As Chanukah approaches so to the talk and excitement of Chanukah grows. This year I am struck by the tremendous focus on sufganiyot, latkes, and other foods for Chanukah. Everyone seems to want to recreate the sufganiyot in different varieties, flavors, motifs and themes for this popular, albeit unhealthy, food. One web site listed as “interesting” facts (I personally would call it a sad fact) that in Israel almost 18 million sufganiyot are eaten during the days of Chanukah. Also, many people are attempting to blend into Chanukah the different foods of Thanksgiving which overlaps Chanukah this year.
Is this how we honor the remembrance of the Jewish lives sacrificed for the honor of Hashem and to guarantee the continuation of His Torah and Mitzvos? Is this how we celebrate and praise Hashem for the rededication of the Beis Hamikdash (the Holy Temple) back to its pure state and His holy service? Is ingesting tasty innutritious food for our sensory pleasure the way to go? If so, it sounds Greek to me.
This year I wanted to find the source of this oily custom. I started by learning all the sources for Chanukah and the more I searched the more I was left with the nagging question, “Where is the oil?” I started with the Gemarah, then the Rishonim, Achronim, the major Halacah seforim, both Ashkenaz and Sefard and I couldn’t find any oil. Everyone holds there is a Mitzvah to light the Chanukah lights. Then starting with the Rishonim the custom to have cheese or a cooked cheese product is mentioned by almost everyone to remember and show honor to Yehudis for her bravery and sacrifice. With regard to a meal on Chanukah, some say there is no Mitzvah, some say it is a Mitzvah, and others say if you sing songs of praise to Hashem and speak words of Torah the meal becomes a Mitzvah. It is brought down by several Rabbis the importance of giving Tzdakah on Chanukah, but I couldn’t find any pre World War II sources that discuss oily foods. There was a fragment found in the name of the Rambam’s father translated from Arabic that no one seemed to know about until recently. I spoke to several older European people in my shul and they said there was no special Chanukah food when they were children in Europe. Can anyone help me find the oil?