A Jewish Pot Luck Dinner for Newcomers

by Dorit Sasson | More from this Blogger

10 Jul 2008 02:40 AM

I'll never forget how yummy kibbutz food can be even if it does have too much oil. Kibbutz members are quick to complain about the food - "the soup's too oily" or, "the mashed potatoes are too cold" but I never had a problem with it. As a buyer and manager for the dining room for seven years, the food complaints irated my husband but we both knew that sitting together with kibbutz members can spice up a dinner even if the mashed potatoes are still cold.

Potluck dinners are the closest thing to the convivial atmosphere of our kibbutz and its dining room, which sadly enough, have all gone privatized. Jewish potluck dinners still maintain in their own way, that communal spirit. After all, the Jewish tradition is one about food and around a table where the modern stories of oral traditions, vocabulary, laughter and food all go together.

I miss that.

I am still a newcomer to Pittsburgh, and the connection I have to the word "potluck dinner" still conjures rich memories of childhood. The last potluck we attended a few months ago was at a nearby synagogue. It was full of good intentions, nice people, smiles. But when each family took its food and sat in a U shape with only people they knew, I knew then that I didn't feel that something was right.

Having lived on a kibbutz in Israel for the last eighteen years and only "landed" in Pittsburgh in a diverse Jewish community ten months ago, I know I can't buy time, but I am again finding myself revisiting the word "potlucking" as a means of networking within a community that I still have had little experience with.

I've just initiated my own meet-up for a Jewish potluck. I don't know what the outcome will be just yet, but it's important to keep to my vision:

1. Jewish potlucks are meant to attract Jews all over the world. 2. Jewish potlucks do not necessarily attract matza ball soup goers.

As you can see, Jewish potlucks are their own melting pots. It's nice to one day, be able to find or initiate one where history, community, tradition and food all come together as one.

Learn more about Dorit Sasson

Hi ! I'm your Jewish mama trying to combine a Jewish life with freelance writing particularly for the educational markets.

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