This past Wednesday, Congregation Har Hashem’s Confirmation class hosted Yoav Filo, one of JEWISHcolorado’s teen Israeli emissaries (in Hebrew: Shinshinim) to teach a traditional Israeli cooking class.

About a dozen students learned how to cook some of our favorite foods including Bourekas (a filo dough pastry filled with all kinds of ingredients – cheese, potatoes, pizza filling and more), Sfinj (an old-fashioned Moroccan donut with powdered sugar on top), Jerusalem-style bagels with za’atar and sesame seeds on top, and Shakshuka (cooked egg dipped in tomato sauce).

Our favorite part about Yoav’s class (besides being delicious!) was that it showed how much Israeli culture draws from many traditions and from the melting pot that Israel represents. Whether it is food, rituals, history, or language, those things that have brought people to Israel from all over the world are what makes my country special to me.

And the same is true for Yoav. “Cooking food that feels so traditional to me with people who don’t always know the food before the class is a really special experience,” he said. “Food brings people together, and I could really feel that.”

A bonus: Yoav was really nice and brought me leftovers, which is why on Thursday, I enjoyed the best lunch of my entire week!