Hilchos Donuts: Did you know this?

amother

OP ↓

Yesterday at 7:30 am

It's a mitzva to eat donuts on Chanuka!

I used to think it's just a fun thing to do, and a yummy way to gain a lot of weight.
But last year someone alerted me to the fact that this is an old minhag brought down by the father of the Rambam. He says it's a minhag that on should not take lightly. (See here: https://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/4357) . There's nothing light about this minhag. In fact it's a very heavy minhag.

Some people have the chumra to increase their intake of donuts each night, so they eat one the first night, two the second, and so on, until the eighth night, when they consume 8 donuts. It's considered a hiddur mitzva if each donut has a different filling.

The minhag is to eat a donut filled with jelly (and there's a deep significance to that.) But in recent years, people have started filling them with caramel, vanilla custard, chocolate cream, dulce de Leche, pistachio custard, cookies and cream and even fleshing fillings. V'chol hamarbe, harei zeh meshubach.

How much donut is one required to eat? The minimum shiur is a kezayis, but it's best to eat at least two kezaysim in order to fulfill shitas Chazon Ish. In any case, one must be cognizant to eat a minimum amount in order to make an al hamichya. Some people are careful to weigh the donut on a food scale to ensure it is at least 8 Oz.

The real mitzva is in eating donuts which were deep- fried in oil. The baked kind, or those made in a donut maker, is akin to a "chinuch Lulav and Esrog set." It's definitly not mehudar, which is what we strive for on Chanuka. (Shemen zayis zach and all that.)

Yachol meRosh Chodesh. There is an inyan to start preparing on Rosh Chodesh Kislev. So you can start looking for recipes and taste testing different bakery donuts from Rosh Chodesh. The real chasidim will eat a donut each day from Rosh Chodesh, or at least from shavua shechal bo.

If you can't start early- such as if you work or are trying to watch your weight- Talmud Lomar, bayom hahu- you can fulfill the mitzva on Chanuka itself.

Who is mechuyav in this minhag? It says "Vesamachta bechagecha- you, your sons , your daughters, your slaves, maidservant, the Levi, convert, orphan and widow..." In short, it's a chiyuv on all of Klal Yisroel, and you even have to share some with your cleaning lady. But the ikkar mitzva is on the woman of the house, as we know that taking challa is one of the three mitzvos of a woman, and challa is taken from doughnuts. (When you make a large enough batch, which of course you will.)

Finally, how much do you have to spend on this mitzva? Chazal assure us that all hotzaos of Shabbos and Yom Tov are accounted for on Rosh Hashana. In other words, whatever you spend on donuts will be paid for by Hashem, so you don't have to budget for it. Nevertheless, Chazal have required that children receive Chanuka gelt so that they can go buy their own donuts, in case they didn't like the flavor they got in school. Also, many communities set up kimcha deChanuka funds to assist the needy in being able to afford donuts.

On Chanuka, we make sure that donuts are exchanged, ish lere'ahu, and that the woman who is voted as the best donut maker on the block gets nominated to make them again the following year.

And when the meshulachim come- as they inevitably do on Chanuka- it's considered meritorious to serve them donuts along with a donation because, kol haposhet yad, nosnim lo.

All these halachos can be found in Maseches Chanuka, in the section of Sufgania, siman 25.

amother

Daffodil

Yesterday at 7:33 am

Minhag not Mitzvah

boysrus

Yesterday at 7:34 am

hilarious OP! my teenage sons would love this... they always tell me that they need to beat their donut record from the previous year! lol

amother

↑ OP ↓

Yesterday at 7:47 am

amother Daffodil wrote:

Minhag not Mitzvah

On Imamother, these two terms are loosely interchanged. In any case, it's brought down in halacha.

This is from the link above:
Reb Shlom Zalman Auerbach in Halichos Shlomo Chelek Beis- Amud SHin Yud Tes: answers that we eat donuts, a mezonos food in order to make an Al Hamichyah, as in the al Hamichyah we mention the Mizbach and we know that part of the joy of Chanukah is the Chanukas Hamizbach.

polka dots ↓

Yesterday at 7:57 am

Thank you thank you! What a wonderful shuir to read at the onset of yom tov. It's always good to come into a yom tov prepared. Sometimes we get so carried away with the dough and the fillings and the toppings that we lose sight of the kavanah that's behind it.
I'm chassidish and we also hold that just as the matzah shows humility the rising donut should remind us of the greatness of our role.

amother

Fern

Yesterday at 8:01 am

amother Daffodil wrote:

Minhag not Mitzvah

Correct.
Do you know what satire is?

