Celebrating RBG With A New York Rainbow Bagel

Yes, I brought a rainbow bagel to the steps of the Supreme Court. Let me explain.

Every culture has its mourning rituals. For Jewish people, “sitting shiva” is the term for the bereavement period shortly after a loved one’s passing. During this time, one practice is for immediate family members to stay home and receive guests, who come bearing food. A lot of food. Deli platters, appetizers, babkas and other cakes, soups, fruit bowls, and of course, bagels and smears. Plus any other food that the grieving family needs. Enough so that they can have leftovers to sustain them for days, even after they’ve told visiting friends to fill their plates and eat up. . .and maybe take an extra cookie for the road in case you get hungry. 

Saying Goodbye To A Legend

So it felt wrong to show up empty handed to pay my respects to late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Even though I intentionally wanted to avoid the crowds. I went on a weekday afternoon, between the candlelight weekend vigils and before she laid in repose. I wanted a quiet moment to say goodbye during this period of a sort of public shiva. (Coinciding with the High Holidays, which is a whole other topic about the timing of her death.)

As you probably know, Ginsburg was an icon who worked within government to carve out more rights for marginalized groups, particularly for women. On a personal level, I looked up to her as a trailblazer for Jewish women and mothers in the workplace. Especially because her humble roots in Brooklyn overlapped with my own family’s origins. (Not surprisingly, some of her favorite foods were also staples for a certain generation of Jewish people in New York. I can relate to her affection for smoked salmon and Chinese food.) Ginsburg’s personal courage and commitment to public service helped pave the way to make things easier for many of us today. But we’d be foolish to think that prejudice no longer exists. Now more than ever, we have to keep demanding equal protection under the law. 

A Bagel And Memories

Well, I had this rainbow bagel in my freezer. It was wrapped tightly in aluminum foil from the last shiva I attended, which was in New York in 2019. We said goodbye to an incredibly kind, wonderful working mother whose two children have been my lifelong friends. I had to return home to Washington, D.C. the same day as the funeral, and the event host told me to take a bagel for the long trip ahead. I’m usually a sesame or everything bagel fan. But this one was so bright and colorful that it kind of cheered me up from being sad.

It sounds silly, but I never had the heart to eat this rainbow bagel. It survived many freezer clean out sessions over the past year. I don’t know what I was saving it for, but it just didn’t feel right to eat. Too bittersweet, especially in the current COVID-19 times, when gathering with friends to break bread is a distant memory.

A Bite Of New York As A Send-Off

But this was the moment. I fished the bagel out of freezer and threw it in my bag to defrost on the drive over. Other people bring flowers. Jewish people bring food. It just felt right.

It was the quiet afternoon that I’d hoped for. A beautiful, clear autumn day in Washington, D.C. I left half the bagel perched on a makeshift memorial on a bus stop schedule box—undoubtedly the future snack for some plump pigeon. I took the other half home to make a nice open-faced sandwich: lox, cream cheese, capers, sliced shallots, and some freshly cracked pepper. For a bagel that had been in the freezer for months, it was pretty good. It reminded me that maybe something good can be found in the aftermath of a bad situation.

Today we eat bagels and mourn. Tomorrow we keep moving forward.