Eating Herring With Your Hands: from parshablog

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2009

PARSHIOT

parshablog

Why eat herring with your hands?

There is apparently a specific shul in the neighborhood where the older mispallelim, at shaleshudes, eat herring with their hands. My father always suggested that the basis of this is minhag avoseinu beyadeinu.

But recently, Dr. David Segal related the reason they themselves give for it

(as far as I understand; unless it was his original joke...).

Towards the end of parshas Noach, the pasuk states:

ב וּמוֹרַאֲכֶם וְחִתְּכֶם, יִהְיֶה, עַל כָּל-חַיַּת הָאָרֶץ, וְעַל כָּל-עוֹף הַשָּׁמָיִם; בְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר תִּרְמֹשׂ הָאֲדָמָה וּבְכָל-דְּגֵי הַיָּם, בְּיֶדְכֶם נִתָּנוּ.

2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, and upon all wherewith the ground teemeth, and upon all the fishes of the sea: into your hand are they delivered.

Source: http://parsha.blogspot.com/2009/10/why-eat-herring-with-your-hands.html

Woody Allen's Herring Tale

"A man who could not marry off his ugly daughter visited Rabbi Shimmel of Cracow.

"My heart is heavy," he told the Rav, "because God has given me an ugly daughter."

"How ugly?" the Seer asked.

"If she were lying on a plate with a herring, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference."

The Seer of Cracow thought for a longtime and finally asked, "What kind of herring?"

The man, taken aback by the query, thought quickly and said, "Er-Bismarck".

"Too bad," the Rabbi said. "If it was Maatjes, she'd have a better chance."

Woody Allen, Getting Even

We're Making Herring!!!

ModiinMatjes

Fresh Hand-finished Herring Filets

Made in Modiin, ISRAEL

כשר פארווע- נעשה תחת השגחת הרב יהודה הלוי מישל

Herring or Sushi???

On our recent visit to New York City we had the opportunity to sample one of Schwartz's newer varieties of herring: Wassabi Dipped Herring!!!

Who would have guessed that this would be so good? But if you think about it, it makes sense. Schwartz Appetizing has always been a strong contender in the world of herring. They have introduced so many great varieties over the years and this is just another off-beat but excellent add to their list. Bang it back with a shot of Jack!!!

A Few Words From Sholem Aleichem

"A kind word is no substitute for a piece of herring"

These words are attributed to Sholem Aleichem (March 2, 1859 — May 13, 1916), the pen name of Solomon Naumovich Rabinovich, one of the Yiddish-speaking world's greatest authors and playwrights . He was born into a Hasidic family in Pereyaslav and grew up in the nearby shtetl of Voronko.

Hametz Free Herring: The Holiness of the People, and fish, of Eretz Yisrael

"Fisheries... change over to a hametz-free meal that is given to fish raised in the ponds. The Fishbreeders Association said that the factories...were scrupulously cleaned and prepared for Pesach and the meal was exchanged for one that does not contain grains" Full article

GUEST POST By Shlepper Son of Maven HaLevi

Mystical Herring: Fins & Scales

King Solomon built a pool of water at the Temple, representing the sea of Torah. Rabbi Akiva likened the Jewish people to fish swimming in the sea of Torah. There is an intrinsic link between fish and the essence of the Torah, which specifies fins for the sole purpose of enhancing and beautifying itself.

Nachmanides points out that fish with fins and scales usually swim close to the surface of the water, thus experiencing air and water simultaneously. This is what makes them kosher. Fish that do not have fins and scales live closer to the seabed, and are more liable to illness, rendering them unfit to eat both physically and spiritually...

Rav Yitzchak Ginsburg shlit"a : Cont'd

GUEST POST By: JJ HaLevi, Ibn Maven