You are davening Ne’ilah, and your stomach growls while you should be thinking of teshuva. Well, let me be honest; I am usually thinking about whether to choose a sesame, poppy, onion or everything bagel. That leads me to the food that pairs with the bagel. It is cream cheese and lox, of course.
Food pairing is very important. For
example, what is cholent without kishka? Or a potato knish without mustard? And
what is turkey without cranberry sauce? We all combine peanut butter and jelly,
pretzels and beer, spaghetti and meatballs, and French fries and ketchup. Pea
soup goes with chunks of hot dog, and chicken soup with matza balls. Cookies need
chocolate chips, and Scotch complements herring. And what would macaroni be
without cheese, crackers without dips, tacos without salsa, burgers without
fries, or soup without croutons?
Kokash and Babka are perfect with
coffee. Coffee is enhanced by milk and tea by honey. Then we have baked beans
with hot dogs and burgers with coleslaw, string beans with almonds and rib
steak with fried onions, latkes with apple sauce or sour cream, and gefilte
fish with horseradish. Sweet noodle kugel is best with raisins, cheesecake with
fruit toppings, and ice cream drizzled with hot fudge. Maple syrup is a must
for pancakes as are humus and tehina for pita. They all go together.
A famous, real old fashioned NY
deli like Essen places bowls of coleslaw and pickles to accompany the pastrami
sandwich. Even the pickles are paired: fully sour or half sour. And does anyone
remember Ratner’s onion rolls with butter that was a meal in itself, or the
onion soup with croutons? Or do you remember Shmulke Bernstein ribs smothered
with sauce or Lou G. Siegel’s brisket on rye with coleslaw and mustard?
Wow! Those were the days. These are
culinary memories of years gone by, but we can still taste those treasured delights
even now. Those simple foods represented culinary excellence, with combinations
that filled one with real joy and total yummy fulfillment.
It is said that in olam haba,
the same food is prepared in exactly the same way. But here is the difference:
In both Shamayim and Gehenom, the souls sit across from each other along a long
table, and each plate comes with a long fork. In Gehenom, they pick up the fork
and hopelessly try to get the food into their mouths, but the fork is too long.
It extends too far so that they cannot get it into their mouths. In Shamayim,
by contrast, each soul uses the same fork but extends it to feed the one who
sits across from him.
Meanwhile, here in this world, tzedaka
is the long fork that feeds everyone in our own community. Giving tzedaka
also ensures our future place at the table in Shamayim, where others will, iy”H,
feed us.
Finally, pair all food with the
proper brachos, thanking Hashem, and let us pair ourselves with Hashem
always. B’tayavon!
Eli W. Schlossberg is the author of Take a Walk Through my Shtetl.
