One of the most recognizable Jewish dishes is the gefilte fish. Often served with a cooked carrot and a side of beets and horseradish sauce, known as chrein, it’s probably the most classic appetizer at any Ashkenazi shabbos table.

In this episode, we begin with the history of the gefilte and actually discover it wasn’t originally a Jewish creation! We then continue to learn why it nonetheless became an essential part of the Shabbos meals. In the process, we uncover the deep Kabbalistic reasons behind eating fish on shabbos in general, as well as the halachik (Jewish Law) reasons for specifically eating gefilte fish.

Happy Listening!

Rabbi Moshe

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Much of the history of gefilte fish discussed was taken from “Encyclopedia of Jewish Food” by Gil Marks and can be seen here: https://books.google.com/books?id=gFK_yx7Ps7cC&lpg=PP1&pg=PT691

A big thank you to Akiva Lorenz for helping me with the German pronunciations!

All the sources quoted in this podcast can be viewed on this source sheet: https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/378890?lang=bi