Forshpayz is not a term I grew up with. I was raised on French Moroccan cuisine, and since my father is Moroccan, we had zero exposure to Yiddish culture. Like none at all. My mother dutifully learned to cook to perfection every Moroccan dish that my father loved, including the appetizers. Moroccan salmon and an array of salads before the Moroccan cholent called Dafina were typical for us.
When we moved to Atlanta and started to enjoy going to and hosting Shabbos meals, I was a little afraid of what my Ashkenazi friends would think of my mother’s dishes. Would they even want to come over? Why can’t we just be normal and have gefilte fish, cholent, and chopped liver like everyone else?
It turned out that I was worried for nothing. Everyone loved the meals! They would even talk about craving my mother’s French Moroccan cuisine. They loved her “egg soufflé” (Megina) and begged to come over for her Moroccan salads and Dafina. I was blown away.
Jewish culture is just like the melting pot of America. We come in all colors, stripes, and flavors, and we are all lovable. The initial taste might be foreign at first, but when you really sit down to enjoy the meal together, you will grow to love it, too. That’s our purpose right now – to unite and get to know and love each other.
We may be different – from the rest of the world and each other – but we are proud. Most people will like us. Sure, there will be haters, but they don’t know what amazing flavors they are missing out on!
