Having problems in your marriage? Blame the potato kugel!
It may seem farfetched, but in Michael Wex’s short story “The Kugel Story,” Mrs. Yoshke Furmanovsky cries bitter tears because her husband no longer desires her. Mr. Furmanovsky explains that once he’s eaten his wife’s delicious potato kugel on Friday night, he’s so sated and sleepy he can’t possibly stay awake to seduce her. Poor Mrs. Furmanovsky is destined to spend every Friday making the very kugel that deprives her of her husband’s affection. Until one day she finds that the kugel in her oven is actually the reincarnation of a famous Hasidicrebbe, sent back to Earth as a lowly potato casserole with the mission of bringing a couple back together. But will the kugel prevail? Will Mrs. Farmanovsky finally get some time between the sheets with her husband? You can download the story for free on Michael Wex’s website, or read it in the collection Shlepping the Exile.
And lest you think that the notion of a kugel as matchmaker is ridiculous, we invite you to try our recipe for the Love Potion Kugel. Our sources tell us it’s known for helping bring bashert couples together far and wide.
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