[Ann]

When one eats food purchased at a Hadassah fundraiser, is that food ‘Jewish food’ or is it ‘Hebrew food’? I bought a bagel with cream cheese, some sort of sweet macaroni and cheese dish, a coconut dessert and some tuna salad.

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Name : Ann, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 29, City : Evansville, State : IN, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[JerryS]

What you ate was American food, with a Jewish flavor to it. Bagels are of Eastern European Jewish origin. The macaroni and cheese dish is from the same region, and there’s another version without the cheese (to accompany meat-based meals, since dairy products wouldn’t be allowed). Coconut and tuna would probably have baffled my Eastern European Jewish ancestors, unless they happened to live in a fairly cosmopolitan city. Most of the Jews in America are from Eastern European roots. That all being said, there are Jews from other parts of the world (India, the Mediterranean, the Middle East) that have their own culinary traditions. In fact, Roman-style Italian cuisine is considered to be of Jewish origin, and to this day the part of town that used to be the Jewish neighborhood is full of excellent ‘Italian’ restaurants. Generally, Jewish cuisine is similar to that of the people around them but adapted in some ways to accommodate the Jewish dietary laws (no pork, no mixing of milk and meat). As for ‘Hebrew’ food, that’s not a term that gets used — mostly because modern Jews don’t refer to themselves as Hebrews. If you want to look at what folks were eating in the Old Testament, I suppose you could call that ‘Hebrew’ food; but nobody else does. It’s mostly just roast meat, barley cakes, and lentils — pretty typical for peasants in the Middle East down to this day. The big exception is unleavened bread, which has ceremonial meaning to Jews (matzoh) and Christians (communion wafers) today.

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[Su]

I suspect by ‘Hebrew food’ you mean kosher food, which is likely what would be available at a Hadassah gathering. ‘Jewish food’ may be foods associated with Jewish culture but not necessarily kosher. For instance, a pastrami sandwich with swiss cheese on rye might make you think of a Jewish deli, but that sandwich is not kosher (mixes meat product with dairy product).

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Name : Su, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, City : Detroit, State : MI, Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, 

[A23992]

I was raised in a Jewish family, and the only things we ever described as ‘Hebrew’ were actually written in that language. All the cultural stuff–food, music, literature (if it wasn’t in Hebrew)–was simply ‘Jewish’. By the way, that macaroni dish is called noodle kugel.

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[Harold]

Dear Ann, There really is no difference between ‘Hebrew’ or ‘Jewish’ food. I think the distinction you are looking for is Kosher vs. Ethnic cuisine. The Kosher laws (Kashrus in the Hebrew language) are religious laws dealing with various dietary laws, including selected animals and animal parts that are acceptable for consumption. Appropriate methods of slaughter and cleaning of the animal, as well as seperation between dairy and meat dishes. A similar, though not exact, system is found in Islam (called Halal in Arabic). This is compared to what’s traditionally known as ‘Jewish food’ in the US, or ethnic dishes associated with the Jewish people. Some better known examples include, as you mentiond, bagels and (a shmeer) of cream cheese, many times topped by Lox (smoked salmon). Chicken Soup, usually with Matzah balls, deli sandwiches, especially pastrami, and noodle kugul (pudding), your aformentioned sweet macaroni dish. Such dishes, which came over with the wave of Eastern European Jewish immigrants at the turn of the 20th century may or may have been prepared according to the kosher dietary laws. For more information, a good place to start would be the cookbook The Book of Jewish Food by Claudia Roden.

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[Jaymie]

I always refer it as Jewish Food. ‘Hebrew’ is typically only used to describe the language spoken in Israel. If food is specifically from Israel, it is referred to as ‘Israeli food.’ However, no matter what you call it, its yummy.

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[Deborah]

When you go to a Hadassah fundraiser and buy food in America, the food could be American, Jewish or Israeli. It sounds to me like you ate some American Jewish food, and some plain old American food. The only sure thing is that the food is Kosher (follows Jewish dietary laws). Traditional Jewish food is a combination of dishes commonly eaten by Eastern and Western European Jews, as well as foods commonly eaten by Jews in the Middle East (like falafel, hummus, pita bread, etc.). In America, such things as bagels with cream cheese and lox have come to be considered Jewish, but around the world, bagels are considered American. In fact, until recently, it wasn’t very easy to find a bagel in Israel. And even Hasidic Jews in America are influenced by what is eaten by all Americans.

