Congregation Or VeShalom Presents 47th Annual Hanukkah Bazaar & Food Festival, Nov. 19
“For as long as I can remember, the women always got together and baked at home,” explains Renee Galanti Feldman, 89 years old. “The women – sisters and neighbors – would bake to have food for the sabbath. And an absolute favorite in any Sephardic household is the bureka!”
A bureka is a flavorful, savory, baked puffed pastry, filled with various fillings, such as: potato and cheese, rice and cheese, spinach and eggplant, or rice and ground beef. Each community has their unique varieties; each family, their favorites. Burekas are a traditionally Sephardic Jewish cuisine. Renee bakes every week, often with her daughters, Olga Rickoff and Leslie Feldman Abrahams, along with her grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Renee was born in Atlanta in 1934. Her mother was born on the Greek Isle of Rhodes and her father was born in Turkey. Her parents came to Atlanta in 1920 when her mom was seven and her dad was ten years old.
Sephardic Jews are the Jews of Spain, Portugal, North Africa, and the Middle East and their descendants. When the Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492, many of them were absorbed into existing communities in Northern Africa and the Middle East. Most of the early Jewish settlers of North America were Sephardic.
Here in Atlanta, Congregation Or VeShalom is one of the few remaining Sephardic synagogues in the Southeast. Generations of ladies meet each week to bake together, traditional Sephardic delicacies such as burekas and biscochos (Sephardic tea cookies). Here, customs and traditions are taught and handed down to daughters and granddaughters. Years ago, the demand for burekas was so high that the Or VeShalom ladies started a bureka fundraiser. They sell their burekas to the community, providing the valuable service to the community of buying homemade baked goods each week.
On a recent Tuesday, more than 50 ladies ages 22-89 put the finishing touches on their burekas and biscochos.
Renee explains, “My cousins always talked about the ‘old ladies,’ who were strict in maintaining their standards. We are now the ‘old ladies,’ and they are the generation to whom my generation is passing our traditions down to.”
Renee met her husband in 1948 at the old location of Congregation Or VeShalom when it still was on Highland Avenue.
“We met as teenagers during the second world war,” says Renee. “Everybody was doing patriotic things together and we kind of got mixed then. I was friends with his sister. We went to a local community dance when I was 14 and he was 17.”
Years later, when Renee’s daughter Olga had children of her own, she went back to the Isle of Rhodes and to find Renee’s mother’s house.
“I remember my mother and grandmother baking burekas in the kitchen, along with lots of other homemade goodies, and the amazing aroma that filled the house,” said Renee. “It was important to me to pass the traditions on to my daughters, granddaughters, and great granddaughters. Now that they are all learning the art alongside my daughters and myself, I am sure they can appreciate the work, skill and patience that goes into making them.”
Renee explains, “We have a lot of history here, with the Sephardic customs and traditions brought over here so many years ago. I feel good that these younger generations bake.” She smiles, “I’ve got them all working.”
CONGREGATION OR VESHALOM’S HANUKKAH BAZAAR & FOOD FESTIVAL
On Sunday, November 19, from 11 AM-4 pm Congregation Or VeShalom (1681 N. Druid Hills invites the community to its 47th Annual Hanukkah Bazaar & Food Festival.
Highlights include: Homemade Delicacies and Pastries (incluing Burekas and Biscochos); Delcious Mediterranean Cuisine, A new and improved Kids Zone; Raffle Gift Baskets; and more.
For more information, or to pre-order Burekas and sweets visit: www.orveshalom.org.