Encyclopedia of Jewish Food

by Gil Marks

  Before the arrival of lemons, vinegar served as the primary souring agent in much of Europe and western Asia. Vinegar has long held a conspicuous position in the Jewish pantry. In biblical and Talmudic times, vinegar (chometz in Hebrew, literally "sour") was an important flavoring, preservative, and medicine. It was essential for various Sabbath salads, as the acid served to preserve the produce even in hot climates. Sephardim typically used wine vinegars (vinagre in Ladino), while Ashkenazim rarely had access to anything other than epl essig (cider vinegar) or rosl (beet vinegar).

  Vishniak

  Vishniak or wishniak, from the Polish wisznia (cherry tree), is a liqueur made from sour cherries that is very popular in Poland, Ukraine, and Byelorussia. It is rather sweet and syrupy, unlike the Alsatian kirsch. Vishniak was usually made at home using seasonal sour cherries in June and left to macerate with sugar and vodka in the cellar for at least three months. It would be ready in time for Rosh Hashanah and would last through Hanukkah or possibly for several years. If there was a celebration in town, such as a wedding, friends and neighbors would donate a bottle from their supply of vishniak to enliven the event.

  W

  Walnut

  In terms of world production, the most important of all nuts today is the walnut, the oily seed of a deciduous temperate-zone tree native to southwest Asia. Exploration of the Shanidar caves in northern Iraq revealed evidence of human consumption of walnuts in prehistoric times. Wild walnuts had a thick shell and small kernel, but due to artificial selection and natural hybridization over the millennia, the cultivated descendants of one variety, now called Persian walnut or English walnut, developed a large kernel with a relatively thin shell. At maturity, the green fleshy fruit splits, revealing the familiar wrinkled tan nut inside. According to Pliny and other Romans, walnuts reached Greece and Rome by way of Persia. The Romans in turn spread the walnut throughout Europe and eventually the nut found its way into nearly every country. Thus when introduced by the Romans to England, it was called wealhhnutu in Old English (foreign nut), which was later pronounced walnut.

  The walnut, which reached Israel by at least 2000 BCE, is mentioned only once in the Bible, in a line in Song of Songs: "I went down to the egoz [walnut] garden." The Hebrew egoz, cognate of the Arabic joz, derives from "pair," as the kernel grows as two sections. Walnuts only became widespread in Israel during the Second Commonwealth, but became so common that egoz emerged as the generic Hebrew word for nut. Rabbinic literature is replete with references to the walnut, in which its characteristics are described in great detail. The Mishnah recognized three varieties of walnuts: hard-shelled, medium-shelled, and soft-shelled, the last being the most important. Walnut branches, along with palm and pine, were preferred for the fire of the altar in the Temple. The Talmud advised giving nuts to children on the eve of Passover to help keep them awake during the Seder. In Talmudic times, walnut shells were tossed in front of a bride and groom as a symbol of fruitfulness and prosperity. This may have evolved into the enduring German custom of aufruf, throwing nuts and dried fruits at the groom on the Sabbath before his wedding. The egoz became a major symbol of medieval Kabbalah, with both strong sexual and intellectual motifs. In 2006, drawing from these venerable traditions, Canadian composer Moshe Denburg created the musical piece El Ginat Egoz (Into the Walnut Garden), evoking vineyards, pomegranates, and love that is sometimes misplaced.

  In 1956, the Northern Command of the Israel Defense Forces established a reconnaissance unit of the Golani Brigade to protect the northern frontier, naming it Egoz. Following the 1967 War, Egoz was assigned to prevent terrorist infiltration from Jordan, Syria, and especially Lebanon. Sayeret Egoz was disbanded in 1973, but in 1994, Egoz was the name given to an elite covert Israeli squad charged with dealing with Hezbollah guerillas in southern Lebanon.

