, and you can be sure the security for Israeli athletics will be as bad if not worse than Munich.
#6
Vus hut boidem tzoo tun mit klutz??
The restaurant is open all year and they will expand it for the events so that more Yidden will eat kosher. That is not saying that the events are kosher or OK. The Rebbe saying that the olympics are no good, never stopped Chabad from having kosher booths and minyanim at the games. This is also not the first time Chabad is doing it. As someone who has been to 3 different olyimpics, I can tell you that this is at least the 4th time. I have also been to Dini’s rest in China and enjoyed the food there. They have one of the nicest Chabad Houses in the world and probably THE nicest mikvah on earth, sponsored by heinishe people from Boro Park, Williamsburg etc who travel there on business.
I read the article..then the comments, then re-read the article.
Where did it say the restaurant is owned by a Chabad Shilach?
I agree with #6. There’s a limit to all the “chesed” Chabad does.Are they going to put Tfillin on the Chinese also?
#19 (Chaim Yankel): It’s only an educated guess that the restaurant is owned by a Lubavitch chassid, but I’ll bet my laptop that it’s correct.
#20 Yeshivish Hocker
I can’t even begin to understand this level of animosity. They are providing kosher food to travelers and visitors. It’s a business as well as a chessed. Do you similarly hate your local kosher pizza shop? What exactly is the problem?
All –
Yes, it’s owned & operated by Chabad. From their site: “Dini’s Kosher Restaurant is the first and only kosher restaurant in beijing under the certification of Rabbi Shimon Freundlich of Chabad Beijing. The only independently owned Kosher restaurant in China, Dini’s menu offers a complete selection of Jewish food, Chinese food, Western food, and a spectacular sushi bar.”
Yeshivish Hocker: Stop hocking shtusim.
Chaim Yankel: I eat there often & it is Chabad.
justajew: You are right, but Chabad does operate restaurants (which I have eaten in) in a few other cities in China, as well.
Did I say they didn’t?
Dini’s restaurant is a beautiful place. Most of the people who go to Chabad China (4 cities), are mostly local Israeli Sfardim, or visiting men on business. You can assume that the locals would have no minyan or kosher, without chabad. In fact, I would guess that many of the locals probably are more observant in China than they where Israel before they came. However, I also suspect that the jewish services provided to the locals in China, might encourage them to stay longer, or to let them come in the first place. That might not be a positive thing.
Rafram:
I spend time doing business in China and I can tell you that many of the Israelis who come to Chabad (over 150 last time I was in Guanzhou for Shabbos) are completley secular when they come and much more observant when they leave. In addition, as you mentioned, there are many, many charedim from all communities that spend Shabbos there as well. Chassidim, litvaks, sfardim etc.
While Chabad runs 6 full time Chabad houses in China (in 4 cities) they also have programs running in several other cities as well.
All this is besides what they are doing in Hong Kong, where they have 3 more places and take care of the hundreds of frum people at the shows that happen there several times a year. Helping with food, minyanim etc.
Yeshivish Hocker: Here is your brillianat quote “There’s a limit to all the “chesed” Chabad does. Are they going to put Tfillin on the Chinese also?”
Right there is your problem, there is no LIMIT to doing CHESED!!!! And yes if there are jewish chinese they will put on Tfillin on them!!! Have a problem with that? Just continue doing what you do best which is to keep hocking away, and Let Chabad do what they do best which is being there for every jew in every country. Now you tell me, who is accomplishing at the end of the day? And by the way, there is a limit to how much Hocking a person can do!!
Why is there such grudging respect for Chabad at best from the Frum world?
I was thinking about it.
The goyim hate Jews. Because Jews are their conscience. They hate Jews because it’s a slap in the face of their religion. The fact that Jews are successful questions their whole religion and causes jealousy and hatred. Therefore some resort to anti-semitism and Israel bashing while the better ones resort to “grudging respect”.
Then comes the secular Israeli. He hates the frum Jew. Why? Because the frum Jew is his conscience. It is what he should be doing but isn’t. So therefore he reacts with hatred or “grudging respect.”
Then comes the “frum Yid”. He looks at Chabad and reacts in one of two ways. Yes you guessed it. Either hatred or “grudging respect”. Why? It’s because he looks at Chabad and sees an organization that is epitome of Jewish Chesed. Chabad goes out to all corners of the world for the sake of fellow yiden. In places where Tahras mishpach, kashrus and educating their children is 100 more difficult. In places like Bangkok or Vietnam, or Greece or Russia. And what is the thanks Chabad gets from the frum community? “Grudging respect” from the more honorable, and a libelous campaigns from the nogoodnicks.
Maybe its time for the Frum community to stop with all our Lashon Hara. Kinas sofrim marbe chachma. If your jealous of Chabad go out and make your own Kiruv center in Yohopitz. But lashon Hara and malicious slander is not the way of a Torah yid to react to someone doing good. The Chofetz Chayim has very sharp words about people who indulge in Lashon Hora. Unfortunately some people haven’t looked at the Chafetz Chayim’s sefer recently.
To 29 – Justayidel . Chesed is Chesed, business is business. A restaurant owned by a Rabbi is business, not a GMACH. So what kiruv center are u talking about ? Dini’ s Kosher restaurant is a kiruv center ?? The Olympic games is Chessed ??? )Or an opportunity to make more money on one of the biggest Avoda Zora event from the Ancient Greeks, Soney Isroel !! Did you forget where it comes from ?? Kol tuv .