Empanada and The Ten Commandments
Remember the Day of Shabbat” is how we are told in the Ten
Commandments in Parshat Yitro to keep Shabbat. (Shemot 20 - 7) One of the
favorite ways of remembering Shabbat is by Dining. We demonstrate that it is
Shabbat by spending time to enjoy special food and to enjoy each other. (See http://milknhoney.co.il/torah/beshala4.html
that discusses remembering G-d’s creation by sitting back and doing nothing)
Every Jewish community has its special foods that are
prepared and eaten in honor of Shabbat. These are usually based on a Jewish
twist of local cuisine. These twists
usually involve Kashrut and Shabbat issues.
An oily empanada is an example of both of these. Empanadas
that were served to Medieval Spanish Jews might have contained chicken, lamb,
or even beef, as well as fried onions
and peppers. Tomatoes had not been discovered in the Americas until the Jews
were thrown out Spain. This filling would be covered with dough and fried in
pure olive oil.
Rabbi Yosef Karo in his Shulchan Aruch (Organized Table)
states, “It is permissible to place an “Empanada” near the fire in a place that
is hot enough to scathe the hand even though the fat stuck to the Empanada
melts.” The Rama”h in his glosses states that Ashkenazim are accustomed to be
strict unless it is absolutely required, than one can rely on the first opinion. (Siman 318 – 17)
Many complicated rabbinic discussions went into this Halacha
at least since the 12th or 13th century CE. The essential
questions involve squeezing, creating something new and cooking on Shabbat.
Most Empanada recipes call for certain forbidden meats and
combing meat with milk. In order to make it both delicious and kosher other
ingredients and cooking methods were employed.
To make such a kosher dish in honor of Shabbat lunch one
would want to reheat it. The rabbis
always gave classes on the laws of Shabbat. The rabbis also certainly made
Empanadas in honor of their own Shabbat lunch and needed to instruct those who
attended to the kitchen the appropriate way of reheating lunch.
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