A Sephardic Taste Into My Jewish Identity

By Ari Lazer 

Arriving at Hillel UW was a blessing, even if the journey to get there was unexpected. It was as if I had wandered into a warm bagel shop after walking in the desert for 40 years. Emerging out of a toxic environment full of Jewish hate at my small East Coast liberal arts college, I found a new Jewish community at Hillel UW. I found new friends and mentors who treated me like family, and the opportunity to deepen my Jewish identity. 

Shortly after landing in the warm community, I learned there was a Sephardic cooking class, and I jumped at the opportunity to join. I am a quarter Sephardic and was curious to explore this side of my family. I am in the process of figuring out where my Sephardic side is from with the help of ancestry.com. In the meantime, I am fascinated by how my dark hair and round face lead Spanish speakers to often start conversations with me on the bus, a person at a deli near Columbia University assumed I spoke Arabic, and, just the other night, someone thought I was Persian. I guess I could be anything at this point. I mean not anything, but you get the point. Jews are a blended bunch who sometimes don’t know a lot about their family history because they perished in the Holocaust. I am excited to finally find out what blend of Sephardic I am. 

Cynthia Flash Hemphill, a local Seattle Sephardic native and president of the Seattle Sephardic Network, led the class. Every Tuesday for four weeks around 20 UW students, including myself, baked Sephardic food and kvetched (yes, I know; it’s a Yiddish word) about being in college and Jewish. During the first week, we made Cuasado, a spinach, egg, and cheese frittata.

During the second week, we made Biscochos. This simple cookie was tasty and easy to make. Unfortunately, I am celiac and could not taste any of the food, but it didn’t matter. Week after week I was drawn back to the smells, warmth, and joy of the Jewish community. 

I was discovering a new way of being Jewish, which brings me to the next Sephardic recipe we made: Borekas. Borekas are a potato and cheese turnover similar to empanadas. Empanadas were a favorite food prior to learning I was celiac. I loved them. I enjoyed the flaky pastry cover and flavorful meat fillings. 

Every week I anticipated finding out what new Sephardic food and friends I would discover. It felt good not to have to censor myself from the antisemitic experiences I faced in college. In the Hillel kitchen, I didn’t have to worry about being gaslit; the students around me understood the importance of being Jewish. 

In the last cooking class, we made Salmon con limon. Cynthia, along with other members of the Sephardic community, shared with all of us the traditional Sephardic recipes that were made during the reign of the Ottoman Empire - Turkey, and the island of Rhodes (now part of Greece). This is where the Sephardic Jews of Seattle originated. These recipes were developed in Spain and evolved as Jews, who were exiled in 1492, spread through the diaspora, taking the recipes with them and changing them along the way. They were influenced by the various countries where the Jews settled.

The Sephardic learning expanded even more when Cynthia shared stories about the lives of  Sephardic Jews in Seattle several decades ago. Seward Park in Seattle is now home to a large community of Sephardic Jews; the original neighborhood was in Seattle’s Central Area. Cynthia brought in Hannah Peters, deputy director of the Washington State Jewish Historical Society, who is building an oral history of Seattle Jewish history, and happens to be Cynthia’s new daughter-in-law! Mazel Tov! 

During this last class, the Washington State Jewish Historical Society brought a sound booth to Hillel to interview students about our experiences on UW’s campus as Jewish students. I love doing interviews. I believe that if there is any chance for an antisemite to understand Jewish history and the terrible effects of being antisemitic, a strong personal interview is extremely important. So when the opportunity arose from Washington’s Jewish Historical Society to tell my story, I was glad to do it. 

I entered the booth with Hannah’s co-worker and began the painful story of leaving my college after countless experiences with antisemitism. As I reached the end of the interview I sensed the unfortunate feeling of fear. I thought, should I be doing this? I can never share this interview with anyone because then I won’t get hired anywhere that isn’t Jewish. I was scared that someone would hear my story and wouldn't hire me because I am Jewish. I was afraid and honestly at times still am. It’s scary out there to be Jewish, but it’s also scary when you try to hide it.

Instead of choosing to let the fear of Jewish hate consume me, I decided to meet my fears in the middle and apply to work for one of the Jewish communities of Seattle. This way I knew I would feel safe while working my first full-time job. I am proud to share that I will be a kindergarten assistant at Seattle Jewish Community School this upcoming fall! 

I am so thankful for this Sephardic cooking class for bringing me further into the Seattle Jewish community. It didn’t just teach me about the history of the Seattle Sephardic community, it also showed me that the Sephardic community in Seattle will have your back. Finding this new Jewish family in Seattle felt like stumbling upon a hidden deli in Pike Place Market with a menu full of Cuasado, Biscochos, Borekas, and a wide spread of supportive Jewish community members from Hillel UW.

[Ari Lazer is a Seattle native who graduated from Sarah Lawrence College this spring. She is heavily invested in the Seattle Jewish community and loves to write about navigating being proudly Jewish in these hard times and trying to date while doing so. Read Ari's stories on her Substack! (@arilazer )]