This
page attempts to blend being Italian-American and a Jewish Convert.
It is a hard blending - difficult to merge over 50 years of being Italian
Catholic with all its memories - food, celebration, music, art and attitude
towards life - and a convert to Judaism. The blending I am speaking of
are the ethnic aspects - not the theological ones. Most American Jews are
not Italian so therefore most Jewish customs do not have an Italian "flavor"
but rather an Eastern European flavor.
Since
most Jewish Americans are not Italian, Jewish American celebrations and
traditions are foreign to an Italian. The foods are different and the family
histories are different. How to be Italian and Jewish while being faithful
to both Jewish traditions and Italian food and history is the purpose of
this page. Any help or suggestions are appreciated.
Click to learn about some Jewish Italian Heritage
This page is dedicated to my father
THE ITALIAN FOODS I KNOW AND LOVE
One of the hardest blendings is to retain as much of the Italian foods that I grew up with without conflicting with my new Jewish life. Though I am not Orthodox, I do attempt to keep Kosher - not mixing meat and dairy and eliminating pork products (hard, very hard for an Italian). I am still "not yet" Kosher but acknowledge its importance.
I have modified my Italian Family recipes to blend with my new Jewish life
GO TO ITALIAN FOOD FOR A JEWISH CONVERT
ETHICS
Since I was raised as a Roman Catholic, I learned the ethics of Christianity. While there is much that is similar to Jewish Ethics, there are some differences. Take the ETHICS TEST to see some of these differences.