Food for Thought

Hazon’s Sourcebook on Jews, Food & Contemporary Life Nigel Savage Anna Hanau

Food for Thought Hazon’s Sourcebook on Jews, Food & Contemporary Life

Hazon means vision.

Hazon was founded in 2000 and is now the largest Jewish environmental organization in North America. We create healthier and more sustainable communities in the Jewish world and beyond. We do that through transformative experiences for individuals and communities, through thought leadership in the fields of Jewish and environmental knowledge, and through support of the Jewish environmental movement in North America and Israel.

Our work in creating and growing the Jewish Food Movement includes the largest faith-based network of CSAs in the country, an award winning food blog, The Jew and The Carrot, jcarrot.org, an annual food conference, a familyeducation project, and now this sourcebook itself. All these programs create opportunities to reflect on what and how we eat.

Learning leads to doing. If these texts and questions help you to learn more deeply, to eat more consciously, and to act more ethically, then Food for Thought will indeed lead to nourishment in the widest sense – for our families, our communities, and the physical world upon which all life depends.

Food for Thought Hazon’s Sourcebook on Jews, Food & Contemporary Life Nigel Savage Anna Hanau

Hazon New York, NY San Francisco, CA Denver and Boulder, CO

We are incredibly delighted to share this second edition of Food For Thought with you.

There are some amazing texts here, and we hope you’ll find them interesting, thoughtprovoking, and perhaps even life-changing. This second edition includes a re-worked “Bread and Civilization” section, and new pages on yeast and sacrifices in the Temple, as well as more food facts in grey boxes throughout the text. It also takes into account the many comments we’ve received about typos and texts. If you were involved in helping us edit the first version we are extremely grateful!

And at the same time, this really is still a draft. We hope that you’ll not only read this and enjoy it, but that you’ll read it with a sharp eye, and a sharp pencil! If we’ve made a mistake, or left something out, please let us know. Also, if you’d like to get involved with further development of this material, or if you’d like to teach it in your school or community, we’d love to hear from you. Please send an email to both of us.

We apologize to copyright holders who we were unable to contact despite serious efforts to do so. If you are an unacknowledged copyright holder please be in touch. We have been advised that short selections from longer works are permitted by the fair use clause. Complete citations for passages in this book are listed in the Notes.

Nigel Savage

nigel@hazon.org

Anna Hanau anna@hazon.org

Food for Thought: Hazon’s Sourcebook on Jews, Food & Contemporary Life

by Nigel Savage and Anna Hanau First Edition: May 2007 Second Edition: April 2008, July 2008, August 2008, December 2008, July 2009, November 2010 USCJ Edition: January 2012

In loving memory of Rebecca Rosenstein and Margaret Stevenson, strong women, cooks, and teachers both; and to my family and friends who have taught me to cook, and to think; and for all the people who are working to make the world and their lives a better place: love and thanks.

- AMH

To my mother, my role model for cooking and hosting warmly and effortlessly; and to my father, an astonishing example of eating healthily, kosherly, and with remarkable self-restraint. Please G!d by me! and in loving memory of my Grandma and her chopped & fried fish.

- NSS

Table of Contents

Preface...................................................................................................... x Acknowledgements.................................................................................. xii Chapter 1: Learning Torah........................................................................ 1 1.1 An introduction to Jewish learning.............................................................................................. 2 1.2 Lifelong learning, with ourselves and with others.................................................................. 4 1.3 Eating in the Torah: An introduction............................................................................................ 6

Chapter 2: Gratitude, Mindfulness & Blessing our Food.......................... 9 2.1 Stealing from God............................................................................................................................... 10 2.2 Paths to mindfulness.......................................................................................................................... 12 2.3 The blessings we say.......................................................................................................................... 14 2.4 Birkat Hamazon, the grace after meals........................................................................................ 16 2.5 Eating our words.................................................................................................................................. 18

Chapter 3: Kashrut.................................................................................... 21 3.1 Why do you keep kosher?................................................................................................................. 22 3.2 Kashrut: where does it come from?.............................................................................................. 24 3.3 Separating milk and meat................................................................................................................ 26 3.4 Kosher slaughter.................................................................................................................................. 28 3.5 Temple sacrifice.................................................................................................................................... 30 3.6 Kashrut and separation: fraternizing with the enemy........................................................... 32 3.7 Eco-kosher?............................................................................................................................................ 36

Chapter 4: Bread & Civilization................................................................ 39 4.1 Bread rituals........................................................................................................................................... 40 4.2 Yeast: raising bread and hope......................................................................................................... 42 4.3 Matzah..................................................................................................................................................... 44 4.4 Bread and technology....................................................................................................................... 46 4.5 Baking your own.................................................................................................................................. 48 4.6 Challah for Hunger.............................................................................................................................. 50

Chapter 5: Eating Together....................................................................... 53 5.1 Abraham, Isaac and Jacob: What’s for dinner?.......................................................................... 54 5.2 Eating alone, eating with others.................................................................................................... 56 5.3 Welcoming guests............................................................................................................................... 58 5.4 Mourning and comforting............................................................................................................... 60 5.5 Recipes and learning how to cook................................................................................................ 62 5.6 The holy kugel...................................................................................................................................... 64 JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

viii Food for Thought Š

Table of Contents

Chapter 6: Health, Bodies & Nourishment............................................... 67 6.1 Why do we eat?.................................................................................................................................... 68 6.2 Food for the soul.................................................................................................................................. 70 6.3 Overeating............................................................................................................................................. 72 6.4 Digestion................................................................................................................................................ 74 6.5 Body image and eating disorders.................................................................................................. 76 6.6 Eating & willpower.............................................................................................................................. 78

Chapter 7: Food & Place............................................................................ 81 7.1 Jews, food and place: a complicated relationship................................................................... 82 7.2 Our connection to place................................................................................................................... 84 7.3 Food and where it comes from....................................................................................................... 86 7.4 No taste like home.............................................................................................................................. 88 7.5 Authentic Jewish food?..................................................................................................................... 90

Chapter 8: Food & Ethics: the implications of our food choices.............. 93 8.1 Agriculture and tzedakah in the Torah........................................................................................ 94 8.2 Our sphere of obligation................................................................................................................... 96 8.3 When ethics and economics conflict: an ancient example.................................................. 98 8.4 Let all who are hungry come and eat........................................................................................... 100 8.5 L’dor va’dor: our children and our children’s children............................................................. 102 8.6 Eating meat and not eating meat.................................................................................................. 104 8.7 The Age of Awareness........................................................................................................................ 106

Clearing the table..................................................................................... 108 Cultivating a learning community........................................................... 111 Resources.................................................................................................. 118 Glossary............................................................................................................................................................ 118 Books................................................................................................................................................................. 121 Movies............................................................................................................................................................... 124 Organizations................................................................................................................................................. 125

Notes......................................................................................................... 127

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

Food for Thought © ix

Preface

Setting the table...

Hazon works to create a healthier and more sustainable Jewish community, as a step towards a healthier and more sustainable world for all.

“Healthy and sustainable” means many different things. It can mean getting on your bike and pushing yourself physically. It can mean creating inclusive community, where people come together across differences of age and denomination. It can refer to the health and sustainability of a culture and of a religious tradition. And it can mean changing the way we eat, so that we nourish ourselves and the earth that sustains us.

“The Torah is a commentary on the world, and the world is a commentary on the Torah.”

Reb Shlomo Carlebach, z”l

Many of these challenges seem Jewish in a narrow sense, led by the central challenge of enabling a distinct and particularistic tradition, and one which is rooted in Hebrew language and Jewish learning, to persist and thrive in a time of universalism and within an open society. Many traditional Jewish educational programs, including schools, synagogues and programs like Birthright Israel are focused on these issues.

At the same time, the wider culture faces its own crises. How do we live sustainably in the Age of Awareness – an age in which we’re profoundly aware of how we’re damaging the planet on which we live? How do we build peace amidst a multitude of cultures and faiths? How can we craft healthy ways of living in a 24/7 wired world?

The challenges of Jewish life and of contemporary life intersect through the prism of food. Keeping kosher has been for three thousand years a central motif of Jewish life. It has linked ethics, culture, religion and family. And / but it has been a significant cause of social separation. How you keep kosher in an open society – where and how you choose to separate, what rules you follow – is a central thread of the Jewish encounter with modernity and postmodernity.

Meantime, how you eat has become, in other ways, a key challenge – some would say obsession – of the world we now live in. Obesity, vegetarianism, food packaging, genetically-modified foods, carbon footprints, battery-caged hens, fast food – these are the daily diet of TV and the newspapers. Our food systems in North America, the UK, Israel and around the world are out of balance. Our eating has become symbolic of our lives: hurried, reactive, disconnected from land, family, tradition and place.

This is the world we live in. What now do we do? How can we, in Reb Shlomo’s words, enable the Torah to be a commentary on our daily lives, and our lives a commentary on the Torah?

“You know you’re on the right track when your solution to one problem accidentally solves several others.”

Michael Corbett JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

x Food for Thought ©

It’s against this backdrop that we are so excited to present these texts and questions about Jews, Food & Contemporary Life. On one side, what Michael Pollan terms “nutritionism” has turned meat into protein, snacks into energy boosts. On the other side, too many elements of Jewish education seem to have an interior focus; one which excludes or minimizes wider societal issues.

Preface

...starting the conversation But man does not live by bread alone, and the relationship between who we are and how we interact with food and other people is immensely rich. Looking at a “food product” by its constituent nutrients, or at Jewish tradition solely through a traditionally Jewish prism, fails to address the entirety of who we are, and how we create meaningful lives.

We assert that Cézanne’s day of revolution is now here. Starting from what’s on your fork, you can have a conversation about pretty much everything that’s wrong with the world—and pretty much every way we might fix things. These conversations are happening with increasing frequency and scope—from Alice Waters to Michael Pollan to John Mackey, from National Catholic Rural Life to Faith in Place to Just Food, and to the work Hazon is doing. How we eat is an extension of who we are.

How we consume is a central manifestation of our relationship to the world.

“The day is coming when a single carrot, freshly observed, will set off a revolution.”

Paul Cézanne

The texts that we’ve gathered here are organized thematically, but they’re not separated into “Jewish” and “non-Jewish texts.” The conversation about how we eat in a way that is enjoyable, sustainable and ethical; in a way that engages our families and our tradition, and also the unique circumstances of the world that we live in – that conversation, in our view, enriches Jewish life and makes the world a better place. And the interplay between the two elements of that conversation is one that we want especially to encourage.

Our own eating has evolved over the months and years leading up to and during this project, in different ways. Anna is eating meat now, if it’s locally raised, and working on a farm growing organic vegetables. As much as possible, she eats fruits and vegetables only when they’re in season and locally available. Nigel is eating robust breakfasts and a lot more local produce. Much less junk food, but a little more chocolate. More awareness, less guilt and a deeper relationship to the notion of nourishment. Both of us only eat free-range eggs at home (though we’ll eat “treyf”—read: conventional—eggs out).

Which is greater, learning or action?

Learning, because it leads to action.”

Talmud Bavli, Masekhet Kiddushin 40b

Our food journeys are still evolving. Our backgrounds and our relationships to food and to Jewish tradition are quite distinct. But we share a love of food and of learning, and the deep belief that learning about food and doing so through the double prism of Jewish tradition and contemporary challenges is vital to the creation of healthier relationships to food in the broadest sense. And also very exciting!

We respect and encourage reflection on your own experience of eating and buying food, balancing responsibility, desire, reality. It’s a process. Our dream for the whole world? Abundant and healthy food for everyone, food that isn’t produced at the expense of people or the earth, food that builds communities and encourages us to be our best selves.

How do we get there? Let’s talk…

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

Food for Thought © xi

Thank you

Giving thanks The process of gathering these materials has been deeply rewarding. Working together has been an extended chevruta – often held over a meal – and it’s been fascinating and enriching for both of us. We’ve been inspired by each other, and then have had the chance to inspire and be inspired by others in our turn.

We are grateful to the many people with whom we’ve learned these texts, over a multi-year period. We want especially to thank a number of people who’ve played a special role in helping us on this project.

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

xii Food for Thought ©

•

Basmat Hazan Arnoff, who taught the first Hazon Beit Midrash with Nigel on Yetziat Mitzrayim in 2001, and the first Beit Midrash on Jews & Food in 2004.

•

Rabbi Jacob Fine, who taught a second Beit Midrash on Jews, Food & Contemporary Life with Nigel in 2006. Jacob played a vital role in finding and selecting many of the texts that are gathered here.

•

Thanks to Rachel Tali Kaplan for being involved from the beginning; Rabbi Avi Finegold for good insight and good texts; Alexis Gerber for her help with background research and editing; Uri Berkowitz for design advice; Lauren Akins for her wonderful photographs, and Shir Yakov Feinstein-Feit for more great photographs; Judy & Dory Kornfeld for good juicy content ideas and good inspiration; David Franklin for tremendous hard work as lead consultant on Min Ha’Aretz; Rabbi Julian Sinclair for steady encouragement, and last-minute translation advice.

•

Leah Koenig, for her devotion to Tuv Ha’Aretz and all of Hazon’s food work, and David Rendsburg for meticulous attention to detail and outstanding knowledge of obscure random facts.

•

Thanks to all of Hazon’s staff for supporting this project, and to Cheryl Cook, David Franklin, Daniella Robinson, Leah Koenig, Nancy Lipsey, Sabrina Malach, Ben Murane and David Rendsburg for road-testing some of these ideas in staff meetings. Special thanks to Daniel Bloom for painstakingly adding nekudot (vowels) to Hebrew texts that lacked them, and also for pointing out the Ramban text in 6.6 and the Maimonides text in 8.5. Todah raba l’cha.

•

Elena Sigman, Judith Belasco and Eli Winkelman have all joined Hazon’s food team since the first edition of Food for Thought. All three are playing a key role in advancing this work, and in enabling people to learn from these texts. Many thanks.

•

Huge thanks and appreciation to the folks who’ve taken a draft and brought it back redpenned and helped us get at the really interesting questions: Katerli Bounds, Ari Gordon, Rachel Gross, Edie Meyerson, David Rendsburg, Rachel Rosen, Andrea Wershof Schwartz, Rabbi Alana Suskin, and Edith Stevenson.

•

Rabbi Steve Greenberg. Steve is a friend, a colleague and a great and inspiring teacher. He’s played a unique role at Hazon over the last few years. His teaching at the New York Jewish Environmental Bike Ride has played a vital role in reframing “Judaism and the environment” in fresh and important ways. He has worked with us closely in preparing these texts and he’s taught the first Beit Midrash for parents in our Min Ha’Aretz program. We’re delighted he’s now become Hazon’s first Rabbinical Scholar. Steve: huge thanks for everything.

Thank you!

•

We owe a very special debt of gratitude to Dr. Phyllis Bieri and Marco Veissid. Phyllis chairs Tuv Ha’Aretz, our fast-growing CSA program; and it was she and Marco who then had the idea to develop what has become Min Ha’Aretz, a family education program that will look at food through the double prism of Jewish tradition and contemporary issues. You set an enormous example to both of us, as Jewish parents who grow your own, eat healthily, teach challah-baking to one and all, and open your home to the two of us and to so many others.

Huge thanks.

•

We want to thank especially Hazon’s board members, and the riders and sponsors of Hazon’s New York and Israel Rides, whose financial support enabled us to begin this project. And deep thanks to Lisa Friedman, and the Lisa & Maury Friedman Foundation, for your financial support.

•

We extend thanks to the trustees and staff of the Dorot Foundation, Hazon’s largest funder.

Dorot’s support for the New York Ride enabled the Ride to support the development of Hazon’s food work. A special thanks to Michael Hill who has, over a number of years, provided wise counsel that has been invaluable in Hazon’s development. The Walter and Elise Haas Fund and the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Foundation have provided critical support to the growth of our our food conference and our food work in the Bay Area. The Covenant Foundation is supporting the development of all of Hazon’s food educational work. We are immensely indebted to all our funders.

•

UJA-Federation of New York has provided support to Hazon since 2003, initially for the New York Jewish Environmental Bike Ride. In 2006 we received a significant four-year grant from the Commission on Jewish Identity and Renewal to develop Min Ha’Aretz, of which these texts are a part. We’re grateful to CoJIR’s board and staff, and we especially want to thank Anat Coleman, Rabbi Deborah Joselow and former staffer Renanit Levy. Special thanks go to Alisa Rubin-Kurshan, John Ruskay and Bob Wolf: each of you has steadily offered support, encouragement and good counsel that has ultimately proved invaluable. We’re incredibly grateful to you for that.

•

The founding funder of Tuv Ha’Aretz is an anonymous donor, who showed enormous support to us when the idea was wholly untested, and has continued to provide growing support ever since. You watered our initial seed, and our food work has flourished greatly since then.

We thank you, and also FJC (a foundation of donor-advised funds, through which we received this support).

Nigel & Anna

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

Food for Thought © xiii

Rabbi Tarfon and the Elders were once reclining in the upper story of Nitza’s house, in Lod, when this question was posed to them: Which is greater, learning or action? Rabbi Tarfon answered, saying: Action is greater. Rabbi Akiva answered, saying: Learning is greater. All the rest agreed with Akiva that learning is greater than action because learning leads to action.

– Talmud Bavli, Masekhet Kiddushin 40b

Chapter 1

Learning Torah We begin at the beginning. The beginning of a meal— smells from the kitchen. Murmurs of approval at food on the table. Descriptions of what is in front of us. Whetting our appetite—in this case not only for eating, but also for learning.

Hazon’s theme quote is “The Torah is a commentary on the world, and the world is a commentary on the Torah.” This entire book explores the idea that Jewish tradition and the world around us are texts engaged in a dance of mutual interpretation. But before we dig in, we pause to examine what we are doing. Our tradition teaches us that we must not sit at a table and eat together without speaking words of Torah. In our case we feel that we can’t start learning about food without explicitly learning about learning Torah itself.

What is Torah? And what are some of the unique ingredients inherent in learning Torah?

1.1 An introduction to Jewish learning When we approach learning something new, we are sometimes apprehensive. Learning can make us feel vulnerable—and at the same time can make us feel powerful. We invite you to turn off the tape that plays in your head that says, “I don’t know enough” or “Someone else is so much smarter/more learned than I”. Jewish tradition teaches that each person is created be-tzelem elohim (in the image of God). So we invite you to read these texts with the intuition that they’re important and wise, and the confidence that you can engage them critically and actively.

LEARNINGTORAH TORAH LEARNING

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JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

2 Food for Thought ©

Learning Torah

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Where ~ o wisdom. j ~o ~ n . j p.,q q~ ~ o ,~ o j q

r u j q q ~ j l p u ~o~ ~rn r o~ n jor ,~ knowledge, there is nothere understanding.

Where there Where there isno nowhere wisdom there is no awe [of God], where R.awe Eleazar b.

Azariah said: Where there is no Torah, there

~ .n

s ~s ~jn ~ q o l . u

u n o q , p ~p of Jewish learning r n ~ o j s ~ .~ ~ o

j uo r n ~ rp u n p n ~ r o .j r r js ~

~

r ~ j uo o rr , r ~ ~ u p practice

~ n .

r

j r

,

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~ n

there is awe [of God], there is no Where there ng, there is no knowledge; where there is

~ n

r

j r

~ o , ~ r n there nothere awe [ofnoGod], is eretz”; no wisdom.

Where there e, is no understanding.

Where there ency inisunderstanding, human relations (“derech where isthere no there is no knowledge; where no flour, is Torah; where there isthere no torah, n r . ~ r j ~ jp ~ u n

o “Torah ~n . r lishmah”) ~r nj there is awe [of God], there is nono Where wisdom. ~there o there ,there q j is

~o ~ o ~ nis ~~ .~

Torah, ,r ~ o j o ,p ~ r

u n o ~r , n ~ o l r u is u r np ~ is no decency inthere human relations (“derech eretz”; where R. Eleazar b.

Azariah said: Where there isis no Torah, o there r ~ j q pu ~ ~ r o n

~o q , ~r n j (i.e., is no no understanding, is knowledge; where there j u p is j r nr R. Eleazar b.is Azariah said: Where q p there

. n q~o up~ . ~ r~ os ~ ,p o ~ ~

q .u l ~ is no understanding.

Where there is Torah. isno no understanding, knowledge; where ~

~ o qj q

~ nj o u ~ n r p o~n p . ,. r p~uon j o ~os ~~o , r ~r n j s

~ oq ~ .q

r s ,. pu r r s

pr , j u n u u n

n .

r oo . ~ ~ ~r p u nj r j ~p u n q o decency in human relations, there no eere is no Torah; where there is no torah, there is knowledge, there is no understanding.

Where there is

~ o ,

q

q

~ o n Torah. . nu r n no ,u jq p r ~o there ou p ~ u flour. isin there is no knowledge; where there is o ,

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~ , u n thereR. isno nounderstanding, decency in human relations, there is (“derech no is no decency human relations (“derech eretz”; where no knowledge, there is no understanding.

Where there is Eleazar b.

Azariah said: Where there is no Torah, there j j is no decency in human relations eretz”; where ~n ~ o ,p u ,p o s ~ q s q r u r j ~p ~o j u,n r q eretz: no Torah; where isnono torah, is where q oj u q ~ o rj~ l u ~ n p u .n • r. u n ~o r“the there ~o there ~ n is~ .Where r s

~ oo ,,

oo r . r~ p , u no knowledge, there is understanding.

Where is ~ o~ ~~ n u n n . o o p ~ ~ , r

ere isflour, no there no awe [ofthere u p p~ no there isthere no Torah; where there no torah, is Mishna Avot 3:17 o , r u where

j where r there ~ o q p ~

~ p ~

qis .~ ~

r q ~ o po ~,o r~ u q n un ~ Derekh p p~ p p u n p ~ s u way u po ~o ,lit. no knowledge, there isGod], no understanding.

Where there is no wisdom there is no awe [of God], there is wisdom no decency inis human relations, there is no Torah.

Where there is is no wisdom Torah. ~s o ~ ,o u on.

r, q j r pq ~ ~ s ~o ~o , , r .

,np.u n .u p r r s o oq u u n u j r ~ no flour, is no Torah; where there is no torah, there is ~

o n ~~ . ~ is no decency inthere human relations (“derech eretz”; u

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r s ~ o ,

q

p o

n . r

there is no decency in human relations, there no u j

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~ n .

r s ~ , q

p

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n

u of the land,” is used to refer no flour, there is no Torah; where there is no torah, there is ar b.

Azariah said: Where there is no Torah, there 3:17 ot Where awe [ofthere God], there is no wisdom.

Where there no flour.

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r s u u u no flour, there is no Torah; where there is no torah, there is there is no awe [of God], there is no wisdom.

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p

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u n u is no wisdom there [of God], where .God], ~r r q nr j js p u r where ~o o ~ , , ~r there isisno awe [ofwisdom God]; there isnonoflour. decency inno human relations, there is no Torah. ~ ~~ o n ,,

~ o n .q s .p nr j~ s u ~o n ~o ., r , r p u n~ p r ~o ~ Where there isawe no there is no awe [of

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p ~ p u to one’s livelihood, as well no flour. ency in human relations (“derech eretz”; where erstanding, there is no knowledge; where there is Mishna Avot 3:17 n r .o s

~ r~ n j r , ~ ~ n r . j l o r p s o r

q u p u n ~ n q ~o. ~r ~ n n j . r u n u pu ~ . is q p ~o ~o ~n ,j ~ o u r j ~ j p God], R. is Eleazar b.

Azariah said: Where there is Where nono Torah, no flour. is noWhere understanding, there is no knowledge; where q q ~ r , o , j n r~ p

there no awe [of God], there is no wisdom. there

s o Mishna Avot 3:17 there is no wisdom there is awe where there isno no awe [of God], there is no awe [of God], there is [of no there there p there ~o where n~n .. Where ~ p r ~

p j r ,p ~ o o ~r r,, n . j ~

r s u wisdom. u o p , s ~ u ~

j

~ o

~ .

r s

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p ~ p u as behavior that is polite, .

q

p

o ,

r s

u Mishna Avot 3:17 o decency in human relations, there is Torah. edge, there is no understanding.

Where there is ~o n~n ,. . r ~r s nu jr ~o , ~r nj ~o ~n . ~r nj arisb.no Azariah Where there no Torah, there is no decency in (“derech where Mishna Avot 3:17

o knowledge; ,o is

q Where ~where n r.

,~q

u nn ~ o q u n ~ .~ po ~oo q j n s ~ ~ ~ n u q , ~o o is s ~ j q q l u r ~ othere p u ,~o r r is j ~ p nosaid: knowledge, isisknowledge; no understanding.

Where there understanding, there isrelations no where there ishuman no awe [of God], there iseretz”; no wisdom. there R. Eleazar b.there Azariah said: Where there is~ no Torah, there there no wisdom. o . o respectful, no understanding, there isthere no u ro j q ,l j ~ p u , r q ru p

o r r u n j~ ~p ~,o u n r q s u appropriate j ~ n p o s ~ n nu q ~ .. p ,~ p p j ~p ~ r .p p o r q , ~ u .p ~ u~ ere is wisdom there isis no awe [of God], where here is no Torah; where there is is no torah, there is isthere

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r

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u ency inno human relations (“derech eretz”; where there is no decency in human relations, there no Torah.

~

~ r n j r s ~ o ~n . ~r nj no flour, there is no Torah; where torah, there is no knowledge, there is no understanding.

Where is j j r r isno nodecency understanding, there is noisknowledge; where there is is in human relations (“derech eretz”; where no knowledge, there no understanding.

Where there is

~ o ,

q

q

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q

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u n

~ o u u R. Eleazar b.

Azariah said: Where there is no Torah, there j j A good land

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r s

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q

p

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u n ,o p u p ~ o n ~s ~ r l u ~ o u n q p u p ~o r u r ~s n . r p ~p ~ o ~ p p u p ~n l~ s p s o ,k~ , s q p up j q ~ n n .~o r. o p u literally , r r r ujn ~p means ~ u~ j s r

o u n ~ awe [of there God], iswisdom no wisdom.

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q o ,Kemach: qu n j uqr r s u n r ~o .~ o is pn ,

o ~~ ~ ~ oono decency in human there is no Torah. u rp Where there isknowledge, norelations, awe [of God], no flour. flour, isthere no Torah; where there is no torah, is torah, o r there r ~ rn s .u ~ ~ o , ~

p ~p • ~ no there is no understanding. there there is no decency ininto human relations, there no no there is no Torah; where where ~ n p there . r ~p j is no ~ ,j is ~ ~r , np s r j s

~ o r . ~ r q n. j ~o~ u n q ~ relations r athere s land Where ~ p is

r Torah. l~ o n ~

k~ j o s ,~~ n jo

isflour, no decency human (“derech eretz”; where Forflour, the Lord your God brings you a in good land, ,

o n .

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u n

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n .

~ o q p

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u n u ere is no wisdom there is no awe [of God], where there is no awe [of God], there is no wisdom.

Where there but can refer to bread, flour, or Mishna Avot 3:17 r r R. Eleazar b.

Azariah said: Where there is no Torah, there no flour. .

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n no flour, there is no Torah; where there is no torah, there is Where there is no wisdom there is no awe [of God], where no flour.isand your God brings you into athere good land, a land A good land . ~ r r n ~o j u , ~ no decency in human relations, no Torah. u n r~ ~o ~o ,n r ~ j nr j p s o o r s o r sustenance ,s u p ~p

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~ edge, there no understanding.

Where there iswhere A good land R. Eleazar b.

Azariah said: Where there is no Torah, there (similar to how we u ois awe [of God], there is no wisdom.

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n r r is no understanding, there is no knowledge; there is

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~ .

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p

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u n Mishna Avot 3:17 rwater, God brings you into a good land, a land

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j

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q no flour. r r j j A good land there is no awe [of God], there is no wisdom.

Where there R. Eleazar b.

Azariah said: Where there is no Torah, there Mishna Avot 3:17 ofno fountains and depths that spring out uu n Forvalleys the Lord God brings you into a good land, land [of p rGod], ~ p ~ r u o l~ s j.~ p su p

k~ r

j q where ~ ~ ,: p qp n o p r p u j r p ~ n un ~ o r , s s Where there is no wisdom no of andyour ais land ofLord wheat, and barley, and vines, Ahills; good land ol~ r p s r ~ ~ ok~j j ~ . j q j q ~p mean

~n s is . r s j eretz”; r r r p p ~ o ~ ~ n .l r p word ,~ o ,r s u pto u n r s u ~o ‘bread’ j n su p swhere r j p ~

{ j no j u land n~

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u n here is Torah; there is no torah, there is r p on s ~ ~ p o ou ~

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u good For the your brings you into a is land, ao l~ use no inthere human relations erstanding, there iswhere no knowledge; where there isno no there isdecency no understanding.

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p ~ isknowledge, no decency in human relations, there is ythere inofEleazar human relations (“derech eretz”; where there isand no knowledge; jn u r r, fountains and depths that spring out

~ o p r is , n j

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~ .qu r

p r~

o , pq~ r u n j u n n q j u . o p p ~ r p l n ~ Mishna Avot 3:17 j (“derech R. b.is Azariah said: Where is Torah, there For the your God brings you into aGod good land, a and land is no understanding, there is nono knowledge; where there no decency in human relations (“derech eretz”; where d hills; land of wheat, and barley, and vines, of brooks of water, of fountains depths that spring out

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u

r ~

there is no awe [of God], there is no wisdom.

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r s u u wages, wealth, or offountains brooks water, of that spring there is noof decency infountains human relations, is Torah. n zno s j r .r s

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p r no l ~ ~

p~ p o pp ~ j p n u p ~o o o l,,nourishment, r ns j u p ~ u pl .is ecency in of human relations, there is no Torah.

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pp r u j r ~ s s ur n l u n ~ q r u n ,. is no decency in human relations (“derech eretz”; of brooks water, ofa and depths that out no knowledge, there is no understanding. there and and j where depths swhere rand vines, { j no

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u depths u {jj q there isand no decency in human relations, there is and pomegranates; ayou land of olive oil, and ofa valleys and hills; land of and barley, is nowheat, understanding, there is knowledge; j honey; a of land where shall eat bread without

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n . r of valleys and hills; a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, Where there is no wisdom there is no awe [of where

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u u is no wisdom there is no awe [of God], where there is no awe [of God], there is no wisdom.

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j u u u u dd pomegranates; a land of olive oil, and there isTorah; no understanding. understanding. ~o no ,s

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p r :j j r urr n u there there is you noA decency in human relations, there no Torah. of valleys and hills; athere land of wheat, and barley, and vines, no flour, there is no where is torah, there Where is no wisdom there isaisthere awe [of where shall eat bread without and and fig trees, and pomegranates; athing land ofwheat, olive oil, and

r obarley, ~ pu ~ l~

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u~ scarceness, you shall not lack any in it; land whose

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s n r u and fig trees, pomegranates; a land oil, u there is no awe [of God], there is no Mishna Avot 3:17 is no understanding, there is no knowledge; where there is we [of God], there is no wisdom.

Where there

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ere you shall eat bread without Where there is no wisdom there isaland no awe [of God], where and fig trees, and pomegranates; land ofa olive oil, and no flour. .s : q ~ ,p

r ,s What do ~ Rabbi there is no awe God], there is no wisdom.

Where you shall not lack any thing in it; apomegranates; whose ord your God brings you into a[of good land, land r r ~ honey; aland land where you shall eat bread without

~ , n j torah, there r p ~ j o r ~ ~ ~ ~r nn p .p j o rj

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u ~r l~ nn j p ~ n u n ru bread For the Lord your God brings you into good land, land A good bronze. ~ .of olive r~q ~s t ~

p z p ~ n r o l~~ .l~ p o where r ,is s jis

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n anding, there is no knowledge; where there isknowledge; no knowledge, there is no understanding.

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n to. rsay? u n there is no awe [of God], there is no wisdom.

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p u is no understanding, there is no where there

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q p ave eaten and are full, then you shall bless the u stones are iron, and out of whose hills you may dig bronze.

Mishna Avot 3:17 Lord your God for the good land which he has given you.

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p zj .is is ~s :jp ~ knowledge, there is no understanding.

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Deuteronomy 8:7-10

~ n s jn u r ~ s pr

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JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

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1.2 Lifelong learning, with ourselves and with others A friend of ours recently described himself as a “food ba’al teshuva.” What he meant was that, similar to non-observant Jews who take on Jewish observance, he was an unaware eater who had recently and quite rapidly become more aware of what it might mean to eat ethically and sustainably, and who was rapidly making changes in his own eating habits as a consequence. And indeed, once you start to learn about the way much of our food is produced, you may be provoked to radically change your eating and purchasing habits as well. But in general, learning happens slowly, gradually, and in community. And we think this is a good thing. Socrates famously said, “The unexamined life is not worth living”. As Jews, we celebrate life deeply, and we celebrate learning our whole lives.

Little by little What does this paragraph show about the rabbis’ relationship to the natural world?

If we ourselves have no idea what the difference is between a fig tree and a date tree— how can we properly understand the metaphor?

Horticulture 101 Olive harvest is typically November to February (when all the fruits have reached full maturity, for oil making); grapes are picked as late as possible in the fall before the frost; dates are harvested at different stages over a three month period which differs by geographic region. As for figs:

‘Whoever keeps a fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof ’ (Prov. 27:18). Why is the Torah likened to a fig tree? Because the fruit of most trees, such as the olive tree, the vine, and the date palm, is gathered all at once, while the fig tree’s fruit is gathered little by little. So it is with the Torah. One studies a little each day and eventually learns much, because the Torah cannot be learned in one or even two years.

,

,

– Midrash Numbers Rabbah 21:15

“Nearly all the cultivated figs bear three more or less distinct crops; in many orchards and gardens one may gather ripe figs every day from late July until frost and rains destroy the very perishable fruits.”

From the Cyclopedia of Horticulture (1935)

In what ways do you learn differently when you read a text with another person than if you read a text by yourself?

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

4 Food for Thought ©

Chevruta: studying together The chaverim (study partners) do not simply study Bible. . . . The very structure of their relationship and the nature of its boundaries present a Jewish model for the relation between self and other. In this relationship, people experience each other as whole, rather than as fragmented, beings. ...

Self and other are not sharply separate here. To be chaverim is to be neither fused nor counterposed, but to be juxtaposed. The root letters chet, bet and reish mean to join together at the boundaries. The curtains of the tabernacle, for instance, are chevrot isha elachotah, “joined one to another.” Some boundaries are barricades—chain link fences guarded by watch dogs. Others are not primarily barricades but loci of interaction.

A cell membrane, for example, is part of the living substance of the cell. It is the perimeter at which the cell conducts its interchanges with other cells—the contacts, the flowings in and out, which maintain its life within its environment. The boundary between self and other [in the study partner relationship] resembles this living, permeable boundary.

– Rachel Adler, “The Goals of Chevruta”

Learning Torah

Did you fix time for learning?

The key word is Talmud Torah. What we glorify is not knowledge, erudition, but study and the dedication to learning. According to Raba, ‘when man is led in for judgment, he is asked… “Did you fix time for learning?” Man is not asked how much he knows but how much he learns. The unique attitude of the Jew is not the love of knowledge but the love of studying.

– Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, “Teaching Religion to American Jews”

Jewish tradition suggests we are never done learning. When we finish learning a tractate of Talmud, we immediately begin reading the first line of the next tractate. And at Simchat Torah, when we’ve finished the annual cycle of reading the Torah, we roll the scroll back to the beginning and follow the end of the book of Deuteronomy with the beginning of the book of Genesis.

How is this different or similar to philosophies of Western education?

Heschel explains that in Jewish tradition, the act of learning is more important than how much you learn. Why do you think this is?

Do you agree or disagree?

Food for Thought: • Can you remember any distinct “a-ha!” moments when you learned something that changed your life?

• What kinds of things are you learning gradually, more and more every year?

• What have you learned about food or eating recently that was interesting to you? What would you like to learn more about?

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

Food for Thought © 5

1.3 Eating in the Torah: An introduction The Torah traces the trajectory of the Israelite people from foragers and hunter-gatherers to pastoralists, and finally to landed agriculturalists in the Land of Israel. The evolution of the Israelites’ relationship to land and food reminds us that the Jewish people entered human history as an indigenous people. Like all indigenous peoples, the Israelites defined themselves and drew meaning from the physical land where they lived. Their language, traditions and relationship to food all reflect their indigenousness.

The top of the food chain The word “man” is a translation of the Hebrew mc`, “adam.” But “adam” is etymologically linked to dnc`,“adamah,” which means earth. The most literal translation of “adam” is thus “earthling:” the person who comes from the earth.

How does this understanding of the word “adam” change your understanding of what it means to be human?

And God said, “Let us make adam in our image, after our likeness. They shall rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the cattle, the whole earth, and all the creeping things that creep on earth.”

27 And God created adam in God’s image, in the image of God, God created him; male and female God created them.

28 God blessed them and God said to them, “Be fertile and increase, fill the earth and master it; and rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and all the living things that creep on earth.”

26

God said, “See, I give you every seedbearing plant that is upon all the earth, and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit; they shall be yours for food. 30 And to all the animals on land, to all the birds of the sky, and to everything that creeps on earth, in which there is the breath of life, [I give] all the green plants for food.”

And it was so.

29

– Genesis 1:26-30

The world on our shoulders Growing food is15hard “le’ovdah” means literally to work Andwork the Lord God took the man, and 15 And the Lordput God took the andofput himtointo the land by ploughing and tilling, him into theman, garden Eden till the it of Eden (le’ovdah) to till it (l’ovdah) and itto(leshomra). tend it (l’shomra). and also to servegarden it. “leshomra” and to tend Genesis 2:15 means to tend and also to guard.

– Genesis 2:15 Who or what doesPastoral the earth need vs. Agricultural our guarding from (especially if a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of And Abel was “adam” is alone the world3 And A good land theinground. in process of time it came to pass, that at this point)? of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Cain brought 7

For the Lord your God is bringing you

LORD. 4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his a good land, a land withhad streams and flock and of the into fat thereof.

And the LORD respect Why are iron and bronze mentioned springs and fountains issuing from plain unto Abel and to his offering; 5 but unto Cain and to his 8 in this description ofoffering the land?He Why a land wheat andvery barley, of had and not hill; respect.

AndofCain was wroth, do you think they occur where they vines, figs, and pomegranates, a land of and his countenance fell. do in the list, after the agricultural Genesis 4:2 5 olive trees and honey; 9 a land where you

crops and before the phrase about eating, being satisfied, and blessing?

may eat bread without scarceness, where you will lack nothing; a land whose rocks After“v’akhalta the Flood are iron and from whose hills you can Notice in v. 10 the words 1 And God blessed and10 his sons, said unto v’savata u’veirakhta.”

These mineNoah bronze.

When youand have eaten them: 'Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth. words form the basis for the Birkat and you are satisfied, give thanks to the 2 And themeals. fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon Hamazon, the grace after Lord your God for the good land which every beast See 2.4of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, God hasthe given you. teemeth, and upon all and upon all wherewith ground the fishes of the–sea: into your hand are they delivered. 3 Deuteronomy 8:7-10 Every moving thing that liveth shall be for food for you; as 6 Food for Thoughtthe © green herb have I given you all.

4 Only flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

q j u o u n qu q ; r ~r r ~p , n s k~ r j nuq u q | u r j rz j u u r j r j , p o : r r l~ o s r r n q j ~s so p p jn q r r l~ r n j u n n q ~ o ru q rn ou n jn q ~ u q ~ n o p p j : r s j q r j n ~p r s j n qz u q p o j p o u s ~s s s u j n s r j n ~p j n q ~p j : s r j n ~p j p p : r r u u nj u u q s~ j n q j q nu q r rz ~s

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Learning Torah Pastoralism vs. Agriculturalism Abel became a keeper of sheep, and Cain became a tiller of the soil. 3 In the course of time, Cain brought an offering to God from the fruit of the soil; 4 and Abel, for his part, brought the choicest of the firstlings of his flock. God paid heed to Abel and his offering, 5 but to Cain and his offering God paid no heed.

Cain was much distressed and his face fell. 6 And the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you distressed, and why is your face fallen? 7 Surely, if you do right, there is uplift. But if you do not do right, sin couches at the door; its urge is toward you, yet you can be its master.”

2

Why do you think this story is included in our tradition?

What has happened between Genesis 2:15 and Genesis 4:2?

(NB, this is the space of one generation)

Cain spoke to his brother Abel...and when they were in the field, Cain set upon his brother Abel and killed him.

9 The Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” And he said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”

10 Then God said, “What have you done?

Hark, your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground! 11 Therefore, you shall be more cursed than the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 If you till the soil, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. You shall become a ceaseless wanderer on earth.”

8

Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is too great to bear! 14 Since You have banished me this day from the soil, and I must avoid Your presence and become a restless wanderer on earth — anyone who meets me may kill me!”

15 The Lord said to him, “I promise, if anyone kills Cain, sevenfold vengeance shall be taken on him.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest anyone who met him should kill him. 16 Cain left the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

13

– Genesis 4:2-16

Food for Thought: •

What are the different characterizations of our relationship to the earth and to our food in these texts?

• Compare and contrast the relationship between man and the earth in Genesis 1:28 and 2:15. What are the similarities and differences? Are there instances you can think of where dominion of something is required?

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

Food for Thought © 7

“The miraculous is not extraordinary but the common mode of existence. It is our daily bread. Whoever really has considered the lilies of the field or the birds of the air and pondered the improbability of their existence in this warm world within the cold and empty stellar distances will hardly balk at the turning of water into wine— which was, after all, a very small miracle. We forget the greater and still continuing miracle by which water (with soil and sunlight) is turned into grapes.”

– Wendell Berry

Chapter 2

Gratitude, Mindfulness

& Blessing our Food How has Jewish tradition understood gratitude? Why is it important to develop a sense of gratitude and how might we do so today?

In this section, we explore how habits can obscure our awareness of daily miracles, and how blessings can re-awaken our sense of mindfulness, and we investigate traditional

and

non-traditional

tools

that

inculcate

gratefulness and open our eyes to the world.

“A teacher from Berkeley told me about a time when her students washed and trimmed and cut up ingredients and made a big salad. ‘Now wait,’ she said, ‘before we start eating, let’s stop and think about the people who tilled the ground, planted the seeds, and harvested the vegetables.’

The kids stood up at their desks and gave the salad a standing ovation.”

– Frances Moore Lappé

2.1 Stealing from God The rabbis understood the world’s produce to be a sacred, divine gift. As such it was “kadosh,” meaning both

' . ~ ~

“sanctified” and “separate”—and, in consequence, forbidden from our enjoyment unless we made a blessing. The

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blessing acknowledges the divine creation and, in a sense, de-sacralizes the food, therefore enabling us to eat it. The texts in this section explore this rather fascinating idea.

.~ ~

2.2 Stealing from God Everything belongs to God The Earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.

– Psalm 24:1

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Without benediction, sacrilege Talmud Bavli, Masechet Brachot 35a Without blessing, sacrilege Our Rabbis have taught: It is forbidden to a man to enjoy anything of this world without a blessing, and if anyone enjoys anything of this world without a blessing, he commits sacrilege. What is his remedy? He should consult a wise man.

But what will the wise man do for him?

What do you think of this idea? He has already committed the offence!

For more on Temple rituals, see 3.5 Raba said: What this means is that he should consult a wise man beforehand, so that he would teach him blessings, so that he should not commit sacrilege (me’ilah).

2.3 Paths to mindfulness

The word “me’ilah” refers to the sin of using something holy for personal benefit. Standing in the shade of the Temple on a hot day was a me’ilah, as was eating food that had already been offered on the altar.

Stop & Bless –

– Talmud Bavli, Masekhet Brachot 35a

Talmud Yerushalmi Brachot 7:5 This text comes from the kabbalistic/ mystical tradition. We don’t need to believe literally in angels in order to try to understand something about this kabbalistic relationship to the sanctity of food.

~ ~ : , ~ ~ . - ~ ~ - . ~ - ~ ? ~ - ~ :~ ~ ~ ~ - !~ ~ ~ , ~ . ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Putting good energy back into the universe ~ What does it mean, “Whoever enjoys produce in this world without pronouncing a ~ ~ blessing is called a robber”?

…By means of the blessing, one draws down shefa. The angel who is assigned to that fruit [which one is eating] is filled by the shefa so that a second fruit can replace the first. One who enjoys the first without blessing it…eliminates the spiritual element it 2.4 Birkat Hamazon What does this passage suggest contained. ... As a result, the angel’s power is annulled, since it no longer possesses the Birkat Need all text about the relationship between shefa [that it needs in order to replace the fruit.] people and God? – –check Brich rachamana vowels!

Peri Eytz Hadar, translated by Miles Krassen

“Shefa” means abundance. In this case, the text refers to the flow of Divine abundance.

