Chareston S.C. goes kosher

First KOSHER "bed and breakfast" in Charleston S.C. Charleston: For more than 20 years, Hadassah Rothenberg has "harbored a dream" of being the proprietor of a beautiful bed-and-breakfast to accommodate observant Jewish travelers for Jewish Sabbath.As an observant Jew, she understands the difficulty of finding kosher food while traveling. She has realized her dream with the opening of The Broad Street Guest House, Charleston's newest bed-and-breakfast inn, and the only kosher one in town. It opened Dec. 1."Charleston has always been a great destination for Jewish tourists," Marty Perlmutter said. "Now it's gotten even better - visitors have another reason to come because it's such a beautiful facility."Perlmutter, director of the Yaschik/Arnold Program in Jewish Studies at the College of Charleston, said now he has another place in Charleston where he can host out-of-town guests who keep kosher.....Rothenberg moved to Charleston in August from her native Brooklyn, N.Y. Guests may enjoy a traditional challah...The kitchen also houses a pareve (foods containing neither meat nor dairy ingredients) work area so there's no contamination of these dishes when working with either a meat or a dairy meal.Rabbi Ari Sytner certified the inn as Glatt (more stringent inspection of meat) kosher, under the "Palmetto K" symbol, which he created.Sytner is the head rabbi of Charleston's Orthodox synagogue, Congregation Brith Sholom Beth Israel (BSBI to the locals), the oldest Orthodox Jewish synagogue in the Southern United States. Sytner says he constantly is working with the Charleston community to obtain kosher certification...we wanted to have a symbol that closely represents who we are, too." Sytner offers this service free of charge...Broad Street Guest House is within walking distance of two Charleston synagogues, enabling guests to attend religious services, which is attractive for visiting Orthodox Jews who do not drive cars during the Sabbath.For information about The Broad Street Guest House, reach Hadassah Rothenberg at 577-5965 or www.CharlestonKosherBedandBreakfast.com