  Today, California, France, Italy, and Georgia (of the former Soviet Union) are major walnut growers and consumers. Arguably, no culture loves this nut more than the Georgians, who utilize it as a flavoring agent as well as thickener. Sephardim add walnuts to such dishes as sazan (Greek carp in walnut sauce), prehito (Turkish wheat pudding), mustachudos (walnut crescents), baklava, trigona (phyllo nut triangles), tishpishti (semolina cake), and torta de muez (walnut cake). Whereas Mizrachim and Sephardim typically had a choice of nuts, often opting for almonds and pistachios, Ashkenazim generally had only the walnut or occasionally the hazelnut. Not surprisingly, walnuts are common to a host of Ashkenazic baked goods, including those made for Passover. Some Jewish communities, especially eastern Ashkenazim, incorporate walnuts in the Passover charoset. Eastern Ashkenazim, however, have a custom of not eating nuts on Rosh Hashanah.

  Walnut has a rich, pronounced flavor. However, the walnut's thin skin (pellicle) contains tannin that produces an astringent aftertaste that some people find off-putting. Toasting brings out the walnut's flavor.

  Walnuts are also cold-pressed to produce an oil with a rich nut flavor. Walnut oil is primarily used in salads, as it complements most greens, but occasionally finds its way into baked goods.

  (See also Bazha and Nut)

  Warka

  By at least the fifteenth century, Turks were making yufka, the forerunner of phyllo and strudel, by stretching the dough very thin, cutting it into squares, and allowing it to dry slightly. The uncooked squares were wrapped around savory fillings or layered with butter and fillings and baked. In the farthest western extremes of the Ottoman Empire, the Maghreb, cooks developed their own version of yufka from semolina flour; this dough was called warka or ouarka (leaf) in Morocco, malsouqa or malsouka (to adhere) in Tunisia, and diyul (perhaps from the French feuille for "leaf") in Algeria. These Maghrebi dough rounds are cooked on one side, not raw like yufka, phyllo, and strudel. The thin sheets, a bit thicker than phyllo and almost rubbery in texture, are firmer and more flexible than phyllo and are thus better suited for round shapes and wrapping. Warka require great skill to prepare and are therefore rarely made by home cooks.

  Semolina dough rounds called warka in Morocco (but also used throughout the Maghreb) are cooked on one side, not used raw like phyllo and strudel dough. The sheets are thicker and more flexible than phyllo and better suited for round shapes and wrapping, such as into thin rolls called "fingers" or "cigars."

  In Morocco, every marketplace has at least one warka maker, typically a dadas (descendant of Sudanese slaves), who deftly plies her trade. In the past, wealthy families hired a professional warka maker to come to their homes. The dough is very moist and springy and is made by kneading fine semolina flour with water and a touch of oil. It is cooked on a tabsil—a special large, round, flat-topped, tin-plated, copper dish, like an inverted pan—that is heated over a charcoal brazier. A small handful of dough is placed on top of the tabsil and is quickly worked into a very thin round, ten to fourteen inches in diameter. The moist dough initially clings to the surface, then comes away from the pan as it cooks; the entire process takes about twenty seconds. When the sheet is dry, it is piled on top of other sheets and wrapped to keep the dough fresh and soft. Commercial packaged warka is widely available in France and is generally labeled "feuilles d'ouarka" and "feuilles de brick" (from the Tunisian pastry brik). However, packaged warka in America and England is rare. Chinese spring roll (not egg roll) skins or frozen phyllo dough are often substituted.

  The traditional manner of using warka was frying, yielding the crispest pastry, but many people now prefer baking it. Among the most popular of warka pastries are rolls variously called dedos ("fingers" in Spanish), asabia ("fingers" in Arabic), and sigares/cigares (cigars"); and the classic Moroccan pastilla or bisteeya (pigeon pie). Algerians refer to potato-filled sigares, now prevalent in Israel, as beztels. Tunisians use warka, which they call malsouqa, for their national snack, brik pastries.

  (See also Brik, Pastilla, and Phyllo)

  Water

  In the beginning there was only water, the substance from which all life flowed. The Hebrew word for water—mayim—is in the plur
al form and thus actually means "waters." Mayim is also a palindrome, reading the same backward or forward, reflecting the water cycle of repeated precipitation and evaporation, birth and rebirth. Just as water is an unchanging cycle, so too is life.

