Printed in the Kansas City Jewish Chronicle on March 12, 2026
By: Sara Nicole Glass, Director of the Weiner Religious School
There is one kind that I bet all of you might actually like… A bold statement.
If you have ever walked through the synagogue parking lot, you may have spotted a grey fish on the back of a car with an unusual word in it. Yes, it’s a fish shape that is often associated with a Christian symbol — except this one proudly says “GEFILTE” in the middle. Yes, a gefilte fish car emblem, which ideally makes people smile. That’s right, I have not just one, but two Gefilte fish on my ride. Why? Yes, I have an agenda, and the intention is to make people who know giggle, and also maybe to allow those who don’t know to wonder.
Believe it or not, that little fish represents the very heart of who I believe we are as Jewish people, creating space for asking questions, while keeping our sense of humor.
It is a reminder that being Jewish can and should be joyful. Judaism is serious when it needs to be, but also can be playful, funny and full of cultural zest. I saw this particular silver gefilte fish emblem years ago at a store [It’s a Beautiful Day – 3th and Broadawy”in MidtownKansas City and had to have one. There has been one hanging on my car (almost) ever s) nce. Ironically, the only time it was stolen was when I was at a Shabbat dinner event last year. So of course, I found a new, slightly different version, after which I found the original one (which I could not locate anywhere for about six months), and frankly I liked the silver simpler one better, probably because while gefilte fish is uniquely part of our collective Jewish identity (or so it seams, around Passover), this little symbol also speaks to so many other people for what they need it to mean.
For me personally, it symbolizes the way we live: rooted in Jewish identity while at home in a multicultural world. While I was raised Jewish, my grandmother was Catholic, so I’ve always been exposed to different faiths, even though I identified as Jewish. I was taught that there are many different ways to identify, and that is okay. That silver fish has become a well-known symbol, but creating a Jewish twist on it, I’d like to think, is something quintessentially Jewish — acknowledging our neighbors’ traditions while joyfully contributing our own voice and humor. My gefilte fish isn’t mocking anyone; it’s simply joining the conversation with a bit of chutzpah.
Also, it highlights the idea that humor is part of our theology. Judaism adapts, evolves and meets us in our everyday lives — even in the parking lot at the grocery store. A silly little fish with the word “gefilte” inside has become a playful theological lesson: Judaism is alive and on the move!
I love that it serves as a conversation starter about Jewish identity. People ask: “Wait, does that say… gefilte?” Then we get to talk about Judaism — not the formal, textbook version, but the lived version filled with food, stories, music, culture, humor and community. In those small encounters, the gefilte fish becomes a tiny ambassador for joyful Jewish life.
I’d like to think I’m driving around, trailing many of the core values of Reform Judaism: joy, openness, cultural pride, pluralism and the belief that Jewish identity should be lived out loud and without fear. It’s Judaism that is confident but not exclusive, grounded but not rigid, proud and always welcoming. That’s what we teach our children, model for our teens and practice as a community.
So what does the gefilte fish on my car really mean? It means I believe in a Judaism that laughs, learns, evolves, welcomes and delights. It means Jewish identity is something we can carry proudly — whether on our hearts or on the back of a car. And it means that even cruising down I-435 can embody living a joyful, Jewish life.
Call it a mitzvah on wheels, but please, don’t steal my gefilte fish!
Send any fun Jewish humor that comes your way to sglass@beth-torah.org.