Another way to think about stealing from God is to consider the effect of our actions on future generations.

See 8.5

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

10 Food for Thought ©

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Gratitude, Mindfulness and Blessing our Food

Did you steal that apple?

I was teaching about Tu B’Shevat to a number of people at the Orangetown Jewish Center. We were talking about this idea of food being stolen from God. What does that mean, exactly? “Sir,” I said to a man at the front of the room, “what was the last thing you ate before you came here?”

“An apple,” he replied.

“Great,” I said. “An apple. Did you steal that apple?”

“No,” he replied, “I bought it at ShopRite.”

People smiled. But he was quite right. When most of us want an apple, we go to a store and we buy one. With stores and markets as the intermediating mechanism by which we obtain our food, which necessarily involve not stealing – what could this text possibly imply, and how can a bracha make a difference?

I said, “Sir, if someone had given you a million dollars, would you have been able to make that apple?” And people smiled again, this time with a different sense of awareness.

The point of “the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof ” (Psalm 24) is to remind us that we enjoy the natural fruits of creation. We ourselves did not create and could never create them. A bracha is different than saying “Thanks for dinner, Mom,” (though we should say that, too). When the rabbis of the Talmud suggested not merely that we say a bracha before eating, but that failing to do so represented a case of theft, this is a central idea they teach us: we might buy an apple or we might grow it, but we can never create it, and its creation is an everyday miracle.

– Nigel Savage

Apples: the fruit of diversity A hundred years ago, there were over 14,000 different apple varieties cultivated in the US. Today, there are about 2,500.

Only 100 of these are grown commercially, and of that, just fifteen varieties accounted for 90% of all sales in 1999.

Before you read the list of those apples below, how many different kinds of apples can you name? Which are your favorite?

1. Red Delicious 2. Golden Delicious 3. Granny Smith 4. Fuji 5. McIntosh 6. Gala 7. Rome 8. Jonathan 9. Idared 10. Empire 11. York 12. Cortland 13. Northern Spy 14. Rhode Island Greening 15. Stayman (Up-and-coming varieties include: Cameo, Ginger Gold, Honey Crisp and Pink Lady.)

Source: US Apple Growers Association

Food for Thought: • What do you think the impact of saying a bracha before you eat has been (or could be) on your life?

• Which sets of wise people might you consult in order to learn how to eat healthily and responsibly?

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

Food for Thought © 11

2.2 Paths to mindfulness Being alive and being human means not only that we experience but also that we can reflect on our experience.

And the more we do so, the more we notice the world, the details, the hundred different species of tulips, the countless florets in a head of cauliflower, the more we are returned to our best selves. Simply by requiring that we pause a minute to reflect on our food and our lives before we eat, brachot can help us become more mindful of the food we eat. There is great value in this—for the Jewish people and for the whole world.

Seeing again for the first time Jewish tradition also has a bracha for seeing a beautiful sunrise. Do you think it serves the same purpose as food brachot?

How is noticing a sunrise different or similar to noticing the source of your food?

Because we eat two, three or four times every day, it’s easy to forget how wondrous that is. It’s like the sunrise or the sunset. The sun rises and sets every day. If it’s an especially beautiful sunrise, we may notice it. But if it’s not “special” we may not even see it.

But if we can see it as if for the first time, each sunrise becomes very special and very beautiful. And so with each meal we create.

– Bernard Glassman, Instructions to the Cook

Radical amazement These words of Heschel’s have become famous. What does he mean exactly?

How would your life be different if you carried this consciousness with you on a daily basis?

As civilization advances, the sense of wonder declines. Such decline is an alarming symptom of our state of mind. Mankind will not perish for want of information; but only for want of appreciation. The beginning of our happiness lies in the understanding that life without wonder is not worth living. What we lack is not a will to believe but a will to wonder.

Radical amazement has a wider scope than any other act of man. While any act of perception or cognition has as its object a selected segment of reality, radical amazement refers to all of reality; not only to what we see, but also to the very act of seeing as well as to our own selves, to the selves that see and are amazed at their ability to see.

– Abraham Joshua Heschel, God in Search of Man

Stop and bless What is the central point you think that Rabbi Ba is making? What might this mean in your life?

Rabbi Ba the son of Rav Hiyya bar Abba teaches: If he ate while walking, he must stand and bless. If he ate standing, he must sit and bless. If he ate sitting, he must recline [formally] and bless. If he ate reclining, he must enwrap himself and bless. And if he did this, he is like the angels who serve God. – Talmud Yerushalmi, Brachot 7:5

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

12 Food for Thought ©

Gratitude, Mindfulness and Blessing our Food Eating a tangerine I remember a number of years ago, when Jim and I were first traveling together in the United States, we sat under a tree and shared a tangerine. He began to talk about what we would be doing in the future. Whenever we thought about a project that seemed attractive or inspiring, Jim became so immersed in it that he literally forgot about what he was doing in the present. He popped a section of tangerine in his mouth and, before he had begun chewing it, had another slice ready to pop into his mouth again. He was hardly aware he was eating a tangerine. All I had to say was, “You ought to eat the tangerine section you’ve already taken.” Jim was startled into realizing what he was doing.

It was as if he hadn’t been eating the tangerine at all. If he had been eating anything, he was “eating” his future plans.

A tangerine has sections. If you can eat just one section, you can probably eat the entire tangerine. But if you can’t eat a single section, you cannot eat the tangerine. Jim understood. He slowly put his hand down and focused on the presence of the slice already in his mouth. He chewed it thoughtfully before reaching down and taking another section.

– Thich Nhat Hanh, Miracle of Mindfulness

This text doesn’t have a question, it has a suggestion: Eat a tangerine J (And try to eat it slowly, with full awareness...)

Special fruit “Tangerines” are so called because the first of these sweet, easily-peeled oranges to be shipped to the US were from Tangier, Morocco, in 1710.

Today, most Tangerines in the world are from China, which produced eleven thousand tons of them (and other winter oranges such as Mandarins and Clementines) in 2005, followed

by Spain, which produced two thousand tons in the same year.

– UN Food & Agriculture Organization

Gratitude means noticing / eating a piece of parsley Why is eating a vegetable one of the steps to freedom? Because gratitude is liberating. And how do we get there? We focus on the details.

Close your eyes: You are holding a piece of parsley, which you are about to dip into salt water. But before that – what things needed to happen to get this parsley into our hands? Who placed the parsley seeds into the ground? What sort of conditions did it grow in? Was it a hot summer? What did the soil feel like? How was the parsley harvested? What did it look like at that perfect moment when it was mature and ready to be picked? Who picked it? Where did the parsley travel next? Was it packed into cardboard boxes? How did it travel to the store or farmer’s market?

Who unloaded and unpacked it? Who placed it on a scale and weighed it so it could be purchased? Think for a moment about the number of hands that played a part in getting the parsley to this table and into our hands.

Now open your eyes: Look a little more closely at the parsley in your hand – what does it look like? How many leaves does it have? What does that specific color green remind you of ? What does the stem feel like? Imagine what it tastes like…

Take a piece of parsley and dip it in salt water. Then we say the blessing together, and then we eat. Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the universe, creator of fruit from the earth.

– Leah Koenig (Pesach 2006)

How does your experience of eating change when you know what has gone into the preparation of the food?

Grow your own karpas!

Count back about 7-8 weeks from Passover. You’ll need a warm, sunny place to set your parsley plants. Soak the seeds overnight, then plant in 3” pots.

Germination can take anywhere from 3-6 weeks, so be patient.

Once your shoots are about 6” high, you can harvest them for your seder (or garnish).

Food for Thought: • What are the similarities and differences between the contemporary Buddhist perspectives of Glassman and Thich Nhat Hanh and the traditional Jewish understanding of mindfulness and gratitude?

• How does Jewish tradition encourage or discourage emphasis on the human role of food production?

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

Food for Thought © 13

2.3 The blessings we say Jews have been saying food brachot for over 2000 years. The French Revolution and the rise of modernity challenged the theology of traditional religion, and undermined prayer in many ways. The postmodern era enables old traditions to be reaccessed in new ways. We understand the saying of& brachot as a key exemplar of this move. Rather than GRATITUDE, MINDFULNESS BLESSING OUR FOOD

asking, “Do you believe in God?”, we want to open a conversation about the broader nature of gratitude in relation 2.1 The Blessings we say to food. Can traditional brachot engender post-traditional mindfulness? And wouldn’t it be ironic if post-traditional

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What is the difference between Wait, what was Tosefta Brachot 4:4 5 Tosefta Brachot 4:4 5 saying a bracha over a natural Tosefta Brachot 4:4 5

phenomenon, such as a rainbow, and saying a bracha over food?

One last thought on brachot: If you don’t usually say food brachot, trying saying them for a week, or even a day, and see how they influence your experience of eating.

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

14 Food for Thought ©

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Gratitude, Mindfulness and Blessing our Food Wait - what was that bracha?

If they brought before him types of desserts, he recites over them the blessing, ‘Creator of types of sweets;’ over edible seeds he recites, ‘Creator of types of seeds;’ and over other herbs he recites, ‘Creator of types of herbs;’ and over greens he recites, ‘Creator of the fruit of the ground.’ Rabbi Judah says: [He recites,] ‘Blessed are You at Whose word the earth sprouts’.

What is the significance of the word “even” (afilu) in what Rabbi Meir is arguing? What can we infer about the previous formulations by contrast?

What does this discussion in the Tosefta show about the development of food brachot?

Do you agree with Rabbi Meir or Rabbi Yose?

Rabbi Meir says: Even if one saw a loaf [of bread] and said, ‘Blessed are You Who created this loaf, how nice it is,’ that serves as its blessing. If one saw figs and said, ‘Blessed are You Who created these figs, how nice they are,’ that serves as their blessing.

Rabbi Yose says: Anyone who departs from the formula which the sages established for blessings has not fulfilled his obligation.

– Tosefta Brachot 4:4-5

God Language Some people have amended the traditional God-language of brachot to reflect their theological outlooks and ethical concerns. While reciting the blessings shown here and those in the liturgy, the following elements can be combined to create alternative formulas.

barukh ‘atah adonai berukha ‘at yah nevarekh ‘et eloheynu he-shekhina ‘ein ha-chayim melekh ha-’olam chey ha-’olamim ruach ha-’olam

‫ָּברו ְּך ַא ּ ָתה יהוה‬ ‫בּ ְרוּכָ ה ַא ְּת י ָּה‬ ‫נְ בָ ֵר ְך אֶ ת‬ ‫אֱ לוֹ הֵ ינ ּו‬ ‫הַ ּ ְׁש ִכינָה‬ ‫ֵעין הַ חַ יִּים‬ ‫מֶ לֶ ְך הָ עוֹ לָ ם‬ ‫חֵ י הָ עוֹ לָ ִמים‬ ‫רוּחַ הָ עוֹ לָ ם‬

Blessed are you Adonai Blessed are you Yah Let us Bless

How do these phrases differ in meaning and outlook?

our God the Shekhina Source of Life Sovereign of the universe Life of all the universe Spirit of the universe

– Kol Haneshama (Reconstructionist Prayerbook)

Food for Thought: • If you regularly say brachot, how does this practice help you feel gratitude? If you don’t normally say brachot, how do you feel when you do?

• What are the arguments for using the traditional formulations? Or less traditional ones? Which do you choose to say, and why? And if you don’t traditionally say a bracha, which of these most makes sense to you?

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

Food for Thought © 15

2.4 Birkat Hamazon, the grace after meals Deuteronomy 8 includes the phrase, “you shall eat, and be satisfied, and bless.” These three Hebrew words led to the entire Jewish tradition of bensching (saying blessings after we have eaten.) Whether you said Birkat Hamazon as a kid at summer camp with lots of banging on the table, or you say it after every meal, or never at all, this remarkable prayer is a fascinatingly rich reflection of the evolution of the Jewish relationship to food and to the world.

Food for all Given that we know there is so much hunger in the world, what does it mean to praise God for being “hazan et ha-kol”, the one who “provides food for all”?

Because of God’s great goodness, we have never lacked food, nor will we ever lack it—on account of God’s great name—since God feeds and provides for all and is good to all, and who supplies food for all God’s creatures which God brought into being. Blessed are You, God, who nourishes / provides food for all.

Land, food & covenant What are the components of the Jewish people’s relationship with God as listed here? How do they compare with other lists (such as in the Amidah, or in Dayenu in the Pesach Hagadah)? Why do you think these elements are included in the grace after meals?

See Deuteronomy 8 in section 1.3 and 7.2

We thank You, Lord our God, for having given the heritage of a lovely, fine and spacious land to our fathers, and for having brought us out, Lord our God, from Egypt, and for rescuing us from slavery, and also for Your covenant which You sealed in our flesh, as well as for Your Torah which You taught us, and Your laws of which You told us, and for the life, grace and kindness You have granted us, and for the food which You supply and provide for us constantly, every day, all the time, and at every hour.

And so for everything, Adonai our God, we thank You and bless You—may Your name be blessed in the speech of all living beings, constantly, for all time. For it is written: “And you shall eat, and be satisified, and bless the Lord your God for the good land God gave you.” Blessed are You, God, for the land and for the food.

‫ו ְּבטוּבוֹ הַ ָ ּגדוֹ ל ּ ָת ִמיד לא חָ סַ ר לָ נ ּו‬ .‫וְ ַאל י ְֶחסַ ר לָ נ ּו ָמזוֹ ן ְלעוֹ לָ ם ו ֶָעד‬ ‫ַּבעֲ בוּר ְׁשמוֹ הַ ָ ּגדוֹ ל ִ ּכי הוּא אֵ ל זָן‬ ‫ וּמֵ ִטיב לַ כּ ל וּמֵ ִכין ָמזוֹ ן‬,‫ו ְּמפַ ְרנֵס לַ כּ ל‬ ‫ ָּברו ְּך ַא ּ ָתה‬.‫שר ָּב ָרא‬ ֶ ׁ ֲ‫ְלכָ ל ְ ּב ִריּוֹ ָתיו א‬ .‫ הַ זָּן אֶ ת הַ כּ ל‬,‫יְהוָה‬

‫ ַעל‬,ּ‫נוֹ ֶדה ְּל ָך יְהוָה אֱ להֵ ינו‬ ‫ש ִהנְ חַ ְל ּ ָת לַ אֲ בוֹ ֵתינ ּו ֶא ֶרץ חֶ ְמ ָדה‬ ֶׁ ‫אתנ ּו‬ ָ ֵ‫שהוֹ צ‬ ֶ ׁ ‫ וְ ַעל‬,‫טוֹ בָ ה ו ְּרחָ בָ ה‬ ,‫יְהוָה אֱ להֵ ינ ּו מֵ אֶ ֶרץ ִמ ְצ ַריִם‬ ‫ וְ ַעל‬,‫יתנ ּו ִמ ֵּבית עֲ בָ ִדים‬ ָ ‫ו ְּפ ִד‬ ‫ וְ ַעל‬,ּ‫שחָ ַת ְמ ּ ָת ִ ּב ְב ָׂש ֵרנו‬ ֶ ׁ ‫ית ָך‬ ְ ‫ְ ּב ִר‬ ָ‫ וְ ַעל חֻ ֶּקיך‬,ּ‫ש ִּל ּ ַמ ְד ּ ָתנו‬ ָ ֶ ׁ ‫ּתוֹ ָר ְתך‬ ‫ וְ ַעל חַ יִּים חֵ ן וָחֶ סֶ ד‬,ּ‫שהוֹ ַד ְע ּ ָתנו‬ ֶׁ ‫ וְ ַעל אֲ ִכילַ ת ָמזוֹ ן‬,ּ‫שחוֹ נַנְ ּ ָתנו‬ ֶׁ ,‫ָׁש ַא ּ ָתה זָן ו ְּמפַ ְרנֵס אוֹ ָתנ ּו ּ ָת ִמיד‬ .‫ְ ּבכָ ל יוֹ ם ו ְּבכָ ל ֵעת ו ְּבכָ ל ָׁש ָעה‬ ‫וְ ַעל הַ כּ ל יְהוָה אֱ להֵ ינ ּו אֲ נ ְַחנ ּו‬ ‫ י ְִת ָּב ַר ְך‬,‫מוֹ ִדים לָ ְך ו ְּמבָ ְר ִכים אוֹ ָת ְך‬ ‫ִ ׁש ְמ ָך ְ ּב ִפי כָ ל חַ י ּ ָת ִמיד ְלעוֹ לָ ם‬ ‫ וְ ָאכַ ְל ּ ָת וְ ָׂשבָ ְע ּ ָת‬:‫ ַּכ ָּכתוּב‬,‫ו ֶָעד‬ ָ ֶ‫וּבֵ ַר ְכ ּ ָת אֶ ת יְהוָה אֱ לה‬ ‫יך ַעל הָ ָא ֶרץ‬ ‫ ָּברו ְּך ַא ּ ָתה‬.‫שר נ ַָתן לָ ְך‬ ֶ ׁ ֲ‫הַ ּטוֹ בָ ה א‬ .‫ ַעל הָ ָא ֶרץ וְ ַעל הַ ּ ָמזוֹ ן‬,‫יְהוָה‬

Rebuild Jerusalem How would the nature of being Jewish be different if this paragraph was not included in the bensching?

Discuss this, then read the text from Rabbi Joy Levitt on the opposite page, and then read this text again. How, if at all, does your understanding differ?

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

16 Food for Thought ©

And may You build up Jerusalem, the holy city, rapidly in our lifetimes. Blessed are You, God, who in your mercy builds up Jerusalem. Amen.

– Birkat Hamazon

‫ּשלַ יִם ִעיר הַ ּק ֶד ׁש ִ ּב ְמהֵ ָרה‬ ָׁ ‫ו ְּבנֵה יְרו‬ ְ ‫ בּ וֹ נֵה‬,‫ ָּברוּך ַא ּ ָתה יְהוָה‬.ּ‫ְביָמֵ ינו‬ .‫ ָאמֵ ן‬,‫ּשלָ יִם‬ ָׁ ‫ְב ַרח ֲָמיו יְרו‬

Gratitude, Mindfulness and Blessing our Food

Brich Rachamana Blessed is the Merciful One, Ruler of the world, Who created this bread.

ְ ‫ְ ּב ִר‬ ‫יך ַרח ֲָמנָא‬ ‫ַמ ְל ָּכא ְדעֳ ְל ָמא‬ ‫יתא‬ ָ ּ ‫יה דְּ הַ אי ּ ִפ‬ ּ ‫ָמ ֵר‬

You are the source of Life for all that is, and your blessing flows through me.

This bracha is based on the shortest bracha that will still fulfill your obligation (to say grace after meals) should you find yourself being invaded by an army or pursued by a lion.

– Aramaic from Talmud Bavli, Masekhet Brachot 40b. We think that the English words (which can be sung to the same melody but which are not a direct translation) are by Shefa Gold. If we’re wrong, and you’re the author, or you know who is, please let us know!

In 1990 Roger Kamenetz was a participant in a group of rabbis and Jewish leaders who traveled to Tibet for an interfaith conversation with the Dalai Lama. He subsequently wrote a book about the experience called The Jew in the Lotus. Rabbi Joy Levitt was a participant on the trip. This excerpt is from a review of the book, which she wrote the following year.

Praying for our holy city The Tibetans became very moved upon learning that Jews pray for the rebuilding of Jerusalem after meals in their homes. They immediately made plans to see if they might write a Tibetan prayer articulating their yearning for Lhasa.

I was stunned by the new light suddenly cast on this very familiar prayer. I have recited grace after meals on Shabbat my entire life, and yet had never really grasped its role in preserving the Zionist dream in the hearts and minds of Jews throughout the generations. Since my return from India, I have never recited those words without thinking both of the Tibetans and of my deep longing for Zion at peace.

What role, if any, does the Birkat Hamazon play in your personal relationship to the Land of Israel? If you don’t regularly say the Birkat, what do you think the effect might be if you did?

– Rabbi Joy Levitt, “The Dialogue with the Dalai Lama”

Food for Thought: • Do you normally say a grace after meals? Which one? Why? If you don’t normally say one, how do you think it might feel to do so?

• How are the blessings said after the meal different or similar to those we say JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

before eating? (See 2.3) Why do you think the blessings are so different?

Food for Thought © 17

2.5 Eating our words Jewish tradition includes the idea of the d’var torah—the obligation to speak words of Torah whenever a group of people has gathered to eat. We trace here the elements of this idea and ask the question: how do the words we speak during a meal influence not only the meal itself but also the nature of what it means to be Jewish?

If three have eaten...

The joke in yeshiva was, of course, that we’d be eating together and someone would say “iiiiifffff three people….” And we would say, “Yofi!

We’ve just fulfilled our obligation to learn words of Torah, by learning that we are obligated to learn words of Torah when we eat together!”

- Rabbi Avi Finegold

Why do you think this applies to three people but not two or four?

Rabbi Shimon said: If three have eaten at one table and have not spoken over it words of Torah, it is as though they had eaten of the sacrifices of the dead, for it is written (Isaiah 28:8) “All tables are covered with filthy vomit; no place is clean.” But if three have eaten at one table and have spoken over it words of Torah, it is as if they had eaten from the table of God, for it is written (Ezekiel 41:22) “He said to me, “This is the table that stands before God.”

‫ש ָא ְכל ּו ַעל‬ ֶ ׁ ‫ ׁשל ָֹׁשה‬:‫ַר ִ ּבי ִ ׁש ְמעוֹ ן אוֹ מֵ ר‬ ,‫ש ְלחָ ן אֶ חָ ד ולֹא ָא ְמר ּו ָעלָ יו דִּ ְב ֵרי תוֹ ָרה‬ ֻׁ :‫ש ּנֶאֱ ַמר‬ ֶ ׁ ,‫כּ ִא ּל ּו ָא ְכל ּו ִמז ְִּבחֵ י מֵ ִתים‬ ִּ ‫ש ְלחָ נוֹ ת ָמ ְלא ּו ִקיא צוֹ ָאה בּ ִלי‬ ֻ ׁ ‫“כי כּ ל‬ ‫ אֲ בָ ל ׁשל ָֹׁשה‬.)‫ח‬:‫ָמקוֹ ם” (ישעיה כח‬ ‫וא ְמר ּו ָעלָ יו‬ ָ ‫ש ְלחָ ן אֶ חָ ד‬ ֻ ׁ ‫ש ָא ְכל ּו ַעל‬ ֶׁ ‫של‬ ֶ ׁ ֹ‫ש ְלחָ נו‬ ֻ ׁ ּ ‫ כּ ִא ּל ּו ָא ְכל ּו ִמ‬,‫דִּ ְב ֵרי תוֹ ָרה‬ ‫ש ְלחָ ן‬ ֻ ׁ ּ ַ‫ “ ַוי ְַד ֵּבר ֵאלַ י זֶה ה‬:‫ש ּנֶאֱ ַמר‬ ֶ ׁ ,‫ָמקוֹ ם‬ .)‫כב‬:‫שר ִל ְפנֵי ְיהֹוָה” (יחזקאל מא‬ ֶ ׁ ֲ‫א‬

– Pirkei Avot 3:4

The D’var Torah Why do you think it was not deemed sacrilegious to discuss words of Torah at the table?

I love that Jews have the tradition of giving a d’var torah at a Shabbat meal. At a dinner party, conversation might flit about, from engaging debate to lighthearted banter, and this is enjoyable. Someone may have important news or an exciting new idea to share. But it’s different than the choreographed set piece of a d’var torah. This is the scene: You’ve eaten, you’re full. You’re schmoozing. Then someone taps a glass and says, “In this week’s parsha, we learn that….” And we give the person our attention, and for two or five or more minutes we follow an exegetical journey in Torah, contemporary ideas, values, challenges. It could be cute, it could be profound. We hear them say, “and this makes me think of….” and we also are provoked to think, without the complication of conversation to obscure our thinking before we articulate it. And we hear, ‘In conclusion, I bless us all that…” and the learning ends with the gift of an idea or questions to ponder.

We not only eat, but share pieces of ourselves with others at the table, bringing Torah once again out of history and into the dining room, and creating time and space to enjoy the wisdom of our tradition.

– Anna Hanau

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

18 Food for Thought ©

Gratitude, Mindfulness and Blessing our Food

A person’s table “And he spoke to me, this is the table that stands before God.” (Ezekiel 41:22)

What connection is made between Torah and table here?

This is verse in Ezekiel refers to the Temple—and the Temple is here called a ‘table.’ It appears that there is a table that is similar to the Temple. What table is this? This refers to a table upon which many people share words of Torah.

– Magen Avot of Rabbi Shimon ben Tzemach Duran

Rabbi Yohanan and Resh Lakish both explain: At the time when the Temple stood, the altar used to make atonement for a person; now a person’s table makes atonement for him.

What do you think this means?

(If you want to see Rashi’s explanation, which points this conversation in a different direction, see 5.3)

– Talmud Bavli, Masekhet Chagigah 27a

Food for Thought: • How is conversation over food different from conversation not over food?

• If you don’t already have the practice of sharing words of Torah when you eat, what do you think of the idea? If you do this, how is a d’var Torah offered at a meal different than one offered, say, in shul or somewhere without food?

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

Food for Thought © 19

Chapter 3

Kashrut Kashrut – the act of keeping kosher – is one of the first things that people think of when they think of “Jews and food.” It is something that has distinguished the Jewish people for three millenia, in every place that we’ve lived. And it is one of the aspects of being Jewish where we feel the pull between tradition and (post)-modernity most strongly. Whether you keep kosher or not, kashrut is one of the richest and most challenging aspects of being Jewish.

In this section, we look at where the laws of kashrut originate in the Torah, and how they developed over time. And we examine how they have influenced not just what we eat, but how we eat, and with whom...

3.1 Why do you keep kosher?

Do you keep kosher? If so, why? And in what ways, and what does it mean to you? Has your observance or understanding changed over time? Here are eight widely different answers to these questions to prompt you to think further about the choices you make and the reasons for them.

Jon: “When my wife entered a joint degree program at JTS and Columbia for a Master’s in Jewish Studies and Social Work, she developed an urge to keep kosher from her study and understanding of Judaism. I agreed to keep kosher in our house for social reasons, meaning to enable people to come over and eat with us as we have a large number of families at our synagogue who are kosher and we were getting invited to their houses to eat but they would not come to ours! I eventually became totally kosher (meaning also out of the house) because my then 4-year-old son Noah asked me: “Daddy, why are you eating a lobster?” I could not continue to live my “double” life.”

Avi: “While I have always kept kosher, I feel that I really only have been doing it as a conscious act since I began studying for the Rabbinate. Before then I did it because it was what I had always done. At this point in my life, I try to be conscious about how kashrut affects my life and how kashrut is a manifestation of my connection with the world around me and my place in the environment. Rather than creating a kashrut that fits with my conception of how I should eat, I take kashrut as my framework and see how it teaches me the ethics behind what I should eat. For example, I don’t

eat milk with meat because it teaches me to consider the hierarchy of life and that despite the fact that I am at the upper end of the food chain, it is

not right to take something that nourishes and use it to cook that which it nourishes.

I could have begun this approach to food had I not kept kosher my whole life, but knowing all the rules and instinctively assuming that I have to plan ahead for most occasions because kosher food is not available everywhere has certainly helped me to be conscious of all food.”

Sabrina: “While I don’t keep kosher in the traditional sense, I do make a conscious effort to eat clean food that I consider kosher. For me, kosher means food free from chemicals and genetically-modified organisms. Ideally, it is food that is grown close to where I live, on a farm that promotes biodiversity and seed saving. Eating ‘kosher’ is my form of daily activism. I believe strongly in the power of the individual to vote with their dollar, and food is a way to do this every day.”

Amy: I observe the laws of kashrut as part of my practice of Judaism and living according to HaShem’s laws. As a Jew living in a gentile society where I am often faced with non-Jewish practices and influences, my observance of kashrut helps me keep in my mind my firm religious beliefs. When I choose not to eat in a non-kosher restaurant, I am reminded that Jews should remain separate from the gentiles in particular settings to preserve our sacredness. However, with the high accessibility and variety of kosher food items available (at least in New York), kashrut alone is not enough to maintain these sentiments. When I don’t have to go very far out of my way to eat kosher food, as Jews had to do years ago, it is even harder for the practice of kashrut to reconnect me to my personal commitment to Judaism and to our beliefs—but it’s an even more rewarding one. “

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

22 Food for Thought ©

Kashrut

Darya: “I now find kashrut meaningful. As someone who doesn’t find “because God said so” to be a compelling rationale, I freely acknowledge that the specifics of kashrut are fairly random - but perhaps that is what makes them such a good reminder. Every time I scan a menu for vegetarian options, or wait three hours after dinner to try a piece of chocolate, I have the opportunity to think: I am doing this to tie myself to generations of people who did this. And I do it out of respect for them, and for their writings and teachings and thoughts and actions. If my lunch reminds me, daily, of the vastness of Judaism, and of the many, many things that I hope to learn and practice and explore within it, that is a good enough reason for me.”

Leah: Although I still eat unhechshered cheese, it is starting to feel less “authentically kosher” OR “authentically vegetarian,” to me because of the animal rennet. Not authentically vegetarian for obvious reasons, but not authentically kosher because kashrut is, to some degree, about the act of intentionally limiting or setting boundaries around what one eats or does not eat, regardless of cravings. And at this point the only reason I still eat unhechshered cheese is because I love it too damn much not to. Right now my belly wins out over my values on that one…I’m not sure where I’ll shift to in the future.”

Zac: “I keep kosher because I believe it to be God’s will. Although I appreciate the aspect of restraint that becomes manifest through kashrut, I don’t consider it to be the point of keeping kosher.”

Tapani: “When I became a Jew, my rabbi asked about keeping kosher. I explained that in my native, Finnish, cuisine, everything (including meat) is cooked with or in milk. Many of my favorite dishes involve meat and milk. It is very hard to turn your back on your native background. Also, I’m an architect. In my business clients want to feel comfortable with me—and that often involves going out to eat together. I

believe that for a modern person the wisdom is in the interpretation of texts more than how we dress or eat.”

Food for Thought: • If you keep kosher, why do you keep kosher? To the extent to which you keep kosher, what does it mean to you to keep kosher?

• How has your relationship to kashrut changed over the years?

• Which of the statements on these two pages do you agree with? Find problematic? Aspire to?

• How many different positive consequences can you think of that derive from keeping kosher? Do you think there are any negative consequences of keeping kosher, and if so, what?

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

Food for Thought © 23

3.2 Kashrut: where does it come from?

Kashrut is built upon three separate sets of laws: permitted (tahor) and prohibited (tamei) species (which are listed in Deuteronomy 14 and Leviticus 11); the separation of milk & meat, which comes from the biblical injunction lo tevashel gedi bechalev imo – don’t cook a kid (baby goat) in its mother’s milk; and kosher slaughter, the rules of which are set out in the Talmud, Masekhet Chulin. The next few sections look at these three aspects of kashrut.

Basic Definitions

‫שר‬ ֵ ׁ ‫ָּכ‬

ka-sher

fit, adapted, proper

The word “kosher” in English can be used to describe food, i.e., “Is this food kosher?” and to refer to dishes, i.e., “I have to kasher my kitchen for Passover”

‫ָּכ ְ ׁשרוּת‬

kash-rut

fitness, worthiness, legitimacy; “kosher-ness”

‫ָקדוֹ ׁש‬

ka-dosh

‫טָ מֵ א‬

ta-may

ritually unclean, impure; not permitted for use in the sanctuary

‫טָ הוֹ ר‬

ta-hor

ritually pure, permittable

te-ray-fa

an animal torn by a beast of prey; an animal afflicted with a (fatal) disease, the discovery of which, after slaughtering, makes it forbidden to eat.

‫ְט ֵריפַ ה‬

separated, sacred, holy

Note the other variations of this word: kiddush (blessing over wine); kiddushin (marriage); kaddish (prayer said by mourners and the reader in a prayer service)

Today “treyf” is used to signify any non-kosher food.

Food for Thought: • What reason is given for the dietary laws in the passage from Deuteronomy on the next page?

• Jewish tradition creates holiness through separation. What do you make of this connection?

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

24 Food for Thought ©

Kashrut Forbidden species For you are a people consecrated (“kadosh”) to the Lord your God: the Lord your God chose you from among all other peoples on earth to be God’s treasured people.

2

You shall not eat anything abhorrent.

These are the animals that you may eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat; 5 the deer, the gazelle, the roebuck, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope, the mountain sheep, 6 and any other animal that has true hoofs which are cleft in two and brings up the cud; such you may eat. 7 3 4

What reason is given for mammals which are permitted or forbidden?

But the following, which do bring up the cud or have true hoofs which are cleft through, you may not eat: the camel, the hare, and the daman, for although they bring up the cud, they have no true hoofs, they are tamay for you; 8 also the swine, for although it has true hoofs, it does not bring up the cud, is tamay for you. You shall not eat of their flesh or touch their carcasses.

9

These you may eat of all that live in water: you may eat anything that has fins and scales. 10 But you may not eat anything that has no fins and scales: it is unclean for you.

How are the criteria for fish different from those for land animals?

You may eat any tahor bird. 12 The following you may not eat: the eagle, the vulture, and the black vulture; 13 the kite, the falcon, and the buzzard of any variety; 14 every variety of raven; 15 the ostrich, the nighthawk, the sea gull, and the hawk of any variety; 16 the little owl, the great owl, and the white owl; 17 the pelican, the bustard, and the cormorant; 18 the stork, any variety of heron, the hoopoe, and the bat.

All of the birds on this list are omnivores or carnivores. Do you think this is a reason for not eating them? What other reasons can you think of?

11

All winged swarming things are tamay for you: they may not be eaten.

20 You may eat only tahor winged creatures.

19

You shall not eat anything that has died a natural death; give it to the stranger in your community to eat, or you may sell it to a foreigner. For you are a people consecrated (“kadosh”) to the Lord your God. 21

What do you think about this verse?

What is the reason given for all of these laws?

You shall not boil a baby goat in its mother’s milk.

– Deuteronomy 14:2-21

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

Food for Thought © 25

3.3 Separating milk and meat There’s a famous joke: God:

Thou shalt not seethe a kid in its mother’s milk. (Exodus 23:19)

Moses:

You mean we should not mix meat and milk?

God:

Thou shalt not seethe a kid in its mother’s milk. (Exodus 34:26)

Moses:

Ah. You mean we should wait three hours between meat and milk!

God:

Thou shalt not seethe a kid in its mother’s milk. (Deuteronomy 14:21)

Moses:

Got it, God. You mean we should have two complete sets of dishes.

God:

Whatever, Moses. Have it your way.

This joke makes more sense when you understand that this precise phrase is repeated three times in the Torah. The rabbinic tradition understood this three-fold repetition to have profound significance (see the Shulchan Aruch source, below).

Prohibition of mixing meat and milk (Torah) This phrase appears in the Torah three times: Exodus 23:19; Exodus 34:26; and Deut. 14.21.

Since no reason is given, (and since commentators, ever since, have wondered why this is a prohibition)— what do you think the reasons for this could be?

You shall not boil a baby goat in its mother’s milk.

. ֹ‫של ְ ּג ִדי ַּבחֲלֵ ב ִא ּמו‬ ֵ ׁ ּ ַ‫לֹא ְתב‬

Philo of Alexandria (4th century) What do you think of Philo’s explanation?

He has forbidden any lamb or kid or other like kind of livestock to be snatched away from its mother before it was weaned… If anyone thinks it good to boil flesh in milk let him do so without cruelty and keeping clear of impiety… The person who boils the flesh of lambs or kids or any other young animal in their mother’s milk, shows himself cruelly brutal in character and gelded of compassion.

– On the Virtues, 143-44

Maimonides (12th century) What do you think of Maimonides’ explanation?

As for the prohibition against eating meat [boiled] in milk, it is in my opinion not improbable that—in addition to this being undoubtedly very gross food and very filling—idolatry had something to do with it. Perhaps such food was eaten at one of the ceremonies of their cult or at one of their festivals.

– Guide for the Perplexed, 3:48

Shulchan Aruch (16th century) What do you make of the Shulchan Aruch’s reasons for the triple repetition of this verse?

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

26 Food for Thought ©

It is written in the Torah: “You shall not boil a baby goat in its mother’s milk” three times (Ex. 23:19,34:26; Deut.

14:21). Once for the prohibition of cooking (the two together), once for the prohibition of eating, and once for the prohibition of deriving pleasure (from the cooked mixture).

Kashrut Even meat from wild animals and poultry are forbidden to be placed on a table on which cheese is eaten, so that [people] will not come to eat them together.

A person who has eaten meat, even meat from wild animals or poultry, should not eat cheese for six hours afterwards. And even if you have waited, if there is meat between your teeth, you must remove it.

The wild animals in this text are non-domesticated kosher animals, such as wild deer. The text uses the language of ‘even meat from wild animals and poultry’ because the Torah commandment of separating meat and milk only applies to meat from domesticated mammals. The rabbis extended the prohibiton to include poultry and wild animals.

A person who has eaten milk products is permitted to eat meat afterwards immediately, but one should examine one’s hands to ensure there are no traces of the milk products stuck to them.

– Yoreh Deah, Basar B’Chalav 87:1, 88:1, 89:1 and 89:2

Jean Soler (1950s) [What the kid law means is:] You shall not put a mother and her son in the same pot any more than in the same bed.

What do you think of Soler’s explanation?

– The Semiotics of Food in the Bible

Jacob Milgrom (1990s) The common denominator of all these prohibitions is the fusion and confusion of life and death simultaneously. The life-giving process of the mother bird hatching or feeding her young (Deut 22:6-7) should not be the occasion of their joint death.

The sacrifice of the newborn may be inevitable, but not for the first week while it is constantly at its mother’s breast and never should both the mother and its young be slain at the same time (Leviticus 22:27-8). By the same token, the mother’s milk, the life-sustaining food for her kid, should never become associated with its death.

– Leviticus 1-16 (Anchor Bible, vol. 3)

Food for Thought: • Towards which of the commentators are you most sympathetic? If you do separate meat and milk, do you have or need a reason? If you do not, do you find any of these reasons (or any other reason) compelling?

What do you think of Milgrom’s explanation?

Reference Texts: If, along the road, you chance upon a bird’s nest, in any tree or on the ground, with fledglings or eggs and the mother sitting over the fledglings or on the eggs, do not take the mother together with her young. Let the mother go, and take only the young, in order that you may fare well and have a long life.

– Deuteronomy 22:6-7 When an ox or a sheep or a goat is born, it shall stay seven days with its mother, and from the eighth day on it shall be acceptable as an offering by fire to the Lord. However, no animal from the herd or from the flock shall be slaughtered on the same day with its young.

– Leviticus 22:27-28

• What is the value of following the rules of a system even if you have no rational basis for them? Are there any drawbacks or negative consequences of doing so?

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

Food for Thought © 27

3.4 Kosher slaughter The third main element of kashrut is kosher slaughter. Most of us have no direct experience of the slaughter of an animal: the shift from schechting one’s own meat to buying pre-kashered, cut and packaged meat has happened in the space of less than 100 years. Riza néni’s story on the next page could describe the experience of most of our great-grandparents. What happens, though, to us and to kashrut when most of us have no connection to the process by which a living animal becomes meat? Put another way, is our experience of “meat” different if we have the direct awareness of it coming from a once-living animal?

Wetting the blade If you slaughtered several animals a week, do you think you could show compassion for each one? What about if you slaughtered several animals an hour?

After the Ba’al Shem Tov passed, a new shochet took his place. He was well-learned in all the laws and followed them scrupulously. He sharpened his knife, knew just where to hold the neck, how to make the cut.

He noticed, though, that a man would watch him as he slaughtered the chickens, and shake his head in disapproval. After several days, he asked the man what he was doing wrong.

“I wet the blade, I sharpen it, I make the smallest, quickest cut, just as I learned from the Ba’al Shem Tov. What am I doing that’s upsetting you?”

The man, who remembered watching the Ba’al Shem Tov prepare for and slaughter animals, shook his head.

“It is true, you wet the blade and sharpen it. But where you use water to sharpen your blade, the Ba’al Shem Tov used his own tears.”

– Chasidic folktale

The purpose of kashrut is to keep us humane What do you think of this argument?

The process of killing an animal in the biblical era—raising it, taking it to Jerusalem, slaughtering it oneself as an offering— was very different than today’s pre-packaged frozen meat.

“If he has a strong desire...” see 3.5 and 6.3

What was the necessity for the entire procedure of ritual slaughter? For the sake of self-discipline. It is far more appropriate for man not to eat meat; only if he has a strong desire for meat does the Torah permit it, and even this only after the trouble and inconvenience necessary to satisfy his desire. Perhaps because of the bother and annoyance of the whole procedure, he will be restrained from such a strong and uncontrollable desire for meat.

– Rabbi Solomon Efraim Lunchitz, Kli Yakar

If you feel a murderous instinct...

A shochet is someone who performs kosher slaughter.

The rabbis understand this passage to mean that such a person should become a shochet or a mohel, lest they become a murderer. This is a famous line from the Talmud, and a remarkable one. What do you think it means?

Is this a comment about how to kill animals or how to relate to humans?

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

28 Food for Thought ©

He who is born under Mars will be a shedder of blood. Rabbi Ashi said: Either a surgeon, a thief, a slaughterer, or a circumciser.

– Talmud Bavli, Shabbat 156a

Kashrut

Kosher slaughter in 19th century Hungary If Riza néni needed meat for lunch or dinner, she took the shopping basket and went to Mr. Schlesinger, the kosher butcher, who had a shop on the corner of Duna Street diagonally across the street from her. Farther down on that side of Main Street, past Vilmos Rév Street, there was another kosher butcher shop, but she rarely went there because Mr. Schlesinger’s shop was more convenient for her. Mother liked to accompany Riza néni to the butcher because he usually gave her a slice of roast to munch on. Riza néni knew all the customers at the butcher, and it was another occasion for the women to gossip a little.

If Riza néni decided to have chicken or any other fowl for lunch, in the morning Paula caught the bird, bound its feet, put it in a wicker shopping basket, and gave it to my mother to take it to the shochet, the Jewish ritual slaughterer. The shochet, who was also the assistant cantor, had a little wooden cabin behind the one-story building containing his apartment and that of the shammas (synagogue beadle) in the courtyard of the synagogue. My mother knocked on a window of his apartment, the shochet came out, and while they walked to the shack he inquired about the health of my great-grandparents. At the shack he first used his nail to check the sharpness of his blade, which by religious requirement had to be perfectly sharp and free of any nicks to avoid torturing the animal. Then for a second he let the bird loose to see if it could move, because it was forbidden to kill a sick animal. Now, while my mother waited outside the shack, he clasped the wings of the animal, bent its neck back, plucked some of the feathers from the neck, said a brief blessing, and slit the throat of the bird with one quick, decisive movement. It was a virtuoso performance. Then he hung it for a few minutes from one of the hooks on the wall to drain its blood, which was carried by a trough at the foot of the wall to a pit in the courtyard. After my mother had brought the chicken home, Paula took it out to the garbage pit behind my great-grandparent’s house, where she cleaned it with amazing speed. When she plucked geese, she carefully kept the down for later use in pillows and quilts.

To kosher the poultry, Paula cleaned out its insides, cut open or removed parts that could contain too much blood, cut up the bird if she planned to cook it in pieces, soaked the pieces for about half an hour. Then she placed them on a big round basket, which was held in a slanted position by two legs at one end, and salted them. After waiting for an hour for the salt to draw out the remaining blood, she shook off the salt, rinsed each piece three times, and briefly soaked them again. Finally, she rinsed off the salt from the basket, placed the meat pieces on it, poured another bucket of water over them, and let them drain on the basket.

– András Koerner, A taste of the Past: The Daily Life and Cooking of a 19th-Century Hungarian Jewish Homemaker

Food for Thought:

How many of the people you buy your food from inquire after the health of your grandparents?

How do you imagine you’d relate —for instance—to roast chicken on a Friday night if you’d had Riza néni’s experience in the last 24 hours? (This is not a leading question. We don’t mean to assume, for instance, that the answer is, “I wouldn’t eat chicken” — though it might be. We mean it as an open question. Would your experience of meat-eating be different or not, and if so, how?)

For more on eating meat, see 8.6

Kosher Slaughter in 21st century Connecticut At the 2007 Hazon Food Conference, participants were able to watch three goats be schechted. The meat was served for Shabbat dinner that evening. One observer wrote: “I began to wonder at what point during the process did the beautiful goat transform into “meat?” Was it immediately following the cut? Was it when the goat was hung up on the rafters of the Adamah shed?

Was it when it was skinned and butchered, or served on Friday night? I still don’t know. What I do know is that at no point during the process did I question whether this animal was being treated with respect. Everyone present and involved clearly had nothing but respect, love, and gratitude for this animal - I know that sounds hokey, but it was true.