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[Craig-S]

I’m not exactly sure what you mean by this, but there is no longer an ethnicity known as ‘Hebrew.’ ‘Hebrew’ refers to the Biblical people who were the ancestors to modern Jews. (I believe they were called ‘Hebrews’ from Abraham to Moses, ‘Israelites’ during the period of Bibilcal kings, and ‘Jews’ after the exile, but if somebody has mroe information about that, feel free to chime in.) In any case, what you most likely ate was Jewish food, more specifically Ashkenazi food. Ashkenazic Jews are Jews with ancestry from Western and Eastern Europe. Most American Jews are Ashkenazis, as I am. These are the Jews that spoke Yiddish, were featured in Fidler on the Roof, and perished in great numbers in the Holocaust. People like Freud, Marx, Einstein, and Jerry Seinfeld are Ashkenazis. Jews from the middle east are know as Mizrahi Jews and traditionally speak a form of Judeo-Arabic. Jews from Moorish Spain, who were exiled and spread to places like Amsterdam, Turkey, and the Middle East are know as Sephardic Jews. That said, it sounds like you ate traditional Ashkenazic treats: the correctly-identified bagel and cream cheese; kugle (this was the noodle thing), and macaroons (the coconut dessert). I don’t believe there’s any special place for tuna in the Jewish tradition, but I hope you enjoyed it, nonetheless.

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[Diana]

Sounds like a pretty boring menu, but if you enjoyed it, zei gezunt(to your health). All kidding aside, neither of those categorizations are quite accurate. Jewish food can typically be any food that Jews eat. However, the Jews descended from Eastern Europe (Ashkenazim) eat ethnic foods that are quite different from those Jews who are descended from Spain and Africa (Sephardim). For example, the matzoh balls in chicken soup, bagels, knishes, chopped liver, corned beef, pastrami (oy, I’m gettin’ hungry) are typical Ashkenazi style foods. Falafel, hummus and baba ganoush are more Sephardi style foods, what you might find in Israel, however, these types foods are eaten all over the Middle East. The issue, I believe is KOSHER food. There is an entire elaborate body of Jewish law called Kashrut which specifies which foods are and are not allowed to be eaten by Jews. Some Jews observe these laws diligently and some break every one there is. And there are, of course, those in between. Certain foods are O-U-T OUT. They include, but are not limited to: Pork, Shellfish, Insects. Kangaroo burgers, for example are not kosher. Regarding meats that are kosher, the animal must be slaughtered in a very specific humane way so as not to cause the animal any pain. This is done by an expert, called a shochet who is not simply a butcher; he is a a pious man, well-trained in Jewish law, particularly as it relates to kashrut. One is not permitted to consume meat and dairy at the same meal. There are laws regarding how long one must wait in between consuming these different types of food. There is a category of foods called pareve which may be eaten with either meat or dairy. Typical pareve food include fruits and vegetables, eggs and fish. There are also certain kinds of food, that are not consumed during Passover, i.e. bread or anything that has leavening. In observant households and communities, the kitchen itself, in the home or in restaurants, must be a kosher one — separate dishes, pots and pans and eating utensils for meat and dairy meals. Furthermore, when Passover rolls around there are yet two more sets of dishes and utensils for that time of year. So truthfully, ANY style of food, i.e. Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Peruvian or Indian can be Kosher food if it is prepared in accordance with Jewish Law. The style of ‘Jewish’ food is heavily influenced by the country in which Jews reside.

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[Emily]

Food purchased at a Hadassah fundraiser is often just … well, food. It might be food that is traditionally associated with Jews at times. Never heard of Hebrew food — Hebrew only applies to the language as far as I know. 🙂

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[Tomer]

