Hello! and welcome to Talking in Shul, a roundtable podcast. I’m your host, Tamar Fox, and I’ve got Zahava Stadler joining us from Toronto. Hi Zahava! Mimi Lewis is taking a break this month, but we’re thrilled to welcome past and future guest Yael Kalman, who is joining us from Minneapolis. Hi Yael!
This month we’re talking about Kiddush. Not the blessing you saw before drinking wine, but the experience you have at a religious event on Shabbat. I personally have learned that I have super strong feelings about kiddush, both the food and the social experience, and I’m excited to unpack them together.
So let’s start with the evolution of kiddush. What do you remember about kiddush when you were a kid? And what do you expect from kiddush now?
- Kiddush as the central social element of shul
- Kiddush as community service (ie isn’t it fundamentally there for people who might not make kiddush at home?)
- Kiddush as personal celebration
- Kiddush clubs
- Good and bad kiddush food
- Alcohol at shul generally
- kiddush as social marker/status signifier (for personal celebrations and also as signifier of communal wealth)
- Kiddush evolution over Covid
- Kiddush evolution over time (ie from herring & crackers to new norms)
- Meat kiddush
- Kids’ experience of kiddush
- Kiddush as a time to help those who need physical help
- Kiddush – challenging for introverts
- Kiddush as reflection of social values (eg food waste, composting, listing allergens)
Endorsements
Yael endorses having a weekly scheduled family/social business meeting to plan Shabbat meals and other social plans.
Zahava endorses “The Immortal Mel Brooks” in The Atlantic and the Gatecrashers podcast from Tablet.
Tamar endorses the Yenta podcast and the comedy of Raye Schiller.
Thanks for listening, and thanks to Jordan Daniel Mills for editing our show! If you have a minute, please leave a review for us on Apple podcasts or let us know what you’d like us to discuss on a future episode. You can leave a comment on a post on our facebook page (search for Jewish Public Media) or on our website–jpmedia.co, choose Talking in Shul from the list of podcasts. You can also donate to jewish Public Media at jpmedia.co, which is a great way to support our show and ensure that we’re able to bring you new episodes.
See you next month!
