Stories, Teachings, Recipes

Rabbi Hanoch Hecht

Paperback
978-1-948626-31-6
US $16.95
eBook available
November 2020

Inspiring, mystical, and often surprising Chassidic tales combine with teachings and favorite Jewish recipes from around the world to provide amble food for body and soul.

Stories and food have always been central to Jewish living. In this book, they are uniquely tied together with over 60 Chassidic tales revolving around food and eating. Each story is followed by a short teaching in inspired living related to the teachings of the Kabbalah, the mystical side of Judaism. The 44 recipes are also interspersed with stories about the recipes, how they came to be, Jewish laws about food, and what role the recipes have played in Jewish history, and in the Rabbi’s life.

Rabbi Hanoch Hecht is the spiritual leader of the Rhinebeck Jewish Center in Rhinebeck, NY; the director of Chabad of Dutchess County; and the administrator of Camp Emunah, one of the largest girls' camps in New York State.

A member of an extended family of notable rabbis in the United States and around the world, Rabbi Hecht is the son of Rabbi Shea Hecht, a well-known activist in the Brooklyn community, and the grandson of the late Rabbi Jacob J. Hecht, the famed Lubavitcher Rebbe’s assistant and translator. Hecht is also known as the Six-Minute Rabbi, and is the innovator of the well-known Six Minute Torah Class, a series of concentrated teachings geared toward businesspeople with busy schedules.

A recipient of the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce's 40 Under 40 Shaker Awards, Rabbi Hecht was the first rabbi ever to appear on The Food Network's Chopped, where he competed against a priest, a nun-in-training, and a pastor. His recipes exploring Kosher and modern Jewish cuisine have been featured in publications all over the globe. Rabbi Hecht lives with his wife Tzivie and their family in Rhinebeck, NY.

“Rabbi Hanoch Hecht has done the impossible by uniting the highest Kabbalistic insights with gastronomic delights. A truly delicious combination.” — Rabbi Aaron L. Raskin, author of Thank You, God, for Making Me a Woman and co-author of The Rabbi and the CEO

“Anybody interested in Kosher cooking and Jewish recipes should be reading Rabbi Hanoch Hecht's A Kabbalah of Food.” —Justus Rosenberg, professor emeritus of languages and literature at Bard College and author of The Art of Resistance: My Four Years in the French Underground

“These stories transport us back to Old Eastern Europe and demystify Kabbalistic principles; I savored each one like a fine wine. Rabbi Hecht’s traditional Jewish recipes similarly evoke wonderful memories of my family enjoying the cooking of my grandfather, who was a Kosher chef.” —Michael Weiss, chair of wine studies at the Culinary Institute of America and author of WineWise and Exploring Wine

“As someone lucky enough to have enjoyed Rabbi Hanoch’s delicious food and wonderful Torah in person, I can attest that reading this book offers a taste of the real thing. A Kabbalah of Food is a treat for mind, soul, and palate.” —Samuel (Shai) Secunda, Jacob Neusner Professor in the History and Theology of Judaism at Bard College and author of The Iranian Talmud: Reading the Bavli in Its Sasanian Context and The Talmud's Red Fence: Menstruation and Difference in Babylonian Judaism and Its Sasanian Context

"Rabbi Hecht, a former competitor on the Food Network show Chopped, combines his passion for Jewish teaching and food in this entertaining volume."—Publishers Weekly

"When his antics made the teacher send him out of class, Hanoch Hecht would head to the school cafeteria and hang out with Mrs. Kraus, the school cook. There, in exchange for his help with her chores around kitchen, she shared her cooking secrets with the mischievous yeshiva boy. And thus began his love for cooking. Today the spiritual leader of the Rhinebeck Jewish Center in New York’s Hudson Valley and director of Chabad of Dutchess County, Hanoch Hecht was the first rabbi ever to compete on Food Network’s Chopped. In this delightful book, Rabbi Hecht weaves precious Chasidic tales and spiritual teachings around the theme of food. With more than sixty recipes, this book will nourish the soul and stimulate the palate." —Lubavitch Magazine, Winter 2020/2021 issue

"The ‘Six-Minute Rabbi’ takes to the kitchen" — Jewish Insider