What could be more delicious than a perfectly baked piece of salmon, crispy fried tilapia, or tasty morsel of schmaltz herring? For Jews, though, fish are much more than a scrumptious supper—they play a key role in many cherished, time-honored traditions and customs. Read on for 15 things Jews do with fish.
1. Check for Fins and Scales
The very first thing a Jew does with any fish is make sure it is kosher. To be kosher, a fish must have both fins and scales.1 Once a fish meets this requirement, that’s it, it’s kosher—it doesn’t need to be ritually slaughtered and you don’t need to salt it to remove blood.2
Read: All About Kosher Fish
2. Keep Separate From Meat…
We all know that keeping kosher requires separating meat and milk. But did you know that meat and fish should be kept separate too?3 This is based on a Talmudic teaching that eating the two together is unhealthy.4 It is therefore common practice to rinse one’s mouth and change dishes between fish and meat courses.
3. … And Maybe From Milk Too
Some Jews don’t eat fish with dairy either.5 Others limit this practice to mixing fish with plain milk, but are OK with milk products—so go ahead and enjoy your bagel with lox and cream cheese!6
Read: Is Lox and Cream Cheese Kosher?
4. Eat on Shabbat
There is an ancient Jewish tradition to eat fish on Shabbat,7 a practice beloved by Jews of all backgrounds—Ashkenazi, Sephardic, and beyond. Many explanations are given for this beautiful custom, ranging from the simple to the esoteric. (See the link below for eleven reasons!)
Read: Why Eat Fish on Shabbat?
5. Ashkenazim: Gefilte Fish
Ashkenazi Jews often serve their Shabbat fish in the form of gefilte fish—ground fish mixed with spices. It is said that one reason is to avoid the issue of removing bones from fish on Shabbat, which can involve halachic complications.
Read: What Is Gefilte Fish?
6. Eat With Their Hands
Long before forks and knives became the norm, people often ate with their hands. On Shabbat, some Jews would specifically eat their fish this way, as a way of showing their love for this special tradition.8
7. Hungarians: Faux Fish for Passover
In parts of Eastern Europe, Jews avoided fish on Passover because sellers preserved it with whiskey.9 Instead, creative mothers made a “mock” gefilte fish from ground chicken, known in Yiddish as falshe fish. To this day, many Jews of Hungarian descent cherish this Passover specialty.
Try our falshe fish recipe
8. Start the New Year With Them
Because fish multiply quickly, they’re a symbol of fruitfulness. That’s why it’s customary to eat fish on the first night of Rosh Hashanah—to express the hope that we should increase and be fruitful in the coming year.10 Many eat the head of a fish, symbolizing that we should be “like the head and not the tail.”11
9. Pray Near Them on Rosh Hashanah
On the first afternoon of Rosh Hashanah, Jews gather near a body of water for Tashlich, where special prayers are said. Ideally, that water should contain fish. Besides symbolizing fruitfulness, fish, hidden beneath the surface, are seen as a sign of protection from the evil eye.12
Read: 10 Facts About Tashlich
10. Eat Before Yom Kippur
Before Yom Kippur, Jews eat two festive meals, one in the morning and one in the late afternoon. The morning meal traditionally includes fish, but not the afternoon meal.13
The Midrash tells of a Jewish tailor in Rome who once paid the exorbitant price of 12 dinars for the only fish at the market to eat before Yom Kippur. Inside, he found a precious stone worth a fortune, which sustained him for the rest of his life—a reward for his efforts to honor the Day of Atonement.14
11. Use as a Kaparot Replacement
On the eve of Yom Kippur, Jews perform the kaparot ceremony, in which a chicken is waved over the head while a prayer is recited. If a chicken isn’t available, a live kosher fish can be used instead.15 (While this is found in many halachic works, it does not seem to be common.)
Read: The Kaparot Ceremony
12. Associate Them With Adar
Each Hebrew month corresponds to one of the zodiac signs. Adar is linked with Pisces—the fish. This is why the villain Haman chose Adar for his planned destruction of the Jews, saying, “Just as fish swallow their prey, I will swallow them.” But G‑d responded: “Wicked one! Sometimes fish swallow, and sometimes they are swallowed. You will be swallowed by them!”16
Read: Be Like a Fish
13. Moroccans: Serve It to a New Couple
In Morocco, the first meal served to a bride and groom traditionally included fish, symbolizing the blessing that their union should be fruitful, just like fish.17
14. Fish First, Meat Second
At meals where both fish and meat are served, fish is customarily eaten first. On a practical level, fish is more easily digested.18 But there’s spiritual significance too: Fish don’t need slaughtering or salting to be kosher—they’re ready for us to elevate right away.19 Starting with fish reminds us to begin with the areas of life that are easier to spiritually elevate before moving on to the harder work.
15. Eating Fish Eyes
Some great Jewish leaders had the custom of eating the eyes of the fish, especially on Shabbat. Why? Because just as fish never close their eyes, we are reminded that G‑d’s “eyes” are always open, watching over us and giving us blessings. Other tzaddikim would even carry fish eyes with them (though not on Shabbat!) as a safeguard against the evil eye.20
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