This week we’re discovering the meal that changed the face of American Judaism. Featuring Dr. Jonathan Sarna of Brandeis University, we’ll learn how a lavish banquet in 1883 Cincinnati kicked off a fierce debate about what it means to keep kosher. How did a dish of frogs’ legs bring about one of the largest religious arguments the US has ever seen? We’ll explore how a dispute over regional Jewish foodways changed the face of the religion at the end of the 19th century- from a dream of a single united Jewish American faith to the numerous denominations we know today.
Written and Produced by Laura Carlson
Technical Direction by Mike Portt
Editorial Help from Lynne Provencher
Special Guest: Dr. Jonathan D. Sarna
Dr. Jonathan Sarna is University Professor and the Joseph H. & Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History and Chair of the Hornstein Jewish Professional Leadership Program at Brandeis University. He is also past president of the Association for Jewish Studies and Chief Historian of the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia.
He has authored dozens of articles and has written, edited, co-edited over thirty books. His book, American Judaism: A History (2004) won the Jewish Book Council’s “Jewish Book of the Year Award” in 2004 and has been praised as being “the single best description of American Judaism during its 350 years on American soil.”
Episode Soundtrack:
Jahzzar, "Solitude" & "The Lake" (licensed under a Attribution-ShareAlike License)
Andy G. Cohen, "A Perceptible Shift" and "Piscoid" (licensed under a Attribution License.)