{"id":342373,"date":"2025-12-11T04:40:13","date_gmt":"2025-12-11T04:40:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/342373\/"},"modified":"2025-12-11T04:40:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T04:40:13","slug":"whiskey-wisdom-and-world-cuisine-south-beach-chabad-reinvents-the-torah-class","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/342373\/","title":{"rendered":"Whiskey, Wisdom, and World Cuisine: South Beach Chabad Reinvents the Torah Class"},"content":{"rendered":"

Once a month in Miami\u2019s South Beach, a long table fills with Jews of all backgrounds in animated conversation. Between sips of single-malt and bites of pistachio-crusted rack of lamb they\u2019ll hash out questions on modern halachic conundrums and Kabbalistic insights. Whiskey and Wisdom, as this monthly meeting has been dubbed, is reshaping what a Chabad Torah class can be.<\/p>\n

The brainchild of Rabbi Leibel Khazanovitch who doubles as Chabad in South Beach\u2019s program director and resident chef and bartender, what began as a small experiment \u2014 pairing fine whiskey with elevated kosher dishes \u2014 quickly became one of the local community\u2019s most anticipated events. Each session features a different dish from around the world that is sometimes not available for kosher consumers anywhere else. And this one is not only kosher, it\u2019s prepared by your local rabbi.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not your average Chabad House with a cholent made up of mostly potatoes,\u201d joked Yaron Benchlouch, who\u2019s been a Chabad attendee for two years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe definitely have the best food out of any synagogue I\u2019ve ever been to,\u201d added Josh Zinkovsky. From the weekly Shabbat kiddush to holiday events \u2014 whenever there\u2019s a chance to serve food in South Beach, Chabad does it right. But Whiskey and Wisdom is the highlight.<\/p>\n

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\u201cSome come for the wisdom, some for the whiskey \u2014 but everyone comes for the food,\u201d Benchlouch said. \u201cOne month it\u2019s Thai, another it\u2019s \u2018Ribeyes and Rabbis,\u2019 another time it\u2019s homemade ramen. Every time it\u2019s a totally different gastronomical experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

And the wisdom part? \u201cWe try to bridge relevance and content,\u201d he explained. The last one I went to was AI-themed. The classes show that the Torah isn\u2019t a history book; it\u2019s a guidebook for the here and now.\u201d<\/p>\n

The class is usually led by Rabbi Shragi Mann, director of Chabad in South Beach \u2014 though guest speakers are often invited. The goal: connecting ancient texts with modern topics. \u201cWe actually read the sources and bring it all together. It\u2019s a serious study session,\u201d said Zinkovsky. One class particularly stood out to him. \u201cA scribe came in and spoke about writing Torah scrolls, mezuzahs, and tefillin \u2014 we got to see the process up close and meet the person behind it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zinkovsky tries never to miss a Whiskey and Wisdom evening. \u201cWe learn something genuinely interesting every time \u2014 AI and Torah, ethical questions, sometimes a deep dive into Talmud or other texts \u2014 and it\u2019s accompanied by a multi-course meal: appetizers, soup, mains, dessert,\u201d he says. \u201cEvery menu is different. There\u2019s basically no kosher restaurants in South Beach, so this definitely fills that gap \u2014 and we get the full experience, elegant plating and all.\u201d His favorite dish is the sea bass \u2014 in his Miami lingo: \u201cit\u2019s fuego\u201d \u2014 followed by the short ribs in a soy-miso reduction, and the Thai menu \u2014 the list goes on.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, the whiskey is always top shelf and the food is incredible,\u201d said Ofek Haim Suchard, who\u2019s been living in South Beach for a year and a half. \u201cBut for me, the most enticing part is the chance to sit together and tackle meaningful, thought-provoking ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n

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