GOLDA Gang,
In a few hours, thousands of people will gather on Governor’s Island in New York City for a massive summer picnic inspired by Jewish food and culture. The Great Nosh, a project of the Jewish Food Society, features culinary collabs like the black & white cookie sundae (Zabar’s x Van Leeuwen), pastrami tacos (Katz’s Deli and Santo Taco), and seared daikon radish cake with lox (Russ & Daughters x Bonnie’s).
“The vision is a day that recognizes and celebrates the unique culinary and cultural contributions of Jewish heritage to the cultural fabric of our city.” The Great Nosh founder Naama Shefi told me. “We are thrilled to gather, celebrate, revel in the joy of this movement and remind everyone that there is so much beauty in cultural exchange.”
Naama suggests we all create our own picnic magic this summer, no matter where we are. Here are her ultimate picnic picks:
Naama Shefi’s Picnic Essentials
Our Limited-edition Jewish Food Society picnic blanket, inspired by grandmothers from the JFS archive and designed in collaboration with artist Emily Parkinson, is a chic surface for your picnic adventures.
Every picnic needs pickles. My favorites are the celery pickles from The Pickle Guys, and of course their pickled turnips for a gorgeous pop of fuchsia.
I go with any cheese the team from Formaggio Essex recommends!
These picnic baskets can hold up on a hike to an out of the way location.
Enamel plates are indestructible and really make a picnic feel special.
These are my perfect picnic shoe—the wooden sole screams picnic to me!
For extra fun, I pack The Big Apple gummies—our Great Nosh x Tokin Jews collab. They will really put you in the picnic mood.
Don’t forget to pack the salt!
Thanks to Naama for sharing her picnic picks! Happy Great Nosh-ing.
Celebrating Jewish Dads on GOLDA Girls
Today is Father’s Day, and we’re celebrating with a special episode of our podcast featuring all-star Jewish dad Ted Deutch. He’s a former U.S. Congressman and the American Jewish Committee CEO, but he has an even more special role around here: He’s the father of our co-host Gabby Deutch. He joins us on the podcast for a very sweet and fun conversation about raising a proud Jewish family.
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Father’s Day-themed "Good for the Jews” picks:
Each week we end GOLDA Girls by sharing something that’s Good for the Jews. This week, we were inspired by Father’s Day:
Stephanie: A (free) subscription to the Jewish journal Sapir for the dads and fathers-in-law in your life.
Gabby Deutch: Jewish servicemen and women, especially Gabby’s Pa Bernie.
Rabbi Diana Fersko: The fathers in the Torah, especially Jacob.
Ted Deutch: Jewish summer camp.
GOLDA Events
Tuesday, June 23, 2026 — New York City: GOLDA Mahjong Night pops up at one of our favorite restaurants on the Upper East Side for a night of open play (no instruction). Sign up here.
Wednesday, July 15, 2026 — New York City: More GOLDA Mahjong, this time at an special spot in Flatiron. Open play; sign up here. As always, location will be revealed to attendees the week before the event.
Email us at [email protected] if you want to bring our special events to your community.
Happy Father’s Day! I love any chance to celebrate our beautiful Jewish families. Speaking of which, how cute is this kids’ potty training coloring book?
Stay GOLDA,
Stephanie
