Jews and Their Foodways
Anat Helman
Abstract
This book is dedicated to the topic of food. As a repetitive daily practice, eating might seem banal, but as this book argues, there is no other fundamental aspect of human behavior except sexuality so influenced by ideas as eating. Furthermore, few ethnic groups have questions of identity, membership, and food practices seen in such clear and formalized ways as the Jews. It should be noted that this book is about Jews and their food ways rather than about Judaism and food. The chapters here cover a wide range of historical, sociological, and anthropological aspects related to food and eating ... More
This book is dedicated to the topic of food. As a repetitive daily practice, eating might seem banal, but as this book argues, there is no other fundamental aspect of human behavior except sexuality so influenced by ideas as eating. Furthermore, few ethnic groups have questions of identity, membership, and food practices seen in such clear and formalized ways as the Jews. It should be noted that this book is about Jews and their food ways rather than about Judaism and food. The chapters here cover a wide range of historical, sociological, and anthropological aspects related to food and eating among Jews, not solely those that are tied to Judaic religion, tradition, and thought. For both modern Jews who maintain kashrut (either in its Orthodox form or in other guises) and for those who do not, food choices play a considerable role in their self-definition. Food also outlines the limits of their groups and sub-groups, whether these are defined in religious, ethnic, cultural, or national terms. As this book shows, “Jewish food” is a dynamic and porous hybrid, constantly evolving not just according to what Jews eat in different places during different times, but also in relation to the shifting meanings of the very term “Jewish” in contemporary societies.
Keywords:
food,
ethnic groups,
identity,
membership,
food practices,
Jews,
Judaic religion,
Judaic tradition,
Judaic thought,
Jewish food
Bibliographic Information
Print publication date: 2016 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780190265427 |
Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: January 2016 |
DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190265427.001.0001 |