↑ polka dots ↓

Yesterday at 8:03 am

Another pshat I remember from high school is that a person, specific a Jewish mother, is like a donut. Yes she might be fluffy, puffy, and sometimes round. But just as a jelly filled donut her inside, her penimious, is filled with goodness.

keym ↓

Yesterday at 8:13 am

Im going to point out something important.
There are different shitas as to the ikar of the mitzvah.
The Ragav says it's the jelly
The Ralat says it's the custard
The Ramam says davka donuts with a hole
The Graty says you're not yotzei without sprinkles
And the Grabal says chocolate glaze is required.

A true yerei Hashem will make sure to follow every shita every day.

Ive heard nebbach nowadays people say that donuts are too fattening, too rich, too greasy.
Im going to try to be dlkz but I'd be really concerned to make a shidduch with such a family.

GLUE

Yesterday at 8:31 am

Do mini ones count?

CPenzias

Yesterday at 8:45 am

GLUE wrote:

Do mini ones count?

I say yes but I'm no rebetzin 😉 maybe it's ok as long as they have jelly

amother

Tanzanite ↓

Yesterday at 9:01 am

Thank you, OP! Cookie Corner has the most decadent looking doughnuts for $9. Now I can justify the cost, knowing that I get a mitzvah with every scrumptious bite! Who knew that mitzvos can taste so good?!?

amother

Salmon ↓

Yesterday at 9:11 am

GLUE wrote:

Do mini ones count?

From what I remember learning you have to have at least 4.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Yesterday at 9:17 am

amother Salmon wrote:

From what I remember learning you have to have at least 4.

According to the Mishpacha Brura, 4 mini ones count as 1 big one, but if the donuts have holes, you need 6. Alternatively, you can fill in the missing amount by eating donut holes.
In any case, that's why a lot of people try to get the Israeli style donuts instead of the American ones (with the holes) because it's much harder to calculate.
B'shaas hadchak- you can be yotzei with American donuts.

↑ polka dots ↓

Yesterday at 10:05 am

I heard that waterdale came out with a new acrylic board with gold handles that has measurements of donuts on it. You can place your donut on the board to see if your yotzei. It makes life so much easier. Getting it for all my kids Morahs this year.

BusyBoys ↓

Yesterday at 10:10 am

amother OP wrote:

Are you sure Israeli style is good enough?

Lots of Mitzvos are valid only if actually done in the holy land.
I’ll have to look a little bit further into this.

Also, according to talmidah chachamah, the doughnuts have to weigh in at 65 g each- goes by weight and not actual size

amother

Chambray

Yesterday at 10:19 am

amother

↑ Salmon ↓

Yesterday at 10:42 am

My great great cousin twice removed wouldn't mish, only ate homemade donuts. Anyone else has this minchag? maybe you're my long lost relative.
OP can you find the source fo not mishing donuts on chanuka?

amother

↑ OP ↓

Yesterday at 10:45 am

BusyBoys wrote:

I heard of this shita, but my rav holds that size is also good to figure out the volume. You can measure it with a ruler or use the plate method. As usual, don't pasken according to imamother. Ask your LOR.

Regarding whether it only applies to the Holy land, the Shulchan Aruch Harabanit cites a source that says that since the story of Chanuka happened in Eretz Yisroel, mideoraisa, it should apply only there. But miderabanan, since the enemies were from chutz Learetz, we keep the mitzva of donuts out of EY as well.

↑ keym ↓

Yesterday at 10:54 am

amother OP wrote:

Mehadrin min hamehadrin is that chutz laretz has to eat double the required amount of donuts but some can't be your favorite kind as a knas.
What can I say
It's clearly halacha

amother

Clover ↓

Yesterday at 10:58 am

polka dots wrote:

Omg