Jewish Food a Profound and Personal Link to Faith, Heritage

Regardless of what's on the menu, one thing is clear: Food is profoundly yoked to the Jewish faith and heritage.

"Food is a very durable purveyor of tradition," Goodman said. "People continue to cook the foods of their ancestors long after they stopped wearing the dress or the clothing of their ancestors or speaking the language of their ancestors."

As a "proud secular Jew," Goodman says food connects him to a sense of Jewishness.

"Food is very powerful for me in a way that certain prayers might not be," he said.

For Kirschenbaum, who is Orthodox, food is not just about keeping the faith, it is the faith.

"It is the thread that keeps everybody throughout the ages but also throughout the world. It is not only in time that we want to keep the link, but through space," she said. "Nobody forgets what they eat. This is the miraculous thing about food. It goes down very fast . . . but you don't forget it."