Jewish actors, comedians, chefs, and more discuss what their religion means to them in RECIPE FOR CHANGE, now streaming on YouTube. Courtesy of Jubilee Media.“No matter what happens to us, we go on.”
That’s the simple mantra I know and love about Judaism, as stated in YouTube’s Recipe for Change: Standing Up to Antisemitism. It’s a motivation that attracts many people to the religion, especially “former non-Jews” like me. Things get ugly in this world, but no one – no matter what minority, ethnicity, nationality, or however someone identifies as – should surrender. Capitulation is unacceptable, and this is especially the case with Judaism. When I first visited Israel in 2019, I remember hearing someone joke about how nearly all the Jewish holidays are about how a group of people tried to annihilate the Jews, they fought back, they defeated the enemies, and then everyone celebrated. When the next annihilation was imminent, they fought back, and won the battle again. Long story short: they never gave up on a fight. This is a reoccurring theme in the religion; victory, but also resistance. For centuries, Jews have been hated and murdered for their identity, but you know what? They’re not backing down. And with the rise in antisemitism in the United States, they definitely aren’t surrendering anytime soon.
Produced by Jubilee Media and available to watch for free, Recipe for Change debuted on YouTube April 14 this year and features a variety of prominent Jewish actors, comedians, chefs, and more. In its 52 minutes, it managed to teach me so much I thought I already knew about the hardships Jews continue to face. Growing up non-Jewish in a particularly non-Jewish neighborhood, there was a hushed, almost undebated belief that after the Holocaust, things “got better” for Jews. Antisemitism was no more. Oh boy, was I misinformed. Antisemitism is still here, and as Recipe for Change states right in the beginning, it’s terrible right now:
“Of all crimes motivated by religion, nearly 60% are targeted against Jewish people. Even though Jewish people are less than 2% of the US population.”
In Recipe for Change, we watch and observe three star-studded Shabbat dinners take place across the country. Comedian Moshe Kasher hosts his dinner with chef and restaurateur Nancy Silverton. Guests include actors like Skylar Astin (Pitch Perfect) and Hari Nef (Transparent) and the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) himself, Jonathan Greenblatt. In New York City, comedian Ilana Glazer (Broad City) hosts with the hilarious chef Einat Admony for actors like Tommy Dorfman (13 Reasons Why) and Michael Zegen (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel). Across the country in Los Angeles, Broadway legend Idina Menzel, along with award-winning culinary historian Michael Twitty, hosts Shabbat with Hannah Einbinder (Hacks), Nickelodeon legend Josh Peck (Drake & Josh), and many more.
Over some delicious food and wine, the guests chats about what it means to be Jewish in the 21st century. They pick “scrolls” from a tray and discuss what they say. Questions include: how do you identify your Jewishness without saying you’re Jewish? How would you identify what being Jewish means to you? What do you think about Jewish stereotypes? And the most intense question of all: could there actually be a second Holocaust?
With wit and energy, the guests in Recipe for Change are as transparent as can be. This is their time to speak up and be candid about the joys and troubles of being Jewish. Their confessions both astounded and saddened me. The topic of “race” in Judaism is particularly sensitive. You may remember the controversy Whoopi Goldberg conjured up when she stated that the Holocaust wasn’t about race on The View. Oy vey, indeed. For Jonathan Greenblatt, the social construct of race has been socially accepted as white people and black people or People of Color (POC). Why is it then that if you are white AND Jewish, however, you are still not accepted as “white enough?” Not white enough for white supremacists, at least.
“We’re white,” says Moshe Kasher. “But we’re also the ‘anti-white.’”
For comedian Rachel Bloom (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), it is somehow difficult for her to combine her religion and race. She is culturally and religiously Jewish, yet people may not recognize that upon seeing her. Why could that be? The general falsity is that Ashkenazi Jews are the only Jews of the world, which couldn’t be more preposterous. Sephardic, Mizrahi, and Jews of Color are either frowned upon or unheard of because society has instilled this strange, ridiculous belief that Jews must “look” a certain way.
“Being Jewish in Hollywood,” says actor Bryan Greenberg (The Mindy Project), “Is a double-edged sword.” Greenberg admits that he doesn’t like to be labeled by his race. If he needs to check off his race on an application, he selects “Other,” not Caucasian.
So why all the offensive jabs at “not looking Jewish?” Where did this originate from? One word: stereotyping, the culprit of so much antisemitism in the world. For the guests at these Shabbat dinners, they have had enough of the never-ending history of Jewish stereotypes:
- Jews have big noses.
- Jews are greedy.
- Jews run the business and control the media.
- All Jewish mothers are overbearing.
- Jews are secretly trying to take over the world in a dangerous conspiracy.
Rolling your eyes as well? Me too. When I visited Yad Vashem back in 2019, I was gob-smacked to see literal antisemitic sculptures from the Middle Ages depicting Jews; the big noses, the avaricious “villains” of society out to steal your money. I repeat: these were sculptures from the MIDDLE AGES! Because Jews weren’t allowed to own land in Europe during that time, they earned a living as merchants or moneylenders. Since then, it is automatically accepted that all Jews are rapacious. This way of thinking is like a scourge, a bad rumor that gets gossiped and spread uneducated individual to uneducated individual.
One may agree that the rise in antisemitism has been exacerbated by far-right extremism in America.
“The people who think that this country belongs to them are furious,” says Ruth Reichl, award-winning food writer. “They are going to do everything they can to keep the future from happening. All these things that we [Jews] felt confident about are in our past.”
Shortly after Donald Trump was elected president, Einat Admony found a swastika carved on her table. It was that quickly that the hatred against Jews spread. Misinformation, combined with extremism and lack of understanding, has made antisemites freer to instigate violence. It is not surprising, as Skylar Astin states in Recipe for Change, that Jews were attacked in broad daylight – including Times Square – when the IDF fired missiles into the Gaza Strip in 2021. As unbelievable as it may sound, it’s events like this that make the guests question whether a second Holocaust is, God forbid, possible.
However, throughout these candid discussions of Jewish hatred and fear, there is one prevalent theme: resilience. No matter how much Jews assimilate in the world, no matter how much they continue to be hated for whatever outrageous beliefs, they move on. They use that hatred to fuel their love of their religion.
“We have a common life and a common journey.” says Michael Twitty, who is not only Jewish but also African-American and gay. When he came out, he didn’t run away. He didn’t hide his sexuality. He didn’t hide his religion or follow along with the sneers or confused reactions from people upon discovering that he, a black man, was actually Jewish. He used this opportunity to challenge all the stereotypes and just live an extraordinary life.
The hopefulness of Recipe for Change is a beautiful thing to experience, but its biggest strength is its premise itself: listening to Jews. That’s all we have to do. Listen to what they have to say. Listen to how they feel. In films with similar stories, we don’t always need the big, epic editing juxtaposed with endless facts about the history of antisemitism and countless interviews. Sometimes, all we need is a Shabbat dinner with a group of funny, enthusiastic Jews, driven to talk about their identity. With any Jewish experience, there is pain, but there is also resilience like no other.
Recipe for Change is now streaming on YouTube.