Shabbat Shalom
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In 2018, Alex Levin and Tim Ebner traveled together on an immersive trip to Israel called REALITY Taste, an experience designed to show the many complexities of the country. The trip, which focused on Israeli cuisine, explored many of the foodways of the Levant region, and the experience culminated with a Shabbat dinner hosted at the Harp of David restaurant in Jerusalem.
Chef Alex Levin welcomes Edible DC into his home for a look at a weekly Jewish ritual, Shabbat, that centers around food, community and renewal.
By Tim Ebner, photography by Jennifer Chase
It’s Thursday afternoon and Alex Levin is in full meal prep mode, which is to say he’s slightly stressed.
On Wednesday, he was up until midnight preparing a rich chicken stock for his matzah ball soup, and tomorrow his oven will be working double overtime, roasting a whole chicken spiced with za’atar and a smoky-savory brisket soaked in a stew of sweet caramelized onions.
Why is Levin so busy?
It’s has nothing to do with his day job as executive pastry chef of the Schlow Restaurant Group (Alta Strada, The Riggsby, Casolare, Tico—to name a few).
Instead, he’s working frantically to meet another cooking deadline—sundown Friday—when he plans to host a Shabbat dinner for a dozen close friends, including me, for what he’s calling his “greatest hits,” inspired by family recipes and Jewish dishes that reflect his roots.
“I couldn’t decide which of my favorite entrées to make, so I’m going to make them all,” he tells me. “Of course, there will be challah, but I’m also making rugelach, stuffed cabbage and kasha varnishkes—that’s an Ashkenazi dish with toasted buckwheat, bowtie pasta and cooked mushrooms and onions—one of my family’s favorites.”
For those who’ve never experienced Shabbat before, it’s a feast for the senses that many Jews routinely celebrate as one week ends and another begins.
It’s also a dining ritual filled with prayers and blessings and unique family recipes and traditions. And depending on the table, the mood can vary from festive and loud to quiet and peaceful.
Chef Alex Levin provides a blessing for the meal. Typical Shabbat foods include challah (braided bread) and wine, which are both blessed before the meal begins.
Wherever you celebrate, Shabbat serves as a moment to gather as one and celebrate the Sabbath, a Jewish holy day, second only to Yom Kippur.
“I think Shabbat is a chance to take a deep breath and relax,” Levin says. “You sit down for a meal, turn off your phone and let go of the stress and the workweek.”
By the time Levin’s table is set on Friday, his anxieties about meal prep have vanished. A sense of calm and candlelight permeates his apartment as he recites Jewish blessings over bread and wine.
“That connection of silently pausing, then having a joyous meal, is special,” Levin says. “It’s also an experience that you can share with anyone—friends, family or people you’ve just met for the first time.”
Whether you’re Jewish or not, Levin encourages others to experience Shabbat, then play host to a meal. He has several recipes that serve as staple dishes, but no two Shabbats are ever the same.
On a recent trip to Ethiopia, Levin says it was Pizza Hut that served as the backdrop for a memorable Shabbat experience.
“That technically qualifies as bread,” he says. “I ate a veggie-loaded pizza slice and, though it was a little unusual for Shabbat—I loved it.”
Edible DC’s Tim Ebner sat down to talk with Levin about family recipes, memorable Shabbat meals and how his Jewish identity affects his work today as a chef.
Tim Ebner: First, what are the essential things for Shabbat?
Alex Levin: Well, if you’re having a traditional Shabbat, the one thing you absolutely need is bread and possibly wine. After that, you can pretty much do whatever you want. Actually, I think a really great homemade challah is the single most important thing that should be on the table. The breaking of bread at any Jewish meal is a shared experience. It signals the beginning of a meal whether it’s with friends or strangers.
Talk about the blessing you say before dinner. What does it mean?
