‘Sweet Jews’: 2022 Leonard Wolinsky Lectures on Jewish Life and Education
The Israel and Golda Koschitzky Centre for Jewish Studies is delighted to invite you to the 2022 Leonard Wolinsky Lectures on Jewish Life and Education titled “Sweet Jews” on Sunday, April 3 at 4 p.m. EDT.
Rabbi Deborah Prinz will deliver a talk about the “Resilience of Jews Through Chocolate.” We will learn how chocolate nurtured Jews facing upheaval in earlier generations and explore the surprising Jewish historical connections to chocolate in this gastronomic adventure.
We will also have the distinct pleasure of hearing author and candy historian Susan Benjamin talk about “The Jewish Sugar Trail: From Ancient Israel to Penny Candy Stores.” Jews in the diaspora have shaped food history in remarkable and often unexplored ways, especially where candy and confections are concerned. We will walk through the ages from Biblical citations of the spice trade to the immense role of Jews in shaping sugar production during the Inquisition. From there, we explore modern times and the role of Jews in creating such contemporary staples as the Tootsie Roll, Bonomo’s Turkish Taffy, Peeps and Hot Tamales.
Rabbi Deborah Prinz is the author of On the Chocolate Trail: A Delicious Adventure,
Connecting Jews, Religions, History, Travel, Rituals and Recipes to the Magic of Cacao as well as the forthcoming books The Boston Chocolate Party and the Trail of Jewish Celebratory Breads. On the Chocolate Trail has formed the basis for a museum exhibit, “Semi[te] Sweet: On Jews and Chocolate” at the Bernard Museum of Temple Emanu-El in New York City, which Prinz co-curated. The Rabbi Emerita of Temple Adat Shalom in San Diego County, California, was its Senior Rabbi for almost 20 years. Prior to that she was, for seven years, the Rabbi of a synagogue in Bergen County, New Jersey, and also the Assistant Rabbi of Central Synagogue in Manhattan.
Susan Benjamin has researched communications and the history of culture for almost 40 years. The author of 10 books, she was a journalist, college professor and communications strategist for Fortune 500 and other large organizations, including a Clinton and later George W. Bush White House initiative. A lifelong entrepreneur, Benjamin now devotes her attention to researching the history of sugars and sweets. She is also founder of True Treats Historic Candy, based in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, the only research-based candy company. Her tenth book, Sweet as Sin: The Unwrapped Story of How Candy Became America’s Favorite Pleasure made the Smithsonian’s Best of Books about Food for 2016.
You will not want to miss this entertaining and educational program!
