The Oldest Matzah Ball Soup Tureen Behind a Rockower Award

A little over one year ago I was tasked to "come up with something" for the "deluxe-sized" Passover issue of The Jewish Press. After some thought, I decided to discuss a piece in my private collection of antique Judaica used for the Passover holiday.

In the April 10, 2025 issue of the JP, "The Oldest Matzah Ball Soup Tureen in Existence" was printed. To briefly summarize what the article was about: about twenty-five years ago, I came across a very old (at least 200 years), white-bodied ceramic soup tureen with "Pesach" in Hebrew painted on the lid; it was for sale at a small auction house in France. I was fortunate enough to be the high bidder of the item, and thought little of it over the years. Somewhat recently, after browsing books in the Judaism section of my local Barnes and Nobles, I read that the origins of the matzah ball hail from the Middle Ages in Germany, and in 1933, the Manischewitz Company started packaging ground matzo meal and marketed a recipe as “feather balls, Alsatian style.” I then realized that my soup tureen for Passover, hailing from the Alsace region of France (German speaking Jews resided there), to the best of my knowledge, could be accurately labeled as the oldest known matzah ball soup tureen!

Due to the positive response from readers of this article (including a museum in New York who has requested that I loan this soup tureen to them to display in late 2026; details to follow in a future issue!), I submitted this article for possible recognition to the Simon Rockower Awards, which as been referred to as the “Jewish Pulitzers.” These awards are sponsored by the American Jewish Press Association, which holds a journalism competition for leading Jewish magazines and newspapers across the country. The entries are judged by a panel of judges with expertise in journalism, writing/reporting, editing, graphic design and cartooning.

On the evening of June 4, I attended the banquet and my article was awarded third place ("Honorable Mention"), in the category of "Excellence in Writing about Jewish Heritage and Jewish Peoplehood in Europe." Considering the overwhelming amount of competition I faced from so many Jewish media sources dotted across the American landscape, I'm thrilled that I was selected, for me personally and for my employer, The Jewish Press.

I had a good time at the banquet. Over Hors d'oeuvres I shmoozed with an exceptionally nice Chabadnik writer from the OU publication Jewish Action (I cannot recall his name), and during the meal I had some very engaging conversation with the man seated to my left, fellow award winning writer Joseph Strauss from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, and the woman seated to my right, Alyssa Katz, newly appointed editor-in-chief of the Forward.

Parked outside the hall was the "Manischewitz food truck," for which all attendees of the banquet could request a cup of matzah ball soup and rugelach. As the evening came to a close and I headed outside to take the subway home, I showed my certificate to the food truck owner, which listed the title of my article that won. The enthusiastic response: "You must accept this gift! Congratulations!", as he shoved into my hand was a 24-ounce jar of their supermarket line of chicken broth with three matzah balls and carrot slices. I can't wait to try it!