Wife, mother, author, activist, speaker. Beautiful, thoughtful, articulate, prayerful. These are all words that come immediately to mind when I think of Yael Eckstein.
The daughter of Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein (1951-2019) wears many hats, with the newest being that of President of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews following her father’s unexpected passing. I was somewhat familiar with the rabbi’s work and dedication to bridge-building between the two faiths from both TV commercials and my mother’s financial support of Holocaust survivors through the IFCJ, and later came to admire his daughter’s equally caring presence through her Facebook posts. Some were informative, some were shocking. Some were saddening, others simply sweet. In them she shared not just her heart but her family, and her love and hopes for Israel.
And it was through Facebook that I learned she published Spiritual Cooking with Yael in 2014.
I was, frankly, intrigued by the title at once. “Spiritual” cooking? What could that possibly mean? Cookery was, to me, a necessity, and not that interesting unless I was trying a new recipe. Once I had, it was relegated to the mental back burner as a success or failure or something in between. I had a small collection of cookbooks—only taking up half a pantry shelf—but this one promised to be different. Nevertheless, it was only last Christmas that I finally got around to requesting a copy.
From the Introduction:
Cooking three meals a day, day in and day out, can become drudgery. But it is possible to elevate the act of cooking, to imbue it with great significance. It is possible to use cooking as an opportunity for meditation, self-reflection, and spiritual growth. If we use the time that we’re cooking to pray and reflect, that energy flows into the food that we serve our families and our guests.“
And here’s part of my thanks to Yael:
I received your book as a Christmas present from my brother, and immediately started flipping through it to find recipes I’d like to try. Since I’ve never been much of a cook myself, and am a working woman, I appreciated the simplicity of the recipes as well as their variety. I’ve tried various chicken, salad, and soup dishes, with only one “failure” so far (I think something was lost in the directions!), and the only reason I haven’t made more is, well, because we eat a lot of frozen food at my house! But I love your approach, your personal notes above the recipes, your oversized and colorful illustrations, and your heart.
And if I still haven’t learned to “elevate the act of cooking” or “imbue it with great significance” (I must be honest—about the only thing I pray while making a new dish is that it comes out correctly!), well, there’s always tomorrow. Thank you, Yael, for this lovely work.
How about you? Have you ever found spiritual significance in cooking, or is it too often an act of drudgery? I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts and experiences.
In the meantime, I hope you’ll check out this slim but delightful contribution to the annals of cookbooks.