Alef: The NEXT Conversation

By Bennie Cohen

From the beginning of time, back when college football started, there has always been tailgating. People got together in the stadium parking lots and in front of their homes (if they were lucky enough to live close to a stadium). For the most part, college football is played on a Friday night or Saturday, AKA: Shabbos time. Being a fan of college football, tailgating, and Shabbat, I decided to combine three of my favorite things and came up with “Tailgate Shabbat.”

To me, Shabbat is all about community. Mine consists of a bunch of buddies (mostly Jewish) from college, who get together for home games to see our beloved USF Bulls. We grill, talk, and welcome all to our tailgate (very Jewtastic if you ask me). For games that fall on Friday nights, it is important to myself and others to make sure we have a challah, candles, and wine glass complete with wine. Our menu will consist of: chicken, ribs, onion dip, beer, shrimp, anything that Publix has on sale, really. There isn’t any rhyme or reason to what we put on our grill; it doesn’t even have to be kosher, although we always have kosher options available (Hebrew National is not one of them). If you truly want a different Shabbat experience try a Tailgate Shabbat. Why Not??

You don’t need to spend Shabbat in your home, at your Synagogue, or even with your grandma. Shabbat can be spent in front of your favorite stadium with the people you consider family. For me, that’s what Shabbat is all about: community, and welcoming people into your home – people who wouldn’t have a place to go otherwise. Same goes for tailgating. When you open your tent and grill, you open your heart.

For those of you interested, here’s my favorite tailgating burger recipe.

Veal and Lamb Burger

• ½ lb ground lamb
• ½ lb ground veal
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 clove chopped garlic (you can use dry garlic if you wish)
• ½ chopped Sweet Vadialia onion

Form into patties place on grill, DO NOT over cook.

Enjoy the goodness that is the veal and lamb burger.

Photo provided by Tedkerwin, licensed under Creative Commons

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