And this respect carried through until Friday night when the platter of “fresh, pasture-raised, local roasted goat” was carved and served.”

- Leah Koenig

• Have you ever schechted an animal or watched one being schechted? How would it feel different to eat meat where you had been involved in the process of killing and preparing it, vs. meat you had not?

• Do you think there is such thing as “humane slaughter”?

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

Food for Thought © 29

3.5 Temple sacrifice The sacrificial system was the primary mode of worship in ancient Israel, while the Temple stood. Looking at it more closely provides a snapshot of pre-rabbinic Judaism, shows some of the basis for our current system of kashrut, and helps us frame our questions about meat-eating in a new light.

Prohibition against blood These texts show the original prohibition against consuming blood, which God gives to Noah after the flood (before Noah, no animal flesh was permitted for human consumption), and the extension of this idea in Deuteronomy. The Leviticus passage describes the procedure for the burnt offering, where the blood must be spilled against the altar.

What reason is given for not eating the blood? What do you think about this?

For a description of removing the blood from kosher meat, see 3.4.

Every creature that lives shall be yours to eat; as with the green grasses, I give you all these. 4 You must not, however, eat flesh with its life-blood in it.

3

– Genesis 9:3-4

But make sure that you do not partake of the blood; for the blood is the life, and you must not consume the life with the flesh. 24 You must not partake of it; you must pour it out on the ground like water. 25 You must not partake of it, in order that it may go well with you and with your descendants to come, for you will be doing what is right in the sight of the Lord.

23

– Deuteronomy 12:23-25

If his offering for a burnt offering is from the flock, of sheep or of goats, he shall make his offering a male without blemish. 11 It shall be slaughtered before the Lord on the north side of the altar, and Aaron’s sons, the priests, shall dash its blood against all sides of the altar.

10

– Leviticus 1:10-11

Outrageous?

What do you make of the notion that “the life of the animal was its blood”?

For more on sacrifices and justice, see 8.2.

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

30 Food for Thought ©

Why wasn’t God satisfied with prayer, without animal killing? And weren’t there sensitive Israelite souls who were reviled by heaps of burning flesh and rivers of blood on God’s altar? I would argue that ancient Israel would have been unruffled by these questions. First, according to the Bible, the life of the animal was its blood (Gen 9:4). Out of respect for that life force, all biblical sources agree that it was forbidden to imbibe blood. While the Israelites were allowed to sacrifice, therefore, they had to return the blood to God, its divine creator, by offering the blood of sacrificial animals on an altar. If they neglected to do so, thereby flouting the sanctity of the animal life, they would be considered murderers. Because the source of the animal’s life was its blood, there was no need to harbor guilt for slaughtering an animal for its meat so long as its blood was drained and returned to God via the altar. According to the Priestly source, the prohibition to imbibe blood is incumbent on all humanity; only the flesh of the animal is permitted to human appetite, a concession by God to satisfy humanity’s hunger.

– Jacob Milgrom, Leviticus: A Book of Ritual and Ethics

Kashrut Kinds of Sacrifice Burnt Offering “olah” Lev. 1:1-17

male cattle, sheep, goats or birds

burnt entirely, except for hide; no part was eaten

brought by an individual to atone for general sins; offering also performed twice daily by priests on behalf of the community

Grain Offering “mincha” Lev. 2:1-16

choice, inner kernels of wheat

mixed with olive oil and baked into cakes, or roasted into groats; portion was burned, remainder eaten by priests only

alternative olah sacrifice for the poor (who couldn’t afford meat)

sacred meal shared by priests and donor; only fatty portions of animals burned on the altar

spontaneous offering of thankfulness, a ritual to acknowledge miracles of life and express gratitude

Offering of Well-Being kosher animals “zevach shelamim” Lev. 3:1-17 Purification Offering “hatat” Lev. 4:1-35

bull (community) ram (chieftain) female goat (individual)

fat and organs burned on altar; for unintended ritual offenses by rest of animal burned on ash heap an individual or the community outside the camp

Reparation Offering “asham” Lev. 5:14-26

ram, or money equivalent

not eaten

for intentional, unremediable sins (ie., theft or perjury); sinner must also express remorse and restore property plus an additional fine

Not only in the Temple You may not partake in your settlements of the tithes of your new grain or wine or oil, or of the firstlings of your herds and flocks, or of any of the votive offerings that you vow, or of your freewill offerings, or of your contributions. 18 These you must consume before the Lord your God in the place that the Lord your God will choose — you and your sons and your daughters, your male and female slaves, and the Levite in your settlements — happy before the Lord your God in all your undertakings. 19 Be sure not to neglect the Levite as long as you live in your land.

What do you think contemporary Judaism would look like if this passage were not included in Deuteronomy?

When the Lord enlarges your territory, as God has promised you, and you say, “I shall eat some meat,” for you have the urge to eat meat, you may eat meat whenever you wish.

21 If the place where the Lord has chosen to establish God’s name is too far from you, you may slaughter any of the cattle or sheep that the Lord gives you, as I have instructed you; and you may eat to your heart’s content in your settlements

Do you think “craving” meat is a good enough reason to be allowed to eat it whenever you want?

17

20

Notice the emphasis on remembering the Levite. The priests had no land of their own; the sacrificial system ensured the Levites would be fed.

What does this text imply about human nature?

For more on craving, see 6.3

– Deuteronomy 12:7-21

Food for Thought: • How does the biblical understanding of “life-blood” resonate with your own feelings about eating meat? Does it affect your decision to eat kosher meat?

• Although we no longer offer food on an altar to God, in what ways and in what situations does food play a role in our relationship to the Divine?

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

Food for Thought © 31

3.6 Kashrut and separation: fraternizing with the enemy One of the consequences of keeping kosher is not merely that kashrut involves food separation but that the act of separating one’s food also separates people who keep kosher from those who don’t.

This issue is fascinating because it remains a real issue for many people to this day. Some people strictly keep kosher, but go to great lengths to be able to eat with non-Jewish friends or family members. Some don’t keep kosher – or are more lenient with the degree to which they keep kosher in certain circumstances – precisely because they’re not willing to separate themselves. And some people don’t deliberately separate themselves, but find that the act of keeping kosher (for instance, eating only at a kosher dining hall in college) has the practical consequence of separating them from non-Jewish (or Jewish but non-kosher) friends, whether they mean to or not.

In this section we’ve deliberately brought together some lesser-known – and some would say, inflammatory – texts, mostly from the Middle Ages, which argue explicitly for keeping kosher specifically and deliberately in order to separate Jews from non-Jews. (It’s important to point out that in most cases these texts are not considered valid today, or if they are, the definition of “ovdei kochavim” [idolators] is explicitly understood not to mean most gentiles today.) But we think they’re important to read and to learn because they throw light on Jewish history, and because they raise contemporary questions: • What are the social consequences of keeping kosher?

• If kashrut does separate Jews from non-Jews, (and especially if you strongly disagree with these texts) what in your view are some positive reasons for, or consequences of, keeping kosher in order to encourage social separation?

• What are the negative reasons or consequences of abiding by these sorts of rules (especially if you agree with them)?

ka-dosh

separated, sacred, holy

Note the other variations of this word: kiddush (blessing over wine); kiddushin (marriage); kaddish (prayer said by mourners and the reader in a prayer service)

Holiness and separation at Havdallah How do you read this text?

(Remember that “holy/kadosh” means “sacred” and/or “separate,” rather than “better”).

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

32 Food for Thought ©

Blessed are you, God, sovereign of the universe, the one who separates between the holy and the mundane, between light and darkness, between Israel and the nations, between the seventh day and the six days of doing/work. Blessed are you, God, sovereign of the universe who distinguishes the holy from the mundane.

‫ָּברו ְּך ַא ּ ָתה יְהוָה אֱ לֹהֵ ינ ּו מֶ לֶ ְך‬ ,‫ הַ ּ ַמ ְבדִּ יל ֵּבין ּק ֶֹד ׁש ְלחוֹ ל‬,‫הָ עוֹ לָ ם‬ ‫ִש ָראֵ ל‬ ׂ ְ ‫ ֵּבין י‬,‫ֹש ְך‬ ֶ ׁ ‫ֵּבין אוֹ ר ְלח‬ ‫שת יְמֵ י‬ ֶׁ ‫ש‬ ֵ ׁ ‫יעי ְל‬ ִ ‫ ֵּבין יוֹ ם הַ ּ ְׁש ִב‬,‫לָ ַע ִּמים‬ ‫ ָּברו ְּך ַא ּ ָתה יְהוָה הַ ּ ַמ ְבדִּ יל‬.‫שה‬ ֶׂ ֲ‫הַ ּ ַמע‬ .‫ֵּבין ּק ֶֹד ׁש ְלחוֹ ל‬

Kashrut

Concern for intermarriages Why has liquor of idolaters [“ovdei kochavim”; lit., “starworshippers”] been forbidden? Rami bar Hama said in the name of Rabbi Isaac: Because of [concern for inter-]marriages.

What are the positive consequences of Jewish social separation over time? What are the negative consequences?

– Talmud Bavli, Avodah Zarah 31b

The banquet It has been taught: Rabbi Ishmael says, Israelites who reside outside the land [of Israel] serve idols though in pure innocence. For example, if an idolater gives a banquet for his son and invites all the Jews in his town, then, even though they eat of their own and drink of their own and their own attendant waits on them, Scripture regards them as if they had eaten of the sacrifices to dead idols, as it is said, “they will invite you and you will eat of their sacrifices” (Ex: 34:15).

But does not this apply to only eating [as opposed to merely attending an idolator’s feast]? Said Raba: If that were so, the verse would have only said, “and you will eat of their sacrifices.” Why then say, “and they will invite you?” That extends the prohibition to the time of the participation.

– Talmud Bavli, Avodah Zarah 8:1

Eating bread Although [our Sages] forbade bread [baked by] idolaters [the acronym used is “akum”; a contraction of “ovdei kochavim”], there are places where leniency is shown regarding this matter and bread baked by an idolator baker is purchased in a place where there is no Jewish baker and it is in a rural area, because this is a pressing situation. There is, by contrast, no one who will rule that leniency may be shown with regard to bread baked by a homeowner. For the primary reason for [our Sages] decree was because of [concern for inter-] marriage. If one will eat the bread of a [idolator] homeowner, [it is likely that] he will feast with him.

‫ י ֵׁש‬,‫ש ָא ְסר ּו ּ ַפת עכּ וּ“ם‬ ֶ ׁ ‫ַאף ַעל ּ ִפי‬ ‫ש ְּמ ִק ִּלין ַּבדָּ בָ ר וְ לוֹ ְק ִחין ּ ַפת‬ ֶ ׁ ‫ְמקוֹ מוֹ ת‬ ‫ ִ ּב ְמקוֹ ם ְׁשאֵ ין‬,‫ִמן הַ ּנ ְַח ּתוֹ ם הַ עכּ וּ“ם‬ ‫ ִמ ּ ְפנֵי‬,‫ִש ָראֵ ל; וּבַ ּ ָׂש ֶדה‬ ׂ ְ ‫ָׁשם נ ְַח ּתוֹ ם י‬ ‫ אֲ בָ ל ּ ַפת ַּבעֲ לֵ י‬.‫ְׁש ִהיא ָׁש ַעת הַ דּ ֹחַ ק‬ ,‫ש ּמוֹ ֶרה ָּב ּה ְלהָ ֶקל‬ ֶ ׁ ‫ אֵ ין ָׁשם ִמי‬,‫ָּב ִּתים‬ ‫יקר הַ ְ ּגז ֵָרה ִמ ּ ׁשוּם חַ ְתנוּת; וְ ִאם‬ ַ ‫ש ִע‬ ֶׁ ‫ יָבוֹ א ִל ְסעֹד‬,‫יֹאכַ ל ּ ַפת ַּבעֲ לֵ י ָּב ִּתים‬

At various times in history, “ovdei kochavim” have been defined to refer to–and then specifically not to refer to–Christians, Muslims and Buddhists. Why do you think this is?

It’s important to note that most traditional Jewish authorities today would define “ovdei kochavim” literally to mean pagans, but not members of any of the worlds other major religions.

.‫אֶ ְצלָ ן‬

– Maimonides, Ma’achalot Asurot 17:12 JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

Food for Thought © 33

3.6 Kashrut and separation, cont’d Meals with gentiles What is the only instance in which drinking liquor made by non-Jews is forbidden? What are all the exceptions given to this rule? What do you make of the reasoning for them?

Every type of liquor made by Kutim [certain class of gentiles]—liquor made from dates or figs or barley or wheat or honey—is forbidden because [it might lead to inter-] marriage. And [these beverages] are not forbidden except in the place where they are sold.

But, if one buys the liquor and brings it back to his home and drinks it there, then it is permitted. This is on account that the decree is [established] lest one has a meal with the gentile. And the decree only applies in a case where a Jew makes specific plans to drink [with the gentile] in the way that people gather to drink [i.e. a bar], but if [a Jew] enters the home of a gentile and drinks in a casual manner as a matter of happenstance, this is permitted. And similarly, one who sleeps in a gentile’s house, it is considered like one’s own house [and therefore one could drink with the gentile].

– Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah, 114:1

As seen from the gentile perspective After the French Revolution, for the first time in history, Jews were granted citizenship of the nationstate of France. Leading up to this decision were a series of debates regarding the place of the Jew in society. This piece is excerpted from one of these debates.

In what ways does this non-Jewish perspective differ from the Jewish ones in the previous texts?

How does the last sentence further reinforce the connection between eating together and building relationships?

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

34 Food for Thought ©

Does the Law of Moses make citizenship, and the full integration of the Jew into other peoples, difficult or impossible? I think it does! The purpose of the Law is to maintain the Jews as a people almost completely separate from other peoples, and this purpose is an integral part of all the laws, down to those concerning kosher and non-kosher food, with the result that the Jews have lived as a separate group during 1700 years of dispersion. As long as the Jews continue to observe the Mosaic Laws, as long as they refuse, for example, to eat together with us and to form sincere friendship at the table, they will never become fully integrated in the way that Catholics, Lutherans, Germans, Wends, and French live together in one state. (I am not discussing isolated cases, but rather the Jews as a collective entity.)

– Johann David Michaels, “Arguments against Dohm” (1782)

Kashrut The purpose of kashrut I believe that the purpose of kashrut is to make eating a special experience and to serve as a reminder of a Jew’s ethical conscience as well as of the other unique teachings of Judaism. To me, distinctiveness and not separation is the Jew’s calling.

This feeling is possible in the presence of non-observant Jews and of non-Jews. The values of friendship, human solidarity, and socializing are highly esteemed Jewish values; making a living and exchanging professional service (sometimes performed over a meal) also are respected in Jewish culture. One of the great qualities of the Jewish tradition is its ability to balance contradictions—idealism and realism, Jewish particularism and unusual concern for humanity. Similarly, in the act of eating, one can strike that balance between fidelity to one’s own principles and shared friendship and respectful contact with others.

What do you think about Blu’s argument?

Do you agree that “one of the great qualities of the Jewish tradition is its ability to balance contradictions”?

How do you experience this balance in your own life?

– Blu Greenberg, How to Run a Traditional Jewish Household

Blu’s instructions for how to keep kosher and still eat in a non-kosher restaurant This process is not as complicated as it seems:

1. Order a kosher fish, that is, one of the permitted kinds, let us say red snapper.

2. Ask the maitre d’ or the chief cook to rinse the fish well and to wrap it tightly in two separate layers of aluminum foil, completely closed, and then bake it. It can be baked with seasonings such as butter, sour cream, lemon juice, salt and pepper, cloves (wonderful with baked fish).

Do you follow the same rules of kashrut in public as in someone’s home?

3. It should be served exactly the way it is baked, closed, in its aluminum foil wrapping, just as the kosher flight food packs are served on airplanes.

4. Since it is hot, it cannot be eaten from a non-kosher dish nor with nonkosher cutlery. Therefore, the waiter will bring plastic cutlery and a paper plate—or the fish can be eaten out of its own foil container. Some hotels keep on hand brand-new flatware which they bring out for first-time use in these circumstances. ...

The same procedures can be followed when people who observe kashrut are invited to the homes of people who do not. True, some hosts will feel awkward about serving a guest a fresh salad when others get roast duck, but by extending themselves and by agreeing not to be embarrassed on either side, justice can be done to both kashrut and the need to socialize.

The above suggestions will enable one to eat out with friends or in business situations while meeting the technical requirements of kashrut. Some Jews would object on the principle of marit ayin. Others might point out that the dishes used had not been immersed. Still others would argue that the very purpose of kashrut was to discourage excessive socializing with people who don’t observe the laws. However, none of these objections are flaws in the basic condition of being kosher.

– Blu Greenberg, How to Run a Traditional Jewish Household

Blu is an Orthodox Jew. But inherent in what she writes is the contemporary understanding that “akum” now literally does refer to pagans, but does not include Christians, Moslems and almost all people we might have social interactions with.

Food for Thought: • What is your experience of kashrut to separate?

• How has kashrut played a positive role in the survival of the Jewish people?

How do you understand Blu Greenberg’s subtle but important distinction between ‘distinctiveness’ and ‘separation’?

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

Food for Thought © 35

3.7 Eco-kosher?

Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi and Rabbi Arthur Waskow introduced and popularized the concept of eco-kashrut.

It has been important in getting Jewish people to think seriously about a range of issues that relate to ethical consumption. The notion of eco-kashrut helps raise further questions about what is inherent in kashrut itself.

It’s kosher, but is it eco-kosher?

“I invented the word eco-kosher, to say that something is ecologically kosher. I’ll give you an example of eco-kosher. The regular kosher way, is about the dishes that mustn’t be contaminated, etc. If I pick a cup to have coffee, styrofoam would be the best thing to have. It hasn’t been used before and after I drink from it, I’ll throw it away and nobody else will use it. From the usual kosher place that’s the direction to go... but in comparison to what will happen to the planet by my drinking in a styrofoam, I’d much rather make the other choice... eco-kosher.”

– Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi

Some eco-kosher hekhshers A variety of “eco-kosher hekhshers” have been established recently.

• Ma’agalei Tzedek is an Israel-based hekhsher for businesses that are accessible to disabled people and who treat their workers fairly • Wholesome Kosher (WK) certifies healthy & kosher food in the US • Earth Kosher certifies a range of food, clothing and health products • Natural Food Certifiers offers an Apple K Kosher label for kosher food that is also healthy Apple K Kosher

• The Conservative Movement is in the process of developing standards for a Hekhsher Tzedek that would indicate adherence to traditional laws of kashrut as well as a commitment to social responsibility and workers’ rights

Eco-kashrut is based on traditional Jewish values ‫צַ ַער ַּבעֲ לֵ י חַ יִּים‬

Tza-ar ba-a-lei cha-yim

respect for animals / avoidance of suffering

Bal tash-chit

not ruining or needlessly destroying

Shemi-rat ha-guf

the protection of one’s own body

‫ְצ ָד ָקה‬

Tze-da-kah

justice / doing that which is right

‫שק‬ ֶ ׁ ֹ‫עו‬

O-shek

not oppressing workers

Be-ra-cha ke-du-sha

consciously affirming a sense of holiness and blessing when we eat

‫ַּבל ּ ַת ְ ׁש ִחית‬ ‫ְ ׁש ִמ ָירת הָ גוּף‬

‫ּשה‬ ָׁ ּ ‫ְ ּב ָרכָ ה ְקדו‬

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

36 Food for Thought ©

Kashrut

Kosher is kosher As a Jew who believes kashrut is part of the discipline of Judaism, kashrut is kashrut.

Eco-kashrut is something different. Not that I’m opposed to eco-kashrut, but it’s something else.

- Jack Wertheimer, Provost JTS

Beyond eco-kosher At this point I think we should consider dropping the phrase eco-kosher. It allows traditional halachic Jews essentially to ignore the underlying issues that eco-kashrut often addresses, on the basis that eco-kashrut is not traditionally halachic. And it causes liberal Jews to establish their own categories, rather than address traditional ones.

But the issues that are often discussed under the rubric of “eco-kashrut” are in fact thoroughly within the domain of traditional halacha. My friend Rabbi Julian Sinclair – an orthodox rabbi of unimpeachably traditional credentials – argues that driving an SUV is against the halacha. He doesn’t mean “eco-halacha,” he means traditional halacha. Retiring the phrase eco-kashrut doesn’t mean failing to address the underlying issues; rather it means engaging them with intellectual integrity in Jewish communities of many sorts, including the Orthodox community.

– Nigel Savage

Food for Thought: • What are the advantages of applying biblical or medieval elements of halacha to contemporary issues? What are the challenges?

• Do you think the concept of eco-kashrut is helpful? Why or why not?

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

Food for Thought © 37

“Olives have within them pure oil which, when pressed in a millstone, flows in a stream; so the bread contains within it divine secrets.”

– Siddur Tehillat Hashem, Moroccan prayerbook

Chapter 4

Bread & Civilization On the one hand, bread is simple. Ubiquitous. No big deal.

On the other hand, it is one of the world’s greatest food miracles, the first example (besides wine) of radical human innovation in food technology. And it plays a significant role in Jewish tradition.

Bread is often a metaphor for food in general, yet it is something different from meat, different from potatoes: the transformation of raw grains into leavened dough is a sort of alchemy. Bread provides protein, carbohydrates and minerals, all of which are essential to our bodies’ health and well-being.

What is it about bread that puts it in a category apart from other foods, with its own bracha, its own rituals? Why do we use words related to bread to refer to money and livelihood?

Why is bread so special?

4.1 Bread rituals Bread is simple enough, yet in Jewish tradition, add bread to a meal and you’ve seriously upped the ritual ante. No other food has rules about how it is prepared and how it is eaten! Most of these rules derive from Temple times, and this begs the question: is it necessary to have a knowledge of Temple Judaism to relate to these rituals? And, more

GRATITUDE, MINDFULNESS & BLESSING OUR FOOD

broadly, what is it about bread that it should come to play such a significant role in Jewish tradition?

2.1 The Blessings we say

The “Motzi” blessing for bread

Food Blessings Why do you think this is theOver blessing breadBlessed bless: are You, O Lord, our God, for bread? What might some other aresovereign of the universe, theofOne Blessed You, YHWH, our God, King the who Universe, blessings for bread be? who the One brings bread forthfrom fromthe theearth. earth. brings forth bread

j u ru r s r j p p u o s k~ r s j r u ~q

. p ~r r n p p ~ n s u q

See Heschel in 4.4

Over food and bread cooked from five grains If it’s bigger than anthe olive... (wheat, oats, rye, barley, spelt) bless: What reason does the text give for Rabbi Joseph said: If in a soup there Blessed are You, YHWH, our God, King of the Universe, the requirement to say are pieces of bread as big as an olive, Creator of types of nourishment.

Birkat HaMazon? the blessing said before it is ‘Who

brings forth bread from the earth,’ and wine bless: In what other ways do Over you think blessing said bread makesBlessed a meal? arethe You, YHWH, ourafterwards God, Kingisofthe thefull Universe, Birkat Hamazon (which includes three Creator of the fruit of the vine. blessings). If there are no pieces as big as an olive in it, the blessing said before it is Over all types of creates tree fruit bless: ‘Who various kinds of foods’, and is Al Hamechiya shorter Blessed areafter You,itYHWH, our God, (a King of thegrace Universe, Creator of fruit the tree. afterofmeals which summarizes three blessings).

Said Over fruit of theRabbi earth Joseph: bless: Whence do I derive this?

Because hasGod, beenKing taught: If Universe, one Blessed are You, YHWH, itour of the Creator of fruit theact earth. is inofthe of making a meal-offering

j u ru r s r j p p u o s k~ r s j r u ~q : p u r q n j u ~ o s u j u ru r s r j p p u o s k~ r s j r u ~q : o r n j u ~ o s u j u ru r s r j p p u o s k~ r s j r u ~q : r r l~ r n j u ~ o s u

~

– Talmud Bavli, Masekhet Brachot 37b

~ ' ~ , ~

A person who wants to eat bread over which one says “Who brings forth” [i.e., the blessing before eating bread] must wash his hands before doing so.

One should wash the right hand first, and then the left.

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

: s s j o n ~ o s u

in Jerusalem, he says, ‘Blessed is the one who has kept us alive and preserved us Over meat,and fish,brought milk, eggs, cheese,When as well as us to and this season’. beverages he (other wine) takesthan them up inbless: order to eat them, Blessed arehe You, our God, King of theforth Universe, saysYHWH, the blessing, ‘Who brings that everything comes to be through His word. bread from the earth’. And it was taught in connection with this [story], that the offering broken into fragments of Wait, what was that was bracha? the size Tosefta Brachot 4:4 of 5 an olive.

Washing hands

40 Food for Thought ©

j u ru r s r j p p u o s k~ r s j r u ~q

After a person washes both his hands, he should rub them together, raise them upward to the level of his head as it is written, “Raise up your hands...” (Psalm 134:2), and before he dries them, blesses: “Who has sanctified us with Your commandments and commanded us regarding the washing of hands.”

– Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 40

j u ru r s r j p p u o s k~ r s j r u ~q : s r j u n p j n s u q pz

~ ' ~ ~ , ~ ' ~ , ~ ' ~ ' . ~ ~ ~ ' ~ ~ ' . ~ ~ ~ ~ ' ~ ~ . ~ ~ ~ ' ~ ) ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ' ~ ( ~ ~

Bread & Civilization

The Challah offering The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the Israelite people and say to them: When you enter the land to which I am taking you 19 and you eat of the bread of the land, you shall set some aside as a gift to the Lord: 20 as the first yield of your baking, you shall set aside a loaf as a gift; you shall set it aside as a gift like the gift from the threshing floor.

21 You shall make a gift to the Lord from the first yield of your baking, throughout the ages.

17 18

For more discussion of Temple offerings, see 3.5

– Numbers 15:17-21

Prayers upon the separation of challah May my challah be accepted as the sacrifice on the altar was accepted…in ancient times, the High Priest came and caused sins to be forgiven; so also may my sins be forgiven with this…Thus may my mitzvah of challah be accepted: that my children may be fed by the dear God, be blessed…as if I had given the tithe.

Lord of all the worlds… I pray to you to give Your blessing on what I bake. Send an angel to guard the baking, so that everything will be well baked, will rise nicely, and will not burn. May this baking honor your holy Shabbos.

The commandment to separate a portion of the dough for God is not gender-specific, but it has in general fallen to the woman of the household who is baking the bread.

This prayer is from a collection of Yiddish women’s prayers called Tekhinnes.

– Chava Weissler, Ed., Voices of the Matriarch

Challah and idolatry Anyone who observes the commandment of challah is as if he repudiated idolatry.

Why? Because the man who sets aside challah believes that all possessions are from the Lord, while the pagan regards his possessions as having been obtained by his own might, by ‘the work of man’s hands’ (Ps. 115:3). These are the idols that are destroyed by observing the commandment of challah.”

What do you make of this idea?

How would you relate differently to food if you reminded yourself that it was a (Divine) gift?

– Gunther Plaut, ed. The Torah: A Modern Commentary

Food for Thought: • Why do you think there are so many rituals surrounding bread eating? What role, if any, do any of these rituals play in your own life?

• If you make challah, do you separate a piece of the dough and let it burn up? If you never have, would you consider doing it? How does the practice of baking challah connect you (or not) to Temple rituals? To Jewish history? To Jews all over the world?

• Why do you think there is a different bracha for bread? What do these texts suggest about the role of bread in Jewish tradition?

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

Food for Thought © 41

4.2 Yeast: raising bread and hope Before bakers discovered yeast to help them raise their dough, “bread” was a less appetizing food. Think: matzah, all day, every day. With the help of tiny yeast spores – actually micro-organisms that live in the air, and on the flour grains themselves – the spongy, chewy, tangy, tasty staff of life that we call bread emerged. Yeast has two interesting properties: it differs from place to place, and it can be cultivated and kept alive for a long time. When juxtaposed with the Jewish tradition of ridding the house of all leaven once a year, these properties make us wonder: what is the physical and sociological effect of not keeping yeast for more than a year? And what can we learn from someone who keeps yeast for years at a time?

Unleavened bread What reason does the text give for not eating leavened bread? What do you make of the connection between these two ideas?

Search it out!

Bedikat Chametz is the ceremony of searching out all the chametz (bread, or leavened food) in your house before Passover. A ceremonial final sweep is carried out with a feather.

Bi’ur Chametz is the ceremony of destroying your chametz, usually by burning.

Today, many people sell their chametz to a non-Jew for the period of Passover, and only a small amount is ritually burned with a candle.

And Moses said to the people, “Remember this day, on which you went free from Egypt, the house of bondage, how the Lord freed you from it with a mighty hand: no leavened bread shall be eaten. 4 You go free on this day, in the month of Aviv. 5 So, when the Lord has brought you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which God swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you shall observe in this month the following practice: 3

“Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a festival of the Lord. 7 Throughout the seven days unleavened bread shall be eaten; no leavened bread shall be found with you, and no leaven shall be found in all your territory. 8 And you shall explain to your son on that day, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I went free from Egypt.’

6

– Exodus 13:3-8

Sourdough from the Oregon Trail Sourdough starter is a mixture of flour, water and yeast. Every time it is used to make bread, more flour is added to the starter mixture to replenish it. In this way, the starter can “live” for many years. Carl Griffin maintained his family’s sourdough and sent it out to anyone who asked until his death at age 80.

A group of dedicated fans continue his tradition (see Resources).

How might the Jewish experience of bread baking be different if, in addition to family recipes, the yeast itself was passed on through generations?

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

42 Food for Thought ©

The history [of this sourdough starter] has been asked for. All I know is that it started west in 1847 from Missouri. I would guess with the family of Dr. John Savage as one of his daughters (my great-grandmother) was the cook. It came on west and settled near Salem, Oregon. Doc. Savage’s daughter met and married my great-grandfather on the trail and they had 10 children. It was passed on to me though my parents when they passed away. I am 76 years old so that was some time ago. I first learned to use the [sourdough] starter in a Basque sheep camp when I was 10 years old as we were setting up a homestead on the Steens Mountains in southeastern Oregon. A campfire has no oven, so the bread was baked in a Dutch Oven in a hole in the ground in which we had built a fire, placed the oven, scraped in the coals from around the rim, and covered with dirt for several hours. I used it later making bread in a chuck wagon on several cattle drives—again in southeastern Oregon. Considering that the people at that time had no commercial starter for their bread, I do not know when it was first caught from the wild or where, but it has been exposed to many wild yeasts since and personally I like it. I hope you enjoy it.

– Carl Griffin

Bread & Civilization

Yeast and ecosystems By eating a variety of live fermented foods, you promote diversity among microbial cultures in your body. Biodiversity, increasingly recognized as critical to the survival of larger-scale ecosystems, is just as important at the micro level. Call it microbiodiversity. Your body is an ecosystem that can function most effectively when populated by diverse species of microorganisms. By fermenting foods and drinks with wild microorganisms present in your home environment, you become more interconnected with the life forces of the world around you.

Wild microbial populations vary and exhibit unique characteristics in different places…. This variation is one of the factors that gives rise to the specificity of place and the huge variety of foods that people enjoy in different culinary traditions.

Industrialization and mass production remove all aspects of food production from the fabric of life and create culturally homogenous foods that erase cultural distinctness, disempower people, and breed dependence.

The practice of fermentation involves collaboration with invisible forces. When you stir your mead or sourdough over several days to incorporate wild yeasts into it, it is largely an act of faith. …. Tuning in to the importance of microbial life and learning to work with it increases reverence for life in general, invisible forces in our lives, and the dynamics of transformation.

– Sandor Katz, interview with The Jew and the Carrot

Bread and wine are the only foods that have their own bracha, and both rely on fermentation. What do you think of Sandor’s almost magical take on fermentation?

For more on local food, see 7.3

Different kinds of yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) Natural leaven (starter): fermented flour and water. A variety of yeast spores from the flour and the air feed on the mixture; little air bubbles let you know the yeast is active. Will vary with location.

Commercial yeast (wet cakes or dry pellets): an artificiallyproduced strain of yeast, which is always identical, that was first developed by the HungarianAmerican Jew Heinrich Fleishmann in the 1870s.

Food for Thought: • Do you rid your house of chametz on Passover? What is the experience like for you? If you keep a sourdough starter all year, does this affect your experience (or if you don’t, how do you think it might?)

• How does Sandor’s understanding of yeast as part of an ecosystem affect your experience of eating bread? How does it change your notion of not eating bread for eight days on Passover?

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

Food for Thought © 43

4.3 Matzah Handbaked shmurah matzah has its own peculiar beauty. Each year, as the centerpiece of countless seder tables around the world, it sits upon the table, surrounded by families in their Pesach finest, a sense of expectation in the air, the children excited, the wine being poured. We know the essential story: that matzah is the bread of affliction, that it’s the simplest bread one can eat - just flour and water - and that it symbolizes the oppression of the children of Israel in Mitzrayim (Egypt). But is there a deeper significance to matzah? We know that Pesach is the festival of freedom - but how does matzah lead us to freedom?

The Mitzvah of Matzah Why do we eat matzah, according to this text?

What is the relationship between food choices and community? Are there contemporary instances in which chosing to eat or not eat something causes you to be cut off from the community?

You shall celebrate a sacred occasion on the first day, and a sacred occasion on the seventh day; no work at all shall be done on them; only what every person is to eat, that alone may be prepared for you. 17 You shall observe the [Feast of ] Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your ranks out of the land of Egypt; you shall observe this day throughout the ages as an institution for all time. 18 In the first month, from the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. 19 No leaven shall be found in your houses for seven days. For whoever eats what is leavened, that person shall be cut off from the community of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a citizen of the country. 20 You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your settlements you shall eat unleavened bread.

16

– Exodus 12:16-20

Obstacles to perfect service “Se’or she-ba-’isa” means “the yeast in the dough”, but it is a euphemism for arrogance or “puffed-up-ness”.

Which unhealthy habits would you like to liberate yourself from?

Rabbi Alexandri used to add the following on concluding his prayer: “Sovereign of the Universe, it is known full well to You that our will is to perform Your will, and what prevents us?

Se’or she-ba-’isa [the yeast in the dough] and the subjection to the foreign kings.

May it be Your will to deliver us from their hand, so that we may return to perform the statutes of Your will with a perfect heart!”

– Talmud Bavli, Masekhet Brachot 17a

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

44 Food for Thought ©

s u q u z sp ~ r j n s ~ z n r s u q u r u p r p nj z sp ~ r j n n n z j u q j o ~or p z l~ ~q p r p{ or ~s r ~ r j : p r p{ or s u q j ~ u z p p r j pu q s u q p p u j u n s u q u q ~p p u j q zj u n r j n p ~p o p o s ~ j n ~p ~ n o s uq t p so s j pu q s u q ~p p u j q zj u z sp q s r{ r r ru j ~q u j s ~ z n ru : r s r ~p r s q s u q j u p p ru u ~s rn q j z n : p r ru z sp q n { j p j o s~ r u u n p o u r u j ~ o nr u ~s s~ { j q l o ~ n q z p p u q r j j n j p p j q r u : p ~r r jq ~p j u o u qu ~o r n {j p so z j s s u j u o ~s ~s p p j q : s u q j u u ~s

Bread & Civilization Bread and matzah: thoughts about radical freedom Bread and matzah are essentially the same thing: flour and water. But bread is fluffier and more substantial. Matzah, by contrast, is the simplest combination of flour and water that exists. Everyone knows that Jews eat matzah on Pesach, and everyone knows that matzah is unleavened bread. But despite the fact that we know this we too easily forget the elemental symbolism involved in the move from bread to matzah (and back again).

Matzah is a symbol of freedom. Although we are forbidden to eat chametz through the length of Pesach, in fact we are only obligated to eat matzah on the first day of Pesach. The first day, when we hold a seder and once again leave Mitzrayim, we leave the narrow places, leave slavery. On the first night of Pesach, when we are obligated to eat matzah, we are radically free.

How do we get there, and where does the matzah take us? Matzah teaches us that to be free you need to get rid of stuff, jettison the superfluous and focus on the essential. Not just literal chametz in the kitchen but physical chametz in our closets, and sometimes too the existential chametz in our heads. And to become free we have a four-week process that’s inaugurated by Purim, the day whem we wear masks and get drunk and turn our world upside down. The period between Purim and Pesach is a time to scour the kitchen. To get rid of bread crumbs, literal chametz. But it’s also a time to begin to get rid of junk food. Stop buying soda. Focus on food that nourishes you rather than food that doesn’t. And time to clean your closet and give things you don’t wear to Goodwill. In preparation for the holiday of matzah, the holiday of radical freedom, we have four weeks to think about what’s really important in our life and what is not, and to begin to lighten our load.

When you eat matzah at a seder, it is not an end but rather a mid-point in a longer cycle that stretches from Purim to Shavuot. The four weeks leading up to Pesach are four weeks to lighten our load. The day after Pesach, we start to count the omer.

Counting the Omer is rooted in food: Passover was the barley harvest, Shavuot the wheat harvest, but today it’s also a 49-day count, in which, if we chose to, we meditate on the difference between freedom from and freedom to.

New yeast for new grain The two most common grains for making bread in ancient Israel were barley and wheat.

We know that Pesach coincides with the barley harvest from the passage in Exodus describing the damage of the plague of hail: “Now the flax and barley were

ruined, for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud; but the wheat and the emmer were not hurt, for they ripen late.”

– Exodus 9:31-32 A new crop of barley was therefore ripe at the time of Pesach (the wheat harvest was celebrated seven weeks later, at Shavuot, after the period of counting the Omer). To celebrate this new crop, all of last year’s grain was discarded – including the bit of flour and water that contained the yeast for leavening bread.

Eating matzah on Pesach reminds us of all the things we want to be free from: oppresion, slavery, stuff. But we don’t eat matzah year-round because freedom doesn’t only mean getting rid of superfluity, it means making choices about how to engage with abundance and choice. Shavuot, the time of the giving of the Torah, represents our freedom to limit our choices, freedom to restrain ourselves, freedom to self-obligate. Freedom to eat bread, and to choose how to enjoy the abundance and choices available to us. And that’s why I love not only the seder, but also the entire season from Purim to Shavuot.

In contrast to the worldwide and millennia-old tradition of keeping yeast, where breadstarter represents the promise of tomorrow’s risen loaf, the tradition of removing all leavening from the house once a year for a week-long yeast-free spell at Pesach is, in a sense, an exercise of faith: at Pesach we notice the miracle of the harvest and the miracle of yeast, and we trust that, indeed, the bread will rise again.

- Nigel Savage

– Anna Hanau

Food for Thought: • What is your earliest memory of eating matzah?

• Which elements of the Pesach story resonate most deeply with you? When someone says that a particular food “symbolizes” something, how do you understand that? How does learning about a particular food influence our experience of it?

• How is eating matzah on seder night different from eating it during the rest of Pesach? And how is eating it during Pesach, different from eating it at any other JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

time of the year?

Food for Thought © 45

4.4 Bread and technology With advancements in food technology, it is easier to feed ourselves than ever before. And bringing up the question is not a question of nostalgic hearkening back to the “good old days” where Mother spent twelve hours a day grinding, kneading, baking, cleaning. Prepared and processed foods are easier to cook, easier to eat quickly, and they allow us to focus our attention on other things besides feeding ourselves —which could mean more time spent at work, or with our families, or at any number of other interesting, worthwhile or important things to do. But we wonder: what does it mean when the mechanisms of food technology become unknown to us? How is knowing how to cook—and in this case, specifically how to bake bread—an important element in the human experience?

By the sweat of your brow Do you think that it should be easy to feed ourselves?

To Adam God said, “Because you did as your wife said and ate of the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ Cursed be the ground because of you; By toil shall you eat of it all the days of your life: 18 Thorns and thistles shall it sprout for you. But your food shall be the grasses of the field; 19 By the sweat of your brow shall you get bread to eat, until you return to the ground — for from it you were taken. For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.”

17

– Genesis 3:17-19

Ein kemach, ein torah “Where there is no flour...”

For the rest of the text, see 1.1

“Where there is no flour, there is no Torah; [where there is no Torah, there is no flour.]”

(Pirkei Avot 3:21) Flour comes from grinding wheat, which the Ultimate Wisdom made for this purpose. Through this, man is distinguished from the rest of the animals, as the Talmud states:

“Thorns and thistles...” Genesis 3:18; see above

How does the Meiri understand the relationship between people making bread and our ability to receive the Torah (i.e., to enter into divine covenant and become a people)?

“At the time the Holy One, Blessed is He, told Adam, ‘It will bring forth thorns and thistles...’ tears formed in (Adam’s) eyes. He said before Him, ‘Master of the Universe! Will I and my donkey eat from the same trough?!’” (Pesachim 118a) What this means is, had it not been that his food was ground finely, he would not have been able to receive the wholeness of the Torah.

– Meiri on Pirke Avot 3:21

Bread & Civilization We say ‘Blessed be Thou, O Eternal our God, Ruler of the Universe, who brings forth bread from the earth.’ Empirically speaking, would it not be more correct to give credit to the farmer, the merchant and the baker? [Rather] we bless God who makes possible both nature and civilization.

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

46 Food for Thought ©

– Abraham Joshua Heschel, God in Search of Man

Bread & Civilization Work of God vs. Work of Man? It happened that Turnus Rufus the Wicked asked Rabbi Akiva: “Which are greater – the works of God or the works of man?” Rabbi Akiva brought before him stalks of wheat and loaves of bread.

“These are the works of God, and these are the works of man,” Rabbi Akiva said to him, “Aren’t these (loaves) greater than the stalks of wheat?!”

How do you understand the midrash and the passage from Heschel in relation to each other? How do learning both of these texts together influence the nature of “saying motzi”?

– Midrash Tanchuma 19:3

The Transfiguration of Bread Bread was the issue over which we children voiced our new-found shame. Ours was home-baked, using wheat raised and ground on the farm, leavened with homecultured yeast, and sweetened with honey made by the bees we kept at the bottom of our garden. It was fabulous bread; almost every year it won my mother a purple ribbon a the Chippewa County fair. The slicing of the first loaf in a new batch, still steaming, its sweet, nutty aroma filling the kitchen, was one of the sacred rituals of our household.

But my sisters and I, driven by the collapse of rural society out of our local school and into the consolidated town school, had tasted the allure of a new world. We had acquired the preference of the age for anything manufactured over anything homemade. We suddenly coveted boughten bread, contrived from flour so denuded of its essence that its only nutrients came from artificial additives. We were no longer content to eat hick bread. "Wonder Bread builds strong bodies seven ways," we said, proud of our familiarity with modern advertising slogans. We yammered and complained, I am ashamed to confess, until Mother finally gave up baking bread, and we began to eat, like modern folk, a factory substitute.

In this passage, Gruchow sees the evolution of the bread that his family ate as a metaphor for its wider relationship to technology and society, and also, in a sense, to his family’s “soul.”

How has your relationship to bread changed over time? In what ways are the different breads you have chosen to eat metaphors for other changes in your life?

The real poverty that we then experienced, but did not recognize, characterizes the impoverishment that befell every aspect of rural culture with the industrialization of farming. Not only our palates suffered, not only our bodies, deprived of wholesome bread, but our very souls. Our souls depended in ways we had not anticipated upon the sanctity of the labors that brought bread to our table. We lost the ceremony and artfulness, in which every member of the family had some vital role, that once attended the eating of the grain: the planting and tilling, the harvesting and winnowing, the grinding and mixing, the miracle of its rising, the mystery of the transforming fire, the sacrament of the first loaf. Making bread was a critical element in the purpose of our lives, and one of the ways by which we were literally joined to the land. It was at the center of our culture, a civilizing force.

– Paul Gruchow, Grass Roots: The Universe of Home

Food for Thought: • “By the sweat of your brow” also suggests that our relationship to the land will be defined by the physical labor necessary to feed ourselves. How does our relationship to the land change when we no longer have to work very hard (if at all) to feed ourselves?

• Do you feel that baking bread should be an essential human skill (like tying a square knot)? Or better left to the experts?

• What do you make of the relationship between people, God and bread suggested by Midrash Tanchuma and A. J. Heschel?

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

Food for Thought © 47

4.5 Baking your own There is something deeply satisfying about baking your own bread. Once the mainstay of every household, it has in our culture become somewhat superficial: a lot of work, and why bother when there is so much good bread available to purchase? We’re great fans of bread baking, and couldn’t resist including these few testimonials about the experience of breadbaking, and a challah recipe to get you started...

A taste of ancient bread How is eating and cooking outdoors different from eating and cooking indoors?

“I went hiking with Bedouin guides behind Santa Katerina, in southern Sinai. We took very little food with us, but one of the things we took was flour, and some salt.

