Weekly On-line Rabbi's D'var-Torah
December 26, 2024
27 Kislev 5785
Happy Hanukkah!
The famous Jewish song leader Debbie Friedman wrote “The Latke Song” in which she proudly proclaimed, “I am a latke!” If you are not familiar with this song, I recommend Ben Platt’s rendition. In any event, this song takes it for granted that latkes are savory and made with potatoes. But was that always the case? After all, potatoes were not introduced in Europe until the mid-16th century. How did our ancestors celebrate Hanukkah for the preceding 1,700 years?!
The truth is that latkes were originally made from CHEESE and not potatoes. They were likely sweet and not savory. Allow me to explain.
According to a legend preserved in the apocrypha, a woman named Judith contributed to the Israelites' military victory over the Greeks. She seduced a general with wine and cheese (among other foods) and then when he fell asleep, she killed him. Somehow, we never tell this story in Sunday school!
In any event, as a result of Judith’s heroism, dairy foods became associated with Hanukkah. By the 16th century, the Shulchan Aruch—perhaps the most authoritative code of Jewish law—said the following: "Some say that cheese should be eaten on Hanukkah, because the miracle was done with milk, which Judith fed to the enemy" (see Orach Hayim 670:2). Italian Jews made fried ricotta cakes called cassola on Hanukkah because it combined the dairy from the story of Judith with the oil from the story of the Maccabees. When the Jews of Italy were expelled, they took this tradition with them.
When they got to Eastern Europe, though, they ran into a problem. Olive oil was not readily available for cooking. Instead, the Jews of Eastern Europe tended to cook with schmaltz—rendered chicken fat. Anyone who observes the laws of kashrut cannot cook cheese in chicken fat. Luckily, there was a new tuber becoming popular across Europe. Potatoes took the place of cheese and the potato latke was born.
So, the next time you declare that you are a latke, please clarify as to whether you are a potato latke or a ricotta pancake.
Happy Hanukkah!
Shalom,
RAF.
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