Introduction

People are asking: what is Jewish Identity?  Some answers that I’ve heard are that they are a religious Jew, a cultural Jew, a Jew-by-choice.  My favorite: the Gastronomical Jew.  The person that connects to their Jewish identity through FOOD!   There is the old joke that all Jewish holidays have the same pretext: they tried to kill us, we survived, let’s eat!  

Food has always been a way for my family to come together to celebrate any and all things Jewish.  My earliest memories are of large holiday dinners with my extended family at my grandmother’s house.  These dinners were so important that my aunts, uncles, and cousins would travel hundreds of miles just for some brisket!  I don’t blame them; my grandmother’s brisket recipe is the best!

As I grew up, I still associated my Jewish identity strongly with those moments around the table.  But the table changed – it became my table.  I love cooking for my friends and family and inviting them over for an intimate Shabbat dinner filled with hot soups, comforting kugels, and conversation about our lives, the news, and little a Torah, too. 

At Congregation Beth El, there is a program called Lighten Up: Friday Night Invites.  It is a program in which congregants invite other congregants over to their home for Shabbat dinner in order to build relationships within the larger Beth El community.  I hope that the combination of this program and this blog will encourage people to have Shabbat dinners in their homes – and to eat well!