In her piece, Feeding an Identity - Gender, Food, and Survival, Norma Baumel Joseph discusses the importance of food in society and its relation to "maintaining ethnic and national identities". She begins her article with an example of how Judaism is a religion that revolves around food, whether it's various dietary restrictions or eating rituals. Joseph provides the example of how food is a central concept in Passover, and not just an “incidental or supportive element”.
Joseph then goes on to explain how food serves as a “link between generations” and how ingesting food allows one to “seemingly become one with tradition”. She then goes on to argue against those who talk disapprovingly of the relationship between Judaism and food, and shifting subjects to the “invisible ritual expert and participant” - the women.
Throughout the essay Joseph maintains the idea that though often neglected, women are the power source behind the culture of food. She explains how there was a time where people believed that women belonged purely in the kitchen, “cooking and caring for children” was all they did and all they could do. Joseph then goes on to state that the invisibility of women was so extreme people felt that all women were the same, “no need to mention name or deed”.
Joseph goes on to clarify that women’s roles in “food production are no longer irrelevant”. She reaffirms that the power women now have has been gained from the power of food, and that women are the sole reason holidays such as Passover and other traditions continue to exist today.
Joseph concludes by reminding the audience that “food connects with all aspects of human existence” and that it continues to “carry the weight of tradition, the nostalgia of the past, and the challenge of the future.
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