It doesn’t have famous foods like latkes or blintzes or hamatashen. But the final days of Sukkot and the holiday of Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah do have some lovely foods. And the lack of Jewish superstar foods means there is plenty of room for inspired cooks to create some new and tasty traditions for these holidays. Today, we’ll sample some old and new holiday foods.
Today is Hoshanah Rabah, the seventh and final day of Sukkot. Hoshanah Rabah comes 10 days after Yom Kippur and shares some traditions with the Day of Atonement — www.ohr.org.il/ ask/ask208.htm#Q2
The chazzan wears white and chants prayers using Yom Kippur tunes. And in honor of both holidays, we eat kreplach, triangular pockets of dough with meat or other stuffing.
Actually we eat kreplach in honor of three holidays, Yom Kippur, Hoshanah Rabah and Purim. All three holidays share a common theme: atonement. Because of divine atonement, we were saved during the days of Mordechai and Esther. On Yom Kippur eve, we recite the Viddui — confession in expectation of our atonement. And “on Hoshanah Rabah we have high hopes that such atonement has been granted.” An article on Sukkot and the significance of three-cornered foods is at the Spiral Contemporary Kabbalah site, www.spiral.org.za/spipvt/ sukkot.htm
As to why we eat
kreplach, the Nishmas site — www.nishmas.org.il/minhagim/
hoshraba.htm — suggests that judgment (symbolized by meat) is clothed in kindness (symbolized by the dough).
Now that you know the reason, you can take your pick of 13 kreplach recipes in the Jewish Food Archives — www.jewish-food.org/ recipes/favindex.htm — including beef, kasha, chicken liver and cheese.
When Hoshanah Rabah ends, the holiday of Shemini Atzeret/ Simchat Torah begins. During Simchat Torah, we complete — and then restart — reading the Torah aloud in the synagogue.
The UAHC’s Jewish Parent Page — www.uahcweb.org/
educate/parent/0203.shtml — says you can learn a lovely lesson while baking a Simchat Torah Challah — with dough shaped like the Hebrew letters lamed and bet. The Web site explains that “the last word in Deuteronomy is Yisrael and the first word in Genesis is Breishit. If you take the final letter of Yisrael — the lamed — and the first letter of Breishit, the bet, and put them together it spells…lev in Hebrew, which means heart. The midrash tells us that the Torah is the lev — the heart of the Jewish people.”
The Jewish New Year Web site provides a suggested menu and recipes for an entire Simchat Torah meal. Start with some Caribbean Fish followed by Spinach Salad, Roast in Apricot Sauce and Jerusalem Kugel. Top it off with Strawberry Rhubarb Pie. The menu is at http://jewishnewyear.com/ jewishnewyear.com/holidays/
tishrei/4811
Penny Eisenberg has these three suggestions for your Simchat Torah table: Biscotchos (Sephardic Crunchy Orange Almond Cookies), Grilled Spiced Citrus Chicken Kebabs with Fruit and Orange Crepe “Scrolls.” The directions are at www.pennyeisenberg.com/ recipes/rec_ index.html
Joni Schockett says Simchat Torah is a joyous holiday particularly for kids — a time to sing, dance and even call children up to the Torah. Schockett feels that this is a perfect time to prepare some delicious treats which parents and kids can work on together. Her piece for Jewishfamily.com is at http://shlk.com/167 On the Schockett menu is Best Ever Chicken Fingers, Carrot Raisin Pineapple & Almond Salad and Jumbo Apple Raisin Spice Cookies.
Montreal baker Marcy Goldman, author of “A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking,” believes in “eating a food of memory.” By eating foods that have been connected to the Jewish people for centuries, we gain an important appreciation for our history. Goldman — www.cjnews.com/pastissues/ 00/oct19-00/food/ food.htm — supplies recipes and tips, shaving the etrog skin and freezing the zest for later baking projects. If you would prefer to drink your etrog, then try the recipe for Etrog Vodka at www.motleystew.com/recipe.asp?RID=191 L’chaim!