  For most of history and in many locales, sources of water were scarce and those extant all too often proved tainted. Drought and famine were common. The limited amount of drinking water available primarily came from springs, collected rain water, or man-made wells, which were zealously guarded and frequently fought over. Cities grew up around limited water sources, such as the Gihon Spring of Jerusalem. The Israeli city of Beersheba means "well of the oath," named after Abraham's well. In many places, alcoholic beverages, notably beer and wine, were commonly consumed throughout the day instead of water. Eventually, people learned how to boil water and invented other forms of purification, such as filtering through sand and charcoal. In 1804, the first municipal water treatment plant was constructed in Scotland and throughout the nineteenth century, many urban areas in the Western world followed suit, transforming water into a safe and regular part of the diet.

  Mayim crops up throughout the Bible—the word is mentioned 180 times in the Pentateuch alone. Mayim shares the same root as "mah," meaning "what," revealing that in contemplation of water or immersing in it, a person feels insignificant and asks, "What am I?" This question appears in the context of water in an episode in Exodus. After three successive water-related incidents—Kriat haYam (splitting of the sea), the bitter water of Marah, and the twelve springs of Elim—the "whole congregation" murmured against Moses and Aaron. The two leaders then entreated, "What are we?" What humans are, amongst other things, is about 80 percent water. This seemingly simple combination of two molecules of hydrogen and one of oxygen is the ultimate source and vivifying agent of everything—all existence and all life.

  In Jewish tradition, water and bread are considered the essentials of the human diet and are, therefore, sources of blessing. In addition, water represents change, especially spiritual transformation such as the cleansing that occurs in the mikveh (ritual bath). In this vein, crossing bodies of water—Noah on the ark, Abraham westward over the Euphrates, Jacob over the brook upon his return to Canaan, the Jews through the splitting sea while leaving Egypt, and the Jews through the Jordan to enter Israel—are all occasions of momentous spiritual flux and development. Water is especially connected to Torah. The Talmud asserted, "Water means nothing but Torah, as it says, 'Ho, everyone that is thirsty come you for water,' " which is interpreted as "come for Torah."

  There are several instances of one-time water offerings found in the Bible, such as the offering of Samuel at Mitzpah and with King David. Water per se, however, was seldom employed in the Temple ritual, although a dip in the mikveh was necessary before entering. In the Temple, every burnt offering was accompanied with a flour offering (mixed with olive oil) and a wine offering; the latter was poured on the altar. An exception occurred during the seven days of Sukkot, when three lugim (around one quart) of pure water were drawn daily from the pool of Siloach and poured by the high priest on the altar at the regular morning offering simultaneously with the wine. Although not specifically mentioned in the Bible, the water libation (ritual pouring of a liquid) is considered in Jewish tradition to be "a law given to Moses at Sinai" and subsequently transmitted orally.

  The nature of the water libation was based on the famous verse from Isaiah, "You shall draw water with joy from the wells of salvation." Sukkot is the most joyous of festivals, and the most intense joy centered around the nisuch ha-mayim (pouring of the water). On the intermediate days, with the exception of the Sabbath, these festivities, called Simchat Beit ha-Shoavah (happiness of the place of water-drawing), were accompanied with great public celebrations, replete with music and song. The Talmud recounts that each evening, the people would gather in the courtyard of the outer Temple and "men of piety and good deeds danced with burning torches in their hands singing." The Mishnah asserted, "Whoever has not seen the Simchat Beit ha-Shoavah, has never seen rejoicing in his life."

  The timing of the water libation on Sukkot was "in order that the [ensuing] rainy season would be blessed." In Israel in the month of Cheshvan, corresponding to October and November, the extended dry season abruptly comes to an end with a series of intermittent showers that continue to fall for two months, called yoreh. The rain intensifies both in strength and duration during December becoming geshem, the soaking downpours that replenish the aquafilter and the Sea of Galilee. About 70 percent of the country's rainfall occurs in the three months from December through February. In late winter, the rain pauses, then falls intermittently during the month of Nisan (late March and April), the malkosh. In Jewish thought, the timing and amount of rain each year was a direct result of the divine will, which in turn was a direct consequence of the conduct of the Israelites.

