Temple Shaaray Tefila and UJA Northern Westchester – Food, Identity & Community with Naama Shefi

When

March 18, 2026    
7:00 pm
Telling Our Stories Through Food

Doors open at 7:00 pm
Program Begins at 7:30 pm

Westchester, New York

Food is never just food — it’s memory, identity, and a way of preserving who we are.

Join UJA Northern Westchester and Shaaray Tefila Talks to hear from author and Jewish Food Society founder Naama Shefi. Naama will share how a passion for saving family recipes grew into a global effort to document Jewish culture through food. She’ll explore the origins of the Jewish Food Society, the stories behind its acclaimed cookbook, The Jewish Holiday Table, and how food connects generations and strengthens community.

Guests will be treated to light bites featuring recipes from The Jewish Holiday Table, prepared by Renana Shvil of Fiddleheads Cooking Studio.

You’ll also discover UJA’s latest work helping people in need, including those in Israel rebuilding their lives and shaping the future of the Jewish state.

REGISTER NOW
FEATURING
Naama Shefi

Author of The Jewish Holiday Table and Founder of the Jewish Food Society

Naama Shefi is a kibbutznik and a New Yorker, whose work sits at the intersection of food, culture, community-building, and art. In 2017, she founded the nonprofit Jewish Food Society, which preserves and celebrates Jewish culinary heritage through a digital recipe archive and dynamic events.

Moderator
June Hersh

Author

June Hersh is a cookbook author with a focus on Jewish food culture. Her books include the best-selling Recipes Remembered, a Celebration of Survival, a compendium of stories and recipes she gathered from Holocaust survivors. Her new book, Iconic New York Jewish Food, celebrates the intersection of New York’s most crave-worthy foods and the Jewish immigrant experience.

 

Event Chairs

Suzanne Fromm • Amanda Garfinkle • Emma Hest • Wendy Strauss

Each person will receive a copy of Naama’s book, The Jewish Holiday Table.

Light bites will be served. Dietary laws observed.

Questions?

Contact Erica Wohlstadter at wohlstadtere@ujafedny.org or 914.385.2126.