Both blessings are said in Hebrew over the bread and wine, and you’re essentially thanking a higher power for allowing us to enjoy food that comes from the land and drinks that come from the vine. There’s both a literal and symbolic meaning to that, and it really does set the tone for a very intentional and spiritual experience, whether you’re religious or not. I encourage people from all walks of life to partake in the experience because Shabbat is about having fun. And you know, I’m not necessarily a religious person in the context of Jewish ritual. Although I used to, and I now have a strong Jewish identity that’s expressed in other ways including Shabbat.
Last year, I traveled with you to Israel, where I experienced my first Shabbat as part of REALITY Taste*. Describe that meal and what someone should expect at their first dinner.
Before that meal, we were able to visit the Western Wall during Friday prayer, where people were dancing and singing out loud. I think that’s a radically different idea of what many consider prayer to be. Usually, we think of it as a quiet and individual act.
In the same way, I think Shabbat offers space for all forms of prayer. It’s a festive celebration that brings people together. While no two experiences are ever the same, I think each shares a common goal to bring an open mind and an open heart to the week ahead—particularly through delicious food. I also think that’s why you need to eat a lot. You can’t start a new week on an empty stomach, so you have to fill up.
And when you and I were together in Israel together, even among the many, many meals we had together, it probably was that dinner in the Old City of Jerusalem that was one of the top Shabbat experiences of my life. We had so many different people sitting around us, and it was incredible, maybe even a bit indulgent, which is fabulous and what makes it special. You should go overboard when it’s Shabbat. That’s what it’s all about.
What are some of your family’s recipes and Shabbat traditions?
A lot of my cooking stems from my grandmother, Martha Hadassah Nadich. Married to Rabbi Judah Nadich, my grandmother created a traditional home on the Upper East Side. She always hosted big 15-person Shabbat meals. I would spend Friday afternoons with her, cooking the meal and putting together several dishes. My challah bread is more or less her recipe, which I later in life wrote down and then upgraded it with my education as a pastry chef to its current form.
When my grandmother started to slow down, I would lend a hand in the kitchen to prepare those meals. Then, I would go back to my parents’ house and prepare a second meal there too.
It taught me a lot about cooking, family and responsibility to continue our family’s traditions. One requirement was that there had to be two main dishes—a brisket or another beef dish and some other protein, like roasted chicken. I still remember the story of the first time my mother cooked for my grandfather when my grandmother was away for a couple of months in Israel to take care of my newly born cousin. My mom worked tirelessly to create a Shabbat dinner for my grandmother but only served roasted chicken, and he asked: ‘Where’s the brisket?’ He asked that because he never had a meal without beef. We all like to laugh about that now, and it’s in his honor that there are always two main dishes—brisket and chicken—on the table. If there’s not, someone in my family will ask: “Where’s the brisket?”
Does your Jewish upbringing and identity influence your cooking style as a chef?
A lot of the food I make is incredibly delicious, flavorful, yet simple enough to make at home. I think that’s what Jewish cooking is all about. It’s food that you love and want to share with family and friends. I also think there’s a real deficit in DC sometimes when you need to find certain staples.
Take challah, for instance. There are plenty of good places to get it, but I still think my grandmother’s recipe is the best. For Rosh Hashanah, my pop-up bakery made between 300 to 400 loaves, plus more than 2,000 pieces of rugelach. Those orders go so quickly. In fact, I had one woman who bought 10 challahs, and she stores them in her freezer for months ahead. People seem to love it, and that brings me so much joy.
*REALITY Taste is a week-long leadership journey in Israel that gathers acclaimed chefs, food and beverage entrepreneurs, restaurateurs and content creators.
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Want to attend a Shabbat? The OneTable organization makes attending a Shabbat dinner easy and accessible to people around the world. Locally, there are dozens of dinners hosted each Friday, and meals are either ticketed or potluck style. To see a listing of upcoming Shabbats visit: dinners.onetable.org
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An Edible DC contributor, Tim Ebner is a food and travel writer who lives in Washington, DC. Follow him on Instagram @ebnert
