It is neither. Food purchased from a Jewish organization is generally Kosher, that is, it follows the Jewish dietary laws. It is no more 'Jewish Food' than donuts purchased from a church would be be 'Christain Food'. Hebrew (since the diaspora), refers only to the language. Hebrew is the language spoken in Israel, and the language that the Torah is written in.
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Name : Rebecca, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 25, City : Miami, State : FL Country : United States, Occupation : Editor, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 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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Name : Deborah, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 26, City : Auckland, State : NA Country : New Zealand, Occupation : Office Supervisor, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, What you most likely ate was Kosher food, meaning that there was no meat in anything you ate and that the food was all prepared by observant Jewish people who observe the Jewish laws of Kashruth which means that the food is all dairy and prepared on dishes and with utensils that have never touched meat or meat products. Fish is often part of a dairy meal unless it is shellfish in which case it is not kosher, but what is called Traffe (spling?) which is food that crawls on it's belly or has a cloven hoof (pork) shrimp, lobster, and ham are all traffe.
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Name : Sherry A., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 50, City : Poughkeepsie, State : NY Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, Ann, thanks for your interest and for attending a Hadassah fundraiser. Let me first tell you what you were eating. The noodle dish is called kugel, the coconut dessert was probably a macaroon, and the tuna salad was... tuna salad. None of them were probably kosher, though they could all be made that way. As for the difference between Jewish Food and Hebrew Food, here's my take. Jewish Food is a not-so common term and refers to foods that almost all Jews have grown up with. As most of us do not refer to ourselves as Hebrews, Hebrew Food is not a term any of us use. The term Hebrews feels very ancient and biblical rather than contemporary. Like Canaanites or Babylonians. Also, we don't like that it can be shortened to the pejorative 'Hebs.' To us Hebrew is a language, not a religious identity.
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Name : Jack, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 36, City : Los Angeles, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Screenwriter, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper class, a lot of what is thought of as jewish food is european...the sweet noodle casserole is called a kugel, and was made in kitchens all over eastern europe. in general, food is an integral part of the jewish religion with dietary laws and traditional dishes for the holidays, whatever geographical region - jews living in morrocco or yemen would have had very different options for food which would also be jewish food! hebrew food might be what the ancient hebrews ate, which could be very similar to what jews in yemen cook....nowadays in israel you can get anything, and jews of all cultures enjoy everything from lentils with rice and fried onion, a common eastern dish called 'majadera' to herring. im not sure where tuna would come in to play, or coconut, but maybe its american jewish food now!
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Name : lonnie hendrickson, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 35, City : tel aviv, State : NA Country : Israel, Education level : 4 Years of College, The term Hebrew is never, to my knowledge, used as a catagory for food. As to Jewish food, there are probably as many varieties as there are cultures in which Jews participated over the centuries. The most well-known varieties are Middle Eastern, which typically includes Hummus and Fellafell (based on chickpeas) and Eastern European, from which we get bagels and lox with cream cheese. What they have in common is adherence to Jewish dietary law, which includes such factors as avoiding use of milk or milk products at the same meal with any meat, strict avoidance of pork and shellfish and use of meats that have been slaughtered in a humane fashion.
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Name : Raymond Irizarry, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Religion : Jewish, Age : 68, City : Portland, State : CT Country : United States, Occupation : Retired, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, Great question! The difference is only semantics. People of the Jewish religion used to be called 'Hebrews'.(You might still hear it over seas or in old movies) The religion is called Jewish (we are 'Jews', and it is only derogatory when stated in that context)and the language is Hebrew. Traditional food eaten by Jews is generally from middle eastern or northern european decent. Bagles are probably more Russian (cream cheese is from 'Philadelphia' of course!!)The sweet macaroni and cheese dish is called Kuggle and is also eurpean, tuna is eaten everywhere and I'm not sure about the coconut dessert, could be Israeli. There are many delicious traditional foods such as Lox (smoked & salted salmon, also often eaten on a bagel) white fish, gefilte fish (ground carp w/seasonings, molded into a oblong shape and eaten with horseradish), falafel (ground chick peas and deep fried (Israeli/middle eastern) and tons more. Don't be affraid to try all of them! And thanks for asking!
