{"id":81592,"date":"2019-11-20T12:38:52","date_gmt":"2019-11-20T18:38:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/?p=81592"},"modified":"2019-11-20T12:38:59","modified_gmt":"2019-11-20T18:38:59","slug":"bubbes-table-a-table-for-all","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/bubbes-table-a-table-for-all\/","title":{"rendered":"Bubbe\u2019s Table: A Table for All"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I take for granted being able to\n\u201cchoose\u201d which Protestant church I want to attend on any given Sunday morning.\nI take for granted that my religious-based Christmas holiday is the one in the\n\u201cmajority.\u201d I take for granted that my religious affiliation is not one I was\nborn into, irrevocably attached to me by a Hebrew name, by affiliation, by\nblood, and by folkways. Sure, my Christianness, my initial inclination and love\nfor God was born out of a sort of inherited faith, but if I were to leave the\nreligious liturgy of my faith, the separation, some could say, would be fairly\ncut and dry. If a Jewish person leaves their faith, they don\u2019t leave only a\nsynagogue and liturgy, but a culture and a heritage that is more than a\nreligion; they lose family and they lose, in many ways, a sense of place within\ntheir community and isolate from an ethnic identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When many people relocate to our tiny hamlet of Oxford, they are thrust for the first time into either a place they consider lush with new exposures and experiences, or an arid, dying, backward Mississippi pit devoid of all culture and diversity. Regardless of your first impression of Oxford, if you have chosen to make this place your home, you\u2019ve most likely had to carve a community out for yourself. I\u2019ve had to do so three or four times, and the Jewish community of Oxford was adrift as well until a group of University professors and locals, including the late Ron Shapiro<\/strong>, decided to do something about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Jewish Federation of Oxford<\/strong> (JFO<\/strong>)\nwas formed in 2012 and became a nonprofit with a twofold mission: one, to\ncultivate Jewish community life through religious and social programs; two, to\nface outward, giving back to Oxford through philanthropy, community service,\nand cultural programs. I learned from talking with many of the founders of JFO\nthis weekend that Ron Shapiro was not only a board member, but also a driving\nforce behind gathering people of Jewish heritage in Oxford and at Ole Miss to\nbuild a community. Because he was already great at doing that, his presence\nwill be deeply missed this year as the community he helped foster celebrates\nthe Hanukkah season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every year, the The Jewish\nFederation of Oxford hosts two key dinner events for its members: Bubbe\u2019s Table\n(Bubbe<\/em> is a yiddish name for\nGrandmother) during Hanukkah, and a Passover Seder at RaViNe<\/strong>. They do more than break bread together\u2014The Jewish\nFederation of Oxford is also dedicated to supporting organizations in the area,\nsuch as giving regular donations to Interfaith Compassion Ministries and\nlending support for the student population on campus with UM Hillel, as well as\nbeing a source of contact for other Jewish religious ceremonies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Jewish Federation of Oxford was also the driving force behind bringing Marian Blumenthal Lazan<\/strong>, a Holocaust survivor, to the community and campus to share about preserving through adversity and religious persecution to a generation that did not live through such oppression. JFO proactively invites rabbis and others to offer High Holy Day services, like Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah services at Paris Yates Chapel<\/strong> at the University of Mississippi, a space that was made possible by Ole Miss \u201952 alumnus, Henry Paris,<\/strong> who shares a Jewish heritage, and his wife Rose Marie<\/strong> who shares a Christian background. The Star of David and Cross stained glass in the chapel is a reminder of the union of these two faiths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ron Shapiro and Karen Carrier at Bubbe’s Table in 2018. Photo via JFO.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On Friday, December 6, 2019, the JFO hosts their third annual Hanukkah celebration dinner, Bubbe\u2019s Table, at The Farmstead<\/strong> from 7 to 9 pm ($40 per ticket, available through Eventbrite at JewishFederationOxfordMS.com). Following in the fashion of the first year (featuring Alon Shaya, John Currence, <\/strong>and Kelly English<\/strong>) and last year (featuring\u00a0Karen Carrier, Shay Widmer<\/strong>, and\u00a0Elizabeth Heiskell<\/strong>), the event features high-end ethnic food that is approachable, with a fun and interactive atmosphere. Bubbe\u2019s Table offers time for celebration, and isn\u2019t focused on education per se, but more so an experience and conversation about a culture that is often not given the center stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is most exciting to me, as I\nlook into this special event, is that the Oxford and larger Mississippi\ncommunity is already rallying with support for this event and wants to see it\nflourish for years to come. With sponsorship from the venue (Susan Tullos<\/strong> with The Farmstead<\/strong>), Woodbridge <\/strong>wines,\nCathead <\/strong>distillery, and Joe Stichcomb<\/strong> of Saint Leo<\/strong> (who is making a fine cocktail with that donated Cathead\nproduct), it is a night you won\u2019t want to miss. Joe and I chatted today, and\nhe\u2019s already planning to complement the menu with Cathead distillery\u2019s Old Soul\nBourbon mixed with fresh apple juice, ginger, and lemon. Susan Tullos, who\nmanages the hospitality operations at The Farmstead where Bubbe\u2019s Table takes\nplace, was also able to speak on the event:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe\n3rd annual Bubbe’s table event will be held here at The Farmstead,\u201d Susan\nTullos said. \u201cThe chefs brought in to prepare the meals are always a fabulous\nculinary experience, and this year Mile End Deli is sure to be a crowd\nfavorite. It is truly a magical evening sharing the food and traditions of the Jewish\ncommunity under the twinkling stars.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mile End Deli<\/strong> is the\nfeatured culinary mastermind this year, and their menu looks fantastic. They\u2019ll\nstart the evening with passed Hoyt Dogs (Mile End\u2019s version of \u2018pigs-in-a-blanket\u2019), smoked\nsalmon dip with bagel chips, a beet salad, smoked brisket, cheesy noodle kugel,\nroasted Brussel sprouts, ending with sufganiyot (a sort of Hanukah-jelly-donut\ntradition).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I first heard of Bubbe\u2019s Table,\nI was intrigued, but unsure of how to approach the event. I do not even know\nthe full dates of Hanukkah, or how to spell Hanukkah (Chanukah\u203d), but I vividly remember the embarrassment I\nhad at the age of 10 attending my cousin Abbey\u2019s Batmitzvah at Temple Israel in\nGermantown. I\u2019d found one of my favorite foods during the dinner after the\nservice. My mom quelled my excitement over the popcorn shrimp I found on the\nbuffet line, \u201cShhh, no, Elizabeth. I\u2019m gonna say that\u2019s probably chicken.\u201d\nChicken, indeed it was. And my cheeks were beet red for a solid 30 minutes once\nshe explained to me my faux pas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The thought of going to a Hanukkah celebration was initially intimidating, because being a more sensitive adult now at the age of 29, I want to participate in learning about other people\u2019s cultures and traditions, without offending them. I want to know what makes them feel nostalgic when they peel a potato. I want to know the history of lighting their great great grandmother\u2019s menorah and travelling with it to every place they\u2019ve lived. I want to know this culture, its history, and what it means to the people who live and breathe in the same town as I. And that\u2019s exactly why Bubbe\u2019s Table is here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bubbe\u2019s Table invites you, and anyone in the community to be a participant, not just a voyeur, in the celebration of Hanukkah. You don\u2019t need to know Hebrew, pronounce latke correctly, or even dance the hora. If you come to the table on December 6, all are welcome to engage in a night of ethnic food and fellowship while honoring age-old traditions in our little town of Oxford.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lighting candles for Channukah. Photo via JFO.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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