"The Pickle Problem: The Deli Revival and American Jewish Religion"

In recent years, there has been a nostalgic revival of interest in the Jewish deli menu. As Prof. Rachel B. Gross explores in her book, Beyond the Synagogue: Jewish Nostalgia as Religious Practice, chefs and restaurateurs have deliberately made American Jewish food fit for the twenty-first century, emphasizing sustainability, local produce, and a longing for Eastern European family and communal histories. By selling and consuming a revitalized deli cuisine, American Jews express their longing for authentic Jewish pasts, build community in the present, and pass on their values to future generations. Participating in the deli revival provides an alternative, under-appreciated way of practicing American Jewish religion. This analysis of an Ashkenazi culinary revival also provides tools for identifying the challenges in embracing the diversity within American Judaism.

This event is co-sponsored by KU's Jewish Studies Program and Department of Religious Studies.

Join the zoom room for this event

Rachel B. Gross Biography

Rachel B. Gross is Associate Professor and John and Marcia Goldman Chair in American Jewish Studies in the Department of Jewish Studies at San Francisco State University. She is a religious studies scholar who studies twentieth- and twenty-first-century American Jews. Her book, Beyond the Synagogue: Jewish Nostalgia as Religious Practice, was a 2021 National Jewish Book Award finalist in American Jewish Studies and received an Honorable Mention for the 2021 Saul Viener Book Prize, given by the American Jewish Historical Society. She is currently working on a religious biography of the twentieth-century immigration writer Mary Antin.

 For those who wish to read Dr. Gross' book in advance of her talk, it can be purchased directly through NYU 30% off discount and with free shipping. Use the code GROSS30-FM at https://nyupress.org/9781479803385/beyond-the-synagogue/

Telling Our Stories Through Food: The Anita Herzfeld - Deborah Sivan Annual Series

Dr. Rachel B. Gross visits us as this year's featured speaker in the Anita Herzfeld - Deborah Sivan Series: "Telling Our Stories Through Food". This series commemorates the friendship of two remarkable women, Anita Herzfeld of Lawrence, known for her humanity and scholarship and for her sweet and discerning palate, and Deborah Sivan of Tel aviv, an avid reader whom Anita introduced to the LJCC and, nearly on the same order of magnitude, to André’s Confiserie of Kansas City. 

Everyone has a story, and stories are exactly what connect us as human beings. Using food, cooking traditions, and homes as the link between generations and communities, this series aims to help people connect with each other.