And in the evening we took water from a natural spring, some zatar that we picked, mixed it, rolled it, and simply baked it on an open fire. The bread we cooked was something like a cross between matzah, pita and pizza dough; fresh and crackly, thinner than a doughy modern bread. And in this place, with no electricity, no roads, no light pollution, it felt like we were eating 3,000-year-old bread. It was amazing.”

– Nigel Savage

Thoughts from a weekly challah baker Nigel and Phyllis taught a session on challah baking at LimmudNY in 2006. Nigel explained to the group: “Normally one decides in advance to teach for exactly 20 minutes or 40 minutes or whatever; but in this case, I’m going to teach… until the dough rises.”

I bake challah every Friday, with very rare exceptions. Baking challah has become an integral part of our family’s Shabbat. Perhaps it was the Wonder Bread consistency of store-bought challah that made me a challah baker. Perhaps it was a bit of the convert’s zeal. In the small town where I grew up, challah was not a part of my consciousness. I think I first learned about it from a menu describing challah french toast, and I wondered how to pronounce the “ch.”

Now, after 10 years, challah feels a part of my bones. I have made nearly every mistake imaginable in its preparation. I forgot the yeast, the sugar, or the oil. Cooked it too little, or nearly burnt it to a crisp. Tried all whole wheat, half whole wheat, and finally just 1/4 cup spelt flour. Tried the KitchenAid mixer, but went back to the whisk, wooden spoon and large 1930’s mixing bowl. The electric mixer didn’t give me enough tactile feedback.

I mix the dough in under 10 minutes. I get grumpy if every required utensil or ingredient is not in its exact place. My mis en place for the dough mixing has approached compulsive perfection. When I’m in the challah-baking zone, mixing the dough feels like a dance. This is true for both kitchens where I live and bake (NYC and Fire Island). When in a foreign kitchen, I relish the challenge of throwing together the dough with whatever implements are available. I once baked challah on a remote island in the Bahamas. That was where I discovered I had memorized the recipe.

Despite all this practice, I probably am only truly satisfied with my challah about one time in five. Partly due to my perfectionism, which in turn leads me to constantly try and improve the recipe. And partly due to the wonderful way that life is always changing. The ambient temperature, the humidity, the freshness of the eggs, or the oven’s temperament. So many factors are different each time. It’s what keeps it fun.

And challenging. And inspiring. Like life.

– Dr. Phyllis Bieri

Make time It does not cost much... it leaves you filled with peace, and the house filled with one of the world’s sweetest smells. But it takes a lot of time. If you can find that, the rest is easy. And if you cannot find it, make it, for probably there is no chiropractic treatment, no yoga exercise, no hour of meditation in a music throbbing chapel that will leave you emptier of bad thoughts than this homely ceremony of baking bread.

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

48 Food for Thought ©

– MFK Fisher, The Art of Eating

Bread & Civilization Anna’s whole wheat challah 1 tbsp yeast 1 tsp sugar ⅓ cup warm water ⅓ cup oil ⅓ cup honey 4 eggs, + 1 for glaze, beaten 2 tsp salt ½ cup water 3 cups whole wheat flour 4 cups white flour ½ cup wheat germ Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine oil, honey, eggs, salt and water. Add yeast when it’s ready.

Add wheat germ and whole wheat flour. The mixture will still be pretty wet. Add a cup or two of the white flour, until you can’t stir the dough anymore; turn out onto a floured surface and knead the rest of the flour in by hand. Knead for about 10 minutes more on a lightly floured surface. Dough should be elastic, smooth, and not too dry or too sticky.

Scrape out the bowl and pour in a small amount of oil. Use the dough to mush the oil all around the sides of the bowl, and all over the surface of the dough. Cover the bowl with a towel and let it sit in a warm place for 2-3 hours, or until the dough has risen to the top of your bowl.

Punch down the dough. Divide it in half. Divide each section into four pieces. If you like, flatten out the sections, sprinkle raisins, apricots or nuts on them, and then roll them up (this keeps the pieces on the inside of the loaf, so they don’t burn).

Braiding instructions are in the next column.

Let the braided loaf sit, covered, for 30-60 minutes. Bake at 375F about 30 minutes.

After 20 minutes, paint the top of the loaf with beaten egg (you can add some honey too, for a sweet loaf ). Your challah is done when the top is dark brown, and the bottom sounds hollow when tapped.

Variation: Use your own yeast!

You can replace the commercial yeast with your own starter, or natural leaven, in any recipe. Generally, about 1-1½ cups of starter equals a tablespoon (or packet) of commercial yeast. Adjust your recipe accordingly: if you add a cup of starter, that’s about a half cup each of flour and water, so you’ll need to add less of those ingredients to your dough. You may also want to let the dough rise a little longer. Results will vary, but will quite likely be delightful!

This recipe is from my grandmother, and my mother. All of us use it, none of us makes the same kind of challah. Perhaps this is because the bread we bake is an extension of our personalities (Julie Seltzer, the baker at Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, once said she’s noticed that people tend to make challah shaped like their own body.) Or it might be because I don’t really measure, and I don’t think they do either — after you bake it a few times, you get a feel for it, you start to remember what feels right.

My favorite braid is a four-strand technique that I learned from Ruhi Rubenstein, whose parents run the Bread and Torah project of Temple Sinai in Saratoga Springs. You can use the same technique for 6 or 8 strands, too!

A B

C D

Pinch your four strands together at one end. The letters refer to the placement of the strands, not the strands themselves. So when you move A to D (the first step in this braid), what used to be strand D becomes C; C becomes B; and B becomes A. First step: - Move strand A to D Then repeat this 4-part pattern: - Move strand C to A - Move strand D to C - Move strand B to D - Move strand A to B For an illustrated version of this braid, as well as several other stunning ways to braid challah, see Maggie Glezer’s A Blessing of Bread or The Hallah Book by Freda Reider.

Food for Thought: • Have you ever made your own bread, and/or do you make it regularly? If so, what was your experience? If you’ve never made bread, what do you think the experience would be like?

• Why is homemade challah so much more exciting than store-bought challah?

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

Food for Thought © 49

4.6 Challah for Hunger In 2004, Eli Winkelman started baking challah. When she realized that people loved the bread, and wanted to learn how to make it, she got the idea that she could bake it in bulk and raise money for charity simultaneously. Her project, Challah for Hunger, began at Scripps College and by late 2007 had raised more than $35,000 for refugees from Darfur. If you’d like to bake challah and help people in need, be in touch.

Why Challah for Hunger?

How it works Participants volunteer their time to bake challah on campus kitchens. Loaves are sold to students, faculty and staff, and community members.

People often ask me, “Challah, Darfur? What’s the connection?” I used to think that there was no connection, that we were doing something good and challah was just the tool.

The truth is that it was an accident that we ended up selling challah for Darfur. But it turns out to have been an accident that makes sense: In Jewish tradition, we have the concept of tzedakah. According to the orthodox Chief Rabbi of England, Sir Jonathan Sacks, “It is difficult to translate tzedakah because it combines in a single word two notions normally opposed to one another, namely charity and justice.” Tzedakah, in the time of the Torah, was a concept enacted through food. During the harvest, if one missed some stalks of wheat or dropped them on the ground, they were to be left there, for those who needed to gather. At the same time, the corners of the fields were also reserved for the poor. Of course, I don’t harvest my own food; I don’t have fields. My obligation to social justice has to take another form besides setting aside portions of my harvest.

Bread has significance in Judaism, because it symbolizes the relationship between humanity and a higher power. With the science we have today, the availability of our food is not as fickle as in times past: in the past, and today in many places, if something went wrong with your field, if the rains didn’t fall and then cease at the right times, if the seeds didn’t sprout for whatever reason, if a pest descended on your crops, it was all over. Truly, the ability to make bread comes only with great blessing.

I have been more than sufficiently blessed in my life. Besides everything else that I have, I have the time and ability to bake bread. By making challah, and thinking about it, I am acknowledging how lucky I am, to have my wonderful family and friends, to have the opportunities of education, to have been born today and in a place a freedom, instead of in Germany in the ’30s or today in Darfur. And by using that challah to help feed people in Darfur and alert people here about their situation, I am beginning to fulfill my obligation of tzedakah.

According to Rabbi Sacks, “What tzedakah signifies is what is often called ‘social justice,’ meaning that no one should be without the basic requirements of existence, and that those who have more than they need must share some of that surplus with those who have less.” Now I understand. The connection between challah and Darfur is this: I have food to eat. Finding sustenance is neither a challenge nor a danger. I have time to make food. I am safe. For many people in the world, none of this is true.

I have been blessed with more; they have less. I will share; I am obligated to share.

-Eli Winkelman, Fall 2006

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

50 Food for Thought ©

Bread & Civilization

Advocacy Challah for Hunger offers customers a discount in exchange for an Act of Advocacy —a letter or phone call to an elected official or media outlet about Darfur and other issues. Challah for Hunger provides advocacy materials, making it easy for people to speak up.

Dear Challah for Hunger,

“If every member of the House and Senate had received 100 letters from people back home saying we have to do something about Rwanda, when the crisis was first developing, then I think the response would have been different.”

–Senator Paul Simon

I am the Country Representative for the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Sudan.

The money that you have raised makes a huge difference to the lives of people in Darfur. With this money we are able to provide child friendly spaces for the displaced children and youth and Darfur. This type of project is critical so that children can have a safe space to play and learn and this is essential in the normalization process, and to counteract any potential long-term psychological damage from the conflict.

Other projects that IRC funds in Darfur are a health program, water and sanitation program, protection and Rule of Law and a gender-based violence program to help women and girls. IRC has a drop-in center in the displaced persons camps which provides a refuge for the women in the midst of the chaos of war. IRC provides medical and psychological assistance to the survivors of sexual and gender-based violence.

Challah for Hunger chapters donate half of their profits to Challah for Hunger’s national cause, currently the American Jewish World Service (AJWS) Sudan Relief and Advocacy Fund. The remainder of each chapter’s profits is donated to an aid organization determined by the chapter.

IRC receives critical funding from the AJWS to help the people of Darfur and the funds that you raise help these people directly.

On behalf of IRC and the clients that we serve in Darfur, I would like to thank you for your commitment and contribution to the humanitarian efforts in Sudan. You are making an essential difference in people’s lives.

Thanks.

– International Aid Worker

Start your own chapter!

• Interested in starting a Challah for Hunger chapter on your campus or in your community? What you’ll need: A kitchen, volunteers, and determination.

• What Challah for Hunger provides: Start-up and ongoing support, advocacy information, networking opportunities, graphics, recipes, seed money, and, of course, our good name.

• For more information, contact Eli Winkelman at eli@challahforhunger.org or visit www.challahforhunger.org.

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

Food for Thought © 51

“If I had my life to live over I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained, or the sofa faded.”

– Erma Bombeck

Chapter 5

Eating Together Much of our experience of eating happens in community and much of our understanding of family and friendships evolves through eating together. There are regular rituals (the Sunday brunch, the business lunch, the Shabbat table) and also once-a-year special occasions (the Purim se’udah, Pesach seder, the meals before and after Yom Kippur, Thanksgiving).

Eating with others is an essential human

pastime, often improving the quality of both the food and the company. And for Jews, it’s famously an element of our religious observance: “They tried to kill us, we won, let’s eat!”

If you think of the best meal of your life—chances are you weren’t eating alone. Why is it that our relationships are so “A small house can hold a hundred friends.”

– African proverb

often grounded in the sharing of food? How does Jewish tradition encourage us to eat with others, and why?

5.1 Abraham, Isaac and Jacob: what’s for dinner?

Different kinds of meals are appropriate for different kinds of relationships. You might not conduct business over a candlelit dinner. If you were making dinner for a date, you might not make scrambled eggs…but then again, you might. These three dinners that our patriarchs (and matriarchs) prepared span a wide range of emotions and situations.

They have in common that moral, emotional and familial aspects of eating are often profoundly intertwined.

Abraham feeds the angels Tradition teaches that the three men were angels on their way to tell Abraham and Sarah that they would have a child. Rashi and Rambam understand that Abraham abandons God (who had just appeared to him in v.1) in order to tend to his visitors. What are the implications of this radical idea?

See 5.3

“Say little, do much” − Pirkei Avot 1:15

God appeared to Abraham by the terebinths of Mamre; he was sitting at the entrance of the tent as the day grew hot. 2 Looking up, he saw three men standing near him. As soon as he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them and, bowing to the ground, 3 he said, “My lords, if it please you, do not go on past your servant. 4 Let a little water be brought; bathe your feet and recline under the tree. 5 And let me fetch a loaf of bread that you may refresh yourselves; then go on—seeing that you have come your servant’s way.” They replied, “Do as you have said.”

1

Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Quick, three seahs of choice flour! Knead and make cakes!”

7 Then Abraham ran to the herd, took a calf, tender and choice, and gave it to a servant-boy, who hastened to prepare it.

Why do you think the tradition of feeding traveling strangers was so strong in the Middle East?

6

Notice: Abraham serves milk and meat at the same meal.

One rabbinic understanding is that this scene precedes the giving of the Torah. How does noticing this conflict with traditional kashrut influence your understanding of Abraham and Sarah as the first Jewish people in history?

8

He took curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared and set these before them; and he waited on them under the tree as they ate.

– Genesis 18:1-8

Isaac orders dinner How might the giving of the birthright have been different if there was no meal involved?

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

54 Food for Thought ©

When Isaac was old and his eyes were too dim to see, he called his older son Esau and said to him, “My son.” He answered, “Here I am.” 2 And he said, “I am old now, and I do not know how soon I may die. 3 Take your gear, your quiver and bow, and go out into the open and hunt me some game. 4 Then prepare a dish for me such as I like, and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my innermost blessing before I die.”

1

Eating Together Rebekah had been listening as Isaac spoke to his son Esau. When Esau had gone out into the open to hunt game to bring home, 6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “I overheard your father speaking to your brother Esau, saying, 7 ‘Bring me some game and prepare a dish for me to eat, that I may bless you, with the God’s approval, before I die.’

5

What is the relationship between the process of preparing food & offering it to someone, and receiving covenental blessing in the story of Isaac, Jacob and Esau?

Now, my son, listen carefully as I instruct you. 9 Go to the flock and fetch me two choice goats, and I will make of them a dish for your father, such as he likes. 10 Then take it to your father to eat, in order that he may bless you before he dies.”

8

– Genesis 27:1-10

Jacob makes a stew Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the open, famished.

30 And Esau said to Jacob, “Give me some of that red stuff to gulp down, for I am famished”—which is why he was named Edom. 31 Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright.” 32 And Esau said, “I am at the point of death, so of what use is my birthright to me?” 33 But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 Jacob then gave Esau bread and lentil stew; and he ate, and he drank, and he rose and he went away. Thus Esau spurned the birthright.

29

The only string of five consecutive verbs in the Torah occurs in this passage. What do you think this conveys?

How do you think hunting for game influences one’s relationship to the world? For more on hunting, see 8.6 Rashi says that Jacob was cooking a stew because he was mourning his grandfather Abraham’s death; see 5.4

– Genesis 25:29-34

Food for Thought: • What does the food served represent in these stories?

• What goes through your mind when you are planning a meal for other people, or planning to eat a meal served by someone else?

• Have you ever fed a stranger? Have you ever fed a poor stranger? Have you ever fed either of these in your home?

• These stories reflect the biblical agrarian world of 3,000 years ago. How are they similar and how are they different from our world? What observations would you make about gender roles in these stories?

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

Food for Thought © 55

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So he And Esau "Iame hright."

And Esau said, "I, sƒŒ,‚ st sellJacob me your birthright."

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u j ˜ ~ p ‹ sƒ‡ q‰ ‚ – j Œ n : s • l�q ‡ , – pŒ~s ‡ ƒ q u u u . ‹ sƒ k~ , sƒŒ — z j ~ – r • r � ;‡‰s.n ‹Ž~r sƒ ,k~‘o‡,�r sƒŒ—z j ~–r •r � o‰u Š�q ;‡‰sn Ž~r ,‘o‡�r , ˆ j –s r ‰

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Thus didswore Esau spurn the And said, said, "First me 30and u‡ƒqr‚u Š‹sEsau ‡~p‰un "Iƒ— ‚pr{ u „�o q‚and  ~ r one  of r‚�r �~ƒ‚ Œ n most ‡"InŽ constant o†‡�n Šƒjq o‰q‚Š�q suggestions , swith • said, l�qbirthright." ‡Š –‡‹spŒ~s .~ ‘or ‡–sthe jƒŽn ‚p u ,~r sau bread lentil stew; he ate and drank, and wear to me first."

Sostuff he tradition to suggest that we should eatyour others; for improving But Jacob said, "Swear to me first."

So he swore 31 And Esau said to Jacob, amished. , s • l�q – pŒ~s ‡ ƒ q . ‚ r ‰

u j ‡ Š „ ‚ Œ r rŠ jƒ u u j r u u u r u u u j u u sƒ‡birthright q‰~p�o ‡Š‹–n sƒ‡‚ �r j ƒq — rz r ‰ ‚j Šn nŒn :, sˆ•˜j l�q–s‡r ‰, ˜;Ž˜ƒŒ pso ƒq oŠ–;sƒ‚pŒ~s sƒŠ‡use ,‰su ‡n �ƒq,Žˆ~q r ‡˜ —n ,n ‹ 34why ed"—which isthe he of was named Edom. am ataway. point death, so at of;the what is‡death, my am point of what to 34 u pŒ~s u ‡ƒq ‹ sƒ‡u q‰ ‚–r ‰j Œn : s• l�q‡ ,– pŒ~su‡ƒq u ~‚ ˜ƒŒ rŠ use ˆJacob oŠ sƒ‚ ‰s n Ž~r birthright ‚o n u –s,ƒ‰of — r{ Œnj � o ‡to Šrzis nj ‚o–s‡Žr ƒu q ‰my u then u u j ˜ q‰ ‚ – – pŒ~s u j ˜ ~ p rŠ ˆ ‚ , ƒ — { r ‡ ‡ and went Thus did Esau then ht to Jacob.

Jacob nd sold hisstuff birthright to Jacob.

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Butbirthright."

Jacob said, "Swear to me first." he swore me?"

And Esau said, "I ‡‰ irst sell me 25:29 34 But Jacob said, 31 and u‡k~ ƒq�˜r � rr‰ j — ˜pŠ‹s~ p ,families j jto ;me � rz u jƒ ‡ƒq. s ht. j ‹•oŠhe he ateyour and drank, andateme?" ƒ — {r ,�•o ‡Œn Š q sƒŠ ŽpŒ~s sŒ,r ;ufirst." •˜ƒŒ l�qu jƒ .‡‚ l�q,sƒ‚‡‡q‰u ŠŠn ‡j ‡swore ,Žu „sƒ˜ –s‚o u rjz n u jƒ ‚,n ƒ—r{ ;�˜ƒŒ ustew; bread and lentil stew; he and drank, and 34– pŒ~su ‡ƒq ‹.p… Jacob h is why he was named Edom.

34 , s • l�q ‡ ‚ –s r ‰ u j Š n ‚p „ ‚ rŠ u u rŠ ˆ ‰s n ~ r Ž ‚ o –u pŒ~s ‡j ƒq oŠ‡sƒ‚ Šn ‡‰sn Ž~r ‚oŽu ‚n ,ƒ—r{ �o – pŒ~su‡ƒq ‡Šn u r rŠ uˆ , s l�q ‡ – ‡ ƒ q –s r ‰

u j ‚p ‚ Œ r rŠ u Jacob then to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. he point of death, so of what use is my birthright to to him, and sold his.‹ birthright 32 j –s—zrj ‰to u j Jacob. ˜r •r ~p � ‹o‰u Š sƒ‡u � q‰q ‚Jacob –‰sr n ‰Žj Œ n ,:then s‡• l�q‡ ,– pŒ~su ‡ƒq sƒ k~‹,j ˆ,p…˜ sƒŒ ~ – ; ‡ ~ r ‘o � r is 34 us did Esau spurn the nd25:29 went away.

Thus did Esau spurn the And Esau said, "I me your birthright." pŠ , ƒ — { r � o Š j � ˜r q Ž s • l�q ‡ jƒ . s • l�q ‡ Š j , sƒ˜ –s r ‰

u j u u u u gave Esau bread and lentil stew; he ate and drank, and But Jacob said, "Swear to me first."

So he swore ; ˆ qŠo ‡ ƒ q ‹ •r r ‡ ƒ q , ˜ j —o z j ‡ ƒ q Š q‰~s ‡ ƒ q , ‹‡ — z n  r l�  ‡n „ jŽƒ u u gave Esau bread and lentil stew; he ate and drank, and u‡r ƒq j .u—rz‚u ‚–sn r ‰ u j ,‡Šn ‚p,u „ s‚•Œr l�qu ‡rŠ –jƒ pŒ~su‡ƒq .‚–sr ‰ u j ,‡Šn ‚pu „ ‚Œr u rŠ jƒ un ‚sƒŠ�r , � q‰u j u ‡ƒŠ j —rz u q ‚—n n ƒq, s,‹• sƒ‡u l�q‡q‰u –‡Šun pŒ~s p –sto‰u Œnj u‡ƒq ; sƒŠ ,� q —n rz u u‡ƒq ~p ,‹–s‰sƒ‡u u Œn 34 ˜~ f death, whatwent usetoaway. isJacob. my birthright ;~p˜ƒŒ rŠq‰ ˆq j ‚;oŠ–Esau n :Ž s ~rz r u •u‡‚o ‚n ,–the ,ƒpŒ~s —r{ �ou ‡ƒq –‚� pŒ~s‡ƒq ‡Šn u u sƒ‡u did ,spurn ˆr ˜away. j –sr ‰ u j ˜˜Thus r ƒq‰sƒ‚j ,Œ˜ n ‡j ‰s—o l�qŽ‡uq‰~s j‹ he so rose and Thus didand Esau the Jacob then and sold hisofbirthright he rose went spurn u u u ; ˆ qŠo ‡ ƒ q ‹ •r r ‡ z j ‡ ƒ q Š ‡ ƒ q , ‹‡ — z n   ‡n u sb25:29 34 –s r ‰–s‡ jƒ ~l�qp sƒŠ‡Š,j ƒ,— {r sƒ˜ �rq o l�—n ƒu j„q,‹jŽƒu sƒ‡u ˜ .‰‚•~ uuj Œn q‚j su‡˜ "Swear to me first."heSo heand swore ‹ p… pŠ , ƒ — { r � o Š j � ˜r q Ž s • l�q ‡ jƒ . s • l�q ‡ Š j , sƒ˜ –s r

u j q‰u ~ ‡p Šun –s‚‰u �rŒnj j u‡— ˜ p ‰ ƒ q ; � ‡p nƒŒ q u‡ ƒq rz u ;‚n sƒŠ ,� q —n rz u u‡ƒq ,‹ sƒ‡u q‰u ‡Šun ‚�r j —rz u ‚n ‹ p… pŠ , ƒ — { r � o Š j � ˜r q Ž s l�q . • , –srz „u ‚ r u‰ j sausaid, bread and lentil stew; ate drank, and birthright. birthright.

34 u u , s • l�q ‡ – pŒ~s ‡ ƒ q . ‚ –s r ‰

u j , ‡ Š n ‚p „ r u u u ; ˜ƒŒ rŠ ˆ oŠ sƒ‚ ‡ ‰s n Ž ~ r ‚o Ž ‚ n , ƒ — { r � o – pŒ~s ‡ ƒ q ‡ Š n u then his to Jacob. u‡rŠƒq jƒ ‚ –s r ˜ ~ p , ƒ — { r � o „ p n . ‰

u j q‚ j;ˆ the Genesis 25:29 andbirthright went away.

Thus34 didJacob EsauGenesis spurn 25:29 34 j ‹•rr u‡ƒq ,˜uj —oz j u‡ƒq Š ;q‰~s ‹‡ —z nu  r l�uj  ‡n ‹z j ,u‡p…„�ƒq jŽƒpŠu Š ,rz q‰~s ƒ—{r ƒq u‡�,o ƒq ‹Š,j ‹‡ �˜r— q z n Ž r sl�• ‡n l�q‡„jƒjŽƒ. s•‹ l�qp…‡pŠŠj ,,ƒ— sƒ˜ {r �–so rŠ‰j �u j ˜rq Ž s• l�q‡ jƒ . s• l�q‡Šj , sƒ˜–sr ‰ u j ˆ‡ ~qŠo–pu‡uƒ‡q ƒpŒ~s q ,‹ d and lentil stew; he ate and drank, andqŠou‡ƒq Zimun uŒn –s ‰u •r , s• l�q˜ ‡r jƒq ‡u‡ƒqƒq .,‚;˜–ssƒŠ r —o ‰ u j ,q ‡—n Šu n u‡‚p u „ ‚sƒ‡uŒr u q‰u rŠ‡jƒŠun ‚�r j —rz uu ‚n ht. gt away. alone,Thus eating together j j u •rr u‡„ƒq jŽƒu,˜uj —oz j u‡ƒq Š q‰~su‡ƒq ,‹‡—z n  r l�  ‡n„ jŽƒu Esau spurn the u‡ƒq qŠou‡ƒ u {r �o „ .p nu;‚ˆ .‚–sr ‰ u j q‚ ˜~p ,ƒ— r su‡ƒq • Š„ –s uj —oz jj {r u‡� sis 25:29 34 If did p rz,u ˜ p nq‰~s three people eat together, you l�qun q ‡u j ‹ jƒ q‚•r l�qLeader: ,ƒoq sƒ˜ ru‡‰ƒq ‡u j ƒq ,‹‡;ˆ—z n qŠo ‡r ƒq l�‹ ‡n u j u‡ƒq �˜r ‚ �.r ˜ j ~ — ‚,n‡ƒŠ— ˜~p –s‰u Œnj u‡‹ƒq ;p…sƒŠpŠ ,ƒ�—{r q �o—n rz Š ,q ‹Ž sƒ‡ sq‰u –s•r ‡‰Š ng alone, eating together say zimun at the start of the Birkat check english ShD‰C I *$ S JO[OW –sr ‰ u j q‚ ˜let ~p ,us ƒ—{r bless. �o „ p nu‡ƒq .‚Friends j q ‹•rr u‡ƒq ,˜uj —oz j 2} .‚–sr ‰ u j q‚ ˜~p ,ƒ—{r �o „ p nu‡ƒq 34 ‹ p… pŠ ,ƒ—{r �o Šj ;�ˆ˜rq qŠoŽu‡ƒ s • l�q jƒ . s•u‡l�qƒq ‡Šj q‰~s , sƒ˜u‡ƒq –sr ,‰‹‡ u j —z n  r l�  ‡n„ jŽƒu Hamazon (grace after meals). If ten –gcheck english ogether hD‰C I~ I W ‰I JIDVYOW *$ S JO[OW alone, eating peopletogether eat together, you add the ‰I P}S+ j PhL*H TiH‰V W€5iH}O 2€SƒD O ŠI 2} Group:

‚–s—z n r ‰ r u j l�q‚ ‡n ˜„~pjŽƒu ,ƒ—{r �o „ p nu‡ƒq ;ˆ qŠou‡ƒq ‹•rr u‡ƒq ,˜uj —oz j u‡ƒq Š q‰~su‡ƒq ,.‹‡

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Why do you think the rabbis JŠCh$ S–‰V JŠcheck C€S€O 6+ Sf$ Ph L… *H Ti H‰V W€viG5 iH 2€S}WƒD0y OU Š 2} I‰I P} + I~‰C I W‰I JO[OW *,| ~O‰V W€ 6Cg |+}O ‰V ‰C I *$ S JO[OW Zimun – check english ing alone, eating together *$ 2}ShD PhLzimun *H TiH‰V W€5iH}Oenglish 2€ S ŠI‰I P} I~W5L‰IiH JIDVYOW 2}ShD‰C I *$ S JO[OW set different wordsZimun for PhƒDL O*H Ti H+ }O€U 2€ S 6CIv ƒD O ŠI‰I P}+ I~SWhD‰ILeader: JIDVYOW depending on the number of people

*,| … O ~ 6Cg L G i v U € + | 6CIv W } 0y U

2} S D h C ‰ IÂ

*$ S V ‰ ˆI€K5 *D6Zg … |+}OL 6CIv U

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C€S€O 6+ What Sf$ Ph H€O‰V W€ iH}O 2€D Ph S6 *,| ƒDL O*H Ti ŠI‰I~O P} 6Cg I~viGW5€U‰I Ph Ph+ L *H Ti Hname ‰V W€5iHbe }O 2€ SƒD O ŠInow ‰I P}+ I~W‰I JIDVYOW JŠCish$Lthe  S*H Ti ‰V JŠC€S 6CIv 6+ Sf$ H+‰VL W€ iH JO[OW 2€ S}WƒD0y IS ‰I P} – check hD‰CiH+ I }O I~ W*$ ‰IS JO[OW SƒD JO[OW and forevermore.

With your 6CIv I ˆ K € *D6Zg D 6 *,| … O ~ 6Cg L G i v U € + | 6CIv W } 0y U

26Sh $ JIDVYOW difference between a meal with 6CIv 6CgLS‰CviGviGf$ €U |+*$ 6CIv }W JŠ0yC0y U S W€

26Sh $ I JO[OW JŠ|+ Ch$ 6CIv  S PhD ‰V JŠL}W6 *,| C*H Ti €O 6+ 5SCiH S ƒD*$ OSS Šf$I‰V‰I Ph P} + I~W‰I JO[OW *,|…~O 6Cg LˆIviG€K€U *D6Zg 0y€SU I S ‰V JŠ+ 6+ L*H Ti H‰V W€5 iH}Ofriends, 2€SƒD O ŠIlet ‰I P}us + I~W‰I JO[OW *,| …… 2} ~OH~O 6Cg 6CIv

2} english 2} hD 2€ ‰CL I S*H Ti *$ SIU‰I‰V JO[OW ‰VS W€hDL5 iH€US Ph }O|+ ƒD‰V}W O ŠHh$ P} I~€ShD}O W€O‰C‰I 2€ JIDVYOW consent, teachers and two, three or ten people?

6CIvˆI€K *D6ZgD6 *,|…~O 6CgLviG€U *,| |+ *O 6CIv 0yU $ JO[OW +U}W 26Sh D 26Sh 6 U6W 26Sh bless (our whose food}Wwe have €U JIDVYOW |+ }W0y$U 2} ShDGod) ‰C I *$ ‰V |+ 6CIv 6CIvˆI€K *D6ZgD6 *,| €U |+ 6CIv }W5 0yLiH U

26Sh $‰VviG W€ JIDVYOW *,| … ~O 6Cg LviGS€U 0yU 2} ShD‰C I *$ S‰V 6CIv *D6Zg 6 *,| …*H Ti ~O 2€ 6CgSHLƒD €U Š5I|+ 6CIv

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*O + 26Sh D 6 U6W 26Sh $ see 2.4

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26Sh $ JIDVYOW €K *D6Zg ~O 6Cg LU viG€U |+ 6CIv }W0yU 26Sh$ JO[OW whose goodness we live. } } pŠ•‚ o ƒŒ‰j •ƒ— Š‰ƒ~ r‚ u 6CIvˆI€K *D6ZgD6 *,|…~O 6CgLviG€U|+ 6CIv}W0yU 26Sh *O $+ JO[OW 26ShD6 U6W 26Sh $ eats in the market place – check vowels! } ‰j •ƒ— } r‚ pŠ•‚ o ƒŒ u All:Š‰ƒ~ *O + 26ShD6 U6W 26Sh$ Blessed is God and blessed is o eats in the market place – check vowels! e, Altar, Torah God’s } ‰j •ƒ— pŠ•‚ o ƒŒ Š‰ƒ~ u } ‰j •ƒ— } r‚ name. } pŠ•‚ o r‚ ƒŒ Š‰ƒ~ u

ble, Altar, Torah teats place check vowels! in –the market place – check vowels!

} ‰j •ƒ— } r‚ pŠ•‚ pŠ•‚ o ƒŒ Š‰ƒ~ u } ‰j •ƒ— } r‚ o ƒŒ Š‰ƒ~ u

One who eats in the market – check vowels!

Oneplace who eats in the market place – check vowels! e, Altar, Torah } ‰j •ƒ— } r‚ pŠ•‚ o ƒŒ Š‰ƒ~ u o eats3.3 in the market place – check vowels!

Table, Altar, Torah 3.3 Table, Altar, Torah Eating on the run } ‰j •ƒ— } r‚ pŠ•‚ o ƒŒ Š‰ƒ~ u

the Altar, marketHow place check vowels! often– do you eat food “on the ble, Torah

, Torah

run�? How do you feel about it?

One who eats in the street/market is comparable to a dog.

For more on fast-food franchises, see 7.3

– Masekhtot Ketanot, Derekh Eretz Zuta

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56 Food for Thought Š

.‍הָ ×?ו֚ ×›Öľ ל ֟֡ב × ×Š×•Öź×§ דו֚ מ֜ ×” ְל Öź Öś×›×œÖś ב‏

Eating Together

Eating as a family You can’t protect your children all the time and you can’t ensure every day is going to be a great day for those you love, but you can always care about their health and well being and show your love by providing healthy food in good supply. Having dinner together as a family has numerous benefits. There is support if it’s needed, the presence of an immediate fan club for your accomplishments, encouragement for completing the tough things we sometimes have to do, the sharing of wisdom and insights, and laughter, plenty of laughter. It’s amazing how much fun can be shared around a dinner table. Memories of our family table include jousting with carrot sticks, balancing spoons on noses, threatened food catapults, performing impromptu impersonations, and sharing funny stories and recollections of the day.

Did you grow up eating with your family? Does your family eat together now? Do you wish you ate or eat differently?

– Richard Stevenson

Family meals help prevent drug use Compared to kids who eat with their families less than three times a week, kids who eat with their family regularly are half as likely to try cigarettes or marijuana, a third less likely to try alcohol, and more likely to do well in school, and half as likely to feel stressed or bored.

– CASA: The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University

Do you think these statistics mean that eating together has positive benefits, or rather that healthy families also eat together?

These are very powerful statistics.

What changes in your community or society could we or should we make to encourage families to eat together more regularly?

Food for Thought: • How often do you and/or members of your family eat alone, and how often do you eat with others? If you could change this, what, if anything, would you change?

• Why is eating with others an important part of a relationship?

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

Food for Thought © 57

5.3 Welcoming guests From Abraham and Sarah in the Torah, through to Reb Shlomo Carlebach and many contemporary rabbis and Jewish teachers, hospitality — often focused around food — is a central motif of Jewish life, and a primary expression of what it means to treat each person as if s/he were created in the image of God. These are a tiny handful of numerous texts and stories on this subject. We see them as a stepping-off point for a conversation about hospitality in our own lives: how we grew up in relation to hospitality, and our own approach to hospitality today.

A person’s table We’ve included the same text in two sections because we felt it was part of two distinct, although related, conversations. What do you think about the relationship between learning Torah while you eat , our table standing in for the altar at the Temple, and welcoming guests?

For more on the topic of hospitality, see 2.5 and 8.4

“And he spoke to me, this is the table that stands before God.” (Ezekiel 41:22) And this is a verse in Ezekiel that refers to the Temple—and the Temple is here called a ‘table.’ It appears that there is a table that is similar to the altar. What table is this? This refers to a table upon which many people share words of Torah (“divrei Torah”) – Magen Avot of Rabbi Shimon ben Tzemach Duran

Rabbi Yohanan and Resh Lakish explain: At the time when the Temple stood, the altar used to make atonement for a person; now a person’s table makes atonement for him.

:ּ‫יש דְּ ָא ְמ ִרי ַת ְר ַויְיהו‬ ׁ ‫יש לָ ִק‬ ׁ ‫ַר ִ ּבי יוֹ חָ נָן וְ ֵר‬ ‫ש ֵּבית הַ ִּמ ְקדָּ ׁש ַקיָּים ִמז ְֵּבחַ ְמכַ ּ ֵפר‬ ֶ ׁ ‫ִ ּבז ְַמן‬ ‫ש ְלחָ נוֹ שֶ ל ָא ָדם‬ ֻ ׁ ,‫ ַע ְכ ָׁשיו‬.‫ַעל ָא ָדם‬ .‫ְמכַ ּ ֵפר ָעלָ יו‬

– Talmud Bavli, Masekhet Chagigah 27a

“A person’s table makes atonement for him” –

:‫ש ְלחָ נוֹ שֶ ל ָא ָדם ְמכַ ּ ֵפר ָעלָ יו‬ ֻׁ

by means of welcoming guests to one’s table (“hakhnasat orkhim”).

.‫ְ ּבהַ ְכנָסַ ת אוֹ ְר ִחים‬

– Rashi on Chagigah 27a

Buried in your dining room table Would you want to be buried in the wood from your table (literally or metaphorically)? Why or why not?

There is a hasidic tradition that rebbes would be buried in a coffin made from the wood of their table. The connection was, of course, that your hospitality at your table would carry you into the World to Come.

– Hasidic folktale

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58 Food for Thought ©

Eating Together

Welcoming guests and welcoming God Greater is welcoming guests than receiving the countenance of the Shekhinah. − Otzar Midrashim (Eizenstein) on Genesis 18

Priorities Rabbi Yohanan Ben Zakai used to say: “If you have a sapling in your hand and they tell you ‘The Messiah is coming!’ first plant the sapling and then go to greet him.”

How would you live your life differently if you understood “welcoming guests” to be a central religious obligation?

− Avot de Rabbi Natan 31

Food for Thought: • How does it feel to compare your table to the Altar? How does the comparison change either your notion of the Altar, or your table (and what happens at the

For more discussion about sacrifices on the altar, see 4.5

meals you eat there)?

• What’s the difference between hosting friends and feeding the hungry?

• Who is your role model for hospitality? If you decided to host meals more frequently, or welcome new guests to your table, what would that require of you? What might you gain from it?

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

Food for Thought © 59

5.4 Mourning and comforting Eating food together connects us to those around us, whether we are eating in celebration of a happy event or in solidarity after a sad one. The shiva house is a place of mourning—and eating. Bringing food enables people to offer not only solace but also practical help.

Jacob in mourning Lentils and eggs are here characterized as “mourning foods.” How do you understand the explanations given?

This Rashi text is an explanation of the “red stew” described in Genesis 25:30; for full text see 5.1

“From the red red” — this means “red lentils.”

Abraham died on that day so that he would not see Esau, his grandson, falling into bad ways (for this would not be “the good old age” that God had promised him). It is for this reason that God shortened his life by five years, for Isaac lived 180 years whereas, he [Abraham] 175. Thus, Jacob cooked lentils as a firstmeal for the mourner.

Why are lentils food for a mourner?

Because they are round as a wheel, for mourning is a wheel that revolves in the world.

Another reason: Just as lentils have no mouth [i.e., opening] so, too, a mourner has no mouth, for it is prohibited for him to speak. It is for this reason that it is customary to feed eggs to a mourner for his first meal for they are round and have no “mouth.” So, too, a mourner has no “mouth” as is discussed in Mo’ed Katan 21b: “A mourner, the first three days, may not respond to anyone’s greeting, and, certainly, may not initiate a greeting.

From the third until the seventh [day] he may respond but may not greet.”

– Rashi on Gen. 25:30

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60 Food for Thought ©

Eating Together

Se’udat Havra’ah - The Meal of Consolation The Se’udat Havra’ah is the first meal mourners eat after they return from the burial.

It is incumbent upon friends and neighbors to prepare the meal so that the mourners do not have to cook for themselves.

Customary foods include:

Jewish practices surrounding death and mourning emphasize the need to balance grief and mourning and a return to daily life.

• bread, the “staff of life” • hardboiled eggs: to symbolize the cyclical and continuous nature of life;

hardboiled eggs also harden as they cook, a symbol of the mourning process

• lentils: round food symbolizes life, and lentils are also associated with mourning because of Jacob’s mourning stew for Abraham

– adapted from Maurice Lamm, The Jewish Way in Death and Mourning

Se’udah HaMafseket - The Separating Meal before Tisha B’Av After a funeral, we are obligated to eat together. Before Tisha B’Av, we are obligated to eat alone. Customarily, this meal ends with a hard-boiled egg dipped in ashes.

Whereas after a funeral, the Se’udat Havra’ah begins the process of moving from intense pain to gradual healing, the Se’udah HaMafseket before Tisha B’Av creates pain in order to make the distant events of Tisha B’Av once again present.

What is the connection between food and emotions? Why is it that it would not be possible to engage fully in this text if instead of “a hardboiled egg” it said, “a pint of Ben & Jerry’s”?

Food for Thought: • Have you ever brought food to a house where people are sitting shiva? Have you ever sat shiva and received food? What was your experience?

• Jewish teaching often says things like “eggs (or lentils) symbolize such and such.” When you read that, what does it really mean? When is a symbol meaningful to you and when not? And can a tradition be meaningful even if the underlying symbols are not?

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

Food for Thought © 61

5.5 Recipes and learning how to cook Food brings people together around the table, but also across generations. When we cook from family recipes, our relatives are right there in the kitchen with us. And when we share our family food traditions with friends, we’re sharing a much larger piece of ourselves than just what’s on the plate. As we migrate and our families grow and change, the food we eat and the way we prepare it is one of the most fragile but also one of the most powerful elements of cultural memory. The process of transmitting recipes and food stories weaves memory and narrative like strands of challah, which nourish our bodies and our identities.

Family wisdom at the table What are some of your favorite family memories around the table?

What are your earliest memories of mealtimes?

Are there recipes passed down in your family?

From my family I became aware of the importance of passing along wisdom from one generation to the next. Yet despite the increasing proliferation of digital recording and other communication technology, we’re passing on less and less knowledge today than our parents did through oral tradition alone. We’re drowning in photographs and videos, capturing every mundane moment of our birthdays, holidays, and vacations. Yet these can be no more than pleasant distractions, only scratch the surface of our real relationships.

I’m reminded of all of this when I think back on our maternal grandparents in Lebanon. My siblings and I have only a few pictures of them. But the times we shared on our memorable visits there—harvesting fruit from their small orchard and garden, sharing stories around their large dinner table—give us a lasting sense of connection to them and to each other.

- Ralph Nader, The Seventeen Traditions

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62 Food for Thought ©

Eating Together My mother gives me her recipe Take some flour. Oh, I don’t know, like two-three cups, and you cut in the butter. Now some women they make it with shortening, but I say butter, even though that means you had to have fish, see?

You cut up some apples. Not those stupid sweet ones. Apples for the cake, they have to have some bite, you know?

A little sour in the sweet, like love.

You slice them into little moons.

No, no! Like half or crescent moons. You aren’t listening.

How do recipes get passed on in your family?

Why does butter mean “you had to have fish”? (Hint: fish instead of...)

What ‘s distinctive about Marge Piercy’s language in this poem?

What is she trying to convey? And how does what she’s trying to convey connect back to your actual life and the folk memories of living Jewishly?

For more recipes, see 4.5, 5.6 and 7.5

You mix sugar and cinnamon and cloves, some women use allspice, till it’s dark and you stir in the apples. You coat every little moon. Did I say you add milk? Oh, just till it feels right.

Use your hands. Milk in the cake part!

Then you pat it into a pan, I like round ones, but who cares?

I forgot to say you add baking powder.

Did I forget a little lemon on the apples?

Then you just bake it. Well, till it’s done of course. Did I remember you place the apples in rows? You can make a pattern, like a weave. It’s pretty that way. I like things pretty.

It’s just a simple cake.

Any fool can make it except your aunt. I gave her the recipe but she never got it right.

- Marge Piercy

Food for Thought: • How important is home-cooking to you? To your parents? To your grandparents? To your children or grandchildren? Why? • What are some of your favorite family food stories?

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

Food for Thought © 63

5.6 The holy kugel!

There are Jewish texts that relate in serious ways to almost every contemporary topic related to food. They take the questions seriously. But not all texts fit this category. We have also found some texts that are, well, rather unique.

And we love them! The selections below are from an essay by Allan Nadler called “Holy Kugel: The Sancification of Ashkenazic Ethnic Foods in Hasidism.” We trust that after reading these texts, you’ll see kugel in a whole new light...

Eat your kugel

What’s kugel?

Kugel is an Ashkenazic Jewish staple. It is essentially a baked noodle casserole although there are many variations: sometimes it’s sweet, with raisins or fruit, and sometimes it’s savoury with black pepper.

Noa Heyman’s College Kugel 1 pint cottage cheese 2 eggs ¼ cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling 8 oz can pineapple, diced 12 oz bag egg noodles 3 tbsp cinnamon Preheat oven to 350F. Grease 9x13” baking dish.

Combine cottage cheese, eggs, sugar and pineapple. Cook noodles in boiling water until tender, then add to cheese mixture.

Pour into greased pan. Sprinkle top with remaining sugar and cinnamon.

Bake 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Kugel is the one special food that all Jews eat, one food in the service of the one God, so that anyone who does not eat kugel on the Sabbath in this country [Israel], should be investigated [for heresy].

