The Doughnut Craze

A few years ago, I was at a bris on Chanukah, and after the primary part of the ceremony was completed, I met the mohel, who was also the rabbi in a nearby shul. He was wearing a white shirt under his jacket, and I was a bit astounded to see how full of blood the shirt was.

It was only a few minutes later that I noticed the mohel was eating a jelly doughnut, with at least half the jelly from the doughnut leaking onto his once-pristine shirt. I knew the parents and the eight-day-old infant, and was relieved to see that all the red stuff on his shirt was just jelly.

Today, there’s an even greater chance that under the same circumstances, which means at a bris, the shirt in question may have been dotted with gooey custard or Nutella rather than jelly, which can be easily mistaken for blood.

That said, this is the week that both doughnuts—especially jelly doughnuts for some reason—along with potato latkes, are literally a craze that have created a compulsion to buy them with a kind of religious fervor that we usually attach to, for example, matzos on Pesach.

Now, you may find this disappointing, but there is no mitzvah that I know of that involves buying doughnuts or making latkes. Neither is there any type of obligation to consume them. In fact, it may not be such a great idea to consume both of these traditional foods at the same time since it could contribute significantly to how well your clothes fit you the next morning.

Doughnuts and their infinite number of varieties have become such a craze during Chanukah that it warrants the creation of pop-up stores to meet the demand.

I have not seen them myself, but I’ve heard that some of these doughnuts sell for $20 a pop. Most, however, are in the $5 to $10 range.

I was at a family Chanukah party a few days ago that featured homemade doughnuts with no filling inside. But each guest had the option of covering his or her doughnut with a variety of toppings. I chose chocolate, but I saw a few people walking around with a white topping that could have been vanilla. And then I saw a blue topping that left me baffled since I had no idea what it was supposed to taste like. Blueberry?

To give equal time to the latkes, it’s worth noting that the key ingredient in latkes is supposed to be potato. But so often when they’re store bought, you find them in anything but potato.

The common denominator in both of these items is of course oil. And that is because the miracle of Chanukah revolves around the fact that the Maccabees returned to Jerusalem and discovered one small cruse of pure olive oil bearing the seal of the High Priest Yochanan. It was a small flask that would normally light the Temple Menorah for one day, but instead lasted for eight days. Hence, the eight-day observance of the chag.

But the story is also about the Maccabees themselves, a small military group whose name is an acronym of the four Hebrew words inscribed on their banner, Mi Kamocha Ba’kelim Hashem, “Who is like unto Thee amongst the mighty, Hashem.” The Maccabees took on the Syrian Greeks and were able to overcome the odds and defeat them. As we say in Al Hanisim, the miracles we celebrate are about, “delivering the mighty into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of the few, the impure into the hands of the pure, the wicked into the hands of the righteous, and the wanton sinners into the hands of those who occupy themselves with Torah…”

When you reflect on how the Chanukah miracle began 2,190 years ago in 165 BCE and how it is observed and celebrated today, there is quite a dichotomy, especially when you consider that the world is in many ways still waging this war.

For instance, the objective of the Jew-haters is one aspect of the historical face-off that has changed dramatically. Back then, their goal was not about eliminating or killing Jews. The Greeks wanted to strip the Jews of their Jewish identity by wiping out the study of Torah and their dedication to Jewish tradition. Later on, the objective of our enemies evolved into murdering the Jews, which culminated in the Holocaust and has again raised its ugly head in the form of radical Islamic terror.

And to that end, several European countries are in serious trouble and at risk of having Islamic majorities in the near future, which will use their majority vote as a way of redefining what it means to live in Europe and be a European.

Yet, most baffling of all, the leaders of countries like England and France—even this week—are expressing their concern about Islamophobia, which in reality does not exist. In the aftermath of the massacre in Sydney, I saw a video on X featuring Keir Starmer, the prime minister of Great Britain, expressing his concern about the safety of Muslims in England. It’s not clear whether these comments were made before last Sunday or after. Nevertheless, his comments smacked of absurdity and ridiculousness, not to mention denial of the obvious.

And we cannot overlook the central role of the dreidel. Today it has evolved into a game where you have a kosher opportunity to do a little gambling and perhaps make or lose a few dollars. The history of the dreidel is that it was a Greek game that the ancient Jewish community utilized so as to deceive those policing them against Torah study, so they could continue learning while making their oppressors believe they were just playing a game.

In terms of Chanukah, it’s much easier for the purpose of this essay to stick with writing about the popularity of jelly doughnuts and latkes. Since I began writing this piece, aside from the great assortment of doughnuts, I’ve also learned that there are different approaches to latkes.

I now know that some foodies create cauliflower or zucchini latkes while others dabble in cheese latkes. For purists, however, the way to go is potato. But as you know, potato alone will not do the trick or capture the essence of what Chanukah is all about. This traditional food is not complete without either a generous helping of applesauce or sour cream to go along with it. While my personal choice is applesauce, I respect the sour cream and latke combination, just not for me.

That said, let’s hope and pray that our biggest dilemma is which doughnut or latke to partake of. Here’s wishing you and your family a happy and healthy Shabbos Chanukah. 

Read more of Larry Gordon’s articles at 5TJT.com. Follow 5 Towns Jewish Times on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for updates and live videos. Comments, questions, and suggestions are welcome at 5TJT.com and on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.