Many girls and women ask questions about everything about Jewish women and seek answers that are sometimes very elusive. They become frustrated over the apparent the double standards of many religious people. They feel it is hard to assert their individuality in a society with so many demands (how to dress, how to eat, how to communicate, etc.).
Who carried the Jewish tradition from generation to generation? Whose unwritten wisdom upholds it? An automatic first response might be “the Rabbis.” A more complete, more thoughtful answer would be “the women.”
It is hard to define aspects of Jewish tradition—the feel of it, the smells of a special foods and meals, the warmth of a gentle touch, the part that cannot be captured in words, that remain unwritten but enduring —were for generations the domain of Jewish women. Their wisdom finely guided and molded the character of Jewish life. We find this in food, stories and memories.
Women are special in the Jewish community, but many times the girls and women counter that all there is, is chauvinism and foolish limitations. It seems that the prevailing attitudes in our culture have replaced the long history of learning and teaching.
Chanukah is a holiday that is celebrated due to the sacrifices and deeds of women. Many don’t realize that Jewish law establishes that so long as the Chanukah lights burn, woman are exempt from work.
As we eat the sizzling latkes let us realize that their wisdom has molded and defined the character of Jewish life. We find this throughout our history and teachings. We also find it in the Chanukah story, in the remarkable characters of Chana and Yehudis.
One of the major victories over the Syrian-Greeks came about through the heroism of a woman. Yehudis, daughter of Yochanan the High Priest, spoke to the people in her besieged city to have faith in the Holy One, blessed be H, but the people weakened by starvation and fear wanted to surrender the city. Yehudis left the city under the cover of night and went to the commanding general, Holofrenes, and first fed him cheese dishes which made him thirsty (the source for eating dairy foods on Chanukah). She then brought him wine to quench his thirst. When he became drunk and fell asleep, she beheaded him and hung it from the city walls. When the enemy soldiers saw the head of their decapitated leader, they fled.
The Syrian-Greeks and their supporters, tried to destroy the Jewish way of life by forcing people to abandon their Judaism. Chana had seven sons each were brought before Antiochus and told to bow to him and recognize his god. Each son refused. As the last of her sons was taken to be executed she told him, “My son, go and tell your father Abraham: You bound one son upon the altar; I bound seven children on seven altars.”
The legacy Jewish women represent continues wherever the Jewish tradition is guided, enriched, and uplifted by her daughters, the bearers of Judaism’s enduring legacy.
May your Chanukah lights burn bright and may all your tales end with Shalom (peace)
Potato Latke Recipe
1 1/2 pounds baking potatoes (3 to 4 potatoes) |
1 teaspoon kosher salt |
|
1/2 medium yellow onion, peeled and quartered |
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper |
|
1 large egg |
1 egg, beaten |
|
1 cup oil or chicken shmaltz, or a combination of both |
2 tablespoons matzo meal |
|
Applesauce and sour cream, for serving
|
Instructions
-
Prepare the potatoes. Scrub the potatoes well, but do not peel. Cut each potato in half crosswise.
-
Grate potatoes and onion with a food processor. Grate the potatoes and onion using the shredding disk of a food processor.
-
Make a cheesecloth tourniquet and squeeze liquid from potato and onion. Transfer the grated potato and onion onto a large triple layer of cheesecloth. Gather the corners and tie around the handle of a wooden spoon. Dangle the bundle over a large bowl, then twist and squeeze the potatoes and onion as hard as you can until no more liquid comes out of the potatoes and onion shreds.
-
Pour off the liquid, but keep the potato starch. Give the liquid a few minutes to allow the potato starch to settle and then pour off and discard the liquid but leave the potato starch.
-
Toss the latke ingredients together with your fingers. Add the potatoes, onion, eggs, matzo meal, salt, and pepper to the bowl of starch. Mix with your fingers, making sure that the potato starch breaks up and is evenly distributed with the rest of the ingredients. Set batter aside for 10 minutes.
-
Heat the oil. Place the oil or schmaltz (or a combination of the two) in a large skillet so that when melted there is a depth of 1/4 inch (for a 10-inch skillet you’ll need 1 cup of melted oil/schmaltz). Heat over medium-high heat until a piece of the latke mixture sizzles immediately.
-
Form latkes one at a time into a 2-4 inch patty. Using a spoon, slide the latkes into the hot oil. Repeat until the pan is full but the latkes aren’t crowded. Cook until deeply golden-brown, 4 to 5 minutes per side, adjusting the heat if necessary.
-
Drain the latkes. Transfer the latkes to a paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain for 2 minutes.
-
Serve with applesauce if using schmaltz or with sour cream and apple sauce if using just oil.
May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)
Click here for more Jewish stories with recipes
Click here for more storytelling resources
Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation. (Joel 1:3)
Rachmiel Tobesman is a motivational speaker and Maggid (spiritual Storyteller). He is available for speaking engagements or storytelling, Click here to contact us
Please share this story with family and friends and let us know what you think or feel about the stories in a comment or two. Like us on Facebook or tweet us on Twitter
If the stories are not shared they will be lost.
Please share this story with others