– Rabbi Aaron Roth (Reb Arele)

Weighing in on judgment day...

The Seer of Lublin taught that just as one’s respective mitzvot and transgressions are weighed in the balance in the process of our final judgement in the heavenly courts, so too they weigh all of the kugel that one ate in honor of the Sabbath.

– Sefer Pardes Ha-Melekh

The hidden secrets of the kugel The tzaddikim proclaim that there are profound matters embedded in the kugel. For this reason they insisted that every Jew must eat the Sabbath kugel. Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Rimanov recalled that once, when he went out for a walk with the holy Rabbi of Ropshitz, all that they talked about for three hours were the secrets that lie hidden inside the Sabbath kugel.

– David-Dov Meiseles, Otzer Ha-Shabbes

Holy Kugel!

He (Rabbi Solomon David Joshua of Slonim) would distribute the kugel to all of the assembled from his own hand, specifically indicating and directing which person should receive each and every piece of kugel. It was evident to the assembled that he was involved in a very high form of worship, in that he had a deep spiritual connection with each and every person to whom he sent the kugel, and he would often at that moment tell them what they had to fix in their lives. Many waited all week long for this very moment, particularly if they were confused or lost. Now, with this one word, he made it right and they knew what they must do…Is it even possible to describe the holiness with which they then ate the kugel?

– Elu Ma’aseyhem Shel Zaddikim, Sefer Yehi Or

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64 Food for Thought ©

Eating Together

A piece of that shirayim I heard this from the Holy Rebbe, Benzion of Bobov. When his holy grandfather, the author of Divrei Hayyim [Rabbi Hayyim Halberstam of Zanz], was visiting the Rophshitzer Rebbe together with Rabbi Shmuel of Kaminka, the two of them split and shared a single grain of kasha that had come to them from the shirayim of the Rophshitzer Rebbe.

– Shabbas Beit Rophshitz

Shirayim are the “leftovers” from the Rebbe’s tisch – typically, the Rebbe will eat some of the food (e.g.

Challah) and the rest is distributed.

These “leftovers” are prized as holy, for they came from the Rebbe’s own plate.

Best to use your fork I once asked [Rabbi Aaron of Koidonov] why he eats all of the Sabbath foods with his hands instead of a fork; while the kugel he always eats with a fork. He answered that it is said in the name of Rabbi Israel of Rizhin that all of the Sabbath foods correspond to the supernal sefirot, as it is written in the holy book Tikkunei Zohar.

Now kugel, since it is the principal additional dish in honor of the Sabbath, contains the mystery of mussaf [addition or procreation]; now since mussaf corresponds to the sefirah of Yesod…therefore it is forbidden to touch the kugel with one’s hands since, as is well known, one is not allowed to handle one’s own Yesod.

– Shalom Aryeh Shtam of Horodok, Zekher Zaddik

Of the ten kabalistic sefirot, “yesod”—which means something like “fundamental” or “elemental”— is associated with sexuality and, in particular, with our sexual organs.

That’s what this rather remarkable text is referring to. Many cultures, of course, see different foods as having aphrodisiac qualities. But the understanding of kugel here is rather different from that. For us, this text is a reminder that although much of Jewish tradition is continuous over time, other elements really are unique to an era or to a particular world view.

Which of your food customs do you imagine that your great-greatgrandparents (those alive in the days of Rabbi Israel of Rizhin) would find equally strange?

Food for Thought: • What do you make of these texts?

• Do you come from a kugel family? What is your favorite kind of kugel?

• Does the story about shirayim seem idolatrous? Reverent? What does the concept of shirayim tell us about the world of the Chasidim?

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Food for Thought © 65

“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”

– Michael Pollan

“The body is the soul’s house. Shouldn’t we therefore take care of our house so that it will not fall into ruin?”

– Philo of Alexandria

Chapter 6

Health, bodies & nourishment

The Romans said, “mens sana in corpore sano” (a healthy mind in a healthy body). Maimonides extends this by talking about guarding the health of your body for the sake of the soul, and for the sake of your ability to praise God. Nowadays, more prosaically, we understand that good food is necessary for a fully functioning life: think, for example, of campaigns to help children get breakfast at school so they can concentrate during the day.

Health, as the rabbis understood it, refers to more than soluble fat per liquid ounce. It is more than thinking “Is this good for me?” or, “Did I get enough protein today?” Good health involves wholeness, completeness; food plays a role but there are many other factors at stake too: What does Lose weight! Feel Great! 30 pounds in 30 days! Eat whatever you want!

Call today!

– Flyer

good health look like? Are our habits healthy or unhealthy?

What would it be like to feel truly nourished by the food we eat, not just full?

6.1 Why do we eat?

Intellectually, we know that food is our body’s fuel, and that our body signals its need for refuelling by making us feel hungry. If we think about it, we may realize that healthier fuel would leave us feeling better, and too much unhealthy fuel leaves us feeling much worse. But in reality, as we know, we often eat for reasons far different from merely assuaging hunger or feeding our bodies. What is really going on when we eat?

Praying what you eat Can you understand what might be meant by “the holy sparks in the food”? How do you imagine you might eat with this awareness?

The Maggid said: “When one’s eating is intended only to strengthen his body for Torah study and worship, how can one call this a perfect service? While eating, he neither prays nor learns; hence this is merely an act of service for the sake of and which leads to the true service which follows.” However, if the eating is done in accordance with the meditation of Rabbi Isaac Luria—to extract and elevate the holy sparks in the food... then he can create yichudim (unifications) as much with his eating as he can with his prayer.

– Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch of Zhidachov, Sur me’ra ve’aseh tov 116a

Means to an end How much attention do you pay to how food makes you feel? Do you eat to make your body feel a specific way, physically or emotionally?

If you ate in ways that nourished your body, as opposed to satisfying particular cravings—how would your eating habits be different?

When one works for payment, it should not be one’s intention just to amass money, but one should be working for money in order to be able to obtain things which one needs, such as food, drink, a house and a wife. Similarly, when one eats and drinks, one should not be doing so just for enjoyment, because then one will eventually be eating just to sweeten one’s palate and for the joy of it, but one should eat and drink just for the sake of the health of one’s body and limbs. Therefore, one shouldn’t eat what ever he desires, like a dog or a donkey; one should eat only what the body will use, whether it is bitter or sweet, and one should not eat those things which are bad for the body, even if they are sweet.

– Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot De’ot 3:5-8

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68 Food for Thought ©

Health, bodies & nourishment

Are you what you eat?

We’ve all heard the expression “you are what you eat.” But what does this really mean? You eat a carrot, and you become a carrot? You eat junk food, and you become junky? While all clichés contain a grain of truth, “you are what you eat” focuses only on the after-effects of food in your body. In working with food and consciousness, I’ve discovered a subtle nuance to this familiar expression; that is, people eat what they are. If you’re stressed out all the time chances are you’re feeding yourself stressed-out, quick-grab foods with little vital nourishment. When we shift our way of thinking from “you are what you eat” to “you eat what you are” we see that the latter involves awareness. It makes us stop and question who we really are. If we believe that we are spiritual beings, then we’re more likely to seek out the nourishing foods that feed the shining life force that already exists within us.

In what ways do you (or don’t you) eat what you are?

– Halé Sofia Schatz, If the Buddha Came to Dinner

What do you need to be satisfied?

Every one who thirsts, come to the waters, and he who has no money; come, buy, and eat; come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. 2Why do you spend money for that which is not bread? And your labor for that which satisfies not? Listen diligently to me, and eat that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. 3Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure loving promises of David.

1

What is the connection between food, fulfillment and purpose in this text? What does Isaiah assert that food can never supply?

– Isaiah 55:1-3

Food for Thought: • What are the various reasons the authors give for why we eat?

• Think of all the food you’ve eaten today. What are some of the reasons you chose to eat when and what you did?

• For as long as there has been wisdom about what and how to eat, there have been people eating “badly”. Why do you think this is? What can we learn from texts like these—if we already basically know what it means to eat healthily?

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

Food for Thought © 69

6.2 Food for the soul We eat to nourish not only our physical selves, but also our emotional and spiritual selves. Sometimes, eating for emotional reasons lands us in trouble: we relive our childhood through too much candy; we drown our sorrows in bowls of ice cream. Understanding some of the ways that we interact emotionally with our food can help us to think about how we really want to feed ourselves, and which part of ourselves we really want to be feeding.

Nothing but manna (the best stuff on earth) What are some of your food 4And the mixed multitude that was cravings and5.2 in what sense, all,soul among them had a strong craving; and Food forif at the do you feel enslaved them? (the Nothing butbymanna best stuff on earth) – again, and the people of Israel also wept

And the thatshall wasgive among them had a said, Who us meat to eat?

What would4.manna look mixed like if wemultitude 5 strongfound craving; and the people of Israel also wept again, We remember the fish, which we ate in it today?

and said, Who shall give usfor meat to eat?

5. We remember Egypt nothing; the cucumbers, and the fish, which we atethe in melons, Egypt for andnothing; the leeks,the andcucumbers, the onions, and the melons, and and the the leeks, and6But thenow onions, andisthe garlic; our soul dried garlic; 6. But now ouraway; soul there is dried away; there is nothing is nothing at all, beside this at all, beside this manna, before our our eyes.

7. 7And manna, before eyes.

And the the manna manna was as coriander seed, and its color as the color of as was as corriander seed, and its color bdellium. 8. And the the people about, and 8 colorwent of bdellium.

Andgathered the peopleit, and ground it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and baked it in went about, and gathered it, and ground pans, and made cakes of it; and the taste of it was like the it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and taste of fresh oil. 9. And when the dew fell upon the camp baked it in pans, and made cakes of it; in the night, the manna fell upon it. and the taste of it was like the taste of Numbers 11:4 9 fresh oil. 9And when the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell upon it.

r l~ q u u u ~q j n s u j n u j p z l~ t j q ~ r j n j u q ~o r n { j o u j uq t z u q u ~s u u nj u q u r

p z l~ r u r q ~p u j q r : r{ ru u o n l~q ~o j ~n t z u u n q ~o r u n n q j n u j q ~s n r u j q ~p j n r p ~p j n un q l~ r ~o rz o j o z qj r u q j : n u z u q ~p j u jq un r u q j : o u o r u q ~p un j u n s u r r u rz : q s u j q o uj s o j ~ u q u r s ju qu u r s ~ n q o r l u r j u j r j nu r r j s t s s~ u { r j u r u qu u z j u q u q p p j u : p rz u q qz j q q uj s j q : r r r u q oo r j r p l q u q q

– Numbers 11:4-9

rz u n j u q s u z j and ~p q qEvil? q ~s u of j n u u r q What was the fruit of the Tree of Knowlege Good Numbers 13:23-28 What do you think the four foods What was the tree from which Adam and symbolize? Why do you think the Eve ate? rabbis chose these particular foods to represent the most important Rabbi Meir said it was wheat. food in the creation story?

What can we learn about the rabbis’ characters from their choices? And what does their disagreement suggest about the different roles food plays in our lives?

Rabbi Judah bar Ilai said they were grapes.

Rabbi Abba of Acco said it was an etrog.

Rabbi Yossi said that they were figs.

– Midrash Raba, Bereishit 2:15

Food and memory What role does food play in memories of your parents or grandparents? How do food memories affect your choice of what to eat at certain times?

r{ u u q r ~p rn l s u z j ~p j r s j u t~ n

: n ~o uj q n u n s u n r n u n r z j u n s u q q s u z j ~p q q ~ r r ~ u q s r u q o u j rz u n p z l~ s u z j ~p r s s~ u j r u ou n p ~r r t z u q : ~o r n {j u u n u r s p z ~p ~s u u r q u oj u q : s n ru j ~q ~o r n { j o u j q l r u ~p j s l ~q ~p j r s ~ z n u q rz o r ~ r r u qu j n ~p u r n j u ~p ~ u qj u q r o r r u ~p j r ur

~p ~ ru ~ j us souls— q s u time u like u j u q j q : p ~r r By themselves alone, smell and taste linger on for a long remembering, waiting, hoping… they carry without trembling, wafted almost r r q r q j p z l~ p ~r r u r u j q z j airborne, the whole colossal structure of human memory.

– Marcel Proust, Remembrance of Things Past

r r q un p ~p : ru j n u p j ~ n z q j u s s u j s t u j n r p j p ~r ru s o z u q : rz u ~n r r l r o jn q j s~ j

When I talk about a great dish, I often get goosebumps. I’m like, whoa, I’ll never forget that one.

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

70 Food for Thought ©

– Mario Batali, Heat

Health, bodies & nourishment Means to an end need hebrew When one works for payment, it should not be one's intention just to amass money, but one should be working for money in order to be able to obtain things which one needs, such as food, drink, a house and a wife. Similarly, when one eats and drinks, one should not be doing so just for the benefit of it, because then one will eventually be eating just to sweeten one's palate and for the joy of it, but one should eat and drink just for the sake of the health of one's body and limbs. Therefore, one should eat Guilt-free only what the body will use, whether it is bitter or sweet, and one should not eat those things bad forathe Most people have which troubleare cultivating guilt-free celebration of food. It’s not that body, even if they are sweet. we don’t love to eat, it’s just that so many of us believe that if food is not nutritious Rambam – Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Deot, Ch. 3 it is inherently bad. Any pleasure we derive from “bad” food must be guilty pleasure; there’s no room here for a carefree celebration of chocolate eclairs. If we spend our mealtimes counting nutrients and assessing our food on the good-bad scale, our food 5.2 Food for the soul r l~ q u u u ~q j n s u j n u j p z l~ t j q ~ r j theology in conflict with–the Jewish principle of celebration.

Nothing but manna (the bestisstuff on earth)

n j u q ~o r n { j o u j uq t z u q u ~s u u nj u q u r

4. And the mixed multitude thatMogel, was The among them had a Knee – Dr. Wendy Blessing of a Skinned

p z l~ r u r q ~p u j q r : r{ ru u o n l~q strong craving; and the people of Israel also wept again, ~o j ~n t z u u n q ~o r u n n q j n u j q ~s and said, Who shall give us meat to eat? 5. We remember the fish, which we ate in Egypt for nothing; the n r u j q ~p j n r p ~p j n un q l~ r cucumbers, and the What melons, and thefeeding? leeks, and the are you ~o rz o j o z qj r u q j : n u z u q ~p j u onions, and the garlic; 6. But now our soul is dried away; With more Americans overweight and obesity at epidemic proportions, it’s become uq jq un r u q j : o u o r u q ~p un j u n s u there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our clear was that physical healthseed, isn’t enough eyes. 7. And the manna as coriander and itsof an impetus

r r people

u j q changes. o uj s o j I~ u j r j for u rz : toq smake u don’t know anybody who wants to be regarded as just a mechanical, physical body. So, color as the color of bdellium. 8. And the people went

n u r s ju qu u z j u u r s ~ n q o r l u r j we need to shift awareness from the physical to the total person— about, and gatheredtoo, it, and ground it in our mills, or beatofit health in q make q uj s the j q connection r r j s t that s s~ uthe { r food j r u qu u we heart, mind and spirit.

Only a mortar, and bakedbody, it in pans, and made cakes of it;then andcan we u p

l

q q

q

q q

p

p

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p

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q z j u u ingest directly feeds all parts of ourselves, thereby profoundly influencing the quality u the taste of it was like the taste of fresh oil. 9. And when the dew fell upon theofcamp in the night, the manna fell our lives. : r r r u q oo r j r upon it.

– Halé Sofia Schatz, If the Buddha Came To Dinner Numbers 11:4 9

Do you agree or disagree?

In olden days, the food eaten on great celebrations was very different than daily food. Nowadays, many of us have the opportunity to eat like kings on a daily basis. Would Dr. Mogel’s argument be more useful if it was applied just to celebrations and not to everyday eating?

We are godly beings

are godly beings And God created man in God’s own nd God created man image, in God’s ownimage image, in the image of in the of God God created od God created him; male and female God created them ( him; male and female God created them.

Gen 1:27)

p p u j s j q u j r ~r r ~p sn k~ ~ r nj u q : sr ~ ~ r ru r o j u r r s s~ ~ r ru sn k~

– Genesis 1:27

If you really were feeding your inner Shechina, how would you eat differently? On a daily basis? On special occasions?

Food for Thought: • How might you eat differently if someone said to you: “You are a child of God, a beautiful being. You were created in the image of God. How dare you, then, feed yourself anything less than the best?”

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

Food for Thought © 71

6.3 Overeating Our mouth’s desire for the taste of food is often stronger than our body’s sensation of discomfort at being fed too much—perhaps because, in our prehistoric lives, we had to be able to feast when there was a feast and to withstand the famine when there was famine. Today, there’s food everywhere—especially at Jewish functions! Huge spreads!

And we eat it, in excess, even though we know we shouldn’t. What’s going on, and what can we learn that might help us eat less (which is healthier for us, and for the planet)?

5.3 Overeating Jewish ascetism?

Jewish This is the way of the Torah: Bread and One understanding of “the worldAceticism?

This is the way of the Torah: Bread and salt will will you eat, to come” is thinking about future salt will you eat, measured water measured will you drink, on the ground will you generations. For more, see 8.5 water you drink, on the ground will you sleep, sleep, a life of suffering will you live, and in the Torah will a life of suffering will you live, and in you labor. If you do this, 'You are fortunate and it is good the Torah will'You youare labor.

If you dointhis, for you' (Psalms 128:2). fortunate' this are fortunate it isWorld goodtoforCome." you” world; 'and “You it is good for you' and in the (Psalms 128:2). “You are fortunate”— - Pirkei Avot 6:4

in this world; “and it is good for you”— in the World to Come.

q p u qu q u , r s u p z u r u j u q ~ n j q u p ~r r q j p u z j un r u { ju qu n q u o ~s u o r r u ~q r s u q u p j un q q ou q j rz un j r s j r p z j ~q o u s p{ r u ~q ~n r p z j ~q r s r j r s j u p q r s ru :~ ru q

Craving Meat r r j u z u j q j n ~s q u r r ~p j – Pirkei Avot 6:418. Say to the people, Sanctify [And God said to Moses] r s j o j ~r u j p n u j u n r{ ru p u j q l~ q yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept in the ears of the Lord, saying, Who shall give

u r s u n r{ ru u o n l~q n s ~ o us meat to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt; therefore : p u j q l~q r{ ru p r r s j rq j n r j n u j usand you shall eat. 19. You the Lord willSupersize give you meat, shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ~s j past n r thirty s ~s j j ~p now s ~s u ~s u r are Do you tend to eat everything that’s on Portion sizes have subtly and steadily increased over the years and ten days, twenty days; 20. But a whole month, until it your plate? If so, think about using a nor two to five times larger than they were in the past.

Even the average dinner plate ~s j rn r r{ l ~s j rn rz u ln comes out from your nostrils, and it becomes loathsome smaller plate... has grown several inches to accommodate more food. The portions we’re served are to you; because you have despised the Lord who is ~ o o p z l~ q rn z sp q : s n { j p bigger and we keep end among you,getting and have wept before him,eating. saying,The Why didresult? That’s right. Americans are getting p u j ~q j u n qq ~ rr j p r r r j p j u ~q o we come out of Egypt? […] fatter.

31. And there went forth a wind from the Lord, and r r j p z l~ r s j ~p u u j qun p u j j n u j – Lisa R. Young, Theand Portion Teller fall by the brought quails from the sea, let them [...] : n r j nu n ~ u r r pu r u r s ~ o camp, about a day’s journey on this side, and about a day’s journey on the other side, around the camp, and as 0. it were two Hara cubits high upon Hachi Buthe face of the earth.

32. And the people stood up all that day, and all that ru q n n j q{ r ru q r s j ~o o q r q u j What kinds of food to you tend and to all Once one of theand longest-lived people earth, the Okinawans practiced a principle night, the next day, they gathered theon quails; j j s p p j u full. s u Tos make p p u j pthe l q“eat q sz u u n q u q eat too much of? Whathe kinds whoofleast gathered gathered ten Bu”: homers; and they they called “Hara Hachi eat until you are 80 percent less” spread all abroad for themselves around the camp. food do you not eat too much of?them message a bit more palatable, consider that quality may I u o j u have q n a q bearing r u ~q j u p on l q u quantity: q s n j s 33. And while the meat was yet between their teeth, don’t know about you, but the better the quality of the food I eat,u the less of it u I need r j ~ u q s q r u r r rr q : p ~r r before it was chewed, the anger of the Lord was kindled feel satisfied. tomatoes arepeople not created against the to people, and theAll Lord struck the with aequal. ~p u j ~qq u q mr r u q s s j r j q u q very great plague.

– Michael Pollan, “Unhappy Meals” 34. And he called the name of that place Kibroth n mr r {r l q ~r n j q u q r { j u q Hattaavah; because there they buried the people who z j u q : p l q u q s n j q s rz p r u j n had the craving.

Overeating is affliction Numbers Chapter 11 ~q j o r nu p p p o u z n o u u u p s r{ ru q How does this text change your notion about overeating?

Resh Lakish said: One who gorges themselves with food on Yom Kippur is free from punishment. Why? Because Scripture said: “Any person who does not afflict themselves throughout the day shall be cut off from his kin” (Lev 23:29), and that excludes one who does himself harm by excessive eating.

Overeating –isTalmud affliction Bavli, Masekhet Yoma 80b Resh Lakish said: One who stuffs themselves on Yom Kippur is free from punishment. Why? Because Scripture said: “Any person who does not afflict themselves JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

72 Food for Thought ©

ru q r u q r ru r s j qj u q r r r r r s j

~ o z ~p ~ r nj u q : s~ j u q s r u q r r ~p u j r rz u n r l~ q u q s j n : u n ~q j nu q

~ ~ : ~ ~ ) ~ ~ ,

Health, bodies & nourishment Craving Meat [God said to Moses] 18Say to the people, Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept in the ears of the Lord, saying, Who shall give us meat to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt; therefore the Lord will give you meat, and you shall eat. 19You shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days; 20 But a whole month, until it comes out from your nostrils, and it becomes loathsome to you; because you have despised the Lord who is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why did we come out of Egypt?

Are the people punished for their behavior or for their craving? Which do you think is more problematic?

What do you think are the lessons of this text?

And there went forth a wind from the Lord, and brought quails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp, about a day’s journey on this side, and about a day’s journey on the other side, around the camp, and as it were two cubits high upon the face of the earth. 32And the people stood up all that day, and all that night, and all the next day, and they gathered the quails; he who least gathered gathered ten homers; and they spread them all abroad for themselves around the camp.

31

And while the meat was yet between their teeth, before it was chewed, the anger of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord struck the people with a very great plague. 34And he called the name of that place KibrothHattaavah (“Graves of the Craving”); because there they buried the people who had the craving.

33

According to nutritionist Halé Sofia Schatz, anything you have a craving for is probably bad for you, because it represents a dependence on ‘quick energy’ (sugar, caffeine) that your body gets addicted to.

What things do you most have cravings for? Why do you think you have those particular cravings?

– Numbers Chapter 11:18-19; 31-34

Food for Thought: • If you have ever eaten until you’ve had to loosen your belt, or until your belly felt overfull, what else were you doing while you were eating? Why is it so easy to overeat?

• If you do struggle with eating too much, and want to eat less, what would make it easier for you to do so?

• If you don’t feel that you overeat on a regular or occasional basis, what is your secret?!

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

Food for Thought © 73

6.4 Digestion We love eating for the taste, and so we often put up with the after-effects of over-eating: loosening our belt, hoping the stomachache and heartburn will go away. Thinking about food and our bodies is not just about our choices—it’s about how well our bodies are nourished by the quality and quantity of fuel we are feeding them.

Bracha after going to the bathroom If you’re not familiar with this bracha, try saying it for one week after you go to the bathroom. It is one of the great brachot in Jewish tradition, and a great way to increase one’s sense of radical amazement! See 2.2 The words nekavim (“openings”, such as your eyes and mouth and anus) and chalulim (“cavities,” such as stomach and intestines, etc.) are already in the plural, yet they are repeated twice in this prayer. Why do you think this is? What effect does it have?

Blessed are You, God, our God, sovereign of the universe, who formed man with wisdom and created within him many openings and many hollows.

It is obvious in the presence of your glorious throne that if one of them were ruptured, or if one of them were blocked, it would be impossible to exist and stand in your presence.

Blessed are You, God, who heals all flesh and performs wonders.

Don’t hold it in!

Even though there are instances where we are unable to heed the Rambam’s recommendations, how are they still valuable?

The body being healthy is of the ways of the Lord, for it is impossible to understand or know the knowledge of the Creator while unwell. Therefore, one should keep away from things which destroy the body, and accustom oneself to healthy and curing matters, which are as follows: One should never eat unless one is hungry, nor drink unless one is thirsty, and nor should one hold oneself back for even a single moment from relieving oneself, for whenever one feels the need to pass water or to defecate, one should do so immediately.

– Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Deot 4:1-2

Taking everything into account The Jewish people arose not in synagogues or in Jewish schools, but in the wilderness. Have you ever pooped in the woods?

If not, the Torah here is providing practical advice consistent with contemporary wilderness best practice.

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

74 Food for Thought ©

Further, there shall be an area for you outside the camp, where you may relieve yourself. 14 With your gear you shall have a spike, and when you have squatted you shall dig a hole with it and cover up your excrement.

13

– Deuteronomy 23:13-14

Health, bodies & nourishment

What we eat determines how well our digestion works Eating a diet loaded with fat can overtax the liver and gall bladder, while eating a diet high in sugar can overwhelm even the strongest stomach and give rise to the growth of unhealthy bacteria in the intestines. …Every human intestine on the planet contains good and bad bacteria. The friendly bacteria, called acidophilus, are responsible for keeping the colon healthy by causing fermentation and keeping the unhealthy Candida albicans bacteria from taking over. An overgrowth of bad bacteria can lead to a myriad of health problems, such as bloating, diarrhea, indigestion, yeast infections, and headaches. But these ailments can be eliminated when one eats a sugar-free, balanced diet.

– Alix Jamieson, The Great American Detox Diet

Digestion takes energy, too The fundamental purpose of food is to provide us energy—energy for walking, talking, thinking, being creative, running in the park with our children, living our lives.

This same energy is also used for digesting food. The more energy that’s required for digestion, the less energy we have for living.

– Halé Sofia Schatz, If the Buddha Came to Dinner

Food for Thought:

Lacto-fermented vegetables: healthy and delicious!

That famous Jewish food, the half-sour pickle, is actually a fermented food and is better for you than you think.

Lacto-bacillic fermentation is accomplished by creating the right conditions for lacto-bacillic microorganisms to grow. These friendly bacteria – similar to the ones that bring us sourdough bread and yogurt – occur naturally on the skins of most vegetables. By creating a salt water brine, keeping oxygen out, and holding the ferment at the right temperature, lactobacilli are allowed to proliferate at the expense of any other micro-organisms, such as the kind that cause rot. The lactobacilli break down natural sugars in the vegetables, and release lactic acid, a natural preservative. But that’s not all! When you eat live-culture foods such as lacto-fermented pickles, sauerkraut, and kim chi, you populate your gut with friendly microorganisms. These “friendlies” help your body to get the most nutrients out of the food you eat and keep your body strong and healthy.

(Pickles made with a vinegar brine are tasty, but have none of the pro-biotic health benefits of live-culture foods.)

You can make pickles, sauerkraut and other ferments in your own kitchen with basic equipment and ingredients.

Look for recipes in Wild Fermentation by Sandor Katz or Preserving Food Without Freezing or Canning by Deborah Madison.

– Joshua Rosenstein

• How does thinking about the complete cycle of eating – from the food itself, to the energy it provides your body, to elimination – affect your relationship to how and what you eat?

• What is the connection between mindfulness and health?

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

Food for Thought © 75

6.5 Body image and eating disorders Eating disorders in general have little to do with food. They are emotional and mental conditions that have to do with stress, self-esteem, pressure from peers or family, and a person’s need to feel in control, and can range from mild to severe. Eating disorders are not a specifically Jewish problem, but they are common in Jewish communities and Jewish tradition has insight to offer on this topic. As you read and discuss these texts, we encourage you to be as honest as feels comfortable to you. Keep in mind that disordered eating is not always visible, and that while society’s emphasis on physical beauty has a disproportionately negative effect on women, there are significant negative impacts on boys and men as well.

Eating disorder as spiritual disorder (We extend this to all genders, not just women....)

Eating disorders are in part spiritual disorders, because the sufferer is battling with the source of life. Women in particular often harbor a deep, private love-hate relationship with food. Many distrust a substance they must rely on to stay alive but fear will lead them to lose control, overeat, and gain weight. More of us make a daily ritual of standing on the bathroom scale than of taking time for prayer. This ambivalence about food and eating and the resulting tension over self-control, guilt, and sensual pleasure get passed along to children, even if we don’t voice our worries aloud.

– Dr. Wendy Mogel, The Blessing of a Skinned Knee

Jews, eating, mothers & guilt How, if at all, are your eating habits and/or body image affected by your parents?

How do you influence your children in regard to food? What examples do you set, and what would you like to set?

Jewish girls’ and womens’ bodies are rarely genetically predisposed to fit the current beauty ideal. It has been a long time since the Yiddish word “Zaftig” was a complimentary reference to a juicy, plump, strong, vibrant, solid woman. It is now associated with the overbearing Jewish mother forcing unwanted nourishment/advice/ love into her children.

Despite the continued desire among Jewish women to feed their children the richness of their heritage, there is as strong a desire to help them fit in the mainstream world.

Many a Jewish mother spent mornings straightening her daughter’s “kinky” hair.

Many a Jewish mother allowed her 16 year old daughter to get a nose job. Many a Jewish mother not only allowed, but even encouraged or praised her daughter’s endless dieting.

– Karen L. Smith, MSS, LSW, “Some Notes on Jewish Women and Eating Disorders”

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76 Food for Thought ©

Health, bodies & nourishment Hate/Love Be quiet, I don’t want to hear it anymore I don’t want to binge, I don’t want to purge, I don’t want to be hungry, I just want to be happy, Happy with myself Happy with my life, and my choices, I don’t want to hang on to you anymore, But it is so hard to let go, You are a comfort, But I still hate you, I want to leave you, But I am afraid, I am afraid, I am afraid you are all I have, That I will be nothing without you, And so I will continue to hold on, At least for now Until I can find a way out, And the life I am missing.

– Anonymous

Anorexia nervosa Anorexia nervosa is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes an eating disorder characterised by low body weight and body image distortion with an obsessive fear of gaining weight. Individuals with anorexia often control body weight by voluntary starvation, purging, vomiting, excessive exercise, or other weight control measures, such as diet pills or diuretic drugs. It primarily affects young adolescent girls in the Western world and has one of the highest mortality rates of any psychiatric condition, with approximately 10% of people diagnosed with the condition eventually dying due to related factors. Anorexia nervosa is a complex condition, involving psychological, neurobiological, and sociological components.

– Wikipedia

What do you call someone who’s fat?

What a wonderful way to stop and take a moment to feel better about yourself—to think of words to describe fat that you like! I suddenly feel better today than I have all week.

What words do you use to describe your body? Are they words you like?

I love: bootylicious, voluptuous, curvy, sensuously rounded, rounded, fat, large and lovely, reubenesque, goddess, zaftig, plump, chubby, curvacious, pillowy, powerful— especially when paired with large.

Ones that make me miserable or angry: morbidly obese, overweight, portly, stout, heavy, obese.

I am now going to print out my list and attach it to my mirror and my computer so I remind myself every day what I love about myself.

– Faith, writing on Bigfatblog.com

Food for Thought: • In what ways is your own self-image healthy— and in what ways unhealthy?

• How might you enable yourself to live more comfortably and healthily in your body? How might you enable others? Why do you think our self-esteem is so tied up in our body image?

• What are your own issues around eating?

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

Food for Thought © 77

6.6 Eating and willpower A common theme when we talk about food and eating is the need for self-control. And a common refrain among those seeking to throughout lessen theirthe ecological footprint is “restraint, “hold back,” “consume ” Living a society of (for day shall be cut off from his ”kin” (Lev ., less.

, in ~ ~ ( 23:29), and excludes one who does himself by the most part) abundance canthat pose a challenge to our capacity forharm self-restraint.

How does Jewish tradition help us excessive eating. to find a balance between consumption and extreme asceticism?

BT Yomaindiscriminate 80b 5.4 Digestion

Holiness and moderation

Taking everything into account This text is referring to God’s “Kedoshim tihiyu” (“be holy”). In my 13holy” Thou shalt have a place also without the camp, commandment to “be which opinion, this "separation" is not from whither thou shalt go forth abroad. 14 And thou shalt comes at the beginning of Parshat forbidden as [Rashi] says,when have a paddle among thyrelationships, weapons; and it shall be, Kedoshim, Leviticus 19-20. A similar but it is the kind of separation mentioned sittest phrase appears beforethou and after thedown abroad, thou shalt dig therewith, and the Torah it comes to shalt turn backthroughout and cover that whichwhen cometh from thee. list of permitted and prohibited foods in Deuteronomy 14; see 3.2. being Deuteronomy 23:13elevated.

14

~ r r r j ; p l q u q u n , r j p j un r j ; pr o l~ q , r j p j un ro j . u , r u rz u

r u j qz j , u r r u j q r j , u r uj j z n u j , r r j r p ~r o ~p r un n j

What does the Ramban think For the Torah warned us regarding holdtheit in!forbidden relationships and forbidden the connection isDon’t between body beingfoods, healthy thepermitted ways of the Lord, for it is impossible to understand or know the laws of kashrut andThe limiting one’s butisit of also spousal knowledge of the Creator while unwell. Therefore, one should keep away from things which consumption? intimacy, and [kosher] meat and

destroy the body, and accustom oneself to healthy and curing matters, which are as follows: One

wine.

Accordingly, a person with Do you think that should moderation is eat never unless one is hungry, nor drink unless one is thirsty, and nor should one hold strong physical desires could behave implicit in God’s commandment to oneself back for even a single moment from relieving oneself, for whenever one feels the need to “bewater holy”?or to "promiscuously" hisdo own or pass defecate, one with should sowife, immediately many women (since he could marry more

Are there things youRambam, do that are– Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Deot, Ch. 3 “permitted,” but which, in a deeper than one wife), and eat [kosher] meat j u ru Prayer after going the wine bathroom ~ r r u r j r u j r ~r r p~ q r p z l~ r s r j p p s j r u ~q u o s k~ r and to drink in a disgusting manner, sense, seem to you less than ideal?

Blessed are you whothe formed ~n p z r p s q u j n u l n u n r j n r j s since Torahus had not forbidden it j ~ o u n o j n r u u r l r with wisdom and created within us [outright], and he would p be ar j "menuval s l q j u o q j n j q z j ~p ~n p o r ~p o r nu s ~ p o r ~p q o r nu many openingsb'reshut and many cavities. j u ru . r p~ r rz HaTorah" – ‘a scoundrel s s l q with ~ n the j q u r{ ru r ~ o s r s j r u ~q u n l~.

If but one of them were open that permission of the Torah’. should be blocked or blocked that should be openTherefore, it would be after the Torah specified what impossible to stand beforeforbidden, You. is certainly it returns to tell us Blessed is HaShem, who creates that we should also limit that which is all flesh to act wondrously.

permissible.

– The Ramban (Nachmanides) on Leviticus 19:2

5.5 Body image & Eating disorders – no Hebrew

“Do&God’s 5.6 Peer pressure groupwill” think What is this text arguing for here?

He used to say: Do His will as you would

Pirke Avot 2:4 do your own will, so that God may do Mishnah 4. He used to say: Do His will as [you would do] your will as God does God’s own will. your own will, so that He may do your will as [He does] Set aside your will in the face of God’s His [own] will. Set aside your will in the face of His will, so so that Godofmay set aside theyour willwill. of that He may setwill, aside the will others before

others before your will.

– Pirkei Avot 2:4

o uj , pr s j u n s s j o{ l , o s ~ r r ~ u r r p{ l qu pz o j u n j s j o u qu . s s j u n j s j o j u n n o l~ s j o u q ju p z o u j , s s j n z s j un ~q , o s ~ o u n . pr s j

s q j r j q u j o l~ q u ~q j , u u u n q

q u n q u p z q j r o l ~p n r u ~q j , j r s rz j ~p ~n p z r u r ~s q u ~q j , s s j n

When is it your will, when is it God’s will?

How is this text saying the same thing as the Pirkei Avot above?

How is it different?

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

78 Food for Thought ©

Subject your will to the will of others, as was done by Leah for Rachel and by David for Saul. Subject your will, and the will of others, to the will of Heaven, as we find by Jacob that he did not kiss Joseph (because he was engaged in prayer).

– Derech Eretz Zuta, Ch. 1

~s q u ~q j . q rz u n j s s u p z q s z j n : p r u n ~s ~ r u p z , p z j ~p p r u ~p p z j n

Obstacles to perfect service According to some this was the prayer of R. Hamnuna, and R. Alexandri on concluding his prayer used to add the following: Sovereign of the Universe, it is known full well to Thee that our will is to perform Thy will, and what prevents us? The yeast in the dough (our own arrogance) and the subjection to the foreign Powers. May it be Thy will to deliver us from their hand, so that we may return to perform the statutes of Thy will with a perfect heart!

Talmud Bavli Berachot 17a

, ~ ~ Health,

bodies & nourishment

: ~ ~ , ~ ? , ; , .

Control yourself Control yourself He who has no rule over his own spirit He who has no rule is over own spirit is likedown, a cityand that is likehis a city that is broken broken down, and without walls. without walls.

Proverbs 25:28

~o p z l~ z ~n r s ~o r u j u n : s u j r j q

– Proverbs 25:28

How much rule over your own spirit do you have? What experiences can you recall that give you a sense of how much self-control you do have, at least in some circumstances?

What thin really means We all &know what aTHE woman means when she walks intoWE a room and says “I was so FOOD ETHICS: IMPLICATIONS OF WHAT EAT good today.” It means she successfully dominated, deprived, repressed and controlled 6.1 Agriculture andher tzedakah hunger. If she says she was “bad today” it means she “gave in to” the pleasure, of say, a cookie. Women’s responses to the thin woman’s rejection of a piece of cake Peah p s “she r u j q is rz so j r good.” p r{ j r The j n thin j s j n u n might shock us: “what willpower,” “what self control,” 19 When thou reapest thy harvest in thy field, and hast woman rejecting cake is praised, not because we imagine she isn’t hungry, or doesn’t s ru q o u q s u j q j u z r ~s , p r{ u qu forgot a sheaf in thelike field, thou not go back cake, butshalt rather because sheto hasfetch the willingness and capacity to dominate, it; it shall be for the stranger, for deny the fatherless, and for r j r j p r j q q j : p nj , r r j ~q r j suppress, and that hunger/want/desire. the widow; that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all r rp r p s k~ s The u j Meaning q un . l q Waif s Aesthetic” u j , – Karen L. Smith,thou MSS,beatest LSW , “From Rubenesque Behindo{ the the work of thy hands.

20 When thine olive to Twiggy: r lp ~q ~o q j ~s , r o tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again; it shall be s ru q o u q : j for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. 21 r ~s , j j q u s j n u n . p nj , r r j ~q r j When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou r lp ~q o s j It’sthee; all good shalt not glean it after it shall be for the stranger, for , r r j ~q r j s ru q o u q : the fatherless, and for the widow.

22 And thou shalt Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. p ~p u j n r r p p un , r u j q r j p nj remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt; therefore I commandYou thee do this thing. areto a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the ~p , s { l q , r stars; sn ~r have o u a q right ; n r to j n u j q j you Deuteronomy 24:19 be22 here.

When is willpower good in regard to food? When should we concede to cravings and when should we resist them?

. pu q , r u r q

And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Leket Maxharvest Ehrman,of Desiderata 9 And when ye reap–the your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corner of thy field, neither shalt thou

p u q j ~s , p j j ~q n j ~p p j j t ju r r ~s , j n j p p j ; s j n j r{ ~q j u

Food for Thought: • What kinds of peer pressure do you feel around eating? How do you handle them? In which situations do you feel you are more likely to compromise or stick to your convictions?

• What is the relationship between your will and God’s will (whatever you understand “God’s will” to be)?

• What would “wholesome discipline” look like in your life?

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

Food for Thought © 79

Chapter 7

Food & Place The question is today an increasingly common one: Do you know where your food comes from? We are learning that there are social, environmental, cultural and health reasons for eating food that is grown near to where we live.

But it is not only our food’s relationship to place that is interesting, but also our own. Jews have two different stories about place: we have lived in nearly every country in the world, but our tradition is focused on the Land of Israel.

How then shall we proceed?

Local and regional food

traditions. The Wandering Jew. The pull of Eretz Yisrael. How does the way we relate to food in our own lives illustrate, clarify and complicate our relationship to food and place?

7.1 Jews, food and place: a complicated relationship

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82 Food for Thought ©

Food & Place

The Wandering Jew We have lived in almost every country on earth. Most of us live in different places than did our grandparents and great-grandparents. We eat the food of places our families once lived: borscht, bialys, babaganoush. Our Jewishness exists in the time-based rituals of our tradition—not in space. And as Westerners, our sense of rootedness to place is further eroded by an increasingly homogenized and global culture.

We’re not sure: what are the distinctive food traditions of American Jews? (or English Jews, or Argentinian Jews, or Australian Jews, or...?)

The Pull of Eretz Yisrael We are historically deeply connected to the Land of Israel. When we pray we face Jerusalem. We have longed for the renewal of Jewish life in Israel since the destruction of the Temple. The seven species described in the Torah were indiginous to Israel three thousand years ago and all still grow in Israel today. (In May 2006, participants in Hazon’s Israel Ride cycled past all seven species in the one-day ride from Jerusalem to Ashkelon.) “Israeli foods” such as hummus, pita and falafel are often served at Jewish events. Jewish tradition presumes that we should live in Israel.

Many of us live thousands of miles away.

How do we negotiate our relationship to Israel and Israeli food from overseas?

Local and Regional Food Traditions The ubiquity of food transportation, national food companies and supermarket chains homogenize the food we eat. It is possible to eat whatever we want, whenever we want, and Starbucks is the same everywhere. In response, many of us now argue for eating local food and reviving the food traditions that emerged in the places we live.

We are starting to value farmers’ markets, to cook with the season, to eat where we live. At the same time, we are used to certain foods being available all the time.

What should we eat?

Food for Thought: • Where were you born? Do you live there now? Where were your parents and grandparents born? How many places has your family called “home”?

• What are your family’s favorite foods? How do they differ from those of your parents or grandparents, or from your children or grandchildren?

• Do you feel a tension between “eating local” and “being Jewish” and “being connected to Israel”? If so, how do you resolve it?

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

Food for Thought © 83

7.2 Our connection to place The text from Deuteronomy on this page is a reminder that the Jewish people entered history as an indigenous people—with a direct relationship to the food native to their land. The striking text on the opposite page recalls an incidenct that prompted Alan Durning to return to the Pacific Northwest, where he grew up, and to write a book (of which this is the beginning) about our relationship to place. The texts on these pages are intended to provoke you to think about what “homeland” means to you. Is it where you live now, where you grew up, where you plan to live in the future, or the land of Israel?

A good land This passage describes a complete and fulfilled life: land, food, abundance, God, gratitude, religious obligation, promise of a future.

The “seven species” described in the Deuteronomy text still grow in Israel today. To the ancients, they were emblematic of the bounty of the land.

Do you think it is possible to achieve these feelings of completeness outside of Israel? If so, where do you feel you could most meet all of your needs?

For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land with streams and springs and fountains issuing from plain and hill; 8 a land of wheat and barley, of vines, figs, and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and [date] honey; 9 a land where you may eat bread without scarceness, where you will lack nothing; a land whose rocks are iron and from whose hills you can mine bronze. 10 When you have eaten and you are satisfied, give thanks to the Lord your God for the good land which God has given you.

7

– Deuteronomy 8:7-10 This text from what is known as the “Sinuhe Manuscript” (most likely written during the reign of Amenem-het I, 1938-1908bce, founder of the 12th Egyptian Dynasty) includes a list almost identical with the one in the Torah.

Which of these foods do you associate with the Land of Israel?

It was a good land...

Figs were in it, together with grapes Wine was more abundant than water Honey was great, plentiful was its plant-oil, With all kinds of fruit on its trees, There was barley, together with wheat And without limit cattle of every kind – Sinuhe B81-85

Sing of your home on the range...

In fact, the Jewish people did manage to “sing a song of the Lord on alien soil.” We kept our culture and faith (and food traditions) while living in nearly every country on earth. In what ways does this text resonate with your own experience?

Is it possible to have more than one homeland?

By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and wept, as we thought of Zion.

There on the poplars we hung up our lyres, for our captors asked us there for songs, our tormentors, for amusement, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion.”

How can we sing a song of the Lord on alien soil?

