Title: GELFILTE FISH STORY
Categories: Information, Passover
Yield: 1 servings
-LAWRENCE SHERRY (HXGP67A)
Many times I have been upset by people who seem to
think that gefilte fish is some kind of mixture you
make in the kitchen rather than one of Hashem's
creatures. This has led me to explain exactly what a
gefilte fish is. So once again> here goes.
Each year as soon as the frost on the Great Gefilte
Lakes (located Upatate New York somewhere in the
Catskill Mountains) is thin enough to break the
surface, Frum fishermen set out to "catch" gefilte
fish. Now unlike your normal fish, gefilte fish can
not be caught with a rod and a reel or your standard
bait.
The art of catching gefilte fish was handed down for
hundreds, maybe thousands of years. For all I know
Moses used to go gefilte fish catching. I'm sure that
the Great Rambam (Maimonides) when he wasn't busy
playing doctor> spent his leisure time G/F fishing.
Enough already, you say, so how is it done? Well you
go up to the edge of lake with some Matzoh. Now this
is very important!! It has to be Shmurah Matzoh or the
fish will not be attracted. You stand at the edge of
the lake and whistle and say "here boy", "here boy".
The fish just can't resist the smell of the Matzoh
They come in mass to the edge of the lake where they
jump into the jars and are bottled on the spot.
Again you must remember that there are two kinds of
gefilte fish. The strong and the weak. The weak are
your> standard fish which are in a loose "broth" (it
is actually the lake water). Now the strong are
special. They seem to be in a "jell". These fish are
actually imported from the Middle East where they are
caught in the dead sea. They have to be strong to be
able to swim through that "jell".
Last year a well meaning gentleman tried to correct
me by stating, "Reb, shouldn't they be saying Here
Boychic". I didn't have the heart to tell him, Boychic
is a Yiddish word and Gefilte Fish don't understand
Yiddish! Only Hebrew and surprisingly, English! There
has been a big debate as to whether to use the Hebrew
or English in the US. With a big break from tradition,
shockingly the English is accepted by almost all G/F
fishermen. Some still insist on using the Hebrew and
consider the use of "Here Boy" as Reform and not
Halachicly acceptable. However the Congress of OU
Rabbis (who have to be present at the lakes when the
fish are bottled) uniformly accept "here boy"! The
time of the catch is very important! The fish can not
be caught before Purim is over or the fish are
considered Chametz! Besides the fish know when Pesach
is coming and will not respond to the Matzoh before
the proper> time.
I am still a little bothered by which end of the fish
is the head and which the tail (not to mention that I
am not sure where their eyes are). This is a small
price to pay the luxury of eating this delicacy.
Have you ever had the baby G/F? Oy, they are so cute
that I feel a little guilty eating them! Have a great
Pesach and hope that the Matzoh doesn't affect you
like Pepto Bismol or worse yet, prunes! Shalom, Reb
Sherry MORE STORY Oy,I forgot to mention about the
fish swimming up stream. I didn't think it was that
important, but I have got this Yenta sitting next to
me that is married to some machugina dentist from some
hick town that keeps hocking me in chinic "they swim
up stream , they swim up stream".
Alright so I had to get her off mine cup. Go away >
Yenta and mind your own business. If you don't like
the way I tell the story, tell it yourself.
You know I think that I just discovered the
definition of a Jewish wife. It's someone that nudges
you to do something and then when you finally do it
just to get them off your back, they become mavins and
tell you how you should have done it! OK not all
Jewish wives just the one who has been sitting next to
me for almost 23 years! Shalom, Reb Sherry
