Memories and Traditions of Food

By Monica Benedikt
Miami University of Ohio

Jewish food holds a special place in my memories of extended family get-togethers during my childhood. Every year we have a Passover Seder and a Hanukkah party, each with over 65 aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents attending. Catching up over matzo ball soup or latkes is always the perfect way to reconnect. Our Jewish culture makes my family close not only based on genetics, but also on tradition.

These large gatherings centering on Jewish food have been in my family since at least the 1950s. My great-grandmother had twelve children who moved all over the country, but she let them know that it was important to her that they return home for certain holidays, if possible. Of course, all members of my family have different ways of connecting with Judaism. Some attend shul regularly and some send their children to Jewish day schools, while others take a less active approach. But Jewish food is something that we all agree on.

I have found that Jewish food has had the same effect in college. Everyone comes to college with their own backgrounds and traditions and different levels of Jewish knowledge. Prayer services can be intimidating, but Friday night dinner brings everyone together on the same level. What's important is not the food itself, but the relationships fostered through the shared experience. Because I have seen the benefits of getting together for Shabbat dinners in college, I want to make Shabbat and Jewish food something that is important to the family that I form as an adult.

As a result, I have started to learn how to cook Jewish food at school. My first attempt at making hallah was a complete failure. The braided loaf tasted and had a consistency hardly different from the five pounds of flour that I put into it. When I returned home for a break from school, one of my mother's friends taught me how to make delicious hallah, and I am proud that I can now carry on the tradition of making hallah for Shabbat and other holidays. Later, I was able to use my skills to help make hallah for a Rosh Hashanah hallah-baking program at Hillel.

Sharing Jewish food with others has also been a great way for me to share part of my culture with non-Jewish friends as well. At the end of last semester, ten of my friends and I prepared an item for a potluck dinner. I decided to make latkes because it was right after Hanukkah. As we were cooking and eating, we learned so much about each other because we each cooked food that represented our backgrounds.

What I realized is that the important thing about Jewish food is not actually the food. It's not the ingredients and it's not the process of eating. Jewish food is important because it brings people together, and gives them a unique kind of closeness, no matter what their Jewish background. It also connects us across generations, and helps reify our culture across time.

Monica Benedikt is a senior at Miami University of Ohio where she is studying biochemistry. She is currently the President of Hillel's student board at Miami.

Trying to sort out keeping kosher on campus? Try KOACH's basic primer here.

[Posted 1/6/11]