Jewish cuisine is a rich blending of the foods from many different countries, informed by the laws of Kashrut (literally cleanliness). This year at Temple Israel’s ShalomFest, the foods will reflect the international flavors of Jewish cooking. Some old favorites return, and some new dishes, from throughout the continuum of Jewish experience are introduced.

Kashrut, or “kosher” is the complicated code of dietary law developed around the commandment in Leviticus, “ Thou shalt not seeth the meat of the kid in the milk of its mother.” It calls for a specific ritual of slaughter, based on the minimizing of suffering to the animal; for observance of which foods are clean (cloven hooves and chewed cud) and which are unclean (birds of prey, bottom-dwelling fish, shellfish, pork and carnivores) [These are again Biblical]. It demands that the observant Jew consider the origins of his food, and make eating itself a form of observance: through the discipline of kashrut, the traditionally observant individual reaffirms in even this essential life activity his adherence to the Eternal One’s code of conduct. Some Jews are more strict in this observance than others, “building a fence around the Torah” to avoid inadvertent violation of a commandment.

The Reform Movement of Judaism calls for the individual to consider this tradition in developing his/her own practice. Some practice “Biblical Kosher”, that is not mixing meat and milk. Some choose vegetarianism as an approach which is ultimately kinder to all animals. Some choose traditional kashrut, and some find that in the day of government-inspected meat and refrigeration this tradition does not hold any meaning for them.

The kitchen at Temple Israel is not considered a “kosher kitchen”. Meat and dairy products are not handled separately nor are separate pots, utensils or dishes used to prepare and serve these foods. This year, for ShalomFest, we have made an effort to have only Meat or Parve (Neutral) foods in our foodline. The meats we have used, however, are not kosher meat (other than the hot dogs). All neutral products have been prepared with utensils that WERE koshered and placed in disposable dishes for the benefit of our visitors who chose to observe kashrut. While no dairy products appear in the main food line, there is cheesecake served nearby and will be consumed at the same tables as meat products.

In The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey from Sammarkand to New York, (Alfred Knopf, 1996), Claudia Roden says: “Every cuisine tells a story. Jewish food tells the story of an uprooted, migrating people and their vanished worlds. It lives in people’s minds and has been kept alive because of what it evokes and represents.”

Historically, the Jewish people have been travelers for nearly 2,000 years, living beside other cultures while longing to return to their homeland. While they adopted the recipes of their neighbors, these were changed subtly by the requirements of kosher and by the exchange of recipes from relatives and co-religionists in other lands.

Each of us remembers the flavors of our own family kitchen. If your mother’s family came from Eastern Europe, home of the Ashkenazi Jews, “Jewish Food” means lokshen kugel, praakes, tzimmes, and gefilte fish. These were the foods of the shtetl –the outlying towns and countryside where the Jews were “permitted” to live, often in abject poverty and the fear of pogroms. Much of this cuisine began in Germany, where the Jews settled before the 10th Century. This means hearty foods like thick soups with grains and dumplings, heavy rye and dark breads, pickled and boiled meats, freshwater fish and salt herring, cabbage and carrots. Strong flavor combinations like sweet and sour combinations dominated. But there were also outside influences: noodles from their coreligionists in Italy, Eastern spices from their uncles in international trade.

If, instead, your family came from Turkey, or Egypt or Morocco, where Jews have lived since Biblical times, your cuisine was “Sephardic” – rich with cumin and cinnamon, fresh fruits and vegetables like tomatoes, eggplant and artichokes, with lamb more common than beef. A strong influence from Spain persists in Sephardic cooking, as many Jews from that land were welcomed in the Arabic nations when expelled by Isabella & Ferdinand in 1492.

People are often surprised to hear that there are Jews in Italy, and that they have their own cuisine, yet many of the Jewish communities of Italy have been their for more than two thousand years. The earliest Jewish colonies in Italy existed in Rome, the southern port cities, Sicily and Sardinia. In Sicily, the Jews enjoyed 18 centuries of peace and commerce. Under Muslim rule from 831 to 1061, the Jewish population flourished and the Arab influence on Jewish cooking in Italy still remains. When Spain conquered Sicily, they brought the Inquisition, and the Jews were banished. The foods they took with them when they fled to central and northern Italy came into Italian cuisine as “alla giudia or “alla ebraica” – in the manner of the Jews. The Jews of Pitagliano, Italy, lived in relative peace with their neighbors for nearly 600 years. Edda Servi Machlin, in her 1981 book, The Classic Cuisine of the Italian Jews: Traditional Recipes and Menus and a Memoir of a Vanished Way of Life, (Giro Press), documents this community and its foods. This book, and others on Jewish foods, is available in Temple Israel’s Jay Meyers Memorial Library.

Each year at ShalomFest, the members of Temple Israel prepare a full menu of foods to share their rich cuisine with our neighbors. This year is no different, with choices from Brooklyn to Tel Aviv. Since everything is sold “a la carte”, you can make your own choices. Come back for seconds! Come back for dinner. We have variety enough for every palate.

This year, we thought you might like to know where this wonderful melting pot of flavors originated, so here are the stories of our foods:

Borekas come to us from the Sephardic kitchens of Turkey, Greece and the Balkan Republics, and have become a staple food in Israel today. In Turkish, boerek means “pie”, but borekas are a lot closer to the Spanish empanada. Our recipe is just as international: It comes to us from Israeli Alin Torianyk, who lived in Montreal, Canada before settling in Tulsa. A flaky pastry encloses the savory filling made with mashed potatoes, onions and spices.

Whether you call them Knishes or Piroshki, these Russian pies are the ultimate finger food for special occasions. In New York at the turn of the century immigrants sold them from pushcarts. Now there are “knisheries” and whole restaurants dedicated to this little nosh, but you can still buy them from the same carts that sell kosher hot dogs. The European original was a small finger food, but they’ve grown in the Big Apple to sometimes tennis ball-sized fast food. The crust can be made with pastry or with a potato dough, and the filling can vary from potatoes and groats to pate and salmon. Ours use the New York version of dough – made with mashed potatoes and flour and egg, and are filled with a savory mix of onions and ground beef.

Praakes (Cabbage Rolls) , also called Holishkes or Galooptchy, were eaten in every Central and Eastern European country. There are many versions and flavorings, particularly in the sauce. Cabbage leaves are softened and then wrapped around a mixture of ground beef, onions and either rice or potatoes, then baked in a savory sauce. This year’s version of the sauce comes from Kiev, through Atlanta to Tulsa with the Borochoff/Snitz family, fondly known as “Aunt Ida’s Recipe”.

Corned Beef Sandwiches served hot or cold are a staple of the New York deli experience. Served warm with sauerkraut and dressing, it’s called a Reuben. Served cold with your choice of condiments (sauerkraut is available on the condiment line), this is a hot-weather treat!

Falafel is considered by some to be the national food of Israel, and may have originated in ancient Egypt when the Jews were slaves of Pharaoh. The Yemenites who arrived in the Holy Land before 1948 were the first Jews to sell falafel, then Romanians joined them (modifying the recipe, of course!), and now they are the most popular street food in Israel. Served with pita bread and topped with salad and tahini sauce, they are quick, nourishing and delicious. Our recipe, made from chickpeas, spices, parsley and couscous, is made from scratch by Israeli-American Itzik Levin and his dedicated extended family, shaped into small patties with a special tool, then deep fried. Served with pita bread and a drizzle of Tahini (sesame) sauce, it’s a vegetarian delight!