I have been wanting to start a series on food and spirituality for a long time. There are so many ways in which we feed our souls, through relationships, prayer, meditation, knowledge. And, most certainly, through the food that we eat.

I have asked a friend, and leader in the Jewish community in Pittsburgh, Shternie Rosenfeld to get this series started. She runs a group called Lunch for the Soul, and talks about how food is inexplicably linked to spirituality.

This is what she had to say:

What is the meaning and significance that people invest in food? Food is the great communicator and connector.

Brillat-Savarin, who is credited with beginning the ‘gastronomic essay’, spoke volumes when he penned, “Tell me what you eat and I will tell you what you are.” The “what” is the nationality or people that create an identifiable cuisine.

Food and identity are inextricably linked.

I’m sure everyone could share with me a fond memory. A food memory from your childhood. Your morning favorite, a dinner ‘comfort food’, a sweet that brought delight, or the medicine for all that ever ailed you: a bowl of homemade chicken soup.

Is it only the food you remember? Of course not.

With the memory of taste is triggered a whole host of mental pictures: the kitchens and dining rooms, the sound of familiar voices, and the aroma of mouth watering smells.

Food is far more than nostalgia a la Proust, more than a “Rememberance of Things Past”. Not just a ‘feel good’ warm and fuzzy moment.

Food is woven into our lives and into our life story.

For Jews, it is tightly bound. Countries have cuisines. Ethnic groups have food traditions and flavors. Religious have food rituals. And Jews…It’s almost like Jews have food identities.

Jewish cuisine tells a story, a story of identity:

• Jewish cuisine is vast. It is the story of centuries of exile, punctuated by the spices and flavors of many stops along the way.
• Jewish food is tradition. For some it is chopped liver or pastrami on rye. For other’s it’s lox and bagel or a pita full of felafel.
• Jewish food unites. Throughout the year, the foods we serve remind us of the history of our people, the meaning and purpose in Jewish practice; from the symbolic foods at the start of a Sweet New Year to re-experiencng the rush to freedom with dough made in haste, by crunching matzoh on Passover.
• Jewish food is doing and giving. Not only in the laws of kosher that recognize and respect the force s of life and death, but also in the practice of Kindness. ‘Hachnasat Orchim’ not only means welcoming guests by feeding those we bring to our table, but also being in service to others who need, wherever they are found.

The Epic E-Book

If you're anything like me, you have big, amazing, ambitious dreams.

In this epic e-book, I'll walk you through the ideas and exercises that have transformed my life - and the lives of my clients - and brought those ambitious dreams into being.

Get in on the fun.