Boiled eggs or turkey: what do rabbis eat at Christmas?

Eating turkey amounts to idolatry, a late minister once said. Today, the rabbinical take on Yuletide is delightfully eclectic

AS THE nation sits down to Christmas lunch, what will our rabbis do? there are certainly lots of kosher turkeys for sale, but will the rabbinate get to eat them?

For some rabbis, turkey with all the trimmings is the first step on the road to perdition. The late Rav Avigdor Miller said eating turkey for Christmas or Thanksgiving was equivalent to idolatry. But then he thought that just about everything, including dancing with your wife or using a public library, was a dreadful sin.

Rabbi Edward Jackson, the retired rabbi at Norrice Lea — Hampstead Garden Suburb United Synagogue — told me that he makes a point of just having a single boiled egg for Christmas lunch. This is because he was brought up in Ireland and felt this gesture was important for his Jewish identity. So what will the other rabbis be getting up to?

Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis: A spokesman said: “It’s a religious festival for a faith that is not his own. He doesn’t do anything for Christmas lunch that would connect him to this festival. It is possible he might see his family.

But he won’t be having anything recognisable as a Christmas dinner and he won’t be wearing a paper hat.”

Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg, New North London Synagogue: “I’m normally at Limmud — the annual educational event. A lot of our community want to see some sort of Jewish content on Christmas day. I’ve never had anything I think of as a Christmas dinner. This year I’ll have the same as any other day: probably a veggie burger and salad, followed by an apple and some good coffee.”

Rabbi Maurice Davis, Ahavas Torah Synagogue, Edgware: “We don’t do anything. I just have a normal lunch. But I do enjoy listening to the Queen’s speech.”

Rabbi Helen Freeman, Senior Rabbi at West London( Reform) Synagogue: “For about 20 years I used to go to my very best non-Jewish friend. She was very interested in religion and psychology. We always had a very nice Christmas dinner and she would make Christmas pudding. Unfortunately she died this year, so we’ll probably have Christmas at home. We don’t have crackers and party hats, but we will probably have a chat with some friends over Zoom with a cup of coffee. And I love watching the Queen’s speech. I’m a great admirer of the Queen and she always manages to say something appropriate at Christmas.”

Rabbi Daniel Epstein, Cockfosters and North Southgate United Synagogue: “I spent 17 years in Israel, so for me Christmas is just another day. We won’t be having a big lunch, because Shabbat starts a couple of hours later, and we’ll have a Shabbat meal. I don’t think it’s wrong to have a Christmas dinner. Jewish people are just spending time together as a family. If they want to do it for 25 December or for Thanksgiving, that’s lovely. And if they want to eat turkey (preferably kosher) or Brussel sprouts or cranberry sauce, that’s up to them.’

One felt that eating a single boiled egg for Christmas lunch was important for his Jewish identity

Watching the Queen’s speech is a popular Christmas activity, while (clockwise from top) veggie burgers, boiled eggs, coffee and turkey all feature on the menu