Each week, we get the same question from our children: “Who is coming for Shabbat this week?”
Our children have learned the value of Hachnasat Orchim, inviting guests into our home. And they know that Thursday night is for cooking.
We haven’t quite mastered the idea of portion control and cooking for the number of people we are having and, instead, usually cook enough for multiple meals. We might be having 10 guests for Shabbat, but we are cooking for 30.
There is something special about sitting together with guests over a Shabbat meal. Food has a power. While our kitchen bookshelf is filled with cookbooks, our standard recipes are put together through trial and error. How much garlic powder is in the recipe? Five shakes. How much oil do you use? Three seconds worth of pouring. What kind of chicken are we making? The one with the orange Israeli spice (don’t ask me what it is, just trust me). Repeat that recipe next week? Good luck.
And cooking is a family event. Some in the family are the taste testers, but others are in charge of specific dishes (and the taste tester is in charge of setting the table).
As we think about our Jewish holidays and rituals, they are intertwined with the food(s) that we eat, and who we eat it with.
I hope you’ll join us in celebrating the role that food plays in our life and history at our Kosher Food Hall at 36FEST this Sunday, September 22, starting at 4:00 PM on Bornblum’s campus. We had the opportunity to showcase two of the dishes featured at the Kosher Food Hall in two news segments on Bluff City Life and Live at 9, which you can watch below.
The Italian Sausage Sandwich Cooking Demonstration with Bornblum Parents Rob Kabel and Jaclyn Marshall on Bluff City Life
The Chicken Pita Wrap Cooking Demonstration with Bornblum Parent Abby Felsenthal and Bornblum Alum Parent Shelly Ostrow on WREG’s Live at 9