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Name : Lawrence26103, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 44, City : Philaelphia, State : PA Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, The food we think of as Jewish is actually Northern European Jewish food (Ashkenazi or Western Jew). In Israel they eat Middle Eastern food (Babba Ganoush, Humus, pita, lamb, lentils) same as in a Middle Eastern resturant. This is Sephardic, or Eastern Jewish. All of the food you mentioned is northern European (Yiddish speaking). Hebrew is a language, revised from written text early in this century. Although a 'Hebrew' is a biblical name for Jews, it is not an adjective for food.
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Name : Greg H., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 52, City : Ann Arbor, State : MI Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, The food is ETHNIC food, as there are many types of 'Jewiah food', depending on the the many different parts of the world the cooks might have come from-or where their particular family originated. It could be Croatian, Russian, Mediterranean, etc., and reflect the culture of that country or area that might have been adapted to the rules of Kashrut.
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Name : Anne Mandelbaum, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 68, City : Overland Park, State : KS Country : United States, Occupation : Librarian, former teacher, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, Hebrew refers more to a language now more than an ethnic group. 'Jewish Food' or Jewish style food in the case of non-kosher food would be the appropriate term in this case.
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Name : Popi, City : Gainesville, State : FL Country : United States, Hebrew is a language - not food. Being Jewish is a religion - not food although the religion does contain some specific requirements for dealing with food (keeping Kosher)which evolved as dietary restraints based on health/disease considerations that existed in ancient times. Jews exist all around the world, and are found in many cultures. Thus, there is a tremendous variation in them in such areas as dress, diet, customs, etc. Food that most Americans consider 'Jewish' come from the culture of European Jews who are the largest subgroup in this country and thus considered 'typical'. The foods you mention are typical of this group, but also typical of many non-jews whose ancestors come from the same geographical background.
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Name : Joel Kallem, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 62, City : Kansas City, State : MO Country : United States, Occupation : retired, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, If you must categorize the food in question, the generally preferred term is 'Jewish'. The fact of the matter is that type of food you purchased reflects the geographic heritage of most Jews. Many of today's American Jews are descendants of residents of the Eastern part of Europe. There are many Jews whose traditional foods reflect many other parts of the world.
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Name : JR21130, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 39, City : Minneapolis, State : MN Country : United States, Occupation : IT professional, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, Hebrew food, it is not. Bagels have jewish roots in the opinion of most people, but are not considered a 'jewish food' per se. Tuna salad, unless prepared 'Israeli style', is certainly not considered a jewish food, and as for the coconut dessert you mention, you would have to be more specific. The only food you mention that indeed would be considered a food that is a staple item for many Jews is the macaroni dish, which, by the way you describe it sounds like noodle pudding.
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Name : Paulette, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 44, City : Brooklyn, State : NY Country : United States, Social class : Upper middle class, I've never heard of 'Hebrew food.' I'd suggest that bagel and cream cheese is 'Jewish food.' I note that Hebrew is most commonly used to describe a language while Jewish is an adjective that connotes a connection with Judaism, a religion and an ethnic group.
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Name : Alan28996, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, City : Tucson, State : AZ Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, What an interesting question! 'Hebrew' is not the best adjective, because it usually refers to religious or linguistic aspects of Judaism, such as the language used in services or 'Hebrew school' that children attend. 'Jewish' is both a more general term and one that applies to the cultural aspects of the ethnic group, so it would be more appropriate. For some reason, using 'Jewish' as an adjective for almost anything can sound awkward. There's no good reason for this; it's a perfectly good word and a necessary one. I think Jews are sensitive to anything that resembles stereotyping, even if it's innocuous and accurate. I would probably refer to the food you bought as 'deli' or 'deli-style' food, both because the word 'Jewish' can sound awkward (the coconut dessert doesn't go to temple or believe in one god), and because it's the type of food that you might buy at a delicatessen but wouldn't make at home except on special occasions. Enjoy!
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Name : Mark, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish/Secular, Age : 28, City : Somerville, State : MA Country : United States, Occupation : Editor, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 
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