Uniting over Food

By Ariel Gad
Queens College

Approximately one year ago, the Jewish Federations held their General Assembly in New Orleans. The annual event, which moves from city to city, is designed to develop Jewish leadership and values among all communities. I had the privilege of attending this wonderful convention with the Alpha Epsilon Pi Jewish Fraternity and Queens College Hillel.

While I was very excited to travel to New Orleans, I was worried about where I was going to find kosher food. It's not that they don't offer kosher food at the General Assembly, just not on my budget! For most of the four day long trip, my friends and I ate snacks from the convenience store next door to our hotel, but on one of the last nights there, we discovered a kosher restaurant called Casablanca about thirty minutes outside of New Orleans. I was ecstatic to come across this place. It had it all, and it was so exciting to find Israeli cuisine in the middle of Louisiana. There were lamb skewers, shwarma, tahini, humus, and even koufta kebabs served with laffas. I can still remember the aromatic smell of zaatar spices and jasmine flowers in the restaurant. The rugs on the floor and the tapestries on the walls made me feel like there is a little piece of Israel in the heart of every location.

In that moment, I finally understood what power food has to bring people together. We are all connected through the same roots from our ancestors, and this experience brought Israel to me in a place where I did not expect Judaism to be found. The morning after this dinner excursion, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke at the General Assembly and called for Jewish unity by saying that "the more we speak with one voice, the more that voice will be heard." And after my experience in Casablanca, these words touched me so deeply.

Food has always been a great source of bringing family and friends together. In my family, spending Shabbat meals together has especially been a way to catch up with each other and speak about everything that is new in our lives. The Shabbat table has always been a sanctuary for achdut (unity), and just as this unity is important in my life, it is of the utmost importance for Jewish individuals on the whole.

Every single character and individual in this world, no matter his or her background, can unify, associate, and band together in coexistence and appreciation through food. Even if we all come from different backgrounds, we all have the same roots within us. We are Jewish.

Ariel Gad is a sophomore at Queens College, where he is studying accounting and business. He is a proud a brother of the Alpha Epsilon Pi Jewish Fraternity and an active participant at Hillel and other Jewish life on campus.

[Posted 1/25/12]