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

84 Food for Thought ©

– Psalm 137:1-4

Food & Place

What is your homeland like?

I was in the Philippines interviewing members of remote hill tribes about their land and livelihood. On a sweltering day in the forested terrain of the Banwa’on people, a gap-toothed chief showed me the trees, streams and farm plots that his tribe had tended for centuries. It was territory, he insisted, they would defend with their lives.

As the sun finally slid lower in the sky, he introduced me to a frail old woman who was revered by the others as a traditional priestess. We sat under a sacred tree near her farm and looked out over the Ma’asam River. She asked through an interpreter, “What is your homeland like?”

“Tell me about your place.”

How would you answer the old woman’s question?

She looked at me with an expectant smile, but I was speechless. My eyes dropped.

Should I tell her about my neighborhood on the edge of Washington, D.C., the one where I then lived with my wife, Amy, and our son, Gary? The one where we could not let Gary play outside because of the traffic?

She repeated the question, thinking I had not heard. “Tell me about your place.”

Again, I could not answer. Should I tell her about the neighborhood we had previously fled, the one where the dead bodies of young men kept turning up in the alleys? The one where police helicopters were always shining their spotlights through our windows? The one that had since erupted in riots and suffered the psychotic nonchalance of a serial killer? I said nothing.

The truth was I lacked any connection to my base in Washington, D.C., and for some reason, for the first time, it shamed me. I had breakfasted with senators and shaken hands with presidents, but I was tongue-tied before this barefoot old woman.

“In America,” I finally admitted, “we have careers, not places.” Looking up, I recognized pity in her eyes.

– Alan Thein Durning, This Place on Earth

Food for Thought: • Do you have a land that you love? What do you eat when you are there?

• How does connection to place relate to food? And how does the food you eat connect you to place?

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

Food for Thought © 85

7.3 Food and where it comes from Say “Italy” and people think “spaghetti.” Say “England” and people think “fish & chips.” In the past, eating new foods in a new place was one of the most typical ways of experiencing a new country or region. But when food is flown around the world, and the foods of many locales and many cultures are available across the West, then food loses its meaning as a signifier of place, and our own connection is itself diminished. We have the luxury of saying, “Ok, if the oranges in California froze, I’ll get them from Florida.” If “you are what you eat”, does that mean that having no sense of where our food comes from makes us, to some degree, homeless? And that, correspondingly, to re-orient our relationship to the place our food is grown (whether locally or from Israel) helps anchor our sense of place? Given that much of our food sometimes seems placeless, we think that it’s a positive value to consciously eat locally, at least sometimes, and in general to pay more attention to where our food comes from.

American Terroir When your food comes from far away...

The average food item will travel 1,300 miles before you eat it, and sometimes twice that far.

It takes 435 calories of energy to transport a strawberry from California to the East Coast; the strawberry itself contains about 7 calories of energy.

Fruits and vegetables shipped from distant states typically spend seven to fourteen days in transit before they arrive in the supermarket. (Locally grown fruits and vegetables are usually sold within 24 hours of being harvested.)

Most fruit and vegetable varieties sold in supermarkets are chosen for their ability to withstand industrial harvesting equipment and extended travel, not taste. This results in little variety in the plants grown.

See Notes for sources.

Sit down at the table with your countrymen & friends And ask your lips, tongues, minds & bellies some questions, Questions that remind us that our bodies & spirits Are either nurtured by place Or swallowed up by tasteless placelessness…

Ask aloud: Just what exactly is it That we want to have cross our lips, To roll off our tongues & down our throats To be transformed & conjured into something Altogether new by thousands of gut microbes To surge into our bloodstreams To be carried along with insulin for one last wild ride & to be lodged within the very cells of our bodies?

Just what do we want to be made of ?

What do we claim as our tastes? & what do we want to taste like When we, in our own turn, are eaten by wolf, vulture, raven, condor, coyote or bear?

I, for one, & perhaps you as well, Wish to taste like the very country in which I reside: Like great plains bison wallowing amidst the prairie turnips, Like salmon running up a cold and clear mountain stream, Like gators crawling into a swamp stewing with sassafras leaves, Like wild rice hand-harvested from the azure waters of a northern lake, Like maple syrup gleaned from woods where Robert Frost once walked, Like cactus fruit falling off a tall saguaro into a handmade basket below.

These plants & animals are asking us to pledge allegiance to what is local, what is loved, to what is seasonal, what is unique to each American place.

If old Walt Whitman were sitting at our table, Supping with us today, he’d be celebrating That wild old slumgullion stew that all of us together make, Singing a song that goes like this: “Taste America’s uniqueness, taste this earth, Taste our terroir, savor its worth, And by tasting, you will see!”

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86 Food for Thought ©

– Gary Paul Nabhan

Food & Place Imported Grapes 23

They reached the Eshcol wadi, and there they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes — it had to be borne on a carrying frame by two of them — and some pomegranates and figs. 24 That place was named the Eshcol wadi because of the cluster that the Israelites cut down there.

The Jewish people has read the Torah each week for almost three thousand years. How does reading about the Land of Israel influence our relationship to place? How do you integrate your relationship to the Land of Israel with your relationship to the land where you now live?

At the end of forty days they returned from scouting the land. 26 They went straight to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the wilderness of Paran, and they made their report to them and to the whole community, as they showed them the fruit of the land. 27 This is what they told him: “We came to the land you sent us to; it does indeed flow with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.

The phrase “a land of milk and honey” is famous. Less well-known is that the honey is not from bees, but from dates.

25

– Numbers 13:23-27

You have seen this menu before At the Starbucks on the corner...in New York, Vancouver, London, Istanbul...same thing.

Hot Coffee Beverages Coffee of the Day Regular and Decaf

Caffé Latte

Espresso & steamed milk

Caffé Americano

Espresso & hot water

White Chocolate Mocha

White chocolate flavored version of our classic Caffé Mocha

Caffé Mocha

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How often do you eat food from a franchise in your own city? How often do you eat at a franchise when you are traveling, on business or for pleasure? Do you always get the same thing?

How do foreign (or foreignsounding) names of foods influence the appeal of that food? What other examples (besides “Grande” and “Venti”) can you think of?

Food for Thought: • What foods grow where you live? How much is your sense of place informed by the kinds of foods that are available where you live?

• If someone from out of town was coming to eat dinner with you, what would you serve them? Is there anything you could or would serve that you think of as “local”?

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

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7.4 No taste like home Most of us are not in the position to grow our own food. There may be tomato plants in a sunny window, or a thriving vegetable garden out back, or a hopeful crop of sprouts on the kitchen counter. But in general, we are a society of manna eaters, eating food that magically appears at our doorstep (wherever we are), and which we’ve had no role in growing or raising. This text from Avot de Rabbi Natan is remarkable, though, and we think it’s a question worth thinking about: What is the connection between satisfaction, a place called home, and growing your own food? Is this something we should strive for? And if growing our own food is in fact impossible, what are some other ways we can feel rooted in a place and satisfied by what we eat?

Grow your own What is the text saying? What might be modern-day equivalents of the three categories?

Why do you think it uses such visceral language? And why do you think the author or transmitters of this text made these arguments?

Rabbi Ahai ben Yoshiya says: One who purchases grain in the market—to what may such a person be likened? To an infant whose mother died, and they pass him from door to door among wetnurses and (still) the baby is not satisfied. One who buys bread in the marketplace—to what may such a person be likened? It is as if he is dead and buried. But one who eats from his own (what one has grown himself ) is like an infant raised at his mother’s breasts.

He used to say: During the time that a person eats from what he has grown himself—his mind is tranquil. Even one who eats from that which his father has grown or from that of his mother’s or son’s, his mind is not tranquil—and you do not [even] need to say [food grown] from that of others [non-relatives].

– Avot de Rabbi Natan 31:1

We liked it better in Egypt If manna was ostensibly so easy to collect, and so healthy and versatile, why did the Israelites continue to crave food from Egypt?

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And the mixed multitude that was among them had a strong craving; and the people of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us meat to eat?

5 We remember the fish, which we ate in Egypt for nothing; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic; 6 But now our soul is dried away; there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes. 7And the manna was as coriander seed, and its color as the color of bdellium. 8And the people went about, and gathered it, and ground it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and baked it in pans, and made cakes of it; and the taste of it was like the taste of fresh oil.

9 And when the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell upon it.

4

– Numbers 11:4-9

Food & Place Farming in Israel - the ultimate?

“I had a traditional Jewish background, and then a strong sense of environmentalism.

I got in touch with Hazon because I thought maybe I could work with them on bike paths in New York City. But Nigel sent me to Adam Berman, who was founding Adamah. I totally loved it. I then took a year’s course in organic farming on the West Coast. And then I came to Israel and touched the soil—and something just totally clicked in me. That’s when I decided to stay at Chava V’adam and found Shorashim.”

– Yigal Deutscher, founder (and farmer!) of Chava V’Adam in Modi’in, Israel

“This is the most fulfilling life I can imagine – nothing makes me feel more complete. You only really know a place when you farm it – and doing this in Israel is incredible…”

– Shoshana Wylen

Blackberries from Vancouver I went home last fall for Rosh Hashana. Most of the blackberries were gone by then but we went out to the Bird Sanctuary in the Fraser Delta and there were a few still clinging to the vines. I lagged behind the others, picking and eating every remaining berry I could find. It’s more than the fact that they are tasty. I love that they are free!

Blackberries grow everywhere in Vancouver, they’re almost a weed. Blackberries make me think of home, and my childhood: I remember picking them in elementary school, eating them and putting some in my pocket for later, very much ruining my dress.

Living on the East Coast, I miss the blackberries. One fall I decided I’d like to go back earlier in the season—if only for a day—and I would pick as many as I could and fly them back to New York with me.

Before coming to Israel, Shoshana was working for an accountant in Muncie, NJ. Yigal grew up in Queens, NY. Yigal and Shoshana are both alumni of Adamah: The Jewish Environmental Fellowship at the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center.

Shoshana and Yigal both grew up in North America. They both have a strong relationship to place, to food, and a commitment to environmental sustainability, and have found that growing and picking their own food, specifically in Israel, is a full expression of their values. What do you make of their experience?

Many like Shoshana and Yigal have found similar joy in farming, although not necessarily in Israel.

What do you think the differences might be between the two experiences?

Oddly enough, that’s exactly what I did. A year later it turned out there was a family simcha in early September; I flew home for the weekend. I didn’t know if there would still be berries, but I was hopeful. After my father’s conversion ceremony Friday afternoon, we went back to the lot behind the synagogue—a huge wall of untouched, huge, plump berries. If Moses’ scouts had seen this when checking out the land…they would have needed two big poles to hoist the berries between them and carry them home, that’s how big they were. We picked all afternoon. I put my brother and his girlfriend and my father to work. We picked bucketfuls. I couldn’t get over it: blackberries, first of all, are delicious. And good for you. And they are free real food that covers the city of Vancouver (and much of the Pacific Northwest) at the tail end of summer. Everywhere! Blackberries are tied up in my head with memories of hiking, and camping, and romping outside when it’s still warm out, fleece jackets and sunsets over the ocean.

We picked about twenty cups of blackberries. I made jam the next night, and flew home the following day. I gave the little jars to many of my friends. A little piece of home, spreadable on toast.

– Anna Hanau

Food for Thought: • What foods do you associate with home? Can you eat them where you live now?

• What kinds of food would you rather eat “homemade”? What kinds do you buy pre-made?

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

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7.5 Authentic Jewish food?

Food connects us not only to countries, and to the comforts and relationships of home, but also to our culture. Jews have lived in almost every country in the world, and have absorbed local food traditions wherever they went. Is there, then, such a thing as authentic Jewish food? (and does that matter?)

Charoset, Talmud-style According to this talmudic “recipe,” what ingredients are required in charoset?

Look at the charoset recipes on the opposite page. What ingredients do they have in common? Which ones are different?

What’s a baraita?

A baraita is a piece of rabbinic literature that dates to the time of the Mishnah but was not included in it. Many baraitot are collected in a book called the Tosefta, or in various books of Halakhic Midrashim.

“Although it is not a mitzvah (commandment) to use charoset.”

If it is not obligatory, why is it used?

Rabbi Ami said: To neutralize [the taste of the bitter herbs].

[However,] “Rabbi Elazar ben Rabbi Zadok said: It is a mitzvah,” etc. What religious purpose can it serve? Rabbi Levi said: “It serves as a remembrance of the apple-trees.” Rabbi Johanan said: “It serves as a remembrance of the mortar which the Israelites were compelled to prepare when in bondage in Egypt.”

Abaye said: Therefore the charoset should be made to have an acid taste in memory of the apple-trees, and also thick, in memory of the mortar.

We learn in a baraita in support of Rabbi Johanan: “The spices used in the preparation of the charoset were in memory of the straw used in the preparation of the mortar, and the charoset was in memory of the mortar itself.” Rabbi Elazar ben Zadok said: “The vendors of spices in Jerusalem would shout on the streets, ‘Come and buy spices [needed to fulfill] the mitzvah’!”

– Talmud Bavli, Masekhet Pesachim 116a

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Food & Place Yemenite Charoset 1 lb. dried raisins 8 oz. pitted dates ¼ cup sugar

¼ cup chopped walnuts or pecans 2 cups water

What does your family put in charoset? What do your parents or grandparents put in theirs? Where does your recipe come from?

Put raisins and dates in a bowl and cover with water. Let stand one hour. Add the sugar and whirl the mixture in a blender, a few spoonfuls at a time, or divide the mixture in thirds and place in a food processor. Transfer the chopped fruits to a heavy saucepan and let simmer over low heat until the fruits are cooked and the liquid is absorbed. It should take about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and place in a jar.

Venetian Charoset 1½ cups chestnut paste ½ cup pine nuts 10 oz dates, chopped grated rind of one orange 12 oz. figs, chopped ½ cup white raisins

2 tbsp poppy seeds ¼ cup dried apricots ½ cup chopped walnuts ½ cup brandy ½ cup chopped almonds honey to bind

Combine all ingredients, gradually adding just enough brandy and honey to make the mixture bind. Other Italian charoset recipes include mashed-up bananas, apples, hardboiled eggs, crushed matzah, pears, and lemon.

– Joan Nathan, The Jewish Holiday Kitchen

Moroccan Charoset 1¾ cups dates 1¾ cups dried figs ¼ cup wine 1 cup almonds

½ cup raisins 2 tbsp powdered sugar 1 tsp cinnamon ½ tsp nutmeg

Pit and chop dates, and chop figs. Then throw it all in the food processor and chop into a paste! Optional: roll charoset into little balls to serve.

– Carly, Peeling a Pomegranate

Ashkenazi Apple-Nut Charoset 2 Granny Smith apples ½ cup sweet Passover wine 2 cups almonds, chopped 2 tsp cinnamon Peel, core, and dice apples. Chop nuts (should be slightly smaller pieces than the apples). Add wine and cinnamon; adjust quantities to taste!

– Edith Stevenson

Israeli Charoset 2 apples, chopped 6 bananas, mashed 1 lemon, juiced and grated 1 orange, juiced and grated 1¼ cups dates, chopped 1 cup red wine

4 tsp candied orange peel, chopped 1 cup walnuts, chopped Matzah meal cinnamon sugar

Blend the fruits and nuts. Add wine. Add as much matzah meal as the mixture will take and still remain soft. Add cinnamon and sugar to taste. Mix well and chill before serving.

– Shayla Kosky JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

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“The reason only one person was created [in the Genesis story] is to teach you that whosoever kills a single soul the Torah considers to have killed a complete world. And whosoever sustains and saves a single soul, it is as if that person sustained a whole world.”

– Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5

Chapter 8

Food & Ethics:

the implications of our food choices The story of of our food does not begin and end on our plate.

Food is produced somewhere, by someone, under some circumstances. More and more people are asking not only, “Is this food good for my body?” but also, “Is this food good for the world?”

Jewish tradition has long made the connection between food and social justice, exhorting us whenever possible to share our table with the hungry and to remember the orphan, the widow, the stranger. We were once slaves in Egypt; our memory of our experience of injustice is intended to be a constant reminder to do justice in the world.

The texts that follow raise a broad range of issues. The common thread is the relationship between ethical living

“There are people in the world so hungry that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.”

– Mahatma Gandhi

and ethical eating.

8.1 Agriculture and tzedakah in the Torah There is a direct connection between agricultural production, social justice and our relationship with God in the Torah. We no longer live in the agrarian world of the biblical land of Israel; yet the underlying issues remain with us today.

Shikhecha: Leaving sheaves What reasons does the text give for leaving the gleanings behind for the stranger, orphan and widow?

How, if at all, do memories of oppression influence our choices today?

What is the difference between memory and history?

What is the difference between gathering everything and giving a donation to the poor and this rule of incomplete harvesting?

What are the different roles of forgetting and remembering in this passage?

When you reap the harvest in your field and overlook a sheaf in the field, do not turn back to get it; it shall go to the stranger, the orphan, and the widow — in order that the Lord your God may bless you in all your undertakings.

19

When you beat down the fruit of your olive trees, do not go over them again; that shall go to the stranger, the orphan, and the widow. 21 When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, do not pick it over again; that shall go to the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. 22 Always remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore do I command you to do this thing.

20

– Deuteronomy 24:19-22

Pe’ah: The corners of your field Imagine a square field. If you were to draw a diagonal line across the field, you’d be left with a triangular “corner”. Depending on where you draw this line, however, your corner could be large or small. In this way, the text builds in the notion that each person should share their corners—whatever size that means.

When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap all the way to the edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 You shall not pick your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I the Lord am your God. 9

– Leviticus 19:9-10

An amazing idea In 2004, Hazon launched the first Community-Supported Agriculture project in the Jewish community. We called it “Tuv Ha’Aretz,” which we translate as both “good for the land” and “best of the land.” The preceding winter, we were talking about food charity and pe’ah at our Beit Midrash, a 12-weeks series on “How & What should a Jew Eat?” We were new to the idea of CSA, and so we asked: if we are no longer farmers with fields to leave gleanings for the ‘poor, widow and orphan,’ then what is our responsibility to food charity, as Jews and as twenty-first century city-folk?

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Dr. Phyllis Bieri said, “Well, with a CSA, there are always leftovers!” We realized that, indeed, it was inevitable that some members would not pick up their share every week, and that therefore, built into the system of Tuv Ha’Aretz (which met a series of other contemporary food issue concerns, being fresh, local, mostly organic, minimallypackaged, etc.) was also a mechanism that enabled us to “observe peah” as well. It made us even more excited to begin Tuv Ha’Aretz at Ansche Chesed that summer.

The leftovers that year were taken every week to a soup kitchen on the Upper West Side. It was another example of one of Anna’s favorite quotes from Michael Corbett: “ You know you’re on the right track when your solution to one problem accidentally solves several others.”

Food & Ethics Orlah: Fruit trees When you enter the land and plant any tree for food, you shall regard its fruit as forbidden. Three years it shall be forbidden for you, not to be eaten. 24 In the fourth year all its fruit shall be set aside for jubilation before the Lord; 25 and only in the fifth year may you use its fruit — that its yield to you may be increased: I the Lord am your God. 23

– Leviticus 19:23-25

Aser t’aser: Tithing You shall surely tithe every year a tenth part of all the yield of your sowing that is brought from the field. 23 You shall consume the tithes of your new grain and wine and oil, and the firstlings of your herds and flocks, in the presence of the Lord your God, in the place where God will choose to establish His name, so that you may learn to revere the Lord your God forever.

22

How many years? Tu B’shevat, the 15th of the month of Shevat, is the new year of the trees. Originally it was, in a sense, the beginning and end of the “tax year,” so that you’d know when to bring the tithes from your tree to the Temple.

If you were to plant a fig tree in your garden, and had to wait five years before you could eat any of the fruit (and in the fourth year you gave all the figs away), how would you feel?

What sort of self-restraint would that signify, and engender?

Hebrew signifies intensity by doubling a verb. So what in English is here translated as “You shall surely tithe,” is in Hebrew “aser t’aser.” “Eser” in Hebrew means ten.

“Aser t’aser” means, most literally, something like “ten-percenting, you shall ten percent”. “Tithing”, which sounds vague, is actually very literal.

– Deuteronomy 14:22-23

Tithing today I have one friend who tithes a portion of her income each year, and she explicitly uses this language— “tithing” — to make clear to herself and her family that she is fulfilling her contemporary understanding of the biblical obligation, not merely “giving charity”. She’s quite clear that not everything that is “tax deductible” is to her, tithing— and some sorts of tithing (giving to a homeless person) are not tax deductible.

Think about tithing a proportion of your income in the next week to those deeply in need.

– Nigel Savage

Food for Thought: • What are the different agricultural rules, and what are the reasons given for them? What do they all have in common? How are they different?

• What do you think our obligation to the orphan, stranger and widow could be or should be if we are not producing our own food, and/or if we are not living in the land of Israel?

• The Torah reiterates the refrain “the stranger, the orphan and the widow”— signifying the weakest, poorest and most vulnerable members of their society.

Who in your community or city or country is the weakest, the poorest and the most vulnerable? How might you help?

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

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8.2 Our sphere of obligation Caring for the stranger, the orphan and the widow is a constant refrain throughout Jewish tradition, and Jews have always been at the forefront of social justice issues—within and beyond the Jewish community. We thank God in the Birkat Hamazon (grace after meals) for ‘feeding the world’—but we know in fact that many people are hungry every day, all over the world. Many of us are privileged to live in a world where we can meet our basic needs; yet for many even the ability to sit and study about food might be considered a luxury. What is our obligation to share what we have with others? If we can never do enough to fix all the world’s problems, how do we prevent our hearts from being hardened yet also protect ourselves from feeling overwhelmed? How should we act, as individuals and as communities, both to help people in need individually, and to create a healthier and more sustainable world for all?

Shepherds and watchmen of orchards What is the difference between a watchman of an orchard and the owner of an orchard?

On whom is this text placing the obligation to avoid the possibility of theft?

One may not buy wool, milk or kids from shepherds [of the flocks of others].

Nor may one buy wood or fruit from the watchman of orchards. … [Even in circumstances where it is permitted to buy something,] in all cases in which the seller asks that the goods be hidden, it is forbidden [to make such a purchase].

– Talmud Bavli, Masekhet Bava Kama 10:9 (Mishna)

Our sphere of obligation This text is the clearest explication of the traditional understanding of how we change the world.

It presumes that we can’t, by ourselves, fix the whole world, but that we begin where we can and move out in concentric circles from there. What do you think of this?

What might this mean with regards to how you eat?

The support of oneself comes before anyone else. A person is not obligated to give tzedakah until a basic livelihood has been attained. After that is support of parents, then the support of grown children, then siblings, then all other relatives, then neighbors, then members of one’s local community, then members of other communities.

– Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah 252:3, Rema

Jews & non-Jews The texts on this page do not require that Jews help only other Jews. In what situation, if any, do you think it would be appropriate to first offer help within the Jewish community?

In a city where non-Jews and Jews live, the tzedakah collectors collect from Jews and non-Jews and support Jewish and non-Jewish poor; we visit Jewish and non-Jewish sick and bury Jewish and non-Jewish dead, and comfort Jewish and non-Jewish mourners, and return lost goods of non-Jews and Jews, to promote the ways of peace.

– Talmud Yerushalmi, Masekhet Demai 4:1

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Food & Ethics Embodied energy I can’t believe it, but nine berries later, each one has provided a different experience; some implode in my mouth, others slowly melt, others are sweet and silky, some are warm and smoky. It’s amazing that such a small package can produce such a powerful experience.

I try to get Anthony to expound on what makes these so good. I want to hear about technique, some secret that I can take with me. Instead, he says, “If you want good fruit, you have to treat your pickers well, good trellising for ease of picking, good outhouses, hot coffee at the right times.”

Hot coffee! Good outhouses! I was expecting him to tell me about pruning or a particular blend of compost or special irrigation techniques. And yet, if you believe as I do that food embodies the energy of the people who grow and harvest it, then coffee and outhouses and the well-being of those doing the work are as important as any technique.

– Michael Ableman, Fields of Plenty

Have you ever had the experience of tasting a fruit that was absolutely incredible? What made your experience so incredible?

Fair Trade Fair Trade uses the same principle that Ableman describes: commodities are made of more than just soil and sun, and it takes more than just money to produce them. When you buy Fair Trade coffee, tea, bananas and chocolate, you are supporting the social and economic health of the people and communities who grow them.

“When you pray, move your feet” I loathe, I spurn your festivals, I am not appeased by your solemn assemblies.

22 If you offer Me burnt offerings, or your meal offerings, I will not accept them; I will pay no heed to your gifts of fatlings.

23 Spare Me the sound of your hymns, and let Me not hear the music of your lutes. 24 But let justice well up like water, Righteousness like an unfailing stream!

21

– Amos 5:21-25

Negotiating our responsibility You shall not hate your kinsfolk in your heart. Reprove your kinsman but incur no guilt because of him. 18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against your countrymen. Love your fellow as yourself: I am the Lord.

17

How does this passage understand the relationship between your own actions and someone else’s? Do you think it is fair that we “bear our neighbor’s sin” if we don’t rebuke them for their wrongdoing?

– Leviticus 19:17-18

Food for Thought: • In what ways does buying produce that may have been grown with unfair labor and environmental practices constitute buying goods that have been stolen?

What about them is stolen?

• How does the fact that our food is grown outside our community change the hierarchy of our obligation?

• If you reflect on the texts on these two pages together, how might you see that they influence each other? In what way, if at all, do they prompt you to eat differently?

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

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8.3 When ethics and economics conflict: an ancient example The first example of large-scale food planning and subsidies in Jewish tradition is the story of Joseph and Pharaoh in the Torah. Seven years of plenty, seven years of famine, and a process to buy, store and distribute the grain over the entire fourteen-year period. Food production and distribution since ancient times has required complicated choices to be made. The texts on these pages from different eras and different worlds address a series of complex issues. The Talmudic passage below is especially remarkable. Read these texts carefully, as an introduction to the complexities of planning food production in a world of six billion people.

Vegetables at the market The first part of this text is about the relationship between short term choices, longer term implications, and learned human behavior. What do you think of each of Rav Huna’s choices? If you had the money, would you choose to replicate his behavior or not?

Raba said to Rafram bar Papa: Tell me some of the good deeds which Rabbi Huna did. [Rafram bar Papa] said to him: […]

On the eve of every Sabbath he would send a messenger to the market and any vegetables that the [market] gardeners had left over he bought up and had them thrown into the river.

Should he not rather have had these distributed among the poor?

[He was afraid] lest they would then at times be led to rely upon him and would not trouble to buy any for themselves.

Why did he not give the vegetables to the domestic animals?

He was of the opinion that food fit for human consumption may not be given to animals.

Then why did he purchase them at all?

This would lead [the gardeners] to do wrong in the future [by not providing an adequate supply].

How does Raba’s comment shed further light on this passage?

…When he had a meal he would open the door wide and declare, Whosoever is in need let him come and eat.

Raba said: All these things I could myself carry out except the last one because there are so many [people] in Mahuza.

– Talmud Bavli, Masekhet Ta’anit 20b-21a

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Food & Ethics

Outrage during the Great Depression The works of the roots of the vines, of the trees, must be destroyed to keep up the price, and this is the saddest, bitterest thing of all. Carloads of oranges dumped on the ground. The people come from miles to take the fruit, but this could not be. How would they buy oranges at twenty cents a dozen if they could drive out and pick them up? And men with hoses squirt kerosene on the oranges, and they are angry at the crime, angry at the people who have come to take the fruit. A million people hungry, needing the fruit — and kerosene sprayed over the golden mountains.

- John Steinbeck, Grapes of Wrath

Modern effects of crop subsidies Through legislation called the Farm Bill, the US government spends billions of dollars “supporting American agriculture.” The way the money is distributed has a direct effect on food prices, which in turn affects diet choices and general health. These numbers help tell the story: More than $50 billion was paid to corn farmers from 1995-2005.

Supply & Demand The free market has never worked in agriculture and it never will. The economics of a family farm are very different than a firm’s: when prices fall, the firm can lay off people, idle factories, and make fewer widgets. Eventually the market finds a new balance between supply and demand. But the demand for food isn’t elastic; people don’t eat more just because food is cheap.

– George Naylor, President of the National Family Farms Coalition, as quoted in Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma

Over the past thirty years, consumption of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) has increased 1,000%.

Soft drink consumption has more than doubled since 1971.

The average teenage boy drinks two 12-ounce sodas per day – 700+ cans a year.

Less than $1 million was spent by the USDA to promote the 3,700 farmers’ markets in the United States in 2005, while $9.4 billion was paid to corn farmers.

Between 1985 and 2000, the real price of fruits and vegetables increased by 40%, while prices for soft drinks decreased by 24%.

Food for Thought:

Between 2003 and 2005, 66% of crop subsidies went to 10% of farmers.

help feed hungry people? Why or why not? Do you think individuals have

Between 1997 and 2005, the industrial broiler chicken industry saved $11.25 billion, and the industrial hog industry saved $8.5 billion from Farm Bill policies that kept corn and soybean prices below the cost of production.

either of these obligations?

See Notes for sources.

• In what ways are Rav Huna’s actions different from the “men with the hoses” in Steinbeck’s story? How are they similar?

• Do you think the government has an obligation to help support farmers? To

• What creative policies do you think Rav Huna might suggest if he were the US Secretary of Agriculture today?

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

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8.4 Let all who are hungry come and eat Many of us are active in helping our communities in many ways—but feeding people is not always the first thing that we think of when we want to work to make the world a better place. Jewish tradition has a commitment to social justice in general, and feeding the hungry in particular. Every year on Passover, we open our doors to share our table and our food with people less fortunate than us. Our celebration of freedom reminds us of those who are less free than we are. But if our tradition teaches “let all who are hungry come and eat,” how in practice do we fulfil that injunction?

How much is enough?

Most people do not even reach the level of Job in this passage, much less Abraham. But this passage is, as you see, consistent with a strong thread in Jewish tradition about providing for those in need. If you were to choose to be a living part of this chain of tradition, how might you emulate Job—or Abraham?

For more on hospitality, see 5.3

Tamarisk / Eshel Tree There are eight or perhaps nine species of tamarisk [in the Middle East]... They are shrubs or small trees, with a flattened hemispherical comus, and brittle branches and twigs, with minute scale-like leaves, white or pinkish, perfect or dioecious flowers, in dense spike-like racemes. Most of them thrive especially in sandy soil, or exposures where they receive the sea air laden with salt.

– G.E. Post, Dictionary of the Bible A shade-providing tree in a desert landscape, the tamarisk is a symbol of hospitality. The rabbis of the Talmud made a mnemonic from the letters of the tree’s name, lW`, to refer to Abraham’s hospitality: ` - achilah: he fed them W - sh’tiyah: he gave them drinks l - linah: he provided a place for them to stay

When the great calamity befell Job, he pleaded with the Holy One. “Master of the Universe, did I not feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, as it is written, “Have I eaten bread alone, and orphans not eaten from it?” ( Job 31:16). And did I not clothe the naked, as it is written, “Was he not warmed by the fleece of my sheep?” ( Job 31:20).

However, the Holy One answered Job, “Job, you have not yet reached half the measure [of hospitality] extended by Abraham. You sat in your house waiting for guests to come to you. To him who was accustomed to eat wheat bread, you gave wheat bread; to him who was accustomed to eat meat, you gave meat; and to him who was accustomed to drink wine, you gave wine.

But Abraham did not act this way. He went out, getting about in the world.

When he met prospective guests, he brought them to his home. Even to him who was not accustomed to eat wheat bread, he gave wheat bread; to him who was not accustomed to eat meat, he gave meat; and to him who was not accustomed to drink wine, he gave wine.

Not only that, but he got busy and built spacious mansions along the highways, and stocked them with food and drink, so that whoever entered ate, drank, and blessed Heaven.

Therefore, unusual satisfaction was given to Abraham, and whatever any person requested was to be found in his house, as it is written “And he planted a tamarisk tree (“eshel”) in Be’er Sheva.

– Avot de Rabbi Natan 7 on Genesis 21:33

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Food & Ethics

To each his own To one for whom bread is suitable, give bread; to the one who needs dough, give dough; to one for whom money is required, give money; to one for whom it is fitting to put the food in that one’s mouth, put it in.

What might be the modern equivalent of the four things listed here? In your community? In Israel?

Elsewhere in the world?

– Sifre on Parshat Re’eh

Let all who are hungry come and eat (“ha lachma anya”)

This is the bread of affliction, fathers which ate in our the This is thewhich bread our of affliction, land of Egypt. All who are hungry, and eat; All fathers ate in thecome land of Egypt.

Allwho who are in need, come and in theand Pesach offering. arepartake hungry, come eat. All who areNow we are here, next year we will be and in the Landinofthe Israel; in need, come partake Pesach Now we are slaves, next yearNow we will be here, free. next year we offering. we are Passover Hagadahwill be in the Land of Israel; now we are slaves, next year we will be free.

~r r r j ~q u r l~ n ~r j q ~ r j q ~ r o o n j n r u. n r j n j ~ r j ~q u j j n j n r u , s o j ~ r u qz r . q nj j o o

What does it mean for Jewish people to have recited ‘Ha lachma anya’ at Passover every year for 2000 years?

. ~o r n { j j ~ r j ~q u j ~r ru q r rz j ,~ r r . n s o u j ~r ru q r rz j , o j q ~ r u qz r

– Pesach Haggadah

Raba said to Rafram b. Papa: Tell me some of the good deeds which R. Huna had done. He replied: …

On the eve of every Sabbath [Friday] he would send a messenger to the market and any vegetables that the [market] gardeners had left over he bought up and had then, thrown into the river. Should he not rather have had these distributed among the poor? — [He was afraid] lest they would then at times be led to rely upon him and would not trouble to buy any for themselves. Why did he not give the vegetables to the domestic animals? — He was of the opinion that food fit for human consumption may not be given to animals Then why did he purchase them at all? — This would lead [the gardeners] to do wrong in the future [by not providing an adequate supply].

…When he had a meal he would open the door wide and declare, Whosoever is in need let him come and eat.

Food for Thought:

~ :~ ~ ~ ~ … : ~ !~ ~ ~ ~ ,~ ~ , ~ ! .~ . ~ ~ , ~ ~ ~ ! ~ . ~ ~ .~ ~ ! ~ ~ ~

Raba said: All these things I could myself carry out except ~ ~ ~ the last one because there are so many in Mahuza.

• What is your personal experience with giving tzedakah, especially feeding Ta’anit 20b 21a …~ people who are hungry? How much do you give? How do you decide what you give?

~

. ~ : ~

• Contemporary society makes it difficult to literally invite~ strangers into our ~ ,~

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house. How can we still fulfill the obligation of Passover, the~ prophets, and , and ~ ~ Jewish tradition generally, which exhort us to share our ~ table with the hungry? .~

Check Hebrew!

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

Food for Thought © 101

8.5 L’dor va’dor: our children and our children’s children In Jewish tradition the world-to-come is an important and central idea. At the same time, we pragmatically recognize that our future is not in heaven as much as it is in our children. Much of our philanthropic giving and community organizing in the Jewish community is focused around family and Jewish renewal. How does our tradition of valuing our children and their future inform our discussion about food?

Choni ha-Ma’agel Why seventy years? “For the Lord said: When Babylon’s seventy years are over, I will take note of and I will fulfill you my promise of favor: to bring you back to this place.”

(Jeremiah 29:10)

People often read this text as a metaphor. But imagine it literally.

What will be the date 70 years from the day you’re reading this? What do you think the world will look like then? The place you are right now?

And if you planted a tree, what tree would you plant, and where?

And as a bonus: Go plant it!

Another saying that we like is this: “The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now.”

Rabbi Johanan said: Throughout the days of his life, this righteous man [Choni] was troubled about the meaning of the verse, “A song of ascents: When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were veritable dreamers.”(Ps. 126:1) He said: Is it possible for a man to dream continuously for seventy years?

One day he was journeying on the road and he saw a man planting a carob tree.

He asked him, How long does it take [for this tree] to bear fruit?

He replied: Seventy years.

He then further asked him: Are you certain that you will live another seventy years?

He replied: I found [ready grown] carob trees in the world; as my forefathers planted these for me so I too plant these for my children.

– Talmud Bavli, Masekhet Ta’anit 23a

Thanks, kids We do not inherit the Earth from our parents, we borrow it from our children.

– Native American Saying Where the past and the future meet: Noa, age 9, kneading dough for challah at Hazon’s 2006 Food Conference.

For more on Challah, see 4.5

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Sustainability Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

– Brundtland Commission report to the United Nations on Sustainability (1987), “Our Common Future”

Half-Dipper River A river behind Eiheiji, the Zen temple [Dogen] founded in Japan, contained an abundance of water. Mountain streams and waterfalls flowed into it. Nevertheless, when Dogen went to the stream, he would take a dipper of water and then put back half a dipper for future generations. That river is still called Half-Dipper River.

What are the ways that you’re contributing to leaving the world in better shape than you found it?

– Bernie Glassman, Instructions to the Cook

Guests of the future Twenty four things prevent repentance. ...

Among them are five of which, of one who does them, it is assumed he will not repent, since they are “light matters” in the eyes of most people, and the transgressor imagines that he is not transgressing.

1) One who eats from a meal that is not sufficient for its hosts – there is a hint of theft. And he imagines that he has not transgressed and says: “I ate nothing except with their permission.”

– Maimonides, Hilkhot Teshuvah 4

‫ֶע ְ ׂש ִרים וְ ַא ְר ָּב ָעה דְּ בָ ִרים ְמ ַע ְּכ ִבין אֶ ת‬ ...‫הַ ְּת ׁשוּבָ ה‬ ‫שה אוֹ ָתן אֵ ין‬ ֶׂ ֹ‫וּמֵ הֶ ן ח ֲִמ ּ ָׁשה דְּ בָ ִרים הָ עו‬ ‫ ְל ִפי ְׁשהֶ ן דְּ בָ ִרים‬,‫חֶ ז ְָקתוֹ לָ ׁשוּב מֵ הֶ ן‬ ‫ וְ נִ ְמצָ א חוֹ טֶ א‬,‫ַק ִּלים ְ ּב ֵעינֵי רֹב הָ ָא ָדם‬ :‫וְ הוּא י ְַד ּ ֶמה ְׁשאֵ ין זֶה חֵ ְטא; וְ אֵ ּל ּו הֶ ן‬ ‫(א) הָ אוֹ כֵ ל ִמ ְּסעו ָּדה ְ ׁשאֵ ינ ָּה ַמ ְס ּ ֶפ ֶקת‬ ‫ וְ הוּא ְמ ַד ּ ֶמה‬,‫שזֶּה אֲ בַ ק ָ ּגזֵל‬ ֶ ׁ , ָ‫ִל ְב ָעלֶ יה‬ ‫ ְ ּכלוּם ָאכַ ְל ִּתי אֵ לָ א‬:‫ֹאמר‬ ַ ‫ש ּלֹא חָ טָ א וְ י‬ ֶׁ .‫ִ ּב ְר ׁשו ָּתן‬

Basic ideas of food and fairness we have understood since we were children. If there were three kids and three cupcakes, there is no way that we would ever have been allowed more than one cupcake – it wouldn’t be fair. Rambam here is cautioning us not to eat more than our fair share in a situation where we might not even realize it. In the spirit of hospitality many hosts save their best food for when guests are visiting. We need to be careful not to eat too much if our hosts are needy.

How does your understanding of this text change if you consider the “hosts” to be future generations? or, alternatively, to be other people in the world who bear the brunt of our overconsumption? See 8.2 - Daniel Bloom

Food for Thought: • Do you have children? How, if at all, has your attitude towards food and sustainability changed since having kids? (If you don’t have children, but might one day, how do you think you might answer this question?)

• In what ways do you think your community or city is most sustainable? In what ways is it least sustainable?

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

Food for Thought © 103

8.6 Eating meat and not eating meat There are many reasons people choose to eat little or no meat, including concern for animals, health, environmental issues, ethical concerns about commercial meat production, and many others. Within Jewish sources, there are some very vocal proponents of vegetarianism. And there are also many sources in Jewish tradition that clearly permit, and encourage, meat eating, especially for celebration. It seems clear that we and the planet would be better off if most of us ate less meat, but clearly whether you choose to eat any meat is up to you. Either way, we believe—and Jewish tradition teaches—that meat consumption is something we should do thoughtfully, with full awareness.

Eat Plants What can we learn from the fact Eat Plants Genesis 1:29 that the Torah includes both of Genesis 1:29these texts?

Do you find it helpful to look for a basis for eating meat or not eating meat in the Torah?

Genesis 9:3-4 Genesis Eat Meat 9:3-4 Eat Meat

Eat Plants God said, “See, I give you every seedbearing plant that is upon all the earth, and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit; they shall be yours for food.

29

– Genesis 1:29

Eat Meat Every creature that lives shall be yours to eat; as with the green grasses, I give you all these. 4 You must not, however, eat flesh with its life-blood in it.

3

– Genesis 9:3-4

Learning and doing haveinamoral goodconduct, time... that a man Learning doingaTo The Torahand teaches lesson The Torah teaches a lesson in moral conduct, a man not eat meat has Rabbi a special craving for it…

Some peopleshall still feel strongly that unless It was he taught, Judah benthat B’tayra shall not eat meat unless he has a special craving for it… shall eat it only said: occasionally and sparingly eating meat and on Shabbat is central When the Temple was in existence and shall eat it only occasionally and sparingly Chulin 84a to celebrating the day. Do agree or there could be no rejoicing save with Chulin 84a disagree? meat, as it is said: “And you shall sacrifice peace-offerings, and shall eat there; and Do you think of meat eatingof as Torah Only a scholar may eat meat, but one who is you shall beforebut the Lord your God” something to be reserved for special Only a scholar of is Torah mayrejoice eat meat, ignorant of Torah forbidden to eat meat. one who is occasions? If not, how would your (Deut.

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- Talmud Bavli, Masekhet Pesakhim 109a

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6.7 The Age of Awareness Only on special occasions 6.7 The Age of Awareness Isaac to Esau: “Hunt me some game, A person should only eat meat on rare appointed occasions, and the reason is that and make a tender morsel that I love Tzedek Tzedek Tirdof s u shall j un eat p p p p a person should not become accustomed to eat meat, as it is written “You and bring it toDeuteronomy me and I will eat 16:20 it inTirdof Tzedek Tzedek s

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p p p p u u meat with all your desire. Eat it, however, as you eat the gazelle and the deer,” (Deut. order that my soul bless you before Deuteronomy 16:2012:21-22). This means that you should eat meat by circumstance [accident] rather I die.” (Genesis 27:7. See 5.1) than in a set way. For the gazelle and the deer are not easily found around human Why did Isaac requestofa meal of world Citizens a global ʠʬʥis ʥʺʩʡ ʩʹʰʠʬ ʺʥʧʮʬ ʩʮ ʬʫ dwellings for they are wild, and their habitation not with people, but ʸʹʴʠʹ in the deserts hunted game?

Wereof not Citizens a there global world Whoever can forbid and his household [to commit a sin] but ʠʬʥ ʥʺʩʡ ʩʹʰʠʬ ʺʥʧʮʬ ʸʹʴʠʹ ʩʮ ʬʫ ,ʥʺʩʡ ʩʹʰʠ ʬʲ - ʤʧʩʮ forests. Consequently, they can only be eatenʩʹʰʠʡ in small quantities for ʱʴʺʰ not everyday sufficient goats in hisnot, flocks, and do for Whoever can forbid his[the household [to commit a sin] but does is seized sins of] his household; [if he ʩʹʰʠʡ , ʥʺʩʡ ʩʹʰʠ ʬʲ ʱʴʺʰ does such a miracle occur that a herd of gazelles appears when one is hunting. ʤʧʩʮ they not taste can like venison does not, anyway? ishis seized [the sins household; [if heof] ʭʬʥʲʤ ʬʫʡ ,ʥʸʩʲ ʩʹʰʠ ʬʲ ʱʴʺʰ - ʥʸʩʲ forbid] fellowfor citizens, heof] is his seized for [the sins ʬʫʡ ,ʥʸʩʲ ʬʲ ʱʴʺʰ ʱʴʺʰ ʥʸʩʲ Consequently, since one eats [the of them rarely, will not come to ʩʹʰʠ habituate himself to ʥʬʥʫ ʭʬʥʲʤ ʬʫ ʬʲ -- ʥʬʥʫ canfellow forbid]citizens; his fellow citizens, is seized sins[the of] heʭʬʥʲʤ his if the wholehe world, he is for seized for eating ordinary meat since it gives birth to cruelty and other bad qualities in the body ʥ ʬʥʫ ʭʬʥʲʤ ʬʫ ʬʲ ʱʴʺʰ ʥʬʥʫ his fellow if the whole world, he is seized for [the sins of] thecitizens; whole world. of a person. For it is the birds of prey that kill and eat meat, and the lion that kills of] the54b whole world.

