By Donald H. Harrison
SAN DIEGO — Historian Joellyn Zollman says whereas lectures about “Jews and the Civil War” or “Jews and Synagogue Gift Shops” may appeal to a segment of the Jewish audience, her lecture series about “Chosen Food, which really looks at Jewish food as a way of understanding Jewish culture and life” tends to attract a much wider segment of the community.
“The food lecture are popular because everyone eats,” she said. “So the lecture has ‘wide representativeness’ – which is not true of every Jewish topic. Food is a topic everyone has personal experience with.”
Zollman will lecture at 3 p.m. Sunday, June 5, at Temple Emanu-El, 6299 Capri Drive, in the Del Cerro neighborhood of San Diego, on delicatessens and “how this kind of food became associated with American Jews.” Under the auspices of the Lawrence Family JCC, her lecture is cosponsored by Temple Emanu-El, Tifereth Israel Synagogue, and the TIS Men’s Club. A reception will follow the lecture.
Asked if she wouldn’t mind serving up a little “appetizer” in advance of her lecture, Zollman said even though she has done considerable research on the delicatessen, it is a subject about which on a regular basis she learns new and interesting facts. For example, she said that she had just been reading the other day about the origin of pastrami.
In both the Turkish language and the Romanian language, she said “pastrami” means “pressed.”
“They pressed the meat,” she said. “In fact, Turkish soldiers used to put the meat inside the sides of their saddles, so that their legs would press against it” as they rode off on maneuvers.
Knowing that could change some people’s perceptions, she said wryly.
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Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com. Comments intended for publication in the space below MUST be signed with the letter writer’s first and last name and his/ her city and state of residence (city and country for those outside the United States.)