By Rabbi Rachel Esserman

One suggested reason behind extending Jewish dietary restrictions beyond those outlined in the Bible was to prevent us from eating and drinking with those who don’t share our religious traditions. The idea is that, if you don’t break bread with someone, you are less likely to marry their idol worshipping sibling or suggest that your Jewish sibling should marry one of their idol worshipping siblings. Over time, though, this meant that Jews with different ways of practicing kashrut (the Jewish dietary laws) would sometimes not eat in the homes of Jews who were less strict in their observance.

This could create a divide in a community, making it difficult for people who belonged to different synagogues to share meals. I was delighted last year to discover that this type of separation doesn’t necessarily occur in Binghamton. After being invited to someone’s house for a Rosh Hashanah day late lunch/early dinner, I looked around the table and noticed something that warmed my heart: sitting at that table were members of Beth David Synagogue, Temple Concord and Temple Israel. (Please note, these organizations appear in alphabetical order so as not to show preference to any particular one.)

I’m fairly sure that that table was not unique in our community. I’ve seen this occur at other more formal gatherings – such as Federation events (including Super Sunday brunches), dinners honoring members of the community at different organizations, annual meetings and other similar events – but it was wonderful to see it taking place in someone’s home. Breaking bread together reminds us that we are all connected. This is particularly important as our community becomes smaller and smaller. 

I have no idea what my plans are for Rosh Hashanah this year (and if the person who invited me last year is reading this, this is not a pitch to be invited again, although I did have a wonderful time). But as we approach the New Year, I try – in addition to looking at how I can improve myself – to look for things for which to be grateful. Our community is one of them.