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THE

Cleftit
Fish
STORY

How an East European
food tradition came
to include car
plaques and T-shirts.

'
You ve always
wondered ...
now you know.

Here is your chance to
learn all kinds of corn-
pelling and unusual
facts about Jewish life
throughout the years.
Now You Know intro-
duces you to famous
scholars and infamous
gangsters, considers deci-
sions and incidents that con-
tinue to shape the way we live
today and tells you the story
behind everything from clas-
sic Jewish texts to Hollywood
feuds. It's history, and it's
fun; sit down and learn a
little (best of all, there are
no homework assign-
ments).

10/4
2002

100

ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM
AppleTree Editor

my a few years ago, car
mezuzot were as popu-
lar as Jennifer Aniston's
hairstyles.
Some clever entrepreneur
came up with the idea for a tiny
mezuzah, to be placed near the
driver's door, which contained a
Jewish prayer for protection
during travel. Never mind that
nothing in Halachah, Jewish
law, requires a mezuzah for a car
(mezuzot are specifically for
doorways of rooms in which one
actually lives); everybody want-
ed one.

Now, though, the car mezuzah
is rather passe, leaving many
Jewish drivers in search of some-
thing new, and equally mesmer-
izing, to place on their cars.
Meet the gefilte fish car
plaque.
Made of alluring "molded
black plastic" and "chrome plat-
ed," this five-inch-long gem
costs a mere $7 and would make
any car feel proudly Jewish. (In
case you're actually interested in
ordering it, check out:
www.rof.com/
plaque gefiltesilver.htm).
Like chicken soup, kreplach
(dumplings) and the bagel,
gefilte fish is a distinctly Jewish
food. Whether sold in jars or
frozen loaves or made fresh, it is
the beginning of many Shabbat
meals and virtually every Pesach
seder. How did this concoc-
tion — a mixture of various
fish, eggs and spices —
come about, anyway?
Here, at last, is the
Gefilte Fish Story.
Gefilte is Yiddish for
"stuffed" or "filled." Initially, it
was called "gefilte fish" because
it filled up baked fish. Today,
however, few serve gefilte fish
inside anything. Instead, "gefilte
fish" is the food itself.
Inarguably, gefilte fish must
contain carp.
There is a charming little
story, The Fish in the Bathtub by
Barbara Cohen, about a Jewish
family who

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must temporarily house a carp,
planned for dinner, in their
bathroom; alas, the children
become so attached to the fish
they don't want to eat it.
Second, gefilte fish usually
includes whitefish (which is
rather sweet, as far as fish go),
and pike, as well.
The fish is mixed with matzah
meal or flour, eggs and spices
and cooked in a fish broth.
After that, however, the issue
becomes a bit sensitive.
Jews from Lithuania and
Russia insist their gefilte fish be
spicy, peppery.
Jews from Romania, Germany
and Austria usually prefer the
sweeter variety.
There is a reason so much
effort, and concern, is put into
this fish dish.
In Genesis, Chapters 1-2, the
story of creation recounts how
"God blessed them," speaking
of man, Shabbat and fish. Thus,
the three are always connected.
When the Messiah comes, we
are told, Jews everywhere will
enjoy the leviathan, a legendary
fish that will have a magnificent
flavor. In anticipation of our
feast on the leviathan, we dine
on the fish available now.
Further, fish are often identi-
fied, in the Tanach, as related to
procreation. This is not to say
that eating fish will bring you
children. In fact, you should
always check with your physi-
cian before consuming fish
while pregnant, since some
seafood is unhealthy for preg-
nant women and the infirm.
Virtually all of the leading
Jewish food companies, such as
Streit's and Manischewitz and
Rokeach (pronounced Ro-kay-
ach), make jarred gefilte fish.
Manischewitz boldly asserts that
nothing compares to
Manischewitz Gefilte Fish, the
perfect appetizer for holidays or
any other time during the year."
A number of other, smaller

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