David Cohen
“My grandmother came from Baghdad with one pot of kubba and a prayer. That pot of kubba fed more of our family than any money ever could.”
Meet David. He's a third-generation Israeli of Iraqi-Jewish descent; his grandparents fled Iraq in 1951, among the roughly 120,000 Jews who left in the exodus that emptied one of the world's oldest Jewish communities — carrying almost nothing but their recipes. His bakery in Jaffa keeps those alive: Iraqi kubba (stuffed dumplings), Yemenite jachnun (slow-baked pastry), Moroccan msemen (flatbread), and challah for Shabbat. Two Arab-Palestinian bakers work beside him, the jokes passing between Hebrew and Arabic. On Friday evenings he closes early, and he swears the bread smells different on Shabbat — sweeter, as if time itself slows in the oven.
- Heritage
- Iraqi-Jewish, third generation
- Bakery
- Middle Eastern breads from across the diaspora
- Languages
- Hebrew, Arabic (street-level)
- Shabbat
- Closes early every Friday
“Jewish people all look the same and come from one place (Europe).”
Jewish communities exist on every continent and encompass enormous ethnic and cultural diversity. Mizrahi and Sephardi Jews (with roots across the Middle East and North Africa — Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Morocco and beyond) together make up roughly half of Israel's Jewish population. Ethiopian Jews (Beta Israel) preserve traditions claiming ancient Israelite origins. Indian, Chinese, and Afghan Jewish communities existed for centuries. Jews from different regions have distinct cuisines, music, languages, and customs that reflect the cultures among which they lived.
SourcePew Research Center — 'Israel's Religiously Divided Society' (2016).
When you picture a Jewish person, do you see someone who looks European?
That's a common image, shaped by history and media. But Jewish people come from every corner of the world. David's story shows us the diversity we miss when we hold a single image.
Good. Now ask yourself: what other groups do you picture as monolithic? What diversity are you not seeing?
David's bakery blends Iraqi, Yemenite, and Moroccan Jewish traditions into one place. What traditions from different places or people have blended together to make your life richer — in food, music, friendship, or faith?
You do not need to answer. Notice what feels familiar, what remains unfamiliar, and where your own experience differs.
Understanding does not require agreement. Sometimes paying closer attention is enough for today.
Bake or buy bread for someone
Bread is humanity's universal language. Bake something or buy fresh bread for a neighbor, friend, or stranger. Break it together. Every culture on Earth has a version of this act.
Note an act of kindness — today’s or your own. This stays on your device only; nothing is uploaded or counted publicly.
“Even the Creator of the world could not make do without a companion.”
Talmud