Lubavitcher Catches Big Fish

By COLlive reporter

Jonathan Kreindler will not forget how during the month of Kislev this year he managed to squeeze into the Rebbe’s study room in 770 Eastern Parkway to join the prayers there.

“Although I had davened in the Rebbe’s room before, I had never experienced the level of energy that was alive then,” he said, referring to the presence of Chabad Shluchim who were there for the annual Kinus convention.

“Shluchim from around the world packed into the Rebbe’s room for Tehillim and Shachris on Shabbos Mevarchim Kislev,” he said. “At that moment, I committed myself to doing something within my own means to make the life of the Rebbe’s shluchim a little more comfortable.”

With Divine Providence, the chazan for Shachris at that davening was Rabbi Raleigh Resnick, Director of Chabad of the Tri-Valley in Pleasanton, CA, not far from the small town of Danville where Kreindler grew up as a child.

“My “Chabad Birthday,” where I was first introduced to Chassidus and the Rebbe, was the first night of Pesach when I attended the seder at the Resnicks,” the 30-year-old points out.

After moving to Los Angeles and connecting with his Jewish roots, the now “Simcha Moshe Kreindler” married Atara Michal (nee Simkovitz) and settled in Beverly Hills.

The Kreindlers are active members within the Chabad of North Beverly Hills community under the guiding hand of famed posek Rabbi Yosef Shusterman.

At that memorable davening in the Rebbe’s room, the chazan for the musaf davening was Shusterman’s brother, Rabbi Yisroel Shusterman, Shliach of the Rebbe in Monsey, NY.

Being a fish entrepreneur, Kreindler decided to help Chabad centers with their Shabbos menus by offering their wild fish at wholesale prices.

“It was the first thing that came to mind,” he said. “The fish and the warm mushroom salad at the Shabbos table of Mendel Shusterman, Shliach of the Rebbe in Beverly Hills, CA and son of Rabbi Shusterman, was the essential preparation for the soup and the meat. Shluchim know that one of the most successful ways of reaching out to not yet observant Jews is to offer them great food.”

With a team of fishermen in Alaska and Hawaii, Kreindler’s company, Sea Born Fish, specializes in sourcing, processing and selling the “World’s Finest Wild Fish” to five star hotels, restaurants and boutique markets.

“30-40 years ago, very few people were buying farmed fish. Fish was fish and people knew that farms were for plants and vegetables,” Kreindler explains with a smile. “The bottom line is that man will never be able to grow fish that are as healthy as Hashem’s fish in the wild.”

Sea Born Fish fillets, processed under the OU supervision, include Alaskan King Salmon, Alaskan Halibut, Hawaiian Mahi Mahi, Hawaiian Yellowfin Tuna, Chilean Sea Bass, Striped Bass, Rainbow Trout and more. And yes, all the fish are “wild.”

In fact, Kreindler has found inspiration from chassidus for his products.

“A fundamental teaching in Chassidus is that a person or a thing’s essence is revealed when it is given challenges (or put under pressure) and the essence is always more prominent and precious than the source,” he says, and gives examples such as olives yielding olive oil and grapes producing wine.

“One of the main factors that contribute to the rich nutrient content of wild fish is their life in the wild,” he says. “A wild fish faces life threatening conditions every day; strong ocean currents, predators and the fight to find food makes their lives a constant battle. This forces them to adapt and become tougher in order to prevail. The result is fish meat with higher levels of healthy fats and essential nutrients that the human diet needs.”

“I hope our fish will also help inspire Shabbos guests across the world at the tables of the Rebbe’s Shluchim to stay for the rest of the meal and take on more mitzvahs,” he says.

For more info, visit www.SeaBornFish.com or call 1-888-770-3339 ext. 2.