A few weeks before the Corona Virus lockdown I jumped the train to Brooklyn to hang out with these two fabulous Jews and talk food and passover. Liz Alpern and Jeffery Yoskowitz are the young Ashkenazi duo that make up Gefilteria a cutting edge food business based in NYC. They reimagine old world foods like geflite fish and make them delicious and fresh again.

We sat down in Liz’s living room to nosh on some classic European Jewish American foods and kibbitz (that means “talk” in yiddish) about old family recipes, the wide spectrum of Jewish ethnic cultures, Ashka-normativity AND they dish about what it’s like to make their great gefilte fish in huge quantities to ship around the world each year. We also chat about liberation stories and family seders, as well as their wonderful recipes, such as Carrot Citrus Horseradish Relish from their cookbook the Gefilte Manifesto.

Liz and Jeffery’s vast knowledge and love of Ashkenazi (Eastern European Jewish) food is infectious. They’ve researched and tinkered with recipes across eras and continents, and it shows in the creative, heritage-rooted recipes in their cookbook and at cooking events they lead. For many Ashkenazi American Jews the foods of our ancestors are more associated with Manischewitz brand bottled gefilte fish and borscht at the grocery story than the seasonal scratch-cooked and naturally fermented recipes they made in the old world.

“WE NEED NOT ACCEPT THE EXTINCTION OF THIS TRADITION, OR OF THE ROBUST, COLORFUL, FRESH FLAVORS OF ASHKENAZI CUISINE. WE KNOW THAT GEFILTE—LIKE BORSCHT AND KVASS AND SO MANY OLD WORLD FOODS—IS EXCELLENT WHEN DONE RIGHT. IT COMES DOWN TO THE BASICS OF QUALITY, FRESHNESS,
CARE AND CREATIVITY.”

By placing importance on naming foods like matzo ball soup, bagels, and pickles as Ashkenazi Jewish Foods and not just “Jewish Foods” as they are generally referred to in America, Liz and Jeffery are reclaiming their ethnic heritage that was nearly erased by assimilation, industrialization, and white supremacy. In this episode they talk about this concept as Ashke-normativity, and also the “falafelizaion” or Israeli centered concept of “Jewish food” and the importance of recognizing the full diversity of the Jewish cultural diaspora.

And then there’s passover; the whole reason I hopped the train for a visit, and why we’re airing this episode, even though the much of the world is locked down in the middle a pandemic. For these two, March and early April is the height of gefilte fish making season, in preparation for passover holiday seder meals. For the past eight years Liz and Jeffery have been producing and boxing up sustainably made gefilte fish to sell in stores around the country. They share a bit about this wild process, and the awakening that happens when people taste their artisanal version, which is a far cry from the grey blobs in a bottle many American Jews are more familiar with.

Given the thoughtful way they approach their work, I was really interested to hear how each of them relates to passover and the retelling of the Jewish liberation story each year. Liz and Jeffery share a range of experiences with their passover seders, some mundane, and some very special, and a lot in between. We talk about the passover story in relation to being grand children of holocaust survivors, about the many important stories of oppression and liberation of other peoples in this world, and how the types of seders we have ebbs and flows through the years.

Throughout the show, you will hear us noshing on some of these great Ashkenazi classics from Zabar’s (pictured above) and chatting about everything from herring to pickles to neon fruit gel slices. Each of us are now figuring out new ways to mark the passover holiday without gathering together with family or community. It’s a challenge for sure, and something that folks in many communities are facing as Easter, Ramadan, and other major holidays are on the horizon. Here are a few online resources for Passover, if you know of others, or want to share what you are doing, please add in the comments below!

LabShul NYC - An artist created, super inclusive community with many new online happenings, including A Virtual Passover Family Concert with Shiralala

The Forward: You Can Do It: Your guide to hosting (or attending) a virtual Passover seder

J Street Haggadah: Fifteen Steps to Freedom - A pro peace, pro-israel, anti-occupation approach.

Jewish Voices for Peace Passover 5780/2020 - non-zionist Passover virtual seder and other resources.

If you are in the New Haven, CT area, Temple Emanuel, a reform congregation, typically has very musical worship services and will hold a virtual seder on April 9th, all welcome.

The Orange on the Seder Plate
As for the story of the orange on the seder plate we talk about in this episode…turns out it’s a bit of an urban myth. I did some research and found many articles dispelling the legend and clarifying the true story from Susannah Heschel. Check out this short article and video, it’s really interesting.

A Note about helping or getting help during the Covid-19 pandemic:

Tikkun Olam is a Jewish concept of repairing the world, and Tzedakah is the concept of Justice. Mutual Aid is a way of manifesting both of these concepts beyond doing an act of charity. Mutual aid can be a giving of skills, time, resources and help exchanged between people. Even when mutual aid manifests as an act of only giving money, the way that money is given and to who it’s given is determined by the people who are receiving the funds and most in need, rather than by people in power (often from outside of those communities). The act of participating in mutual aid is one way to start to repair the unjust power systems that often cause harm and oppression.

In addition to the usual social service organizations and agencies, there are many Mutual Aid groups springing into action around the country, both to help people in need and connect people who have resources. If you are in the New Haven, CT area check out CT Core-Organize Now for Black and POC led and centered mutual aid of many sorts, and The New Haven Mutual Aid Fund hosted by the Semilla Collective.

On April 13th there will also be a webinar about Centering Jews of Color through the Corona Virus, hosted by The Jews of Color Field Building Initiative.

Wishing you all good health and safety throughout this pandemic.

Ep. 66 — The Table Underground — Apr 3, 2020