Chickpeas at a Shalom Zakhar

What is it about?

There is a popular Ashkenazic custom to serve chickpeas at the Shalom Zachar celebration. Numerous homiletic reasons have been given for this in rabbinic literature. The origin of the custom lies in the practice to serve lentils, a food traditionally associated with mourning, at happy celebrations in order to confuse demonic forces who were understood to desire harming celebrants at such events. The chickpea was the lentil of choice due to its longstanding association with fertility.

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