The Sufganiyah: A Modern Tradition With German Roots
How economics, migration, and language policy shaped Israel's iconic Hanukkah doughnut
The sufganiyah is today the most recognizable Hanukkah food in Israel. During the holiday, bakeries sell millions of them, and their presence feels almost self-evident. But the sufganiyah is neither ancient nor originally Middle Eastern.
A German Doughnut, Not a Jewish One
The sufganiyah's ancestor is the Berliner, a German doughnut that dates back to at least the 15th century. It was a yeast-based pastry, deep-fried in pork lard and often filled with jam.
Jewish communities in German-speaking areas adopted the pastry but changed the fat to something kosher, such as goose schmaltz or later vegetable oil. In Yiddish, the doughnut became known as the ponchik, a name still used in parts of Eastern Europe and among Russian speakers today.
This kind of adaptation was common in Jewish cuisine: local foods were adjusted to fit kosher rules rather than invented from scratch.
From Yiddish to Hebrew: The Birth of the Name
When Jewish immigrants arrived in British Mandate Palestine in the early 20th century, Yiddish food names were increasingly replaced with Hebrew ones.
Hebrew writers and linguists searched classical sources and found the Talmudic word sofgan, meaning spongy or absorbent dough. From this, they coined the modern Hebrew word sufganiyah.
At this point, the pastry had a new name and a new linguistic identity, but it was not yet a central Hanukkah symbol.
Why Sufganiyot Won — Economics, Not Theology
In the 1920s, the Histadrut, the main labor union of the Jewish community in Palestine, was looking for ways to support employment, particularly in bakeries.
Traditional Hanukkah foods like latkes were easy to make at home and did not generate much commercial activity. Sufganiyot, by contrast, required yeast dough, deep frying, and careful preparation. Most people preferred to buy them rather than make them themselves.
Promoting sufganiyot helped keep bakeries busy and workers employed. Over time, the pastry became firmly associated with Hanukkah, while the original economic motivation faded from public memory.
Oil, Symbolism, and Retrospective Meaning
Only later was the sufganiyah strongly tied to the religious theme of Hanukkah foods being fried in oil, symbolizing the miracle of the Temple oil. This symbolism fits well, but historically it followed the pastry's rise in popularity rather than causing it.
From Simple Jam to Modern Variations
Originally, sufganiyot were plain, filled with jam and dusted with powdered sugar. In recent decades, Israeli bakeries have expanded the concept, offering fillings such as chocolate, pistachio cream, halva, custard, and other variations.
Despite these changes, the basic structure remains close to its German predecessor.
What feels like ancient tradition is relatively recent history. The sufganiyah is a tasty example of how food traditions are shaped not only by religion, but by migration, language policy, and economics as well.
This article is based on a December 2025 X thread by Israeli journalist Elon Gilad, who shares many fascinating stories about Hebrew language and culture on his X feed.