“It creates a certain camaraderie,” said Rabbi Daniel Wolff of the “Cholent Wars” taking place in his shul, Congregation Beth Tefillah in Paramus. The Cholent Wars is the “March Madness” of cholent cook-offs. The bracket shows 18 people competing to win the coveted title of Cholent War Champion.

Will Yagoda is the creator of Cholent Wars. He’s also a lover of cholent, and not just for its taste. “I love the historical qualities of it, that it’s a link to an older generation, and the thought that people sitting in shtetls were eating the same food.” Will is convinced that when you come in to your home on Shabbos morning, and warm cholent is waiting, something special happens.

Will participated in a cholent cook-off while attending New York University and brought the idea to Paramus last year. He explains how Cholent Wars works. “There are three competitors each week. The competitors use the triple crockpot at the shul. The cholent is available at Kiddush. People eat the cholent. Each cholent has a cup in front of it. People put a golden fork into the cup that stands in front of the cholent they like best. It’s all anonymous. The winner advances to the next round. The ultimate winner will receive the Golden Ladle.”

The competition has spurred some people to make cholent who don’t normally. One participant said she hadn’t made cholent in 15 years but would give it a whirl.

Will himself did not grow up in a cholent-friendly house. “My mother got a crockpot for her wedding and never used it.” It was while he was a student at NYU that Will and his brother decided to give cholent-making a shot. “I don’t remember the first batch being any good but over the last 20 years I’ve been working on it.” It’s the creativity and free form that Will particularly enjoys, “Part of the joy is making it up as you go along.” But don’t let his joy fool you, Will is serious about his cholent. He is convinced that his cholent is the best, and that he will emerge the winner of the 2015 Cholent Wars.

The competition, however, is stiff. One such competitor is Zeesy Grossbaum. The Grossbaum family, who have lived in Paramus for 13 years and run the Friendship Circle, made it to the finals last year. It ended in a three-way tie (Will says there will be no ties this year). Zeesy got her cholent recipe from her mother and has been making it with her mom ever since she was young. R. Moshe Grossbaum (Zeesy’s husband) sees cholent as a metaphor for Beth Tefillah. “Paramus is a diverse community. We have so many different types of people. The beauty of Paramus is people work well together.” Everyone mixes together just like the various ingredients in the cholent.

While we all know the basic cholent ingredients—potatoes, barley, meat, onions, spices, etc.—it’s those extras that make a good cholent excellent. When asked for his special ingredient, Will refuses to reveal it though he did say he has multiple tricks up his sleeve. He did share this cholent insight, “I like everything all one color but different texture, and for it to have a smoky, hickory flavor.” Grossbaum said, “There is no secret ingredient. It’s just balancing the ingredients, ensuring everything is well cooked and not overdone or underdone.”

Rabbi Wolff is a participant along with his wife and their three daughters, and he was more candid. He says the secret ingredient is a slab of pastrami—a trick he learned from Murray and Veronica Zucker from his Ohab Zedek days. Rabbi Wolff added, “We have other tricks up our sleeves!” He proudly called himself the Bill Belichick of cholent (can you deflate cholent?).

Clearly they take their cholent seriously at Beth Tefillah. Yet this war brings the congregation together. Rabbi Wolff said, “Everybody enjoys it and looks forward to the next round.” Will added, “It helps people feel good about the shul.” Will said other goals were to get people talking, to have some friendly competition, and to show that shul can be fun. Rabbi Wolff believes Kiddush time is vital for a shul, “It’s a time for people to grow roots in the community.”

Game on, Beth Tefillah—may the best cholent win!

By Larry Bernstein