-sins Shabbat prey and eats. Therefore it says that in the future “The lion like the ox will eat straw.

- Shabbat 54b For there will be peace between all the living creatures” (Isaiah 11:7). Therefore, Isaac said, “Hunt me game,” (Genesis 27:7) for he did not want to eat meat except if it was Important thework circumstance [of may the hunt]. r p r ~s ItImportant is not your duty to according completetothe but neither p r u ~q ~s j , s j n r ~ r ju q r p r ~s It is desist not your duty to complete the work but neither may you from it. q ~s j , s j n r ~ r ju q 104 Food for Thought © – Kli Yakar on Talmud Bavli, Masekhet Chulin 84a p r u ~ you desist q r ~n . r u p u n o ru n n s Pirkei Avotfrom 2:21it. q r ~n . r u p u n o ru n n s Pirkei Avot 2:21 JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

Food & Ethics In an ideal world...

It is impossible to imagine that the Master of all that transpires, Who has mercy upon all His creatures, would establish an eternal decree such as this in the creation that He pronounced "exceedingly good," that it should be impossible for the human race to exist without violating its own moral instincts by shedding blood, be it even the blood of animals. ...

When humanity reaches its goal of complete happiness and spiritual liberation, when it attains that lofty peak of perfection that is the pure knowledge of God and the full manifestation of the essential holiness of life, then the age of "motivation by virtue of enlightenment" will have arrived. ... Then human beings will recognize their companions in Creation: all the animals. And they will understand how it is fitting from the standpoint of the purest ethical standard not to resort to moral concessions, to compromise the Divine attribute of justice with that of mercy [by permitting mankind's exploitation of animals]. ... Rather they will walk the path of absolute good.

Rav Kook was the chief Rabbi of Israel in the early twentieth century.

He believed when the Messiah came, the world would become vegetarian. However, he himself ate meat - but only on Shabbat. What do you make of this paradox?

Do you believe that eating meat is a moral concession? Why or why not?

– Rav Kook, A Vision of Vegetarianism and Peace

Current methods of commercial beef production The ever-increasing cattle population is wreaking havoc on the earth’s ecosystems, destroying habitats on six continents. Cattle raising is a primary factor in the destruction of the world’s remaining tropical rain forests. Millions of acres of ancient forests in Central and South America are being felled and cleared to make room for pastureland to graze cattle. Cattle herding is responsible for much of the spreading desertification in the sub-Sahara of Africa and the western rangeland of the United States and Australia. The overgrazing of semiarid and arid lands has left parched and barren deserts on four continents. Organic runoff from feedlots is now a major source of organic pollution in our nation’s ground water. Cattle are also a major cause of global warming… The devastating environmental, economic and human toll of maintaining a worldwide cattle complex is little discussed in policy circles… Yet, cattle production and beef consumption now rank among the gravest threats to the future well-being of the earth and its human population.

– Jeremy Rifkin, Beyond Beef

Looking for transparency The industrialization—and brutalization—of animals in America is a relatively new, evitable, and local phenomenon. No other country raises and slaughters its food animals quite as intensively or as brutally as we do. No other people in history has lived at quite so great a remove from the animals they eat. Were the walls of our meat industry to become transparent, literally or even figuratively, we would not long continue to raise, kill, and eat animals the way we do. Tail docking and sow crates and beak clipping would disappear overnight, and the days of slaughtering four hundred head of cattle an hour would promptly come to an end—for who could stand the sight? Yes, meat would get more expensive. We’d probably eat a lot less of it, too, but maybe when we did eat animals we’d eat them with the consciousness, ceremony, and respect they deserve.

– Michael Pollan, The Omnivore’s Dilema

Food for Thought:

Eat meat that grew up where you did Many people believe that it’s wrong to eat meat under any circumstances. But if you do eat meat, here are some of the arguments in favor of meat from local, mixed-use farms. In contrast to commercial meat production, local sustainablyraised meat is a healthy, tasty and environmentally-friendly alternative. Frequently, animals play an important role on small, diversified farms, where their manure completes the nutrient cycle by replacing minerals and organic matter in the soil. Meat animals are also the by-product of dairying: female goats and cows must become pregnant to continue their milk flow. If their babies are male, they are usually slaughtered at the end of the season, because there isn’t room for them on the farm.

Eating a small amount of meat is therefore part of a balanced and sustainable food system.

A number of folks are working to provide sustainably-raised kosher meat by linking small meat farms with shochets. See Resources.

For more on kosher slaughter, see 3.4

• Do you eat meat? How often? Why or why not? How do you feel about it?

Do you think that people should eat meat?

• Would you be more or less likely to eat meat if you saw how the animal was raised and slaughtered?

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

Food for Thought © 105

8.7 The Age of Awareness “Sometimes I feel the more I learn about food, the less there is that I can eat,” said one participant at Hazon’s 2006 Food Conference. That’s the challenge of living in what Nigel calls, “the Age of Awareness,” a time when the unintended or unhelpful consequences of our “normal” behaviors are steadily becoming more and more apparent.

This text provides no answers. But it poses important questions, and establishes a framework for relating to a range of contemporary issues through the prism of Jewish tradition. The Jewish people has always played a role in seeking to perfect the world. We now have the opportunity to add our distinctive voice to a global conversation about the nature of human life on this planet. This we not only can do, we actually must do. And we might begin by thinking about “our stones” —the things we move from our property to public space, that do damage in the world.

The Stones Why does the man laugh?

What causes him to change his mind?

In what sense is the land which he owns actually not his? In what sense is the land which is not his, actually his?

What are the “stones” that you throw from land that you think of as yours to land you think of as not yours, and how do we all stumble over them?

Our sages taught: A man should not move stones from his ground to public ground.

‫לֹא יְסַ ֵּקל ָא ָדם מֵ ְר ׁשוּתוֹ ִל ְר ׁשוּת‬ .‫הָ ַר ִ ּבים‬

A certain man was moving stones from his ground onto public ground when a pious man found him doing so and said to him,

‫שהָ יָה ְמסַ ֵּקל‬ ֶ ׁ ‫שה ְ ּב ָא ָדם אֶ חָ ד‬ ֶׂ ֲ‫ַמע‬ ֹ‫ ו ְּמצָ או‬,‫מֵ ְר ׁשוּתוֹ ִל ְר ׁשוּת הָ ַר ִ ּבים‬ : ֹ‫ ָא ַמר לו‬,‫חָ ִסיד אֶ חָ ד‬

“Fool, why do you move stones from ground which is not yours, to ground which is yours?”

The man laughed at him.

Some days later the man had to sell his field, and when he was walking on that public ground he stumbled over those stones.

He then said, “How well did that pious man say to me, ‘why do you move stones from ground which is not yours to ground which is yours?’ ” – Talmud Bavli, Masekhet Bava Kama 50b

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

106 Food for Thought ©

:‫ּ ָתנ ּו ַר ָּבנַן‬

‫ ִמ ּ ְפנֵי ָמה ַא ּ ָתה ְמסַ ֵּקל מֵ ְר ׁשוּת‬,‫יקה‬ ָ ‫ֵר‬ ָ?‫ש ְּלך‬ ָ ּ ֶ ׁ ‫ש ְלך ִל ְר ׁשוּת‬ ֶ ׁ ‫שאֵ ינ ָּה‬ ֶׁ .‫ִלגְ לֵ ג ָעלָ יו‬ ‫ וְ הָ יָה‬,ּ‫ְלי ִָמים נִ ְצ ַר ְך ִל ְמכּ וֹ ר ָׂש ֵדהו‬ ‫ְמהַ ּ ֵל ְך ְ ּבאוֹ תוֹ ְר ׁשוּת הָ ַר ִ ּבים וְ נִ ְכ ָׁשל‬ .‫ְ ּבאוֹ ָתן אֲ בָ נִ ים‬ ‫‘מ ּ ְפנֵי‬ ִ ‫ יָפֶ ה ָא ַמר ִלי אוֹ תוֹ חָ ִסיד‬:‫ָא ַמר‬ ‫שאֵ ינ ָּה‬ ֶ ׁ ‫ָמה ַא ּ ָתה ְמסַ ֵּקל מֵ ְר ׁשוּת‬ ’?‫ש ְּל ָך‬ ֶ ׁ ‫ש ְּל ָך ִל ְר ׁשוּת‬ ֶׁ

gnorant of Torah is forbidden to eat meat.

Eat Meat 49b Pesachim (check translation – need to take out Hebrew or add English?)

Learning andofdoing 6.7 The Age Awareness The Torah teaches a lesson in moral conduct, that a man Tzedek, Tzedek shall not eat meat unless he has a special craving for it… and shall eat it only occasionally and sparingly Tzedek Tzedek Tirdof Pursue justice. Justice!

Chulin 84a 16:20 Deuteronomy

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p r un r q p{ o pp uj

r{ ru j ~ : s u ~p -q

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~s s r ~ s z qj u j u o ~s . ~ ~ - - ~ " , "~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ , ~ . ~ s u j un p p p p

– Deuteronomy 16:20

Only a scholar of Torah Citizens of a global worldmay eat meat, but one who is ignorant of Torah is forbidden to eat Whoever can forbid his household [tomeat. commit a sin] but Pesachim 49b does not, is seized for [the sins of] his household; [if he (check translation – need to take Hebrew or add can forbid] his fellow citizens, he isout seized for [the sins of] English?) his fellow citizens; if the whole world, he is seized for [the sins of] the whole world.

- Shabbat 54b

~ : ~ ʠʬʥ ʥʺʩʡ ~ ʩʹʰʠʬ ~ ʺʥʧʮʬ ʸʹʴʠʹ ʩʮ ʬʫ ~ +~ ~ + ~ ( ) ʩʹʰʠʡ ,ʥʺʩʡ ʩʹʰʠ ʬʲ ʱʴʺʰ - ʤʧʩʮ - ʭʬʥʲʤ ʬʫʡ ,ʥʸʩʲ ʩʹʰʠ ʬʲ ʱʴʺʰ - ʥʸʩʲ ~ , ~ ʥʬʥʫ ʭʬʥʲʤ ʬʫ ʬʲ ʱʴʺʰ - ʥʬʥʫ

Food & Ethics

When the situation is clearly in front of us, it is easy to know what to do.

But sometimes our information is muddled. The double call of “Justice!

Justice!” reminds us that we should indeed seek out the truth—and it may not always be self-evident.

For a prophet’s take on justice, see 8.2

. ~ ~ -

Citizens of a global world

6.7 The Age of Awareness If a person of learning participates in mportant public affairs and serves as judge or t is not your duty to complete but to neither may arbiter, he the giveswork stability the land...

Tzedek Tzedek Tirdof you desist from it.

Deuteronomy 16:20But if he sits in his home and says to Pirkei Avot 2:21 himself, “What have the affairs of society to do with me?... Why should I trouble Citizens of a global world myself with the people’s voices of protest?

The stones Whoever can forbid Let his my household [toincommit a sin] soul dwell peace!”—if he but does does not, is seized for [the sins of] his household; [if he this, he overthrows the world. can forbid] his fellow citizens, he is seized for [the sins of] his fellow citizens; if–the whole world,Mishpatim he is seized for [the Midrash Tanhuma, 2 sins of] the whole world.

- Shabbat 54b

r p r ~s p r u ~q ~s j , s j n r ~ r s juu q j un p p p p

When do you sit at home when you might stand up and make a difference?

q r ~n . r u p u n o ru n n s

ʠʬʥ ʥʺʩʡ ʩʹʰʠʬ ʺʥʧʮʬ ʬʫ

~ ʸʹʴʠʹ ~ ʩʮ ʩʹʰʠʡ ,ʥʺʩʡ ʩʹʰʠ ʬʲ ʱʴʺʰ - ʤʧʩʮ ʭʬʥʲʤ ʬʫʡ ,ʥʸʩʲ ʩʹʰʠ ʬʲ ʱʴʺʰ - ʥʸʩʲ ʥʬʥʫ ʭʬʥʲʤ ʬʫ ʬʲ ʱʴʺʰ - ʥʬʥʫ

Important:

Important is not your to complete themay work It is not your duty to Itcomplete theduty work but neither you desist from it. but neither are you free to desist from it.

Pirkei Avot 2:21 – Pirkei Avot 2:21

The stones -

r p r ~s p r u ~q ~s j , s j n r ~ r ju q q r ~n . r u p u n o ru n n s ~ ~

This is a famous text. How do you relate to it? What do you make of the fact that it explicitly does not answer the question, “How much is enough”?

How does it modify the previous text?

Food for Thought: • Do you think Jewish tradition encourages us to be hopeful or pessimistic? How do you feel when you think about the big challenges facing the world today?

• What does it feel like to be simultaneously called to rigorous action, and reminded that we cannot possibly deal with the enormity and complexity of the world’s problems?

• What are some of the most pressing food issues to you? Do you feel you know how they could be fixed? Do you know how you personally could help ameliorate them?

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

Food for Thought © 107

Clearing the table...

It’s remarkable how a conversation about food branches out in so many directions.

Where does our food come from? How do we grow it, transport it, package it? Do we eat the flesh of animals? If so, which ones, and how did they live, and how did they die?

Do we bless our food, and if so in what way? Do we cook our own food, eat with our families, or at school, or at work, or in a restaurant? How do rhythms of eating connect us or separate us from other people? Does what and how we eat influence our sense of Jewishness in the world? Does being Jewish influence the ethics of our eating? How do we treat those who have less – much much less – than we do? Does a relationship with Israel influence the food we eat – or does a commitment to local food distance us from a connection to Israel? Can these different values be reconciled – and if so, how?

We hope that our words – and those of so many others, including from the primary texts of Jewish tradition – have indeed given you food for thought.

And if that’s so: then what next?

For two millennia the act of keeping kosher separated Jewish people, at least to some extent, from the mores and habits of the wider society.

But in the mid-twentieth century in the major Western countries, and acceleratingly in the ‘70s and ‘80s and ‘90s, it became possible to live as an observant Jew and yet eat in ways almost indistinguishable from the wider world. Kosher and hechshered foods became widely available. Popular foods – leading brands of bread, chocolate, drinks, packaged foods – all became kosher. Kosher dining halls sprouted on college campuses. The major centers of Jewish population saw a proliferation of kosher restaurants. In Israel the first kosher McDonalds opened, and Israeli fast food – even kosher fast food – soon mimicked the styles (and the industrialized food chain) of Western fast food.

But Jewish tradition is about a willingness to challenge the wider society, not to mimic it. The radical heart of Jewish tradition is the idea (astonishing even today, unimaginable in its time) that each human being is made betzelem elohim – in the image of God. “Each human being” means just that – straight or gay, Jewish or Hindu, Palestinian or Israeli, rich or poor, ugly or beautiful, smart or stupid. This radically equalitarian idea placed the Jewish people necessarily in conflict with every non-equalitarian society in history. From the Roman empire through to the Nazis and Stalin, it is not merely that Jewish tradition encouraged Jews to oppose discriminatory regimes; it might be argued that those regimes especially persecuted Jews precisely because Jewish tradition posed such a direct challenge to their moral legitimacy.

Today’s conversations about food are more complicated than most previous moral challenges in which Jewish people were involved. There is no external enemy.

It’s true that there’s an industrialized food industry which is doing all sorts of damage to the world: treating animals with cruelty, depleting soil quality, contributing to global warming by transporting foods over enormous distances. But the food industry exists to serve its customers, and we are those people. Most of us don’t have the time or the space to grow our own food. Eating local food is possible for some people, some of the time, but it’s very hard to do all of the time. The rhythms of family, school, work and community mean that many of the meals we eat are of food ultimately bought and prepared by others.

108

Food for Thought

...a last few words This curriculum is one part of Hazon’s work. When we say that we’re working “to create a healthier and more sustainable Jewish community, as a step towards a healthier and more sustainable world for all,” we mean just that. Jewish tradition teaches that learning is more important than action – because it leads to action. Most of us today eat different foods, prepared in different environments, than our grandparents did. And we now have the opportunity to vote, through our daily food choices, on what will be the foods that are eaten in the world seventy years from now. Each of us plays some part in influencing the foodways of our families and our communities. As we learn about food, our sensitivity to what we eat rises. As our sensitivity increases we slowly make new and different food choices. And because eating is a familial and communal activity, our own choices influence others around us.

It’s important to be able to hold contradiction in the face of increased knowledge.

Some people have the temperament to be vegan, to eat only locally, to feed the poor and the hungry in their own homes. But there are not many such people, and neither of us is amongst them. Living in the Age of Awareness means not only that much is wrong with the world, but that we are increasingly aware of it. Holding that awareness is immensely hard. But the Jewish people has faced down great catastrophes, and maintained – by and large – our equilibrium, our sense of hope, and our commitment to justice. So too with eating. If you keep kosher – and indeed, even if you don’t seek to eat more ethically, more locally, and lower down the food chain. Eat less meat; eat more vegetables. Use fewer plastic bottles. Join Tuv Ha’Aretz, or contact Hazon and launch a CSA in your own community. Learn about food with others. Cook more of your own food; entertain more. Come to our food conference. Launch Challah for Hunger on your campus or in your community. Take direct steps to ameliorate hunger, in your community or elsewhere in the world. Make sure your schools don’t sell Coke and junk food. Visit farms; if you’ve never done so before, go to see an animal being slaughtered.

And bake your own bread – you’ll enjoy it.

And along the way, don’t lose your own sense of equilibrium. Try to eat well and ethically, but even if you hold yourself to strict standards, try to be gentle on yourself if you sometimes fail to achieve them. Jewish tradition is an activist tradition, but it is not an ascetic one. Our rabbis are not celibate; the nazirite gave a sin offering after a period of retreat that in most other religious traditions would be considered worthy of praise.

And be gracious with others: allow yourself to make your voice heard, but don’t seek to convince everyone of your position. We hope the example of the multiplicity and sometimes contradictory voices in this curriculum can be a model for a healthy and fully engaged community, and world. May we be blessed to live in a world that sustains us; and may our food choices contribute to a more sustainable and healthy world for all.

Nigel & Anna Jerusalem / New York / Vancouver Iyar 5767 / May 2007

Food for Thought

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Cultivating a learning community

thoughts & suggestions

• What kind of class?

• Chevruta • Food • Opening & Closing Circles • Minis • Informal teaching • Where to use Hebrew

When we learn, we acquire both facts and frameworks: new things that you didn’t know before, and new ways to understand the world by interpreting things you already knew. With both, your world gets bigger.

But there is also the less tangible, but very real, simple joy of learning itself. The setting. The people. The evening spent in discussion and the ah ha! moments of discovery. It is one thing to read a book—and there are many books written on the topics in this study guide, even more extensive than the material we’ve included here. But it’s another thing to learn with others, to use conversation and questions to get from one place to another. You build relationships, not only with what you learn, but also with the person you are learning with. It’s the difference between eating alone and sharing a meal with others.

Hazon works to create a healthier and more sustainable Jewish community, as a step towards creating a healthier and more sustainable world for all. The materials in this book are an important step towards this goal, not just in terms of the subject matter, but also in relationship to the process of learning together, which we feel is an essential component of a strong and healthy community.

The pages that follow address questions of process. The texts will not teach themselves, and a class risks falling flat if it’s presented badly, no matter how compelling the subject. We share our experience with you in planning and holding classes. We hope this information is helpful to you in creating a memorable and meaningful educational experience that is right for you and your community.

Cultivating a learning community What kind of class?

You can use the sections in this book to host a formal, multi-week class (which we call a Beit Midrash), a one-day seminar, an evening lecture or an informal chevruta. Here are some notes from our experience in setting up each of these kinds of educational opportunities.

Multi-Week Beit Midrash Hazon has held four Batei Midrash over the years.

They have ranged in length from 18-26 weeks, and in size from 10-26 people. We’ve held them at a JCC or synagogue. They have always been by invitation only, rather than open registration, because we wanted to ensure a diverse and committed group of participants. We’ve always strived to put together a group with a wide range of Jewish background and involvement in the community; a range of familiarity with the subject matter (i.e., in this case, not all “foodies”); a balance of ages and genders. It is very easy to gather with your vegetarian friends and discuss the pros and cons of eating meat. It is a different experience to do so in the company of meat eaters; an even more different question to throw in the question of kashrut. Learning involves a certain risk, and the more people who feel that everyone there is committed to the group, and that “they aren’t the only one who disagrees,” the more they’ll be able to engage.

We also generally charge a fee. We usually offer a sliding scale of $120-$300, and encourage people who work in the Jewish community to see if their employer will subsidize their registration. Even if people pay less than $120, paying a fee helps to ensure that people take their commitment to the group seriously and enables the facilitator to be paid. There will usually be one or two unavoidable instances of people dropping out, but ideally the fee structure and registration form will discourage people from joining if they aren’t serious about their commitment. Having people drop in and out of sessions is extremely destabilizing to a group, and should be discouraged.

Timing is also important. We tend to start our classes and meetings with a 30 minute snack break.

People may trickle in between 6:00 and 6:25pm, but then the class will start promptly at 6:30pm.

This built in shmooze time lets people who want to chitchat before class do so, and lets people know when the ‘actual’ class will start (so that the people

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112 Food for Thought ©

who arrive on time ready to learn aren’t punished by waiting for those who come late).

Of course, you can also start your class at a specific time, and have a snack break halfway through. For the first few weeks, be very strict about starting within five minutes of the posted start time, so that people will get in the habit of arriving on time.

Depending on your community, different times will work better than others. Consider: •• Weekday evenings, 6:00-9:00pm (dinner or snack at 6pm, class starts at 6:30pm, optional break at 7:45pm) •• Weekday evenings 7:00-9:30pm (class starts at 7:00pm, break at 8:00pm. Later start might be more feasible for people who work 9-5 or who commute a far distance to work) •• Sunday mornings, 10:00-12:00pm (serve snacks or brunch—this could be especially convenient for parents with kids in Hebrew School if held at the same time; potentially less appealing to a younger, stay-out-late-on-Saturday crowd) •• Sunday evenings (has a more relaxed feel, people less likely to travel very far, but perhaps less frazzled than on a weekday, and less likely to already have another conflict.)

We suggest that you hold classes weekly for 6-10 weeks. Any shorter and you don’t quite get the group going; any longer and you start to lose momentum.

If you’re holding class over a holiday, don’t skip that week – work the holiday into your session (ie, hold a Tu B’shvat Seder, or meet during Chol HaMo’ed Pesach, etc.) – especially because Jewish holidays offer so much fodder for discussing food, it would be a shame to miss the opportunity!

One-time event You may also want to use this material for a single event, which could be a full day of learning, or simply an evening. Especially if you are trying to program for an already-over-programmed community, doing a one-time event may be a way to get more folks involved who can’t commit up front to a multi-week class (although you may want to use it to stir up interest for such a class the following season).

Since you won’t have as much time to get people involved in either the topic or each other, we highly recommend spending time on an opening circle and a mini (see below). Whereas trust and comfort build

Cultivating a learning community gradually in a multi-week session, they are harder to achieve quickly at a single event. An opening circle can help to break down some of the shyness and the “I’m not good enough / don’t know enough / not pretty enough” thoughts that people often have when coming into a new situation where they might (gasp!) be invited to share their thoughts.

All day, multi-class seminar Start the day with some food and drinks and registration. Give folks a copy of the schedule for the day, and the texts they’ll be learning. Sessions should be about 1 hr 15 min, so your day might look like this: 9:30 – 10:00am Registration / morning snacks 10:15 – 11:30am Session I 11:30 – 11:45am Coffee break 11:45 – 1:00pm Session II 1:00 – 2:00pm Lunch (either served onsite, or an

hour free with instructions on

where to purchase food)

because there is so much going on.

But in most Jewish communities outside New York, a single learning event is often attractive to people and practical to do. The material in this book is compelling whether you spend a whole day, or a whole season, or just a whole night looking at it.

You could organize your evening in one of the following ways: Schedule 1: 6:30pm Snacks 7:00pm

Class begins: frontal teaching

7:45pm

Coffee break

8:00pm

Small group discussion / learning

8:45pm

Group back together / wrap up

9:00pm End Schedule 2: 6:00pm Snacks

2:00 – 3:15pm Session III

6:30pm

Intro & Welcome

3:15 – 3:30pm Mincha / singing / something interactive

6:45pm

Session I

3:45 – 5:00pm Session IV 5:00 – 5:30pm Closing Each class should have 8-20 people in it, depending on the size of your event, and will also require a facilitator. So, if you anticipate 30 people, hold 2-3 classes per session time; for 50-60 people, hold 3-4 classes at each session. If you anticipate 100 people, hold 4-5 classes at each session. Especially if your group is large, you may want to consider some of your sessions being a walk/hike, outdoor game, or cooking demo.

For more ideas about an all day learning seminar, take a look at the 2007 Hazon Food Conference Schedule (www.hazon.org/foodconference ) or the schedule from LimmudUK (www.limmud.org ).

Evening event Lectures, classes, info nights and events abound.

We’ve found it difficult to hold a successful onetime lecture or event in New York City simply

7:45pm Break 8:00pm

Session II

9:00pm

Wrap up

9:15pm End

Chevruta study Chevruta means “fellowship,” and refers to a traditional form of Torah or Talmud study done in pairs. Two people sit together and read a text out loud, discussing words, sentences and paragraphs as they go. Chevruta is an intense and provocative way to learn a text because you can engage deeply with a small section of text, and your partner’s questions may be substantially different from your own. The combined exploration of the text can make for a very rich discussion. The two partners do not have to have the same amount of knowledge, although they should be interested in each other’s questions, and in encouraging the other to ask their questions.

You might want to find a chevruta partner who is:

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Food for Thought © 113

Cultivating a learning community •• someone you are close to (sibling, partner) and with whom you have a lot of interaction, but not necessarily on an academic or learning level— the learning can bring you to new understanding of each other •• someone you don’t know well but whose work you are interested in, would like to get to know better—they can spur you to new thoughts and perspectives •• someone who is a fellow activist, leader, learner and/or interested in similar things as you— they can be your peer as you explore new ideas together Make your learning regular. Try it for a month first – agree that you’ll meet, say, every Tuesday night, or every Sunday morning. If your schedule is flexible, some people enjoy meeting before work one morning also. After a month – evaluate. Does the time work? Do you want to keep learning together?

Do you need more structure? Less? More outside help? Do you want to switch locations—the library is too quiet? The coffee shop too distracting?

If you have a chevruta partner, you may decide that you also want to find another pair or two to learn with in a little group. When you meet, spend some time learning with your partner, and some time discussing as a group. Similar to a book club, the chevruta structure and the materials in this book become vehicles for learning but also for forming deep connections with people. It may not be someone you see every day, but they may come to occupy an important part in your life.

Food On the face of it, it makes sense to serve food when you are learning about food. In practice, it is often complicated to do so. Here are some considerations: Agree on your group’s definition of kashrut, your commitment to seasonal, local and organic food, your use of disposables, and be aware of the rules of the host institution where you’re holding your class.

If you’re going to serve food in the evening, but it’s not “dinner”, it should be substantial enough that people who haven’t eaten dinner yet won’t feel unnourished or unsatisfied. Humous and pita is always a good option, as are baby carrots, chips and salsa, vegetables, nuts, cheese, crackers, grapes,

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114 Food for Thought ©

clementines, etc.

Set aside time to eat, and don’t necessarily have food available during the class. We have often started the sessions half an hour earlier for people to come and eat and shmooze, and then offered a break halfway through the class for refueling, but have discouraged grazing in between these times.

Putting food in the middle of a circle doesn’t necessarily work – people don’t want to be the first to go get food in front of everyone, and it can be distracting. Pass food around, then put it on a table outside of the circle, and set times where people can eat it (or encourage them to get up and eat when they want to, if the class is one that can be interrupted slightly).

For an ongoing class, you may want to ask people to chip in for the food budget, or find another way to share the cost & time burden of organizing food.

Provide food on the first week, and then agree as a group what seems reasonable for the rest of the sessions (i.e., order takeout dinner for everyone, one or two people bring food each week, everyone brings something…).

Think also about the class as providing the opportunity for participants to ‘try something new’.

Even if people don’t keep kosher at home, maybe the class should be kosher, as a way to experience through doing (not just talking) what it’s like to keep kosher. Same holds for organic or seasonal.

Even if you’re not advocating that everyone who attends the class suddenly eats only organic produce grown within 100 miles of where they live for every meal of their life, it can be a powerful educational experience to try it out.

Similarly, use the class as a chance to showcase new kosher or organic products that you think people might like – see if you can get a discount (tell the distributor about the potential new market you have access to!).

Some potluck groups are using a “two table system” – one table is strictly kosher, and the other table contains food that is vegetarian. This way a diverse group can still eat together.

It can be a very nice touch to include a potluck dinner mid-way through your class or for the last session. People enjoy cooking for others. Give them a chance to talk about the dish that they made (ingredients, history, why they chose it, etc.). Don’t do this in the first few weeks, people are still getting used to each other.

Cultivating a learning community Don’t over-cater. People are often worried that “there won’t be enough.” Thankfully, most of us live in a world where there is enough, usually more than enough. Provide a few different foods. If people are hungrier for more than you offer, they’ll eat before they come, and you’ll save money and waste.

Opening & Closing Circles At Hazon we start nearly everything with an opening circle, including staff meetings, classes, Exec Committee meetings for our Food Conference Exec or CSAs. It’s a simple and powerful tool that accomplishes several goals: An opening circle lets people get a sense of who they are going to be learning/interacting with. It lets them share a piece of themselves that may not come up in ordinary chit-chat, which helps deepen relationships. It helps to focus the group on a particular question that will be discussed during the class. And it lets everyone be heard; even if the class will be mainly taught by one person, at least you’ll have had a chance to say something at the beginning, and again at the end.

Similarly, a closing circle gives you a chance to say ‘a last word’ – particularly when a conversation has been energetic, not everyone may get to participate, and the closing circle again gives everyone a chance to be heard. A closing circle also reminds participants of highlights of the meeting, a sense of ‘what they will take away’ and a chance to see how different pieces affected different people. It can be a chance once again for folks to share something about their personal life. It can also be a chance for you as a teacher to ask for feedback; often people enjoy a session but don’t say so, and when you’ve worked hard at something, it is really important to hear positive feedback, and really important to ask for it. Finally, sloppy endings make people nervous.

“Are we done now? Can I go? Will these people keep talking on this forever, should I just leave now?”

Avoid participants feeling bewildered or excluded at the end of a session by creating the regular ritual of a closing circle where they can share their thoughts and feel closure.

In either an opening or closing circle, explain what is going to happen first, then pose the question, then indicate a person to start (don’t just say, “who wants to start?” because it’s awkward when no one does).

If you specifically want the last word, start with

someone on either side of you and send the circle around in the opposite direction so it will end with you. Tell people that their answers must be brief, and cut them off if you need to. Say ‘thank you’ after each person speaks – this will reinforce that this is not a time for discussing, rather for each person to share with full attention from the others in the group.

We often advise folks at the beginning, “Don’t spend the whole time thinking about what you’re going to say—listen to what others are saying and your ideas will come to you when it’s your turn.”

Here are some sample questions for opening and closing circles. Always include “say your name, and where you’re from,” and then you as facilitator should choose ONE of the following questions: •• Something you’re interested in learning today •• Your favorite food / CSA vegetable / Passover food, etc.

•• One thing you’ve always wanted to know about keeping kosher •• Your favorite meal to cook •• The last time you went to Israel (if you’ve been) or your thoughts about going/not going to Israel if you haven’t •• One thing you loved about last session / last year’s conference / etc. (if this is a group that has met before, or just finished a really cool event, asking people to conjure up memories of that will bring some of the good energy from that event back into the room) •• A childhood memory (could be specifically related to the topic at hand, if appropriate) Closing: if it’s a new group, ask people to reintroduce themselves, and then say one or two of the following: •• One thing you’re looking forward to this week •• One thing you enjoyed about tonight’s class •• One thing you learned or thought that was new •• Something you appreciate about X – this could be your chevruta partner, the person to your left, the person who led the session, someone who’s having a birthday, etc. This works best with a group that has gotten to know each other a bit. People can be somewhat resistant, both to giving and accepting compliments. But it is an extremely valuable skill to learn, and it feels JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

Food for Thought © 115

Cultivating a learning community really good, and is worth trying out!

•• Any last thoughts – also good for a group that has done this a few times – once they are used to the rhythm of a closing circle, you can leave the directions a little more vague. But again, make sure that this stays to one or two bullet points, not long drawn out discussions.

“warmed up” for the discussion. You can also use minis instead of an opening circle if you’re working with a large group; if you do this, when you bring everyone back together you may want to invite one or two people to share with the whole group.

Some of the kinds of questions we pose in minis (especially at the beginning of a session):

Don’t be afraid to cut people off if they are going on and on, though equally, don’t rush people unnecessarily. If it’s a small group, you can give people a little more space to speak.

•• What is your relationship to kashrut? (how you grew up, what you do in your own house, issues, likes, dislikes, questions…anything in your life about your relationship with keeping kosher)

If you have more than 20 people – an opening circle is tough. You may want to use a combination of minis and individual introductions (see below).

•• Describe a favorite or memorable meal.

Minis Just as chevruta and general conversation gives us a chance to figure out what we’re thinking in dialogue with a partner, and can be a valuable tool for articulating thoughts or feelings, a mini can give you the chance to think through and explain your thoughts, supported and uninterrupted. In a mini, two people face each other. One person will keep time, the other will have 2-3 minutes to answer the question posed. The person who is keeping time is specifically not talking, except to nod or say “say more about that” if the speaker gets stuck.

When we’re in dialogue with someone, we sometimes don’t have the time to fully complete our ideas before the conversation has turned somewhere else. In a mini, participants have the chance to say whatever they want, to share a story or an experience or a conviction in a fully-supported environment.

It’s not about whether the other person agrees or disagrees, or even understands. It’s about giving the speaker a chance to present themselves, and through talking to feel more present, and/or arrive at a new understanding and ownership of their own ideas.

This can feel daunting at first. Especially if the two people in the mini are strangers, it might feel weird to “bare your soul” to someone you don’t know. We usually say that even if the question is leading in a direction that might make you uncomfortable, don’t feel you have to share your entire life story and all your broken places. But do feel free to ‘go there’ if you feel comfortable doing so.

A mini can be a good way for people to dig into their own experience of a topic as a way of getting

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116 Food for Thought ©

•• How many places have you lived? Where do you call home? Where did your parents and grandparents grow up and where do they live now?

You can also use a mini half-way through or at the end of a panel discussion or other frontal teaching environment, especially if you are dealing with a lot of people. After a particularly controversial panel on the relationship between Israelis and American Jews at Limmud in 2005, Nigel asked audience members to turn to their neighbor and just talk for a minute or two about whatever was on their mind.

The room was a buzz of animated discussion! After about 5-6 minutes, he brought everyone back and took questions from the audience. The few minutes of talking had dispelled much of the seriously energetic thrusting of hands into the air, as people who were jumping out of their seats with something to say had at least been heard by SOMEONE, and even deepened the questions as they were coming out of a round of discussion, not just someone’s own thoughts.

If you want to teach these materials informally You may also want to use one or two sections from this book for a d’var torah, discussion group, or informal presentation. We say go for it! There are many many different ways you could do this. Here are a few general things to think about: Who are you speaking to? How much background information will they need (whether it’s on Jewish texts, Hebrew, agricultural policy, etc.) If you don’t feel comfortable providing a five minute overview by yourself, find a few paragraphs from a reference book you can read out loud.

Cultivating a learning community Will you be the only one talking? Will there be opportunities for group discussion? Questions?

Depending on your goal or timeframe, different formats may be more appropriate.

If you want to have time for discussion, allow 5 minutes per text you want to cover. Make sure there are copies for at least every other person, if not everyone.

If you ask people to read out loud, encourage them to speak up! If they read quietly, ask someone different the next time.

point is the story or general meaning and not the specific words •• you’re working with a group who have no Hebrew skills and would be intimidated or turned off by Hebrew •• you yourself don’t feel comfortable with the Hebrew

It’s okay to ask questions you don’t know the answer to.

It’s okay to say “I don’t know” if someone asks you a question you can’t answer.

It’s okay to share pieces of yourself (i.e., “I thought this topic was very interesting because...”)

Unless you have a specific reason not to, introduce your texts chronologically. Start with texts from Tanakh. Then Talmud. Then medieval sources, kabbalists, and contemporary sources.

The small questions next to the texts are useful for reading comprehension; the larger ones on the bottom of the page suggest ways you could expand the discussion beyond the texts, often to personal experience. We suggest using a balance of both kinds of questions.

Where to use Hebrew All of the texts in this book that are originally in Hebrew or Aramaic are translated. There are times when it will be appropriate to read the Hebrew and the translation, and times when it’s OK to read just the translation.

You should suggest that participants use the Hebrew if: •• the text or passage is short (2-3 lines) •• the vocabulary in the text is specifically important to the discussion (i.e., comparing use of words with the root KDS – kadosh – etc., related to kashrut etc.), or you want to use gematria or other word games specifically related to the Hebrew text •• participants are extremely comfortable reading and translating for others in their group/class who are not familiar with Hebrew You should use the translation if: •• you’re reading a long text (4+ lines), and the JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

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Resources • Glossary • Books • Movies • Organizations

This section is designed to support the information in this book.

We’ve tried to explain who most of the authors are in the glossary, as well as important Jewish books we’ve cited.

The books, movies and organizations are all places you can look for more information on topics covered in this book. We’ve opted for depth rather than breadth, but if there’s something essential missing, do let us know!

Glossary Michael Ableman is a farmer, author, photographer, and founder of the Center for Urban Agriculture at Fairview Gardens. He lives and farms on a Saltspring Island, British Columbia, Canada.

from having a direct relationship with the person/s who grow their food, and having access to fresh, local and often organic produce. Tuv Ha’Aretz is Hazon’s CSA project. www.hazon.org/CSA

Avot de Rabbi Natan is a commentary on the Mishnah tractate Pirkei Avot and is located among the minor tractates of the Babylonian Talmud. It probably dates from 700-900 ce.

Alan Thein Durning is the founder and executive director of the Sightline Institute, (formerly Northwest Environment Watch), a non-profit organization based in Seattle, Washington, USA. He is the author of many books and articles, including How Much Is Enough?: The Consumer Society and the Future of the Earth and This Place on Earth: Home and the Practice of Permanence.

Adamah: The Jewish Environmental Fellowship is a three month leadership training program for Jewish young adults, ages 20–29, that integrates organic farming, sustainable living, Jewish learning, teaching, and contemplative spiritual practice.

Adamah is supported in part by a grant from Hazon’s New York Jewish Environmental Bike Ride. www.isabellafreedman.org/adamah

Dr. Rachel Adler is Associate Professor of Modern Jewish Thought and Judaism and Gender at the University of Southern California and the Rabbinical School at Hebrew Union College in Los Angeles. She was one of the first theologians to integrate feminist perspectives and concerns into the interpretation of Jewish texts and the renewal of Jewish law and ethics.

Bracha means “blessing.” It comes from the root word meaning ‘knee,’ and signifies that blessing initially involved bending the knee.

Wendell Berry famously said, “eating is an agricultural act.” A prolific author of novels, essays, poetry and short stories, Berry’s writing focuses on themes of sustainable agriculture, appropriate technology, healthy rural communities and local economies, connection to place, the pleasures of good food, frugality, reverence, and the miracles of life.

Dr. Phyllis Bieri is a Hazon Board member, Chair of the Tuv Ha’Aretz Advisory Board, a frequent blogger on jcarrot.org, mother of three and member of not one but two! CSAs. She is also Assistant Clinical Professor of Neurology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Birkat Hamazon is the blessing said after meals.

There are several different versions for different kinds of meals; the most well-known is for meals that have included bread.

Community-supported Agriculture / CSA is a cooperative arrangement between a farmer and a community, in which members agree to pay up front for a share of produce for the entire season. Farmers benefit from the secure income, members benefit

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Eco-kosher describes food (and potentially other consumables, such as wood, cotton or plastics) that is organic or sustainably raised, healthy, fairly traded, or otherwise good for the earth. It was originally coined by Reb Zalman Schachter Shalomi.

Fair Trade is an organized social movement which promotes standards for international labour, environmentalism, and social policy in areas related to production of Fairtrade labeled and unlabelled goods. The movement focuses in particular on exports from developing countries to developed countries Frances Moore Lappé is an author and activist who has worked in the field of global food equity, environmental sustainability and social justice since the publication of Diet for a Small Planet in 1971.

She is the co-founder of Institute for Food and Development Policy (Food First), and currently works with her daughter, Anna Lappé (who recently published Grub: Ideas for an urban organic kitchen) at the Small Planet Institute based in Cambridge, MA. Gemara is the section of the Talmud that contains the rabbis’ discussions of the Mishna (which is quoted in small passages and then discussed at length). Together, the Mishna and Gemara are referred to as the Talmud. The Gemara dates from roughly 200ce to 600ce.

Bernard Glassman grew up in Brooklyn, NY. The son of two Jewish immigrants, he studied Zen Buddhism with Taizan Maezumi Roshi in Los Angeles. He founded the Zen Community of New York in Riverdale and the Greyston Mandala, a network of community development organizations based on Buddhist values, which includes the The Greyston Bakery.

Blu Greenberg (b. 1936) is the founding president of the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance ( JOFA).

She holds an MA in both clinical psychology and Jewish studies. Her books include On Women and

Glossary Judaism: A View from Tradition, How to Run a Traditional Jewish Household, and Black Bread: Poems, After the Holocaust.

things food. Leah has been published in Lillith, Jewcy, Jewish Living, Gastronomica, New York Press and other publications.

Rabbi Steve Greenberg is a Senior Teaching Fellow at CLAL: The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership. He was featured in the 2001 film Trembling Before G-d, and in 2005 won the Koret Prize for his book, Wrestling with God & Men: Homosexuality in the Jewish Tradition. Rabbi Greenberg is a multi-year alumni of the Hazon NY Ride and Hazon’s first Rabbinic Scholar.

Maimonides (the Rambam) (1135-1204) was a rabbi, philosopher, and royal physician in Spain.

Perhaps the most renowned Jewish figure of the postTalmudic period, he is the author of the Mishneh Torah, Guide to the Perplexed, and Sefer-haMitzvot.

Hasidism Hasidism is a social and religious movement which originated in 18th c. Eastern Europe and emphasizes strict religious observance, ecstatic or mystical religious experience, and the religious and communal authority of the rebbe.

Havdallah, (lit. “separation”), is the ceremony which concludes the Sabbath and the Festivals. It emphasizes distinctions such as those between holy and mundane, light and darkness, and Israel and the nations, and helps to bring a bit of the sweetness of the Sabbath and Festivals into the week.

Hekhsher is a small logo that appears on food packaging to indicate the food has been processed in a facility under kosher supervision. There are many different hekhshers from many different organizations.

Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907-1972) is one of the pre-eminent scholars and philosophers of the 20th century, noted for his committment to Jewish learning and social activism. Born in Poland into a noted Hasidic family, he immigrated to the United States in 1940 where he taught at Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati and, from 1945 until his death, at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. His books include The Prophets, The Sabbath, and Heavenly Torah.

Alex Jamieson is a Holistic Health Counselor and Gourmet Natural Foods Chef. She lives in Los Angeles and New York with her fiancé, Morgan Spurlock (who directed and starred in the film Supersize Me).

Kabbalism is a Jewish esoteric and mystical movement which began in the 12th century and was particularly prominent in 16th century Tzfat (city in Northern Israel). The main book of Kabbalah is the Zohar.

Leah Koenig has worked at Hazon since 2004 as the Tuv Ha’Aretz Coordinator and, most recently, editor of Hazon’s award-winning blog, The Jew and the Carrot (www.jcarrot.org ). A graduate of Middlebury College, Leah is passionate about all

Jacob Milgrom (1923-) is a leading bible scholar.

He holds a BA from Brooklyn College, and a doctorate and rabbinic ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary. He taught at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem until 1992. His publications include Studies in Levitical Terminology, The JPS Torah Commentary: Numbers, and Leviticus: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary.

Mishna is the Oral Law, which according to Jewish tradition was received on Mt. Sinai with the Written Law (the Torah) and passed down orally through generations. It was recorded by a group of rabbis called the Tannaim from about 70ce to 200ce.

Dr. Wendy Mogel is a clinical psychologist and parent educator. She is the author of the book on parenting, The Blessing of a Skinned Knee.

Gary Paul Nabhan is an ecologist, ethnobotanist, and writer whose work has focused primarily on the plants and cultures of the desert Southwest.

He is active in RAFT (Restoring America’s Food Traditions), a division of SlowFood USA, and has numerous books including Coming Home to Eat: The Pleasures and Politics of Local Foods.

