Filling the void for kosher products at Passover

Three thousand years ago, the Jews escaped Egypt, by way of a parted sea, on their trek from slavery to the land of Israel.

Nowadays, local Jews are making a far less arduous, but sometimes annoying, journey: To Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and beyond, in search of products that are kosher for Passover, the holiday that commemorates the exodus from Egypt.

The eight-day holiday, in which Jews traditionally eat matzo and avoid leavened food, begins Saturday night .

The Kosher Place, a butcher, grocery store and restaurant in Norfolk, had been a key source of Passover goods until it closed in late 2006 . Farm Fresh officials said they expanded their product line in some stores this year, but many Jewish consumers said shortages in supermarkets left them scrambling.

“It was very difficult to find certain things,” said Eleanor Lenox , a member of Congregation Beth Chaverim , a Reform synagogue in Virginia Beach. “You would think that with all of the Jewish families here, we would have more access to Passover food.”

Lenox, a retired office manager, relied mostly on a friend who shopped in Northern Virginia. She also went to Little Israel Kosher Food Store in Virginia Beach, one of two Jewish businesses that sought to fill the gap. The other is VA-BEL , a wholesale kosher wine and food distributor in Norfolk that sells retail during the period.

For traditional Jews, Passover goes beyond substituting matzo for bread. Because other foods, their byproducts and the implements used to prepare them are prohibited, the holiday requires a virtual restocking of the refrigerator, from kosher-for-Passover salad dressing to cheese to soda. With the emotional tie to the holiday, even less-religious Jews follow some of the dietary rules of Passover.

VA-BEL’s Passover offerings include canned tuna and salmon, strawberry jelly, hazelnuts dipped in chocolate and a chopped liver spread that need not be refrigerated until it is opened. Little Israel has, among other items, chocolate chip cake, mayonnaise, olives, fruit juices and turkey franks. Both sell matzo and frozen chicken and meat.

Yehuda Mizrachi , who helps his son Sion run Little Israel, said he underestimated demand for some items such as spaghetti sauce. “The minute I put it on the shelf, it’s gone,” he said.

Calvin Belkov , co-owner of VA-BEL, said he could not find from his distributors such items as Passover margarine and light mayonnaise.

Elka Shereshevsky bought a case of margarine – and nearly $3,000 in other goods including meat, sugar, nuts, mayonnaise and ketchup – at a kosher supermarket in Baltimore.

“I borrowed a Suburban and I filled it to the roof with ingredients and every imaginable thing because I was afraid I wouldn’t find anything here,” said the mother of two, who attends B’nai Israel Congregation, an Orthodox synagogue in Norfolk.

Nancy Loewenberg , the library director at the Willcox & Savage law firm, stocked up at a supermarket outside Philadelphia during a recent visit to her sister.

Loewenberg, a Virginia Beach resident who belongs to Temple Israel , a Conservative synagogue in Norfolk, remembered feeling awe at finding six aisles of Passover products.

She called a Virginia Beach friend from the store, exuding: “I am in Pesach heaven,” using the Hebrew word for the holiday.

A 2002 study commissioned by the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater estimated the area has 11,000 to 13,000 Jews. Demand is probably greater for Passover goods than for kosher food for the rest of the year, said Rabbi Arthur Ruberg of Congregation Beth El, a Conservative synagogue in Norfolk.

“I call it the holiday the Jewish people have not yet lost,” he said. “It’s a holiday that continues to have a hold,” with its traditional seder meal.

Ruberg did most of his shopping at VA-BEL but found items such as kosher-for-Passover powdered nondairy creamer at Harris Teeter in Norfolk. “There is stuff around, but you have to know what you’re looking for,” he said.

Other Jews criticized area supermarkets for not carrying or for running short on products such as Coke or whole wheat matzo. Gary Baum , a Beth El member who lives in Norfolk, said Farm Fresh “had priced themselves way out of the market,” sometimes charging $2 more for items than other stores.

Scott Bayne , senior vice president of merchandising, said Farm Fresh does “competitive price checks, and we did make price adjustments,” cutting the charge for matzo.

Farm Fresh officials said they increased their Passover line at four local stores, with additions such as chopped liver, frozen gefilte fish and up to three brands of matzo.

“If demand increases and we didn’t order enough, we’ll make sure we adjust next year,” Bayne said.

Harris Teeter stores typically carry an average of 40 to 50 Passover products, spokeswoman Jo Sorenson said. In Norfolk, its store stocked 55 to 65 , she said.

Sorenson and Susan Mayo , a Farm Fresh spokeswoman, said their stores invite comments from customers and act on them.

Last year , Farm Fresh head Ron Dennis promised a fresh kosher meat section at the store now known as The Market at Ghent . Bayne said construction delays at the Norfolk store will push that to the fall. The section will be run by David Proser , former co-owner of The Kosher Place and now a consultant to Farm Fresh.

At Little Israel, which opened last June, Mizrachi said business shot up 400 percent for Passover. He vowed to increase the volume and range of products next Passover.

Belkov, like Mizrachi, did not disclose sales. “I’m not doing it for the money,” Belkov said. “I get a lot of satisfaction from doing something for the community.”

Baum, an analyst with the Norfolk accounting firm of Wall, Einhorn & Chernitzer , figures he bought half of his supplies from Belkov and most of the rest from Harris Teeter. The choices are far narrower than in his native London, but he tries to stay philosophical.

“A number of people have said to me, 'It’s only eight days; you will survive.’”

Philip Walzer, (757) 222-3864, phil.walzer@pilotonline.com