What does food have to do with the Jewish Holidays? EVERYTHING!

When September rolls around, so does a slew of Jewish Holidays. Just last week, we celebrated Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year and next week, we’ll be celebrating Sukkot.  When friends ask me what we do to celebrate the holidays, my immediate answer is “my extended family gathers together and we enjoy a big feast.”  The truth is, almost every Jewish holiday (with the exception of Yom Kippur, when we fast) is celebrated by holding a big feast.  In many cases, food is as big a part of our identity and tradition as is our religion. The biggest worry we have for the holidays is always “what will we eat?” It always makes me laugh when my dad starts to talk about what to make for dinner as we’re eating lunch.  I mean… we’re not even done eating, how can you be thinking about the next meal already? But that’s how much we obsess over food.

Whether you are a secular or religious Jew, the one thing that we all have in common is that we celebrate the holiday with a big meal. In Judaism, we use food as symbols for what we’re celebrating. For example, for Rosh Hashana, we eat food that symbolizes the type of year we want; we dip apples and challa (sweet bread) in honey for a sweet year, we eat pomegranate seeds for a year of prosperity, and a fish head (although I’ve never eaten one) as a symbol of our desire to be at the “head of the class” (whether that pertains to family, work or personal life).

Beyond the religious aspect, food represents so much more to me.  There’s something about food that brings people together. Every holiday, my entire family gathers together and the grown ups get to catch up and the kids get to hang out and act crazy with their cousins. Since we’re Israeli, to the untrained ear, our dinner conversations sound mostly like we’re yelling at each-other. And while we may not usually agree (or ever), we always speak with passion. Besides, you need to be loud when you’re trying to speak over 10 other people who are talking at the same time. Yes, it’s a bit chaotic, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

My favourite part of a holiday meal is that it’s “home cooked”. For me, nothing beats a meal cooked by my mom. The flavours and the scents bring back fond memories of growing up and celebrations.  My husband John and I always discuss our favourite meals, and obviously, we both choose something that is cooked by our moms and typically for a holiday (turkey dinner for John, chicken soup for me).

If you’re nodding your head as you’re reading this, I know you will love this video. Real Canadian Superstore also believes that family is the secret ingredient to any special meal. Whether you’re making turkey for dinner or your mom’s okra recipe, meals just aren’t the same if they are not shared with loved ones.

So now that I’ve shared my favourite meal with you, I want to know… what’s your favourite meal?