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theircuisine.Thatispreciselywhypeoplearesometimesnot
certainhowtoreactwhenaskedquestionsabouttheJewish
cuisine—therearenoeasyanswerstosuchquestions.What
isJewishcuisineafterall?Howdowereconcilechopped
liver,herringandgefiltefisheatenbyAshkenazicJewswith
rice,chickpeasandeggplantdishesseasonedwitharomatic
spicestypicallyusedbySephardiJews?Isitpossibletofind
acommondenominatorforgoosefatandoliveoil,ortoput
togetherabagelandaspinach-stufedburqa?
WhatdefinedJewishcuisine,particularlyinthepre-modern
period,weretherulesofkashrutandculinarytraditions
relatedtoJewishholidays.Regardlessofwhatwasthrown
intothepot,cookingwasdoneaccordingtosimilarprin-
ciplesandfoodacquiredasimilarmeaning.Thissituation
becamemorecomplicatedwiththeadventofmodernity,
whenreligionceasedtobethesolecentreoflifeforthe
Jewishcommunity.Withtime,Jewsgainedcivilrightsand
theirlifestylewastransformedundertheinfluenceofbig-
cityculture,newmediaandthemeansoftransport.Amore
relaxedapproachtotraditionemerged:somemodifiedand
adaptedittothechallengesofmodernity,othersbroke
withitaltogether.
Atthesametime,asaresultofmassmigration,culinary
traditionsweretransplantedtonewplaces,acquiringnew
contexts.The2.5millionJewswhoemigratedfromCentral
andEasternEuropetoAmericaattheturnofthetwenti-
ethcenturybroughtwiththemthetraditionalflavoursof
Ashkenaziccuisine.ThatiswhytodayinNewYorkborscht,
pierogi,potatopancakesorpancakeswithcheesearecon-
sideredJewishdelicacies,whiletheyarealsotraditional
elementsofPolish,UkrainianorLithuaniancuisine.An
unusualfusionoftastesandculinaryadaptationstookplace
alsoinIsraelwheresuccessivewavesofemigrantsbrought
theirowntraditions—fromEurope,Asia,orNorthAfrica.
ThisrichhistoryofJewishcuisineisthesubjectmatter
ofWhat’sCooking?exhibition.Westrivetoanswerthe
questionwhattheJewishcuisinereallyisthroughthe
presentationofvariousperspectives,ofitsdiversityand
transformation.Inordertodefinethephenomenonof
Jewishculinaryculture,theexhibitionwasdividedinto
foursectionswhich,webelieve,touchuponitsmostimpor-
tantaspects,namely:Tradition,Diaspora,Modernityand
Memories.
InthesectiondevotedtoTradition,wewishtofocusonthe
religiousfoundationoftheJewishculinaryculturewhich
hasalwaysbeenandstillisitsvitalelement,regardlessof
thetimeandplace.Therulesofkashrutarepartofthereli-
giouslawmappedoutintheTorah,andlatercommented
on,interpretedanddevelopedthroughoutthecenturies
intheTalmudandintheso-calledhalakhicliteratureby
therabbinicauthority.Thereligiouslawregulatedprac-
ticallyallaspectsofhumanlife,thussanctifyingitand
bindingitwiththeAlmighty.Suchwasalsotheroleof
dietaryrules—thankstothedivisionintoforbiddenand
permittedproducts,consumptionhasbecomeaconscious
andcontrolledact.Theseruleswereinterpretedinmany
ways—theyweretoboostself-control,tobuildanidentity,
topromotehealthyandhygieniclifestyle.
Asidefromthekashrut,foragesthereligiouskeystoneof
Jewishcuisinehasbeenfixingspecificdishesandcom-
plyingtospecialregulationsduringtheholidays—such
as,forexample,banoncookingonShabbat,orbanon
consumingleavenedbreadonPesach.Practicesrelated
toholidaysdevelopedoverthecenturies—somedateback
tothetimeswhenJewsstillhadtheirtempleinJerusalem;
manyoriginatedinthediaspora,followingthedestruction
oftheTempleandthechangefromtheTempleJudaismto
theRabbinicalone.Itwasthenthattheprayerandritualper-
formedathomeandatthesynagoguereplacethecultofthe
Temple,andtheholidaymealbegantoplayasymbolicrole.
Theexpositionwillnotonlyacquaintthevisitorswiththe
rulesofkashrut,butitwilldemonstratehowtheyhadlasted
throughouttheages,despitethechanginghistoriccontext,
newinterpretationsandadaptingtonewconditions.Images
fromdiferenttimesandplacesjuxtaposedtogetherwill
helptheviewersunderstandtheroleplayedbytherulesof
kashrutinbuildingacommunityandidentity—notmerely
thereligiousone,butsocialandfamilyidentities,too.
Thesecondsectionoftheexhibitionisdedicatedtothe
diversityofculinarytraditionsintheJewishdiaspora,in
particularintheMiddleAgesandintheModernera,when
thetwomaintrendsdeveloped:theAshkenazicandthe
Sepharditraditions.Here,theissueoflocalismisbrought
totheforefront—i.e.introducingproductsandmethods
ofpreparingfoodthatJewsencounteredinthenewloca-
tions.Ashkenaziccuisinewaslinkedtothecoolerclimate
