ICJudaism: A Teacher’s Guide to Judaism
Hosted by ICTeachers Formerly: Mike’s Rough Guide to Judaism
Disclaimer:
The contents of these pages represent the author’s personal views, experience and
understanding.
There are bound to be some things here that some Jews would disagree
with.
Jewish Food
Food and eating play an important role in many aspects of Judaism but there is no such thing as a single recognisable Jewish cuisine. Jews have tended to adopt and adapt the cuisines of the countries where they live.
Jewish food is fusion food. I am most familiar with the style of food favoured by
East European Jews, which tends to be economical (in that little is wasted) and strongly
flavoured -
The variety of foods that may and may not be eaten are governed by the laws of Kashrut but beyond this, many Jewish festivals and other events have particular dishes or foods associated with them and many Jewish communities have their own traditional cuisines. The subject is far too wide for a proper treatment here so I am just including some notes..
Kiddush
Perhaps the most important Jewish food custom is that of kiddush, the sharing of
wine and bread that begins each meal on Shabbat or festivals, and often at major
family celebration such as a wedding. Kiddush begins by saying a b’rachah (blessing)
over a cup of wine, thanking God for providing the grapes from which it is made,
after which all present drink a little wine or maybe grape juice for children and
teetotalers); this is followed by an equivalent b’rachah over bread which is then
shared by all present. Saying blessings over the wine and bread does not alter them
in any way -
Although there is almost certainly a connection between the Jewish ceremony of kiddush and the Christian ceremony of Holy Communion, the two ceremonies have different meanings and fulfil quite different purposes for the members of the 2 faiths.
The second most important Jewish food is probably chicken soup. Not only is traditional clear chicken soup delicious, it is also renowned for its medicinal properties and it is often referred to jokingly as Jewish penicillin. Recent scientific research has shown that it does indeed have some effect in helping to reduce nasal inflammation in people with colds!
