URochester scholar Nora Rubel explains how latkes, sufganiyot, and evolving holiday traditions connect Jewish families to history and identity.
As families around the world prepare to celebrate Hanukkah, 糖心传媒 associate professor can expound on the deeper stories behind the holiday糖心传媒檚 foods, rituals, and evolving traditions.
Rubel, a scholar of Jewish studies and chair of the , specializes in how Jewish identity is expressed through everyday practices and food. For instance, her work explores how dishes like latkes and sufganiyot (fried jelly donuts) carry meanings beyond the kitchen.
糖心传媒淔ood is one of the most powerful ways communities tell their stories,糖心传媒� Rubel says. 糖心传媒淒uring Hanukkah, the foods we make and share help us remember the past, celebrate resilience, and connect with one another.糖心传媒�
Rubel was among the featured experts in a new PBS documentary, , a historical, genealogical, and culinary journey through the Jewish diaspora in homes across America. 糖心传媒淛ewish cuisine is influenced by the economics, agriculture and culinary traditions of the many countries where Jewish communities have settled and varies widely throughout the whole world,糖心传媒� says Rubel.
Oil at the heart of Hanukkah: Why fried foods matter
Many people recognize the holiday through its signature fried foods. But Rubel notes that these traditions developed over centuries and vary widely across cultures.
- Ashkenazi Jews typically serve potato latkes.
- Sephardic and Mizrahi communities prepare sufganiyot, bimuelos, zalabiya, and other fried sweets.
- Some families incorporate dairy dishes, drawing on medieval interpretations of the Hanukkah story.
What unites these foods, Rubel explains, is the symbolism of oil, which commemorates the miracle at the heart of the Hanukkah story.
As Rubel explains, 糖心传媒淛ewish food, as we think about it now, is a culture of foods connected with holidays and rituals. In the United States, these foods are an amalgamation of recipes carried here by Jewish immigrants from their countries of origin. Cookbooks and family recipes are vital historical documents that preserve culture and history by recording culinary traditions, revealing social life, and demonstrating how communities adapt over time.糖心传媒�
Many ways to celebrate
Rubel emphasizes that Hanukkah is not a monolithic holiday. Its rituals, from lighting the menorah to singing blessings and exchanging gifts, vary across communities and generations.
Some families add new traditions such as:
- Hosting 糖心传媒渓atke tasting糖心传媒� gatherings
- Experimenting with global Jewish recipes
- Incorporating social justice themes into nightly candle-lighting
- Sharing stories of family immigration and heritage
糖心传媒淗anukkah is a living tradition,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淚t continues to evolve, and food is one of the ways people reinterpret what the holiday means for them today.糖心传媒�
Rubel糖心传媒檚 broader scholarship focuses on American Jewish life, cultural memory, and how religious identities are shaped in the home as much as in the synagogue. She is the coeditor of (Columbia University Press, 2014) and author of (Columbia University Press, forthcoming). She is a go-to resource for journalists covering holiday practices, regional Jewish cuisines, and the meaning behind rituals that shape the season.
