The Dietary Laws<
Some foods have been traditional among Jews from time immemorial. When the Israelites were in the wilderness, they complained about their monotonous diet, saying, "We remember the fish that we used to eat freely in Egypt" (Num. 11:5). Fish has long been eaten by Jews on Friday nights. Its attraction stemmed from the fact that it was inexpensive, did not call for ritual slaughter, and could be eaten with dairy or meat meals.
The three meals prescribed for the Sabbath---Friday evening, Saturday midday and late afternoon---are a significant element in the Day of Rest. Sabbath meals open with the Kiddush (sanctification) over a cup of wine, followed by the
Rosh Ha-Shanah, the Jewish New Year, has its own culinary practices. The ḥallah loaves are usually baked round or in different shapes, each with a symbolic meaning. Following Kiddush at the evening meal, a piece of ḥallah is dipped in honey (instead of salt) and eaten. On the second night, the blessing for fruit is recited over a slice of apple dipped in honey, followed by a traditional formula: "May it be Your will... to renew unto us a good and sweet year." Carrot tsimmes and leykakh (honey cake) are other Ashkenazi favorites. Eating the head of a fish symbolizes the hope that one may become "the head [a leader] and not the tail [a follower]" (Deut. 28:1, 43-44). Sour or bitter foods are not eaten on Rosh ha-Shanah, nor are nuts, since in Hebrew the numerical value of "nut" (egoz) is 17, the same as for "sin" (ḥet) when the silent aleph is dropped from the latter.
Another festive meal is served before the Day of Atonement. "If a man eats and drinks on the ninth [of Tishri], Scripture considers it as if he fasted on both the ninth and tenth [Yom Kippur] days" (Yoma 81b). The ḥallot placed on the table for this meal are round and braided; accompanying the soup are ravioli-like kreplakh (dough filled with meat). Salty fish or spiced dishes are traditional appetizers after the fast.
Culinary practices for the Sukkot (Tabernacles) festival varied from country to country. In Yemen, a number of families would join together in buying a sheep or an ox, so as to be assured of sufficient meat for this lengthy festival. In Poland and Russia, a favorite dish was holishkes, cabbage leaves stuffed with chopped meat, while cabbage or beetroot borscht often replaced the usual meat soup. German Jews were accustomed to eating a type of cabbage known as Wasserkohl on Hoshana Rabbah because on this day the Kol Mevasser hymn is recited. Kreplakh are also eaten on Hoshana Rabbah. Teyglakh, a confection made with honey, is the typical Sukkot delicacy.
Latkes, pancakes made of grated potatoes and fried in oil, have long been the distinctive ḥanukkah food among Ashkenazim. In Oriental lands fried pastries are served and sugar and sesame seeds are added to other kinds of pancakes. The various traditions have latterly combined in Israel to produce Ievivot (pancakes) and sufganiyyot (doughnuts), both commemorating the miracle of the oil which Ḥanukkah commemorates. Dairy dishes are likewise characteristic of this festival, commemorating the heroism of Judith, who, according to a late legend, was of the Maccabean family and who slew the enemy general Holofernes after feeding him milk, cheese, and wine until he fell into a stupor. On the Sabbath of Ḥanukkah, East European Jews ate two different types of kugel---one in honor of the Sabbath and the other to mark the festival.
The Purim tradition of mishlo'ah manot ("sending portions," i.e., gifts) to one's friends gave the Jewish housewife an opportunity to create baked delicacies. The most popular of these dishes are the three-cornered poppyseed buns known as hamantashen (traditionally the shape of Haman's hat), which in Israel are called ozné Haman ("Haman's ears") and are filled with dates or prunes. Almond and marzipan cakes are baked by Sephardi-Oriental Jews, while bob un arbes (salted peas and beans) have remained popular among East European Ashkenazim. The place of honor on the table set for the Purim Se'Udah ("meal") is reserved for the keylitsh, an outsized braided ḥallah decorated with raisins.
Passover laws require abstention from ḥamets (leaven) and the eating of Matzah (unleavened bread). "Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread; on the very first day you shall remove leaven from your homes" (Ex. 12:15). Ḥamets includes the fermented products of the Five Species of grain -- wheat, barley, emmer, oats, and rye---as well as all foods containing yeast or leaven. The table setting for the Passover eve Seder service consists three matzot in a specially designed cover, wine cups, and a large platter displaying salt water and a roasted egg symbolizing the festival offering; a roasted shankbone in lieu of the paschal lamb sacrificed in the Temple; bitter herbs (Maror) recalling the privations of the enslaved Israelites in Egypt; a green vegetable; and ḥaroset, a sweet paste made of apples, nuts, cinnamon, and wine, symbolizing the mortar out of which the Israelites made bricks for the Egyptians. During the Seder, each participant drinks four cups (Arba Kosot) of wine to recall the four expressions of redemption (Ex. 6:6-7). It is customary to begin the meal with an hors d'oeuvre of hard-boiled eggs in salt water.
Among the favorite Passover dishes are beetroot borsht and various drinks; cakes made of matzah meal or potato flour; almond and coconut macaroons; khreyn, a horseradish or beetroot relish; ayngemakhtz, a jam made of radish or beetroot with ginger and nuts; matzah puddings; crumbled matzah fried with eggs; and matzah meal fritters (khremzlakh) and dumplings (kneydlakh).
Dairy dishes typify the meals served on Shavu'Ot. Various reasons have been advanced for this tradition, notably the fact that the Torah, received on the date of this festival, is compared to milk and honey (Song 4:11). The special dishes associated with Shavu'ot include blintzes (rolled pancakes filled with sweetened cream cheese), cheese knishes (filled and baked dough), fruit strudels, cheesecake, and cheese kreplakh. Jewish housewives in Oriental countries bake a seven-layer cake called Siete Cielos ("Seven Heavens"), recalling the number of heavenly spheres which God broke asunder to present the Torah to Moses on Mount Sinai. Others make baklava, a sweet pastry comprising many layers of thin dough stuffed with nuts, sugar, and honey.
Throughout the year, doughnut-shaped hard bread rolls know as beygelakh ("bagels") have become a Sunday morning favorite, together with yeast dough kukhen of different types. Several other traditional Jewish dishes -- blintzes, borscht, chicken soup with noodles or kreplakh, and even gefilte fish---have become widely popular in the United States and now form part of a more international cuisine.
