Long Term Memories
Saturday, May 17, 2014
Welsh Rarebit -back in the 60s
My grandmother and mother sometimes made a dish called "Welsh Rarebit". It is a poor man's pizza. You make a cheese sauce with whatever herbs or extras you like and poor it on top of toast.
I used to enjoy this dish although, given the ubiquity of pizza, I have the latter.
I thought of it today. Our rabbi was giving a sermon on the subject of 'respect'. He told a story that came from a book of stories by Rabbi Riskin, now of Gush Etzion in Israel but formerly of Lincoln square in NY City. The story was from 1968. A couple had a boy and a bris was scheduled. Traditionally, the person who holds the boy before the bris or during the bris (the Sandek) is the father of the boy's father. However, the father of the boy's mother complained to Rabbi Riskin that the other grandfather, an Israeli, was not observant and ate rabbit. In the story, Rabbi Riskin ultimately decided that respect is the primary determinant and the 'rabbit eater' was the designated Sandek. I told our rabbi that this whole episode may have been based on a simple error because the Israelis of the 1960s did not eat rabbit (nor do they now) but probably meant 'rarebit' or 'welsh rarebit' which sounded to the other grandfather like 'rabbit'.
I used to enjoy this dish although, given the ubiquity of pizza, I have the latter.
I thought of it today. Our rabbi was giving a sermon on the subject of 'respect'. He told a story that came from a book of stories by Rabbi Riskin, now of Gush Etzion in Israel but formerly of Lincoln square in NY City. The story was from 1968. A couple had a boy and a bris was scheduled. Traditionally, the person who holds the boy before the bris or during the bris (the Sandek) is the father of the boy's father. However, the father of the boy's mother complained to Rabbi Riskin that the other grandfather, an Israeli, was not observant and ate rabbit. In the story, Rabbi Riskin ultimately decided that respect is the primary determinant and the 'rabbit eater' was the designated Sandek. I told our rabbi that this whole episode may have been based on a simple error because the Israelis of the 1960s did not eat rabbit (nor do they now) but probably meant 'rarebit' or 'welsh rarebit' which sounded to the other grandfather like 'rabbit'.