George Naylor, founded the National Family Farms Coalition in 1986. The NFFC provides a voice for grassroots groups on farm, food, trade and rural economic issues to ensure fair prices for family farmers, safe and healthy food, and vibrant, environmentally sound rural communities here and around the world. www.nffc.net Peri Eytz Hadar is the text of the Kabbalistic Tu B’Shevat Seder, published in Venice in 1728. The Kabbalists’ was essentially mystical, but their revival of the holiday formed a foundation for current reimagining of Tu B’Shvat as a Jewish environmental holiday.

Marge Piercy is a writer, poet and social activist.

She has published poetry and prose on feminist, environmental, and Jewish themes for over 30 years.

Philo of Alexandria was a Hellenized Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, Egypt, 20bce50ce.

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Glossary Pirkei Avot means “Chapters of the Fathers.” The best known book of the Mishna, it contains a series of aphorisms on proper ethical and social conduct, and the importance of Torah Study.

Michael Pollan is the author of several books about food; his most recent, In Defense of Food and The Omnivore’s Dilemma, both made the New York Times bestsellers list. A teacher of journalism at the University of California in Berkeley, Pollan has become a major voice in the conversation about how and what we eat. www.michaelpollan.com Rashi is the Hebrew acronym for Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaki (1040-1105). Rashi, who lived in France, wrote comprehensive commentaries on the Torah and Talmud.

Rebbe (sometimes shortened as “Reb”) is an alternate version of “rabbi,” which usually connotes great respect. It was the epithet given to the great Chasidic Rabbis of the 17th and 18th centuries; it can also be a term one gives to one’s own teacher (eg. “Shlomo Carlebach was my Rebbe.”)

Franz Rosenzweig (1886-1929) was a German Jewish philosopher and theologian.

Halé Sofia Schatz, nourishment educator and consultant, has focused on cultivating the essential correlation between nourishment, health, and spiritual awareness since 1975. She holds a private nutrition counseling practice in Massachussets, offers nourishment classes and cleanses all over the world.

She is the author of If the Buddha Came to Dinner: How to Nourish Your Body to Awaken Your Spirit. www.halesofiaschatz.com

Reb Zalman Schachter Shalomi (b. 1924), was born in Eastern Europe and, together with Reb Shlomo Carlebach, was one of the first two shlichim of the late Lubavitcher Rebbe. He founded and remains the leading rabbi within the contemporary Jewish Renewal movement. He lives in Boulder, CO. For more on Reb Zalman and his teachings, go to www.rzlp.org

Karen L. Smith , MSS, LSW is a Clinical Social Worker and Director/Founder of Full Living: Resources for Celebrating Body/Self, which offers national consulting services to organizations/ schools/clinics. www.fullliving.com Shechita is the Hebrew word for ritual slaughter.

The laws of shechita are a key aspect of kashrut. A shochet is the person who performs the slaughter.

Shulchan Arukh is the code of Jewish law

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compiled by Rabbi Josef Karo in the 16th century.

It is considered to be the most authoritative source of halacha ( Jewish law) since the Talmud. It is significant that the name literally means “the set table.”

Sustainability refers generally to practices and products that enable current generations to meet their needs without jeopardizing the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

Talmud is the recorded discussions of the rabbis (Gemarah) regarding the Oral Law (Mishna). It contains both legal material (halacha) and stories (agadah). There are two Talmuds. The Talmud Yerushalmi ( Jerusalem Talmud) was completed first, by about 450ce. The Talmud Bavli (Babylonian Talmud) was completed by about 600ce.

Thich Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, author, teacher and peace activist. He travels and teaches extensively around the world.

Torah is the Hebrew name for the Five Books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The word can also be used more generally to refer to the body of Jewish learning in general, as in Hazon’s theme quote: “the Torah is a commentary on the world, and the world is a commentary on the Torah.”

Tuv Ha’Aretz means both “best of the land” and “good for the land” (and we are indebted to Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky of Ansche Chesed for coining it). Tuv Ha’Aretz is the name of Hazon’s Community-Supported Agriculture program (see CSA). www.hazon.org/CSA Rabbi Dr. Arthur Waskow has been a significant proponent of social justice within and beyond the Jewish community since the 1960s. A number of his works have proved to be prophetic: he was one of the earliest and most vocal figures in the Jewish community to challenge the world’s addiction to oil, and to argue that global climate change required dramatic changes in our behavior. www.shalomctr.org

Yoreh Deah usually refers to a compilation of halakha ( Jewish law).

Lisa R. Young, Ph.D., R.D., C.D.N., is a nutrition consultant and faculty member at New York University. Her most recent book is The Portion Teller Plan: The No-Diet Reality Guide to Eating, Cheating, and Losing Weight Permanently.

Resources There are a lot of books about food! Here are some of the books, which, in our our opinion, do the best job of describing the range of food topics covered in this sourcebook. We’ve opted to list fewer books and include more description. We hope this list will be a good starting place for those of you who are new to these topics, and a good resource for deepening your awareness and understanding of food issues if you’ve been thinking about them for a while. If we’ve forgotten something important, please let us know!

Books Farming and Growing Food Fields of Plenty: A Farmer’s Journey in Search of Real Food and the People Who Grow It by Michael Ableman (Chronicle Books, 2005) details a cross-country trip Ableman made with his son in search of innovative and passionate farmers and food artisans who are producing sustainable nourishment.

Ableman was the founder of Fairview Gardens, the 12-acre organic farm surrounded by wealthy subdivisions that was the subject of the film “Beyond Organic.”

The New Organic Grower: A Master’s Manual of Tools and Techniques for the Home and Market Gardener by Eliot Coleman (Chelsea Green, 1995) this is the bible for organic vegetable growing Cooking from the Garden by Rosalind Creasy (Random House, 1988) a truly ahead-of-its-time work of art, this full-size, full color cookbook contains incredibly detailed information on how to grow and cook a huge range of vegetables, and includes tips from master growers and top chefs around the world.

The Year of the Goat by Margaret Hathaway and Karl Schatz (Lyons Press, 2007) In 2007, Karl and Margaret decided to quit their jobs in Manhattan and raise goats in Maine. They spent a year traveling the country, visiting goat herders, learning about farming, and falling in love with each other and a new way of life. This is their story.

Food Politics & Sustainable Agriculture The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan (Penguin, 2006) An incredibly readable introduction to the American food system, with frank discussion about the challenges and benefits of eating mainstream fast food, largescale organic, small-scale local, and foraging your own.

In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto by Michael Pollan (Penguin, 2008)) implores readers to follow a new philosophy of eating: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” As the book continues discussing everything from the dangers of the “Western Diet” to American’s unhealthy obsession with nutrition, readers find out that the wisdom of Pollan’s opening mantra is not new, but in fact contains food wisdom from across the centuries.

Diet for a Dead Planet: Big Business and the Coming Food Crisis by Christoher Cook (New Press 2004) One of the best summaries of 20th century agriculture policy, the food industry and the environmental effects of our current food system.

Diet for a New America by John Robbins (Stillpoint, 1987) Robbins, heir to the Baskin & Robbins fortune, walked away from the ice cream industry to expose animal cruelty in factory farms and the health effects of animal-based diets.

Fatal Harvest Reader, Ed. Andrew Kimbrell (Island Press, 2002) The images of farms and farmers in the full-color version are stunning; the paperback version contains the same essays on current agricultural challenges and solutions in a smaller format.

Stolen Harvest: The Hijacking of the Global Food Supply by Vandana Shiva (South End Press, 1999) Shiva is a passionate leader in India who works on issues of food security and globalization. This book, among many others she has written, is an excellent introduction to issues of safeguarding traditional food knowledge and culture, and the effects of global corporations on Indian communities.

Food Fight: A Citizen’s Guide to the Farm Bill by Daniel Imhoff (University of California Press, 2007) Although the Farm Bill comes up every seven years, in fact the work regarding its application is continuous.

The Farm Bill – which some have suggested should really be called the “Food Bill” – contains legislation that affect what food is grown, and how it is grown, in the US and around the world. Get educated and get involved!

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Resources Meat Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser (Harper Perenial, 2005) documents the rise of the fast food industry, emphasizing its effect on human health, the environment, and the social and political landscape of America. There is a teen version of the book called “Chew on This: Everything you don’t want to know about fast food” and a film.

My Year of Meats by Ruth Ozeki (Penguin, 1999) tells the story of fictional protagonist Jane TakagiLittle, a Japanese-American documentary film maker commissioned by a beef lobbying group to make a television show that encourages beef consumption by equating meat eating with a happy family life.

Health The Great American Detox Diet by Alex Jamison (Rodale International, 2005) Morgan Spurlock, creator and star of the film “Super-Size Me,” nearly killed himself by eating nothing but McDonalds for an entire month. Luckily, his girlfriend was a nutritionist. This is the detox diet she put him on to get him back to health.

If the Buddha Came to Dinner: How to Nourish Your Body to Awaken Your Spirit by Hale Sofia Schatz (Hyperion, 2004) explores the many reasons why we eat, how food makes us feel, and how living with greater awareness of our bodies’ needs can make us happier and healthier. Includes a step-by-step food cleanse and other exercises.

Food, Ethics & Spirituality The Way We Eat: Why our Food Choices Matter

by Peter Singer and Jim Mason (Rodale Books, 2006) documents corporate deception, widespread waste and desensitization to inhumane practices.

The authors examine three families’ grocery-buying habits, the motivations behind those choices, and the broader ethics of eating.

Food and Judaism: Studies in Jewish Civilization

by Leonard J. Greenspoon, Ronald A. Simkins, and Gerald Shapiro (Chreighton University Press, 2005) A book of scholarly essays about food and Jewish culture.

Judaism and Vegetarianism by Richard Schwartz (Lantern Books, 2001) A comprehensive look at

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Jewish sources that support vegetarianism, as well as environmental, social and health reasons to adopt a vegetarian lifestyle.

A Wild Faith by Mike Comins ( Jewish Lights, 2007) A self-described “wilderness rabbi,” Comins discusses the role of “the wilderness” in traditional Jewish spirituality, and provides tools and activities for the reader to access feelings of awe in the natural world.

Jewish Culture and Food A Blessing of Bread: The Many Rich Traditions of Jewish Bread Baking Around the World (Maggie Glezer, Artisan, 2004) Tons of new ways to braid your challah, bake your pita, and feed your family.

Includes great stories about Jewish breadmakers (whose recipes are included) as well as a wide range of Jewish cultures Jewish Eating and Identity through the Ages by Rabbi David Kraemer (Routledge, 2007) How much meat did Ancient Israelites actually eat? What did it feel like to keep kosher in antiquity? A fascinating and thorough book!

Miriam’s Kitchen: A Memoir (Penguin, 1998) is Elizabeth Ehrlich’s story about how food can connect us both to family tradition and to a deeper relationship with Jewish life. Reading Ehrlich’s mixture of personal stories, reflections and traditional Jewish recipes feels like stumbling upon a chest of family heirlooms in the attic.

Comfort me with Apples: More Adventures at the Table by Ruth Reichl (Random House, 2002) the second Reichl’s autobiographical trilogy in which she recounts her life as a personal and professional foodie. As the former New York Times Food Editor and Gourmet Magazine’s current Editor-in-Chief, Reichl has mastered the language of food – and it shows on every page of this memoir.

Cooking and Jewish Cooking The Art of Simple Food: Notes, Lessons, and Recipes from a Delicious Revolution by Alice Waters (Clarkson Potter, 2007) If you’re looking for a beautiful present for your favorite foodie, this is it: recipes that verge towards the gourmet, with seasonality and sustainable growing practices in mind.

Simply in Season by Mary Beth Lind and Cathleen Hockman-Wert (Herald Press, 2005) A beautiful

Resources cookbook put together by the members of the Mennonite Central Committee. Good simple recipes, with facts, stories, poems on every page; organized by season.

Olive Trees and Honey: A Treasury of Vegetarian Recipes from Jewish Communities Around the World by Gil Marks (Wiley Press, 2004) Ever wonder how Jews all over the world eat their eggplant? This wonderful cookbook includes charts to show the evolution of some of our favorite Jewish vegetarian dishes.

The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey from Samarkand to New York by Claudia Roden (Knopf, 1996) a cookbook of world Jewish cooking, a history of Jewish Diaspora through food, an incredible reference for Jewish dietary laws, cooking techniques and much more.

The Jewish Holiday Kitchen by Joan Nathan (Shocken, 1987) The classic Jewish cookbook.

C-l-a-s-s-i-c.

Jewish Cooking for all Seasons: Fresh, Flavorful Kosher Recipes for Holidays and Every Day by Laura Frankel (Wiley, 2006). If you’re frustrated that standard Jewish meals involve foods that aren’t ripe at the same time of year, this book is for you.

Beautiful, tasty meals for Jewish holidays and events year-round.

Poetry & Essays In Praise of Fertile Ground: An Anthology of Poetry, Parable, and Story Ed. Claudia Mauro (Whit Press, 2003) A beautiful collection of essays and poems about agriculture, cooking, hard work and eating together.

The Unsettling of America by Wendell Berry (Sierra Club Books, 1977) A classic book of essays about agriculture and consumption in America; sadly still relevant although nearly forty years old.

Moral Grandeur & Spiritual Audacity ed.

Susannah Heschel (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1997) Reading Abraham Joshua Heschel’s essays make me want to jump up with glee for being Jewish. They’re that good. Read for a little inspiration and good spiritual wrestling.

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Resources If you’re interested in starting conversations about food issues in the Jewish community, movies can be a great place to start. Consider showing some or all of one of these films at an education evening, and then use some of the texts or study questions from this book for a post-movie discussion.

If you’re going to show a film at an event, be sure to watch it first! Make note of your reaction, and try to anticipate some of the conversations that might follow. If you can, provide additional information on related topics to further conversation. If you’re looking for more independently-produced, environmental videos, check out Bullfrog Films (www.bullfrogfilms.com), and for more general thoughts on hosting an educational evening, see p. 111.

Movies An Inconvenient Truth (2006) – Al Gore’s Oscarwinning film contains a clear presentation of the science of global warming, and a call to action based on what Gore calls “the moral imperative.” 96 min.

Beyond Organic (2000): Tells the story of the struggle to maintain a 12-acre farm, Michael Ableman’s Fairview Gardens, located in Goleta, California, right in the middle of some of the most expensive real estate in the U.S. The film describes the farm’s community involvement, educational programs and the benefits of organic communitysupported agriculture. 33 min.

Broken Limbs: Apples, Agriculture and the New American Farmer (2004) Looks at the plight of apple growers in the age of globalization, and points the way to sustainable American agriculture. 57 min.

Fast Food Nation: The Movie (2006) A dramatized film that focuses on the experience of immigrants in the food industry, and the relationship between cheap food, environmental degradation, and illegal immigration. Contains graphic images of meat processing plants. 106 min.

The Future of Food (2004) A look at the GMO (genetically modified organisms) industry and the science behind GMO technology. Also details social and political effects, including the 1998 case where GMO seed cross-pollinated with a Percy Shmeiser’s field in Saskatchewan, and Monsanto sued the farmer – successfully – for growing their seed without a patent.

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King Corn (2008) Two college buddies set out for Iowa to grow an acre of corn and learn about the corn industry. A funny, lighthearted and informative film about how corn subsidies work, what life in rural Iowa is like, and how cheap corn products, especially corn syrup, are poisoning the nation. 90 min.

The Meatrix I, II: Produced by Sustainable Table and Free Range Studios, The Meatrix films are short Flash animation productions that spoof The Matrix movie trilogy while educating viewers about the problems with industrial agriculture and today’s meat supply. Humorous and creative satire, the films use pop culture and entertainment to educate viewers about the food they eat and where it comes from, while the web site following the film offers solutions to the problems with industrial agriculture. www. themeatrix.com The Real Dirt on Farmer John (2006) A personal documentary about John Peterson, a farmer, artist, and eccentric/innovative thinker cast in rural Illinois.

Peterson runs one of the largest, biodynamic CSAs in the USA. (His cookbook is also excellent!) 82 min.

Refugees of the Blue Planet (2006) looks at “environmental refugees,” that is, folks who need to leave their homes because of environmental situations, such as extreme weather events in the Pacific Islands, sour-gas excavation in Alberta, or eucalyptus paper farming in Brazil. Brings up the question of how responsible we are for the effects of the North American lifestyle on people in the rest of the world. 54 min.

Resources There are a number of amazing organizations doing great work on a range of food issues. Here is a small list. Many of these organizations have very informative websites – be sure to check them first for further information about all things food!

Organizations Global Food & Sustainability American Jewish World Service (AJWS) is an international development organization motivated

by Judaism’s imperative to pursue justice. Through grants to grassroots organizations, volunteer service, advocacy and education, AJWS fosters civil society, sustainable development and human rights for all people, while promoting the values and responsibilities of global citizenship within the Jewish community. www.ajws.org

Via Campesina is an international movement of peasants, small- and medium-sized producers, landless, rural women, indigenous people, rural youth and agricultural workers 56 countries worldwide.

They work to develop solidarity and unity among small farmer organizations in order to promote gender parity and social justice in fair economic relations; the preservation of land, water, seeds and other natural resources; food sovereignty; and sustainable agricultural production. www.viacampesina.org Slow Food is a non-profit, eco-gastronomic membersupported organization that was founded in 1989 to counteract fast food and fast life, the disappearance of local food traditions, and people’s dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the rest of the world. Slow Food began in Italy and currently has over 80,000 members in countries world-wide. www.slowfood.com / www.slowfoodusa.org

Hunger City Harvest works to end hunger in communities throughout New York City through food rescue and distribution, education, and other practical, innovative solutions. www.cityharvest.org Hazon Yeshaya is a leading humanitarian organization that is fighting poverty and hunger by encouraging and supporting the projects of Hazon Yeshaya Soup Kitchens in Israel. Founded in 1997 by a successful businessman from New York, Hazon Yeshaya has grown to a nationwide network serving more than 400,000 hot meals every month at over 60 locations. www.hazonyeshaya.org

World HungerYear (WHY) advocates for innovative, community-based solutions to hunger and poverty.

WHY challenges society to confront these problems by advancing models that create self-reliance, economic justice, and equal access to nutritious and affordable food. www.worldhungeryear.org

Jews & the Environment ADAMAH: The Jewish Environmental Fellowship is a three month leadership training program for Jewish young adults — ages 20–29 —that integrates organic farming, sustainable living, Jewish learning, teaching, and contemplative spiritual practice.

Fellows spend their time learning and practicing sustainable agriculture and animal husbandry on the four-acre ADAMAH farm and in small gardens throughout the retreat center. Fellows also participate in leadership training, community living, ecological and Jewish seminars with visiting faculty, and more. www.isabellafreedman.org/adamah

The Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL) works with synagogues and other local Jewish organizations to bring Jewish environmental education, ecologically-conscious Jewish observance, and opportunities for environmental action to Jewish families and individuals, and brings a Jewish vision and voice to issues of environmental justice and sustainability. www.coejl.org The Jewish Farm School is an educational organization comprised of farmers, builders, writers and educators whose mission is to practice and promote sustainable agriculture in order to cultivate just food systems rooted in Jewish traditions. www.jewishfarmschool.org

The Teva Learning Center is North America’s foremost Jewish Environmental Education Institute.

By immersing participants in the natural world and providing structured activities which sensitize them to nature’s rhythms, Teva helps them develop a more meaningful relationship with nature and their own Jewish practices. Working with Jewish Day Schools, Congregational Schools, synagogues, camps and youth groups, Teva’s programs touch the lives of 3,000 participants annually. www.tevacenter.org

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

Food for Thought © 127

The Orthodox Union (OU) is the major kosher certifying authority in the US. Their websites have a lot of information about Jewish dietary laws and kosher products, as well as interesting information about the kosher food industry. www.ou.org and www.oukosher.org

Find Good Food Eat Wild is a national online store for safe, healthy, natural and nutritious grass-fed beef, lamb, goats, bison, poultry, dairy and other wild edibles. Their website provides comprehensive, accurate information about the benefits of raising animals on pasture and links consumers with local suppliers of all-natural grass-fed products. www.eatwild.com Just Food is a non-profit organization that works to develop a just and sustainable food system in the New York City region. They do this by fostering new marketing and food-growing opportunities that address the needs of regional, rural family farms, NYC community gardeners, and NYC communities. www.justfood.org

KOL Foods provides locally grown, organic, pasturefinished kosher lamb and beef along with heightened awareness and education. Currently, they distribute to Washington, DC and Duram, NC, and are available to assist setting up additional distribution locations. www.kolfoods.com

Kosher Conscience: The Kosher Ethical Meat Co-op works to provide kosher, humane, pastureraised meat to the New York area. www.kosherconscience.com

LocalHarvest maintains a definitive and reliable “living” public nationwide directory of over 9,000 small farms, farmers markets, and other local food

sources. Find a CSA or source of sustainably grown food near you, or shop from their online store, which helps small farms develop markets beyond their local areas. www.localharvest.org The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is an independent non-profit organisation that promotes responsible fishing practices. Their website contains facts about sustainable fisheries, and where to find sustainably-harvested seafood. They also publish a wallet-size seafood guide to help you negotiate seafood choices. www.msc.org

Sustainable Agriculture & Environmental Information Farm to Table promotes sustainable agriculture and cuisine by educating and assisting farmers, food industry professionals, policy makers and the public to facilitate the transition to sustainability. www. farmtotable.org

Environmental Working Group is a team of scientists, engineers, policy experts, lawyers and computer programmers who study government data, legal documents, scientific studies and their own laboratory tests to expose threats to public health and the environment, and to find solutions. They have special sections on issues related to food and farming. www.ewg.org and www.foodnews.org The National Family Farm Coalition (NFFC) provides a voice for grassroots groups on farm, food, trade and rural economic issues to ensure fair prices for family farmers, safe and healthy food, and vibrant, environmentally sound rural communities here and around the world. They have been particularly active with the Farm Bill legislation, and their website is very informative. www.nffc.net

...and one more special website worth mentioning...

The Jew & The Carrot, a partnership between Hazon and the Forward, is our award-winning blog about Jews, Food and Contemporary Life. Check back daily for the best in Jewish food news, opinions, recipes, stories, interviews, and more. www.jcarrot.org JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

128 Food for Thought ©

Notes Attempts were made to contact all publishers for permissions. In cases where we were not able to make contact before this first printing, every effort will be made to secure permissions before publication.

Chapter 1: Learning Torah Franz Rosenzweig, “Towards a Renaissance of Jewish Learning” (1920) from Franz Rosenzweig: His Life and Thought, ed. Nahum N. Glatzer. Hackett Publishing Company; 3rd edition (1998), p. 222.

L.H. Bailey, The Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture.

Macmillan Company, New York, 1935. Vol. II, page 1235.

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, “Teaching Religion to American Jews” in Moral Grandeur and Spiritual Audacity: Essays by Abraham Joshua Heschel, Edited by Susannah Heschel. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1997.

Rachel Adler, “The Juxtaposition of Text and Person” from “A Question of Boundaries: Towards a Jewish Feminist Theology of Self and Others.” Tikkun, Vol. 6, No. 3, p. 43-44.

“The Tale of Sinuhe,” c. 1800 B.C.E., translation by Gary A. Rendsburg, used with permission.

Abraham Joshua Heschel, God in Search of Man. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1974. p. 46.

Thich Nhat Hanh, Miracle of Mindfulness. Beacon Press, 1999.

Tangerine information from American Heritage Dictionary, 4th Edition, and the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation.

Rabbi Joy Levitt, “The Dialogue with the Dalai Lama,” Reconstructionist Journal, Fall 1994 p. 61-2

Chapter 3: Kashrut Philo of Alexandria, On the Virtues 143-44, available at www.earlyjewishwritings.com/philo Soler, J. (1979) The semiotics of food in the Bible.

In: Food and Drink in History (Forster, Rabbi & Ranum, O. eds.), pp. 126-138. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.’

Jacob Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16 (Anchor Bible, vol. 3) Doubleday Broadway Publishing Group. 1998

Chapter 2: Gratitude, Mindfulness & Blessing our Food ‘Standing Ovation’ quote from Hope’s Edge: The Next Diet for a Small Planet, by Frances Moore Lappé and Anna Lappé. Tarcher, 2003. p. 59 ‘Miraculous is not extraordinary’ quote from Sex, Economy, Freedom & Community: Eight Essays, by Wendell Berry. Pantheon Books, 1993. p. 103.

Apple facts from the US Apple Growers Association. http://www.usapple.org/consumers/ applebits/core.cfm God Language from Kol Haneshama: Shabbat Vehagim, Third Edition. Reconstructionist Press, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. 2004. p. 5.

Peri Eytz Hadar, translated by Miles Krassen in Trees, Earth and Torah: A Tu B’Shvat Anthology. Ed. Ari Elon, Naomi Mara Hyman and Arthur Waskow.

Jewish Publication Society, Philadelphia, 2000. p.

144.

Bernard Glassman, Instructions to the Cook: A Zen Master’s Lessons in Living a Life That Matters.

Harmony/Bell Tower, 1997. p. 155

Johann David Michaels, “Arguments against Dohm” (1782), from The Jew in the Modern World, Ed. Paul Mendes-Flohr & Jehuda Reinharz; Oxford University Press, New York. 1995. p. 42-43.

Blu Greenberg, How to Run a Traditional Jewish Household. Simon & Schuster, 1983. p. 115 Jacob Milgrom, Leviticus: A Book of Rituals and Ethics. Fortress Press, 2004. quote p. 18; information in table from pp. 21-55.

Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi quote from Rabbi Goldie Milgram, www.rebgoldie.com Jack Wertheimer quote from Sue Fishkoff, “Dietary changes afoot, but are they Kosher? That depends on what it means” JTA, October 29, 2006.

András Koerner, A Taste of the Past: The Daily Life and coking of a 19th-Century Hungarian Jewish Homemaker. University Press of New England, 2004 p. 57-58.

Rabbi Solomon Efraim Lunchitz, Kli Yakar, from www.jewishveg.com

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

Food for Thought © 129

Notes Chapter 4: Bread & Civilization

Chava Weissler, Voices of the Matriarchs: Listening to the Prayers of Early Modern Jewish Women (Boston: Beacon Press, 1998) p. ix.

Meiseles, ed. Yiddish; Brooklyn, Yofi Publishing, 2000. p. 273; Yair Shartzman, ed. Sefer Yehi Or: Elu Ma’aseyhem Shel Zaddikim ( Jerusalem 1998, 394-95); Abraham Chaim Frankel, ed., Shabbat Beyt Rophsitz (vol. 1; Jerusalem: privately published 1994), 181.; Shalom Aryhe Shtam of Horodok, Zekher Zaddik (Vilna, 1908), 9b.

Gunther Plaut, ed. The Torah: A Modern Commentary. New York: Union of American Hebrew Congregations, 1981.

Chapter 6: Health, Bodies & Nourishment

A.J. Heschel quote from God in Search of Man, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1976. p. 63.

Carl Griffin’s story from pamphlet, “The 1847 Oregon Trail Sourdough Starter: The wild yeast was born when the West was young!” 1996; available at http://home.att.net/~carlsfriends/ Interview with Sandor Katz on The Jew and the Carrot, “Meet Sandorkrat (And Win His Book)” January 4th, 2008. www.jcarrot.org

Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch of Zhidachov, Hakdamah vederekh le’etz ha-hayim: Sefer sur me-ra va’aseh tov.

Israel, 1969 (reprint of Lublin 1912a) Halé Sofia Schatz and Shira Shaiman, If the Buddha Came to Dinner: How to nourish your body to awaken your spirit. Hyperion, 2004. p. 20, 84, 87.

Paul Gruchow, “The Transfiguration of Bread” from Grass Roots: The Universe of Home. Milkweed Editions, 1995. Permission requested.

Dr. Wendy Mogel, The Blessing of a Skinned Knee.

Penguin, 2001. p. 148, 152.

Chapter 5: Eating Together

Michael Pollan, “Unhappy Meals”, New York Times January 28, 2007.

Erma Bombeck, “If I Had My Life To Live Over.”

We’re not sure where the original was published...

Data on families who eat together from reports

by CASA: The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, “The Importance of Family Dinners” 2003. www. casafamilyday.org Maurice Lamm, The Jewish Way in Death and Mourning. Jonathan David Publishers, 1969. p.

98-99.

Ralph Nader, The Seventeen Traditions. Harper Collins, 2007. p. 44-45 Marge Piercy, “My mother gives me her recipe.”

Originally published in Calyx, Vol. 19, No. 1, Winter 1999-2000 Kugel sources from Allan Nadler, “Holy Kugel: The Sanctification of Ashkenazic Ethnic Foods in Hasidism” in Food & Judaism, ed. Leonard J. Greenspoon, Ronald A. Simkins and Gerald Shapiro.Creighton University Press, 2005. p.

193-214. Specific citations follow: Rabbi Aaron Roth (Reb Arele), Shulhan Ha-Tahor, 9th Ed. Jerusalem, 1989, sect. 177 par 3; Haym Grunfeld, ed. Sefer Pardes Ha-Melekh. Manchester, privately published, 1999; Otzer Ha-Shabbes, David-Dov

JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

130 Food for Thought ©

Lisa R. Young, The Portion Teller, www. theportionteller.com

Alix Jamieson, The Great American Detox Diet.

Rodale Press, 2005. p. 31-32.

English translation for the bathroom bracha from The Complete Metsudah Siddur by Rabbi Avrohom Davis. Metsudah Publications, 1990. p. 13.

“Hate/Love” by Anonymous, from www.somethingfishy.org Karen L. Smith, “Some Notes on Jewish Women and Eating Disorders” and “From Rubenesque to Twiggy: The Meaning Behind the Waif Aesthetic” from Full Living: Resources for Celebrating Body and Self www.fullliving.com Max Ehrman, Desiderata, 1927.

Chapter 7: Food & Place Alan Thein Durning, This Place on Earth. Sasquatch Books, 1996.

“American Terroir” by Gary Paul Nabhan, Renewing America’s Food Tradition.

Joan Nathan, The Jewish Holiday Kitchen. Schocken Books, 1988. p. 242-3.

Notes Chapter 8: Food & Ethics: The implications of what we eat Michael Ableman, Fields of Plenty: A farmer’s journey in search of real food and the people who grow it.

Chronicle Books, 2005. p. 74.

G.E. Post, “Tamarisk,” in James Hasting, Ed., Dictionary of the Bible (1902). Accessed at http:// www.odu.edu/~lmusselm/post/dictionary/hastings_ dic/pages/tamarisk.shtml.

John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath. Viking Press, 1939.

“Our Common Future,” The Brundtland Commission report to the United Nations on Sustainability (1987) Bernard Glassman, Instructions to the Cook: A Zen Master’s Lessons in Living a Life that Matters.

Harmony/Bell Tower, 1997, p. 72.

Jeremy Rifkin, Beyond Beef: The Rise and Fall of the Cattle Culture. Plume, 1993. p. 1-2.

Photo credits All photos are by Nigel Savage or Anna Hanau unless otherwise noted. If we’ve made a mistake and forgot to credit your photo, we’re sorry! Please let us know and we’ll credit you properly in the published version.

Lauren Akins Front Cover: Cilantro; Carrots; Strawberries; Cows; Milkshake. Back Cover: Broccoli; Grapes.

Ch. 1: Spice baskets in Morocco. Ch. 2: Radical Amazement Zuchini. Ch. 4: Pita.

Shir Yakov Feinstein-Feit Front Cover: Equal Exchange Coffee; Back Cover: Stirfry; “You shall eat...”; Roasted garlic; Making butter. Ch 2: Making motzi.

David Franklin Front Cover: Fruit Platter Beth Schulman Preface: Adamahnics with pumkins.

Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, A Vision of Vegetarianism and Peace, ed. Rabbi David Kohen, Nazir of Jerusalem, translated by Rabbi David Sears. http://jewishveg.com/DSvision.html Michael Pollan, Omnivore’s Dilema: A Natural History of Four Meals. The Penguin Press, 2006. p. 54, 333.

A note about translations We’ve listed below where most of our translations originally came from. We haven’t undertaken our own re-translations, but we’ve occasionally adapted or changed them.

ood is hard work uq u q passages from the Torah, so in almost q j o u n qu q ; r ~r r ~of p , k~‫ ֶֹל‬r‫ י ה‬j nthe u retranslation We have not undertaken a full scale ‫ׄוהי‬ ְ n s ָ‫ֱא ה‬ ִ ‫ ם‬in e Lord God took the man, and put him into the u r j rz j u ”u r But j r j these , p o English words are, in our view, a very words are translated as “the |Lord God. Eden to till it (l’ovdah)every and tocase tendthose it (l’shomra).

2:15 uq u q Hebrew word that leads to the English “Jehova” – is an unpronounceable u n qu q ; r ~r r translation. q j ~p , n s k~ r‫והי‬ ְ j‫ ׄ ָ ה‬ u o imperfect – n the him into the r j rz j u u r j to r j the , :p verb o r r l~“to word that’s| u connected s.

Agricultural

o sbe” rand, r n perhaps q j ~s so indirectly, p p jn q to an unpronounceable expression of t (l’shomra). was a keeper was u q q j o u n qu sheep, q ; r ~ r r but ~p Cain , s ‫ם ִי‬k~ is ra technically jtiller nuq of u of breath. ‫ ֶֹלֱא‬n ‫ה‬ a plural “gods”. So if you read primarily in u q face r r l~word r n j u that n n q on ~ o rthe rn of ou nit means jn q d.the 3 And in process of time it came to pass, that r j

u j ~s r j r English, highly ght of the fruit of: the an unto ~ n o p inexact p j : r s shorthand j q r j n for these two words. u is q a~ r r ground l~the o s| u r r rz offering nj u q understand j s,o p the o that p p “Lord jn q God” mra).

And he also brought of the firstlings of his as a Abel, tiller of u q rn ou n jn q ~p r s j n qz u q p o j p o u s ~s s s u j n r r the l~ r LORD n j u n n q ~ o rrespect of fatthat thereof. And had to the pass, and to his offering; 5 but unto Cain and to his ring unto: the ~ n for p p j p p : r jns j q q Texts r j n s r j n ~p j n q ~p j : s r j n ~p j p p r r l~ o s rSources ~ r u n q j q ~s o s o Hebrew e had respect. And Cain was very wroth, stlings of his er of not : r r u ~ j n q j from q nu q Mechon r rz ~s Mamre, www.mechon-mamre.org u nj u u q sHebrew u q p q n q~ z u o rq Enlish o r j n p from s ~s s s u j JPS n translation; r r l~ r ~p n r j u Tanach: n s n j o u ou n the

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n ~p j listed p p below): English from Soncino Classics, Version 2.2; Hebrew from Bar ~ ~ o p j n p q p sources j ~:p rj s : j s q r j r n j u s r q j Rabbinic (exceptions eryhis wroth, of :qz ruIlan j n Version q j s s q nu u j q 14 rz ~s u Responsa, ~p r s j n q r u p o n j u j u p q so ~ s ~s

n r Plus. u ect Flood p ~su q r ru ~p j q s ~p sn k~ j p r j q his s r j n ~p j nMaimonides’ q sons, ~p j :and s r said j Hilchot n ~unto p j Deot: p p Hebrew from DBS Torah, Version 12; English from Mechon Mamre. dh,blessed Noah and his p ~r r ~p ~ n u u j u j u u j u p r fruitful and multiply, replenish the : r r u j u u Pirkei q s~ j Avot: n q j Hebrew q nu q earth. r rz from ~s 2 DBS Torah,: Version u nand 12; English from Shechem.org j ar of you and the dread shall p ~su q of r you ru ~ p j q s be ~p upon sn k~ p r j q p ~r r qu q r u q p nj p uj n j p l~ q s u Food for Thought © 131 st of unto the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, said u u s {

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p r u u u u u u all wherewith the ground teemeth, and upon all he earth. 2 of the sea: into l be upon j u r r l~ r u r u n p pj u j ru q o u j r u q p r ~r r ru hand q ~ q p p ndelivered. j sn k~p u r u : p ~s your u ~p q j are q sr u they j uj n p r jj q 3p l~ q s JEWISH INSPIRATION. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.

About Hazon

Hazon means vision.

We create healthier and more sustainable communities in the Jewish world and beyond.

Hazon effects change in the world in three ways • Transformative experiences for individuals and communities.

• Thought-leadership in the fields of Jewish and environmental knowledge.

• Support of the Jewish environmental movement in North America and Israel.

Hazon serves a national and international population; members of every denomination and those who are unaffiliated; intergenerational from children to seniors, families to singles. Our programs and resources are designed as entry points for Jews of all backgrounds who are concerned about the environment and the world.

Transformative Experiences Encouraging Jewish people to make a difference in the world, and enabling them in the process to renew and reframe their own Jewish journeys The Hazon CSA network was launched as the first Jewish Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) program in North America in 2004, and now has nearly 60 sites. In a CSA, members purchase a share of food from a local, sustainable farmer and pick it up at their Jewish institution each week throughout the growing season. Newsletters and programming at pick-ups explore connections between Jewish tradition and contemporary food issues. We are using our CSAs to start to deepen people’s understanding of American food systems – not just about personal health but also about food justice, urban food deserts, and the politics and economics of farming.

The Hazon Food Conference brings together foodies, educators, rabbis, farmers, nutritionists, chefs, food writers, and families who share a passion for learning about and celebrating food. The 2012 conference is being held at the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, in CT, in December.

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Food for Thought

Hazon bike rides serve as fundraisers for the work of Hazon and our partners and are intended to be powerful experiences for all participants. Our rides in New York (Labor Day) and California (Memorial Day) feature two riding days and a Shabbat retreat for riders and non-riders to relax, learn, eat, and pray together. The Cross-USA Ride (summer) is a 10-week tour from Seattle to Washington DC, with smaller segments available. Our Israel Ride (November) is a week-long tour in partnership with the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, where riders experience the beauty and challenges of the region.

All of our rides are supported, including mechanics, food, luggage transport, and more

Thought-Leadership This includes writing, speaking, teaching, curriculum development and advocacy. We are catalyzing and inspiring the new Jewish Food Movement and building intellectual bridges between Jewish tradition and key contemporary issues. Our ethos: “the Torah is a commentary on the world, and the world is a commentary on the Torah.”

The Jewish Food Education Network (JFEN) offers resources, curricula, and training about food and Jewish tradition, to help you navigate sustainable food issues in a Jewish context. JFEN enables educators to tap into the passion of food and the environment in their communities and use food as a platform for innovative Jewish education.

Hazon’s Sustainable Shabbat and Holiday Guides provide information and resources for celebrating Shabbat and the Jewish holidays in line with our values. These resources can inspire a theme for a holiday, activities for families, or events for communities.

Our blog, The Jew and the Carrot (www.jcarrot. org), a partnership between Hazon and the Forward, serves as a public front page for the new Jewish Food Movement.

The next shmita year begins at Rosh Hashanah 5774.

Shmita means release, and the Torah outlines a seven year agricultural cycle, in which the seventh year is a shabbat for the land. How can we apply the wisdom of shmita to our lives today, and what does it mean in the context of modern agriculture? Over the next year, leading up to shmita, Hazon will be providing resources that will help your community begin to answer these sorts of questions.

Capacity-Building Supporting and networking great people and great projects in North America and Israel We support a range of Jewish environmental organizations and projects with grants from our bike rides, and local community funds. Since inception we’ve raised over $2,000,000 for organizations in Israel and the US. Past grants have funded: • • • •

the down payment on the house where fellows live at the Adamah Jewish Environmental Fellowship a garden at Camp Na’aleh, which now provides produce to the camp kitchen the Israel Bike Association, which promotes active transportation in Israel roof gardens, solar panels, and other green upgrades to Jewish institutional buildings

Hazon offers fiscal sponsorship to a small number of first-stage organizations. Graduates include Challah for Hunger and Urban Adamah; current members are Jewish Farm School and Wilderness Torah.

In 2011 we launched Siach, a conference to build relationships between environmental and social justice leaders in the US, Israel, and Europe.

Hazon launched Makom Hadash, a shared office space in New York for second-stage Jewish nonprofits.

Food for Thought

133

about the authors Nigel Savage, originally from Manchester, England, founded Hazon (Hebrew for “vision”) in 2000.

In 2000 Nigel led Hazon’s first major project, a 3000 mile Cross-USA Jewish Environmental Bike Ride, in which participants cycled from Seattle, WA to Washington, DC, to raise environmental awareness in the American Jewish community. They ended at the White House where they received an award from the EPA. Nigel has taught in a variety of settings, including the General Assembly of the United Jewish Communities, the Wexner Heritage Conference, the UJA Young Leadership Conference, the leadership retreat of the Dorot Fellows in Israel and the World Union of Jewish Students. His articles have appeared in various publications including The Forward and the Jerusalem Report.

Before founding Hazon Nigel was a professional fund manager in the English equivalent of Wall Street, where he worked for the Rothschilds and was co-head of UK Equities at John Govett & Co. He has an MA in American Jewish History from Georgetown, and learned at Pardes, Yakar, Hebrew University and Jerusalem Fellows.

He is Vice-President of the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center and he was one of the founders of Limmud NY. Nigel is infamous in the UK for his cameo appearance in the cult Anglo-Jewish comic movie, Leon The Pig Farmer. He is also believed to be the first English Jew to have cycled across South Dakota on a recumbent bike.

Anna Hanau grew up in North Vancouver, British Columbia.

She moved to New York in 2000 to attend the Jewish Theological Seminary and Barnard College, where she earned a BA in Urban Studies/Environmental Science and a BA in Bible Studies in 2004.

Anna joined Hazon as an intern, working on the first beit midrash about Jews and food in 2003. She then helped to launch Hazon’s Community-Supported Agriculture Project at Ansche Chesed in 2004, and after that was the New York Ride Coordinator for the 2005 and 2006 New York Jewish Environmental Bike Rides. She was the co-chair of the Hazon Food Conference in 2007.

Anna participated in the Adamah fellowship in 2007, and worked at Adamah as the Farm Manager in 2008 and 2009. She rejoined the Hazon staff in 2010 as Associate Director of Programs. Anna and her husband Naftali Hanau founded a kosher pastured meat business, Grow and Behold Foods, and keep a small flock of chickens in their backyard in Brooklyn. (In accordance with Hazon’s conflict of interest policy, Anna does not work on meat or meat-related projects at Hazon.)

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Food for Thought

Thank you to our funders, without whom none of this work would have been possible.

DOROT FOUNDATIO

DOROT FOUNDATION

DOROT FOUNDATION

Oreg Foundation Crown Family Philanthropies • The Jewishly Informed Giving Fellowship of the Columbia/Barnard Hillel

• The Lisa Anne Botnick Teen Scholarship Funds • Lucius N. Littauer Foundation

• Hillel Soref Initiative • Mazal Foundation • The Pears Foundation

Anonymous The riders and sponsors of Hazon’s California, Cross-USA, Israel and New York Rides Hazon’s Board of Directors: Adina Abramowitz Natasha Aronson Cheryl Cook Richard Dale Jon Drill Clare Goldwater

Ellen Goodman Stuart Kurtz Sasha Lansky Sharon Leslie Trisha Margulies Ruth Messinger Howard Metzenberg

Rabbi Jay Moses Anna Ostrovsky Shuli Passow Mandy Patinkin Howie Rodenstein Nigel Savage Dr. Maya Shetreat-Klein

Rabbi Marc Soloway Rabbi Dr. David Teutsch Diane Troderman David Wolfe

$25

Food for Thought Hazon’s Sourcebook on Jews, Food & Contemporary Life Learn from Jewish tradition and explore your own relationship to the food you eat and the way you eat it. This cutting-edge sourcebook enables you to look at Jewish texts through fresh eyes—and to apply three thousand years’ of Jewish wisdom about food to a broad range of contemporary issues.

Food for Thought is suitable for adult education groups, rabbis, college classes, high schools, Hillels, educators–and anyone else who want to learn in serious and creative ways about Jews, food, and the multitude of choices we face today.

Topics include: •

Gratitude, mindfulness & blessing our food

•

Kashrut

•

Bread & Jewish tradition

•

Hospitality and social separation

•

Health and nourishment

•

Land and place: Local foods and the land of Israel

•

Food and Ethics: the implications of what we eat

Nigel Savage is the founder and Executive Director of Hazon. He holds an MA from Georgetown University, and learned at Pardes, Yakar, Hebrew University and the Jerusalem Fellows.

Anna Hanau is the Associate Director of Programs at Hazon. She managed the farm at ADAMAH in 2008 and 2009, and has worked with Hazon since 2003. She is the co-founder of Grow and Behold Foods, a kosher pastured meat company, and holds BAs from Barnard College (in Urban Studies) and from the Jewish Theological Seminary (in Bible Studies).

Hazon creates healthier and more sustainable communities in the Jewish world and beyond.