rear pew mirror • doug brook
Year of the Latke It’s a common question: What day does Chanukah start this year? Answer: The 25th of Kislev. The same as every year. Yet it seems earlier every year that the stores start playing their seasonal Jewish music — holiday music largely written by Jewish songwriters. In some years, like this one, the eight days of Chanukah partially overlap with the 12 days of secular Chanukah. This means that all the annual Chanukah sales are conveniently well-timed for those who observe the secular day as well. When this overlap lands right, the annual Chinese food seder — which is celebrated on different evenings every year, but always on December 24th on the secular calendar — additionally becomes a Chanukah meal. Naturally, because it’s Jewish and it’s food, there are traditions. There are special Chinese recipes to eat on this night. There are also stories to tell on this semi-rare occasion about how Chinese food semi-relates to the story of Chanukah itself. For example, people commonly know the Sunday School story about Chanukah and the menorah in the Temple. There was only one day’s worth of oil but the oil miraculously lasted for eight days, which was necessary because there were eight days of presents to give. But there’s another, relatively obscure yet appetizing anecdote. The Talmud teaches that when one eats Chinese food, one tends to become hungry again an hour later. Before the final battle when they retook the Temple, the Maccabees were rushed and had Chinese takeout. They should have been hungry after just one hour, but as the fighting wore on, they weren’t hungry for eight hours which was enough time for them to win this culminating clash. Sunday School stories make it sound like the Maccabee family came out of their revolting conflict smelling like roses; at least, Fusing Chanukah after a shower and change of togas. But several of the five and Chinese food Maccabee brothers — includnever went this far… ing Judah, by the way — didn’t survive to the end of the conflict. Eliezer was famously killed in battle when he saw a high-ranking leader riding an elephant. To kill the leader, he ran under the elephant and stabbed it, which had the unfortunate side effect of the elephant collapsing onto Eliezer. This is why on Chanukah people eat latkes: to symbolize Eliezer’s heroic act which resulted in him being pancaked. Speaking of latkes, they are central to one of the main dishes when Chanukah and December 24 collide. On all other nights, noodles in Chinese food are egg noodles. But on this night, potato noodles are used instead to produce Latke Lo Mein. One can enjoy Latke Lo Mein with soy sauce or applesauce, but hopefully not both together. Of course, such a special meal should begin with soup. In commemoration of the Maccabean war, and in recognition of the final surviving Maccabee brother (who took over leadership during the revolt when Judah died), it’s traditional to indulge in Wor Yonatan Soup. One of the main symbols of Chanukah is a nine-candle contraption (Chanukiah) commonly misnamed for its seven-candle cousin, which was the actual accessory in the Temple. A main symbol deserves a tie-in with a main dish, and the Temple’s menorah was lit with oil, which means indulging in the deep-fried delicacy Crispy Beef Chow Meinorah. continued on previous page 46
December 2022 • Southern Jewish Life