The Great Matzo Ball-Eating Contest
The question is not: How is this night is different from all other nights? Rather: How many matzo balls can you eat? Those who are in need of inspiration in this department may greatly benefit from watching Faye Lederman’s documentary “Hold the Soup,” which is now being featured at the Seattle’s Jewish Film Festival.
As the film will remind you, to make your grandmother, aunts and in-laws truly kvell, you don’t have to melodiously recite the Haggadah, or even memorize the four questions by heart. Just eat and praise the cook. Do it for them.
The film follows a matzo ball-eating contest held at the Friars Club in Manhattan a few years back. You may already be familiar with the illustrious Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest. That was where the Friar’s Club took its cue, and then truly transcended the genre.
Without giving away too much of the film’s breathtaking plot, I’ll only say that one does not need to be Jewish to know how to properly inhale matzo balls, though a certain familiarity does count for much.
Throughout the film, look out for numerous tips and tricks of efficient and elegant gluttony and you will surely make splash at the Passover table this year.
Bon appetite!
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!
