CCAR RESPONSA
New American Reform Responsa
78. Foods and Our Holidays
QUESTION: What is the origin of foods such as latkes for Hanukkah, hamantaschen for Purim, etc? (Daniel Lehman, Pittsburgh PA)ANSWER: Little research into traditional food has been done. Most of the dietary customs which we consider part of our holiday traditions are associated with Jews from a particular locale. Ashkenzai Jews of central Europe have different traditions than those of Eastern Europe which are not akin to those of the Sephardic communities of North Africa or the Near East. Many traditions can be traced only for a century as the older literary references are vague and do not specify dishes. So, for example, dairy dishes have been associated with Hanukkah (Shulhan Arukh Orah Hayim 670.2) because of a tale in the Book of Judith. The heroine gave the Greek general, Holophernes, milk as a soporific and then killed him, which liberated the Jewish community. However, there is no simple connection between milk dishes and latkes. Certainly the custom of potato pancakes must be recent as potatoes were not introduced to Poland before the late seventeenth or early eighteenth century (C. B. Heiser The Fascinating World of the Nightshades). The hamantaschen which are a three cornered pastry may reflect some old medieval illustrations of Haman which showed him wearing a three cornered hat common in the Middle Ages. I do not know the reason why they were originally filled with poppy seed. Such questions deserve more attention.April 1990
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