by admin

Tell Me Your Food Story

I’ve been into polls lately. I don’t mean the political polls concerning the upcoming election (though I’ve been keeping an eye on those as well). I mean informal polls where a question is posed and open for discussion. It’s empowering to have a forum to express my opinion. I enjoy the opportunity for self-reflection and appreciate the glimpse into the zeitgeist that polls provide. However, in a normal day of paper reading and blog surfing, I rarely come across polls asking questions I find particularly interesting or valuable. “Is Paris too exposed?” “Should Don Imus apologize?” Nope, not relevant to my life.

Last week, at my post as guest editor of Jewcy’s blog, The Daily Shvitz, I asked readers to answer a series of multiple choice questions about how they make food choices, whether or not they eat meat (and whether killing it themselves would impact their decision), and how they relate to kashrut. The answers were fascinating and diverse – just like the Jewish community. Access that survey here.

This week on Lilith, I want to ask something a little more open ended. It almost goes without saying that Jewish women and food have a complicated relationship (weight, cooking, tradition, and commandments – need I say more?)

So, I want to hear from you: As a Jewish woman, what has been your most profound “food moment?” (Men, you are more than welcome to answer the question from your own point of view.) I interested in hearing moments from across the good, bad, and ugly spectrum – anything that was formative for you.

For me, the first time I baked challah was up there. So was the time I dealt with the possibility that my kosher-keeping partner might not be comfortable eating in my non-kosher kitchen.

What’s yours?

–Leah Koenig