Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship

By Holly Sullivan

Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship

Hazel Buchwald hoisted the letter-labeled plates of mystery bagels and cream cheese and passed them between taste testers as boatloads of hungry people hustled through Ohavi Zedek Synagogue.

“C is just the best,” said Buchwald, a 14-year-old member of the synagogue’s teen intern group, through a smile.

The clutch of attendees compared the chew, flavor and crispiness of each bagel before casting their votes for the superior bagel into shoeboxes. Once they voted, Buchwald revealed the local bakery each bagel came from: A was the Bagel Place, B was Myers, C was Feldman’s and D was Burlington Bagel.

So went one scene at the Northern Nosh Jewish Food Festival, which was brimming with smiles and local goodies Nov. 10. Dozens of people with empty plates and stomachs gathered at folding tables covered in traditional Jewish cuisine and manned by local Jewish people. The event, taking place for the third time, was a way for Jewish organizations and their members to come together and share stories, jokes and, most importantly, food. 

Dannah Bresser, a local beekeeper, was sitting at a table next to Buchwald. She’s been making honey for about 14 years and sold her honey at the event last year, too.

“I was the kind of person who always liked insects,” she said. “I watched ants in the cracks of the sidewalk. You know those bug zappers? Instead of emptying it, I was, like, investigating it. And I would keep the insects. Then, I bred caterpillars and butterflies for a while. My dad was allergic to bees, so after he passed, it was permission to do this — something I’ve always wanted to do.”

She had jars of honey for guests to sample and buy, as well as baked goods. 

“I made this cake,” she said, motioning to a stack of golden squares. “This is my bubbie’s honey cake recipe.”

She enjoyed the lively nature of the food festival, expressing gratitude for the sense of community and interest in each other’s food.

Across the room, a few women from Temple Sinai in South Burlington had set up shop at a table filled with sweet treats like kugel, fig cake, rugelach and baklava. The baklava — made by Margie Shepard, Susan Zimmerman and Rachel Grossman — was a fan favorite. 

Cynthia Pasackow, the president of the sisterhood at Temple Sinai, said the women got together twice for three-hour cooking sessions before the festival. She said cooking has always been a way for the women of the temple to bond, motioning to a Temple Sinai cookbook.

“Everybody in the temple contributed their family recipes,” she explained as she flipped through the book. “And they also put in some recipes from older cookbooks with women who’ve passed away, but they have famous recipes. And the name of the cookbook is, ‘From Generation to Generation.’”

In the back of the synagogue, children shook plastic hand-clappers and danced to the tunes of Evan Haller, children’s musician and founder of Music at the Blissful, a youth music organization in Massachusetts. 

Haller has been making music for kids since 2003 and started live streaming his music on Facebook during the pandemic.

“I noticed that there was a need for music that wasn’t already copywritten. So, I started making my own music, and fans were starting to follow me,” he said. 

The children at Northern Nosh appeared to be big fans, especially when Haller passed out free dinosaur stickers after his set. 

“My music is about bringing people together,” he said. “It’s movement-based. We work on cognitive, social, emotional, language development and physical development, all under the guise of just having fun … When we’re all playing and singing and dancing together, we’re making community and we’re building empathy for children.”