Welcome to The #Friendseder Sandwich™
The sandwich you want to eat with your friends that makes you feel free
Click to download the postcard!
The #Friendseder™ Sandwich is inspired by the classic Passover Hillel Sandwich, which tells the story of Passover with a combination of sweet and spicy flavors tucked between two pieces of matzah. It is named for Hillel the Elder, a 1st century scholar who invented this sandwich and had a profound influence on Jewish thought and customs through teaching, debate and storytelling. The #Friendseder™ Sandwich carries on this tradition and invites you to share your story through food.
In the Jewish wisdom tradition questions are often more important than answers. The central question of Passover asks us to contemplate the idea of freedom. What does freedom mean to you? For some, freedom is a physical place. For others, it’s an abstract concept, or maybe even a goal you’re striving for. Whatever freedom looks like for you, the Friendseder™ Sandwich can help you share the flavor of your story.
The 4 Questions of the The #Friendseder™ Sandwich:
Gather up some friends or family members and take turns answering the four questions.
What is a story you love to tell that is important to who you are? Who are the friends in this story?
Is there a food element in your story? If not, what food or flavor would represent the story?
In your story, what is the freedom that you are pursuing?
If this story were a sandwich, what would the ingredients be?
Bonus question: When you eat this sandwich, what do you feel free from?
Now that you’ve figured out your sandwich, the next part’s optional: Host a sandwich-making party with you and your friends! By gathering with others and crafting your own unique sumptuous creations, you not only bond over food but also the celebration of independence embodied by the season.
Remember, Passover is not only about your journey to freedom, but the friends you make along the way!
This is Rabbi Jeff’s Friendseder™ Sandwich! Doesn’t it look delicious?
What is a story you love to tell that is important to who you are? Who are the friends in this story?
I love telling the story of how I used to go sailing in Seattle, on a friend’s boat that I fixed up and got ready to sail. I had just gotten out of a long, poor, and unhealthy relationship and needed a hobby. I found a groupon for sailing lessons and found my new happy place - where in one moment there could be thrilling adventure that stirred my imagination, or the calm of the sea could take me in and slow me down against a fair wind. Sailing is important to who I am because it was something I never had imagined I would do - let alone champion. I mastered something outside my element and could stretch out to the horizon. My friends were present with me on the boat, and a long time family friend, who lent me the boat, is an unlikely story of reconnecting, which began at Sunday school at Temple Beth Am.
Is there a food element in this story? If not, what flavor would represent the story?
Food is totally an element in a good boat story. Food details how fast you’re sailing, if you have time to linger or if you’re eating quick to manage something on the boat. The food element in this story is charcuterie: fruit, cheeses, meats, crackers, veggies, and bread -- and a glass of wine. Back porch or on deck, this is the perfect food to pick at and sit with and snack on as you sail and take in everything around you.
In your story, what is the freedom that you are pursuing?
In this story the freedom I am pursuing is a temporal freedom. The feeling of expansiveness against the reality of being a speck in the water. For me, temporal freedom is connected to nature, which operates at its own speed, its own pulse. Freedom in this story is syncing up with that tempo and feeling free, connected to nature, the world around you, and yourself.
If this story were a sandwich, what would the ingredients be?
This story would be a ciabatta bread sandwich with olive tapenade spread on one side and a horseradish aioli spread on the other side. In between the dressed bread would be arugula, grape tomatoes, and brie cheese. And somehow - on this boat - the bread (or even the sandwich) would be toasted. Okay maybe optional on the toasting but this sandwich has the flavors of luxury, freedom, and the perfect bite to accompany a light and full, delicious, moment looking out at the horizon against the water.
gathering with the #Friendseder™ Sandwich:
The options are endless! Here are just a few ideas to get you thinking:
Get together with your friends at your favorite sandwich place and build custom sandwiches, then use the Sandwich Activity questions to discuss while you nosh!
Go to the grocery store or specialty item store and purchase your main ingredients, on your own or with friends!
Have a sandwich making party for a local shelter or foodbank!
Have everyone make their Friendseder™ Sandwich at home, and then meet up at a local park to eat and discuss your chosen ingredients!
Check out the Hosting Page for more information about hosting your own Friendseder™ gathering!