The Archetypical Jewish Food

 is not the bagel. It is Cholent. I mention this because of my shiur this morning. 

We are learning OC Siman 75 seif 3, 

יש ליזהר משמיעת קול זמר אשה בשעת ק"ש הגה ואפי' באשתו אבל קול הרגיל בו אינו ערוה

and I found it extremely difficult to come out with a clear hagdara of the issur; the problem stems from the Gemara in Brachos 24 that says from Reb Yitzchak that tefach of an area that is normally mechusa is an erva; if histaklus, then even not mechusa. Ella mai, for Krias Shema and even his wife. Then Rav Chisda that says Shok is erva, and Shmuel, that Kol is erva, and Rav Sheishes, that sa'ar is erva. There's a machlokes rishonim whether all three are the same, and are they the same for Even HaEzer 21 or for Orach Chaim 74, and Reb Moshe's shitta in OC I: 26 that it is muttar to enjoy the singing voice or appearance of a ketana before niddus, as long as it is an esthetic pleasure and not an erotic pleasure. And the Chavos Yair by zemiros, and  the Chasam Sofer by trei kolli (which, by the way, is only when men and women are singing together, as obvious from Sotah 48a.) Anyway, it is a terrible confusion of strongly held contradictory opinions, doubly difficult when several members of the shiur live in a Modern Orthodox milieu. 

I told my shiur that if they walk out feeling frustrated at the ambiguity of the day's discussion, this is a reflection of the reality of the state of the halacha in this area, begun by the ambiguity of the Gemara in Brachos, and compounded by Rabbeinu Yona in the Beis Yosef in OC 75, and RA Hidesheimer and the Sridei Eish and innumerable others.

So back to food; I welcomed any distraction, which was kindly provided by two members of the shiur, and I want to share it.  Someone mentioned cholent, and that brought out the following.

A member of the shiur, a hematologist, said that he had a patient that was somewhat traditionally Jewish. He asked the doctor, did you ever hear of something called "cholent?" The positive response led to the patient telling him that his grandfather invented the crock pot davka to make cooking cholent easier.

Who invented the Crock Pot? 

Irving Naxon invented the Crock-Pot, a slow cooker, in the 1930s: 

Patent

In 1936, Naxon applied for a patent for a food heating device that would be portable and address uneven heating. 

Naxon was a prolific inventor who became the first Jewish engineer for Western Electric. He was able to patent his inventions himself because he passed the patent bar exam and couldn't afford a patent attorney.

Beanery

Naxon patented the Naxon Beanery in 1940, which was inspired by the Jewish stew cholent. Cholent is a traditional stew made of meat, beans, and vegetables that's slowly cooked on Fridays in preparation for the Sabbath. 

Acquisition

In 1970, Kansas City's Rival Manufacturing acquired the Beanery and renamed it the Crock-Pot. 

Debut

The Crock-Pot debuted at the National Housewares Show in Chicago in 1971. It was marketed as a convenient way to cook and a revolutionary aid for working women. 

2. Why is Boston called Bean Town?

In the beginning, baked beans were a staple of Native Americans, originally prepared with maple syrup and bear lard. New Englanders later modified the recipe to include pork and brown sugar—and also molasses, which John Adams called “an essential ingredient in American independence” because it wasn’t subject to British taxes. Puritans, who faithfully observed the Sabbath by not working or cooking on Sundays, prepared giant crocks of baked beans on Saturday, which were kept warm in their hearth throughout the weekend. Soon enough, visitors started referring to Boston as “Beantown.”

That's the official story. But you and I know that this sounds suspiciously like the Puritans had a bad case of cholent-envy.

3. And the bane of every talmid of Yoreh Deiah, the drop of milk that falls on a potato that is half out of the cholent, or on the outside of the pot above the level of the contents.