  According to Jewish tradition, the biblical episode of Eliezer and Rebecca at the well occurred on the fifteenth of Tishrei, the first day of Sukkot, and the water libations of Sukkot were in recompense for Rebecca's act of kindness in giving water to Eliezer, his men, and his camels. The Torah associates the blessings of water with women. Jacob first encounters and falls in love with Rachel at a well. Moses' mother places the basket holding her son into the Nile. Miriam, in the spirit of her ancestors, waits to see what befalls Moses by the river and exalts God at the splitting of the sea, meriting the well of water that the Israelites in the wilderness enjoyed. Moses meets his wife Tzipporah by a well. It was the proactive nature of the biblical women—Sarah, Milcah, Deborah, Rebecca, Yocheved, and Miriam—that enabled them to shape and direct, frequently behind the scenes, the Jewish community.

  Water, like chesed (kindness), can be salutary, but in the wrong place and time, it can be dangerous and even deadly. As Jacob noted in his blessing of Reuben, "unstable as water does not allow your preeminence."

  Watercress

  Watercress, possibly a native of Turkey, is not a true cress, but a close relative of mustard. Watercress early on spread throughout much of Europe and Asia, growing wild near streams and ponds, but was first cultivated on a large scale in 1750. The plant became particularly popular in France. Watercress has small, dark green leaves that give a peppery flavor to salads, sandwiches, and soups.

  The Talmud mentioned the domain of King Alexander Yannai (c. 126—76 BCE), including Kefar Shachalayim (Village of Watercress) in Edom (modern-day west Jordan), explaining that the inhabitants made their living from watercress. In Roman times, the residents of Sepphoris would cook pots of fava beans seasoned with wine vinegar in the city's warm springs for the Sabbath—they called the dish shachalayim because watercress was also commonly seasoned with vinegar. The Talmud also included watercress among the plants exempt from the tithe, as it was only found wild.

  Watercress is believed to be a digestive and stimulant. Cooks predominantly use it fresh in salads and add it to soups. Moroccans enjoy the peppery flavor as a contrast to slices of oranges in a salad.

  Watermelon

  Among the six foods the Israelites longed for upon leaving bondage in Egypt were avatichim (watermelons), from the root batach (to swell/to be thick). More than three millennia later, watermelon is one of the favorite foods of modern Israel, engrained in the culture and cuisine. One of the most popular Israeli pioneer songs was the 1938 "Avatiach" by Shmuel Bass and Menashe Rabinowitz and arranged by Ernst Toch, which begins with these lines: "Not on a tree and not on a bush, on the ground it grows, also in the sun, also in the shade, avatiach." Among the more than fifty albums of Israel's longest-tenured and most respected singer, Chava Alberstein, is the 1971 gold record album Isha ba'Avatiach (A Woman in a Watermelon), featuring the music of young up-and-coming composers of that time.

  Watermelons, which probably originated in central Africa, have a dark green and yellow skin, a thick rind, and a pink to deep red flesh, which ranges in flavor from insipid to sweet. The avatiach of biblical times was quite different f
rom its modern descendants, and much less flavorful. The original watermelon was probably the tsamma melon of the Kalahari Desert. Watermelons were probably already cultivated by the Bronze Age. In Egyptian tombs dating back at least 5,000 years, watermelon seeds have been found, as well as wall paintings depicting small, round watermelons. While ripe watermelons provided a refreshing treat, immature ones, both fresh and dried, were cooked as a vegetable. Watermelons, which are relatively drought resistant, proved invaluable in Africa not so much as a food—though even the rinds and seeds were utilized—but rather as an important source of water; they are 90 percent water. Despite its high water and sugar content, it is also nutritious. In addition, the melon's numerous seeds made it a symbol of fertility.

  Unlike the large, oblong American watermelon varieties, Israeli avatiach are typically small and round; most are now seedless. Loud calls of "A-va-ti-ach, A-va-ti-ach" are common throughout the summer as either the farmers themselves or distributors sell fresh watermelon off their trucks to locals.

  Outside of Egypt, watermelons were first widely cultivated throughout the Middle East and other parts of Asia as early as three thousand years ago. Moors had introduced them to Spain by the thirteenth century. According to some historians, it was medieval Jews who first introduced watermelon cultivation to France. The word watermelon first appeared in English in 1615.