Coffee Talk…
Jewish Life Specialist
The Origins of Coffee
- It is said that coffee can be traced back to 15th century Yemenite Sufi circles. Coffee was found to be beneficial to keep them awake for nightly devotional exercises.
- The first mention of coffee in Jewish history was in a responsa (question and answer lessons) from Rabbi David ibn Abi Zimra (Radbaz) in the 16th century concerning its level of kashrut, both when prepared by those who weren’t Jewish, as well as when drunk in coffeehouses.
- Rabbi Moses Zacuto, a 17th century Italian rabbi also wrote about coffee in a responsa regarding uses for it with overnight rituals.
This text below corroborates Rabbi Zacuto’s usage of coffee for evening prayers by an 18th century Rabbi Gedaliah of Siemiatycze.
“And at midnight all the lights in the cave were extinguished, and they sat in the darkness reciting Tikkun Hazot in a lachrymose voice. After they completed the Tikkun they studied some Zohar, and then the drink called coffee was brought, quite hot, and given to each person…Afterwards songs and hymns are recited . . . and there is celebration until the morning. At first light the morning prayers are recited and all return home in peace.” (PDF) Elliott Horowitz, “Coffee, Coffeehouses, and the Nocturnal Rituals of Early Modern Jewry,” AJS Review, vol. 14, no. 1 (Spring 1989): 17-46
*Tikkun Hatzot is a prayer recited after midnight to mourn the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.
Elliott Horowitz writes that coffee as a stimulant had an influence on evening rituals in Jewish life including Tikkun Hatzot, Tikkun Layl Shavuot, as well as Hoshanah Rabbah rituals by the 18th centuries. It allowed Jews to stay awake after midnight.
*All of the above facts gleaned from Coffee, Coffeehouses, and the Nocturnal Rituals of Early Modern Jewry.
The Influence of Coffee as a Social Phenomenon:
Coffeehouses became popular meeting places. The first coffee house in Europe was said to have opened in Italy around 1632-1647.* In the Ghetto of Venice there were two. The first coffee house in England was opened in 1652 by someone known as “Jacob the Jew”, and in Vienna one opened by 1683. By 1715 there were more than 2000 coffeehouses in the London area.
*Multiple dates are found for the first coffee house, though the majority seem to agree on it being in Italy around this time.
The kaffeehaus was introduced to Germany by the Dutch in the mid 1660’s and it was in central Europe that they really flourished as centers for social and intellectual dialogue.
By the 19th century, both Jews and non-Jews could refine their intellectual ideas while sitting in a coffee shop, often a place that served pastries. Vienna, Prague, Berlin and Budapest became well known for such establishment.
Writer Stefan Zweig, psychologist Alfred Adler, even Theodor Herzl were among those who sat in coffee shops exchanging ideas and engaging with others during the Enlightenment period. The Story of Jews and Coffee
Overtime, these important places for the exchange of ideas often became associated with Jewish places. In Austria, das Wiener Kaffeehaus was listed as a protected intangible cultural heritage site by UNESCO. Jews and Joe – Tablet Magazine
The coffee wasn’t the only thing consumed at these shops; pastries became a large part of the culture. Yeast breads, baked goods, coffee cakes, even my family’s Austrian heritage Gugelhupf, spread around Europe and eventually to America. By the end of the 1800’s, the coffee cake had overtaken the British tea cake.
Maxwell House, as well as other American companies noted the influence in Jewish
circles and eventually began targeting Jewish consumers. The Maxwell House Passover Haggadah was published in 1931 to dispel the notion that a coffee bean was a kind of a legume and not a berry, thus making it unkosher for Passover.
*Unless otherwise cited, above facts gleaned from the Encyclopedia of Jewish Food by Gil Marks.
What is coffee made from and what blessing to say?
The coffee tree is an evergreen shrub that bears fruit. The beans are found in coffee cherries. The tree is indigenous to Ethiopia, where the berries and leaves were chewed.
The question of what blessing to say when drinking coffee comes from the question of whether coffee is like a snack, like water, or whether it takes on the characteristics of the beans. A comparable example in the Talmud studies water in which beets and turnips were boiled to help derive an answer.
אָמַר רַב פָפָא: פְּשִׁיטָא לִׁי מַיָא דְּסִׁלְּקָא — כְּסִׁלְּקָא, וּמַיָא דְּלִׁפְּתָא — כְּלִׁפְּתָא, וּמַיָא דְּכוּלְּהוּ שִׁלְּקֵי — כְּכוּלְּהוּ
?שִׁלְּקֵי. בָעֵי רַב פָפָא: מַיָא דְּשִׁיבְּתָא מַאי? לְּמַתוֹקֵי טַעְּמָא עָבְּדִׁי, אוֹ לְּעַבוֹרֵי זוּהֲמָא עָבְּדִׁי לַהּ
Rav Pappa said: It is clear to me that beet water, water in which beets were boiled, has the same status as beets, and turnip water has the same status turnips, and the water in which all boiled vegetables were boiled has the same status as all boiled vegetables. Talmud, Brachot 39a
One could argue that coffee beans grow on trees so the blessing should be the same as for foods that are grown on trees. Ultimately, most halakhic authorities say that because coffee grinds will get thrown out (ie, you don’t consume them), the blessing is not for foods grown on trees, but for other substances.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָּ, אֱלֹ הֵֽינוּ מֵֶֽלֶךְ הָּעוֹלָּם, שֶהַכֹּל נִהְיֶה בִדְבָּרוֹ
Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha-olam, s’hakol n’hiyeh bidvaro.
Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Creator of the universe, through
Whose word everything came to be.
What role does coffee play in your life?
How important are coffee shops in America, Europe or Israel today?
Fair trade coffee and the ethical treatment of coffee roasters is becoming a part of the coffee dialogue today. Is this important in your life?
Have you considered the use of coffee for prayer before?
What about local vs large scale coffee vendors?