Chanukah, Chocolate, Chinuch and Change

Why do we eat chocolate gelt at Chanukah? There are several schools of thought on this question. One links this tradition back to the minting of their own coins by the Hasmoneans after their military victory over the Greek Syrians. Then there is the linguistic angle, which associates "Chanukah" - "dedication" with "chinuch" -" education". Maimonides himself made the education-gelt connection describing Chanukah gelt as "an incentive for you [children] to study Torah properly."
[Rambam, Hilchot Chanukah 3].

By the time the Second Temple was destroyed in 70 C.E., with the exception of a 3 year period during the Bar Kochba Revolution, there were no Jewish coins until modern times. Accordingly, there were no specifically Jewish coins were available to distribute when the custom of Hanukkah gelt – giving emerged as an important part of the festival during the Middle Ages. it was traditional to give Hanukkah gelt to the local Jewish teacher. This was more than a token present - it was usually his primary means of support. Again, we have the linkage between Chanukah, chinuch and coins.

In the time of the Ba'al Shem Tov, rabbis often traveled to distant villages during Chanukah to strenghten the learning of Torah by Jews who were off the beaten path. some Jewish communities chose Chanukah as the time to celebrate the freedom to be educated Jewishly. Although these rabbis typically refused payment from these often poor Jews, they came to accept coins and food as a token of the gratefulness felt by these communities.

Some communities have the custom of giving gelt on each night of Chanukah (except for Shabbat), with a larger amount being given out on the fifth day. Why is the fifth day so special? The fifth day calls for added celebration because of the brilliance of the fifth candle. Since the fifth day can never fall on Shabbat, this candle has the ability to illuminate the darkest of realms and hopefully giving a larger amount of gelt on this days reminds Jews to use their material wealth for spiritual purposes.

But how did gelt get associated with that waxy chocolate money in the foil wrappers? As best I can tell, chocolate gelt became popular in Europe in the mid 19th century when the Jews were well established in the chocolate industry. This coincided with the custom of giving gelt primarily to children, instead of to rabbis or to the poor, the latter being a major feature of many Jewish feasts. Chocolate in gold foil resembling coins of the realm would have made it possible for parents of even very limited means to participate in giving their children gelt. And since when have children ever protested against chocolate?

The recipe below is an easy milchig chocolate treat for Chanukah - assuming you like your latkes like I do with sour cream and applesauce. You don't need a bowl, it bakes in about 1/2 hour, is not majorly heavy in fat or sugar and is rich enough for the biggest chocolate fiend. It can be made parve with some simple adaptations, but does NOT double well. Try to bake it in a metal/foil pan. It stays quite wet in a glass pan and can be hard to get right. Don't expect it to rise - it stays fudgelike. You can even make it pesachdik without a major amount of hassle, but let's stick to the holiday at hand.

Brownies

3 squares of unsweetened chocolate
1 stick of butter

Melt the two of these together in a heavy pan. When melted, allow to cool slightly then add:

1/2 brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla - essence or sugar, but not vanillin
1 tsp leftover coffee (if you have)
1/2 cup of flour
pinch of salt

Mix in the pan and when smooth pour into a greased 8 X 8 brownie pan.
Bake for 20 - 30 minutes, depending on if you want gooier
or more fudge-like brownies.