A Slice of Conversation

COURTESY JEWISH FOOD SOCIETY

A

SLICE

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CONVERSATION

Sometimes, a meal is just about the food. But isn’t it better when it’s about so much more?

Food can drop us right into an experience – a warm hug, a fond memory, a portal in time.

Sometimes, the foods we share tell our stories for us, beyond words. They reveal feelings of comfort, joy, sorrow, and resilience both for us, and for those who have come before. OneTable invites you to celebrate the foods that make you you. Explore the journeys of the bites that nourish you and deepen your relationship with the foods that tell your (hi)stories. With this guide, we invite you to celebrate the foods on your table and the memories behind them, and open up the conversation.

Today, the breads on our tables can serve as a reminder that not everyone has the means or the time to put food on the table, and that we are grateful to be able to do both as we celebrate Shabbat.

Try to imagine all of the stages your bread went through before arriving on your plate, from wheat to grain to dough to loaf. Go around the table and try to name them. How many people do you think had a hand in the evolution of this bread?

Think for a moment about what hunger feels like. How would you describe it? Are you someone who forgets to eat, or are you someone who can’t function if they miss a meal? How do you change when you’re hungry?

If you could share a loaf of bread with anyone — living or dead, real or fictional — who might you choose? What kind of bread would you choose?

HUNGRY FOR MORE? Watch OneTable’s August 2021 PAUSE episode, visit our Jewish food resources, and the Jewish Food Society archive for the featured Shabbat bread recipes including kubaneh, dabo, and challah (that's their gorgeous picture of dabo featured, btw!)!

Foodways are defined as the eating habits and culinary practices of a people, region, or historical period. “What special foodways traditions does your family have? Have any recipes been preserved and passed down in your family from generation to generation? What are they? What are their origins?

Have they changed over the years? How? Have any of the ingredients been adapted or changed? Why? Are there certain foods that are traditionally prepared for holidays and celebrations? Who makes them?

Are there family stories connected to the preparation of special foods?” (Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage)

The Torah famously teaches that we cannot live by bread alone (Deuteronomy 8:3).

What are the things — the practices, the words, the objects — that sustain you?

Who are the people who add nourishment to your life?