Inyan to eat farfel and chicken soup friday night?

amother

Sun, Feb 14 2021, 10:38 pm

Someone chassidish told us that there is an inyan to eat farfel and chicken soup friday night. Why?

avrahamama

Sun, Feb 14 2021, 10:42 pm

I feel like "inyan" is used for Torah and halacha. Chicken soup and farfel might be a family minhag?

dena613

Sun, Feb 14 2021, 11:03 pm

one thing I once heard is that the names of lots of shabbos foods add up, in gematria or mispar kattan, to 7(shabbos).
Like
Marak (soup)
Mem 4(0)
Reish 2(00)
Kuf 1(00)
4+2+1=7

Same with dag

dena613

Sun, Feb 14 2021, 11:04 pm

Not a jewish source (so take with a grain of salt), spruce eats website, says

Farfel Tradition
At the Friday night Sabbath meal, the Baal Shem Tov, the father of Chassidut, would eat farfel. He explained that farfel is related to the Yiddish word farfallen which means done, over, finished. Whatever happened during the week or in the past is finished; Friday night is the time to put the past in the past, move on, begin anew. Thus began the custom to eat farfel during the Sabbath evening meal.

flowerpower

Sun, Feb 14 2021, 11:07 pm

There is an english book that says why we eat what shabbos. Look into buying it. You may find it interesting

PinkFridge

Sun, Feb 14 2021, 11:41 pm

dena613 wrote:

We had a chassidish guest whom we cooked farfel special for. I thought that was a lovely explanation.

amother

Tan

Sun, Feb 14 2021, 11:55 pm

"It's an inyan" is how some frum people say "habit."

There's a comfort in tradition, so lots of families eat the foods they know. Afterwards, you can give cute meanings, like farfallen for farfel.

I once met an elderly Italian Jew who reminisced about his grandmother's Friday night meal of meat lasagna and artichokes. It's not a menu I associate with shabbos, but to him, that's traditional shabbos food.

PinkFridge

Mon, Feb 15 2021, 8:54 am

Thisisnotmyreal wrote:

When making kugel, it's brought down to have in mind the ketores

What's the connection?

avrahamama

Mon, Feb 15 2021, 9:49 am

amother [ Tan ] wrote:

That would be amazing. I'd love that recipe.

Chayalle

Mon, Feb 15 2021, 9:59 am

These are all lovely concepts, but it's important to remember that these minhagim are not Halacha, and people who have other minhagim are just as Jewish. And you don't get a bigger mitzvah for serving it, unless that's what enhances your oneg shabbos. We make chicken soup because we like it, but not farfel (too many carbs) because we prefer a salad. It's greater oneg Shabbos for us.

My DD's Syrian-Sephardi friend has a different menu than we do, but when DD went there for Shabbos, they made chicken soup specially for her. Though she greatly appreciated the gesture, she was just fine with their mazzah, which she happens to really enjoy, and did not miss kugel in the slightest.

ShishKabob

Mon, Feb 15 2021, 1:11 pm

I don't know the reason for farfel, but I'm sure as day that there is a very good one for it. If you don't do it fine. If you do do it, I would say that you do YES get extra schar for doing it and keeping your traditions.

zaq

Tue, Feb 16 2021, 3:31 pm

Chayalle wrote:

These are all lovely concepts, but it's important to remember that these minhagim are not Halacha, and people who have other minhagim are just as Jewish. .

Furthermore, the term "minhag" should be reserved for practices that have a halachic basis as minhag Yisrael. Just doing something because your granny did it or serving certain foods because that's what was available in Boiberik or La-Makan when your great-granny lived there may make it a family custom but does not give it the status of a "minhag."