Jewish means ‘related to or pertaining to Jews’. Hebrew is a language, the language in which (most of) the (Jewish) Bible is written. Some people assume that Hebrew is synonymous with the word Israelite, i.e. a descendant of Israel (Jacob), or one of the many people who left Egypt with them. The problem is that this association, in English, carries with it connotations that are Christian. (Altho many in the Reform movement in the 1800s and later, adopted the appelation ‘Hebrew’ in order to shuck off the ‘negative connotations of being called a Jew’, this has now almost completely petered out. There are remnants, but now even the Reform Movement’s synagogue arm, once called the Union of American Hebrew Congregations has renamed itself the Union for Reform Judaism or something like that.) Jewish (‘Yehudi’) technically means, ‘descenant or resident of Judah (‘Yehuda’)’. After the Babylonian Exile, the returnees to Jlem, regardless of ‘tribe’, were referred to as ‘Jews’, only secondarily by their actual ‘tribe’. Anyways, ‘Jewish Food’. So anyways, what is ‘Jewish’ food. Jewish food is far more a preparation specific term than any specific ethnic identification. Howso? Judaism proscribes the consumption of certain things that other nations regard as ‘food’, and also proscribes certain combinations of foods that even Judaism regards as fit for consumption. Probably the most well-known prohibition is against the consumption of pork and shellfish. In food preparation, tho, a more important consideration is the prohibition against mixing red meat and dairy products. Out of this single prohibition have developed a host of foods that were once regarded as ‘Jewish’, although in the US especially, they’ve long since become regarded as American. Among these are such things as carrot cake, as well as all the other cakes that are made with shortening instead of butter or other dairy products. Why? So that they can be served as dessert after a meat meal. Bagels are actually an eastern European bread. What makes a bagel and cream cheese ‘Jewish’ is that instead of smearing them with lard (*shudder*), the Jews spread them with cream cheese or sour cream or a host of other kosher (fit (for consumption)) spreads. So, the foods purchased at a hadassah fundraiser are presumably KOSHER, but to describe them as ‘Jewish’ or ‘Hebrew’ is erroneous. They’re best described as ‘acceptable (according to Jewish dietary law, for Jews) to eat’

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[Michael-S]

Effectively, maybe even literally, Hebrew = Jewish in today’s society/language. Food is either kosher or not kosher. The rules for being kosher start with not eating pork, shellfish or other unkosher animals, and not mixing dairy and meat. More specifics can easily be found with just about any search engine, I’m sure.

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[Yoav]

Kosher food is food that Jews are permitted to eat — according to millenia of rabbinic interpretation of the Bible. Broadly speaking, fruits and vegetables are all kosher. Anything from the sea that has fins and scales is kosher. Any animal that has a split-hoof and chews its cud is kosher. Many Jews disregard these dietary laws, or obey them only partially. Hadassah’s food was, in all likelihood, kosher. Bagels and tsimmes — the macaroni you had — are widely considered ‘Jewish’ food, just as pizza is widely considered Italian. The coconut dessert was perhaps maccaroons, which I also think of as Jewish. A tuna-fish salad, however, is ecumenical. Jewish food isn’t necessarily kosher, and kosher food isn’t necessarily Jewish. For example, a ham-and-cheese bagel wouldn’t be kosher, and there’s a Chinese restaurant down the street from me that’s certified kosher. I don’t know of anything called ‘Hebrew’ food. ‘Israeli’ food, however, is very different from the ‘Jewish’ food of Europe and resembles the Mediterrenean cuisine popular throughout the Middle East — hummus, pita, kabobs, shwarma, etc. In one Israeli restaurant I go to, a salad of diced tomates and cucumbers in olive oil is called an ‘Israeli salad.’ The same salad is called a ‘Lebanese salad’ in a Lebanese restaurant a few miles away.

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[ED25556]

Eating food from a ‘Jewish’ supplier makes it neither Jewish or Hebrew, whic would be ethnic/cultural designations, not religious ones. Under Jewish law (Halacha) food is either permissible (kosher) or not (treif) depending on the observance of many rules in connection with the source and preparation of the food. Food obtained outside a home/family setting is usually prepared under the supervision of some sort of rabbinic orginization to ensure compliance with those laws. It is this certification which provides assurances of the food being Kosher.

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[J. Freedman]

For the most part, anything – food, holidays, traditions – associated with Judiasm are referred to as ‘Jewish’, not ‘Hebrew.’ Another way to look at it: When asked ones ethnicity, people in the US would say that they’re Irish, Polish, Chinese, Korean, Egyptian, etc. I’ll respond ‘I’m Jewish,’ even though my heritage includes German, Russian, Latvian, and English roots. So, pretty much all things associated with Judiasm are commonly called ‘Jewish.’ The traditional laguage of our religion is Hebrew and – in Biblical times before organised Judiasm began – those folks [characters?!] like Moses, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Leah and Rachel were called Hebrews. Nowadays, reffering to Jews as Hebrews or Heebs is deemed derrogatory. All that beign said, you ate ‘Jewish Food’…

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