A Light in the Dark
“What is to give light must endure burning” — Dr. Viktor Frankl
I’ve been thinking about Jewish traditions lately. Mostly the food related one, food being a universal unifier among people. I’m not Jewish but my boyfriend David is, and we celebrated most of the religious holidays in quarantine last year, which gave me ample time to learn how to make things like matzo and kugel for his family members. The matzo was fairly easy, and I took the liberty of dressing it up a bit with olive oil and salt, but the kugel was an entirely different undertaking. I’ve never been a fan of the dish; I don’t like the consistency of the noodles and the cottage cheese and I can’t imagine who thought the two baked together in a casserole was a winning combination. Plus, many recipes also call for raisins, as if the texture wasn’t bad enough. I considered leaving the raisins out of the one I was tasked with making for Yom Kippur, but I feared a full revolt from my adoptive Jewish family so as a compromise, I made sure to carol along with my favorite Christmas songs while frying the Hanukah latkes.
I like to joke that I’m Jewish-ish, or that I’m an honorary Jew. When non-Jewish women convert to Judaism, they often partake in something called a Mikvah. It’s essentially a bath and its purpose is to achieve purity before entering the religion. I don’t foresee myself bathing away my impurities any time soon…
