A fishy Rosh Hashana
Filed under: A New Reality, Food, General, History and Culture, Holidays, Immigrant Moments, Israeliness, Life, Religion
Busy at home preparing for the three-day Rosh Hashana (two days straight into Shabbat) holiday and making a slew of delicacies (actually I’m at the computer while my wife is making the delicacies), I began to reminisce about the first Rosh Hashana spent in Israel many years ago.
It was a little traumatic because I came face to face with a fish head. My then-girlfriend ( now wife) and I had recently landed in the mystical Galilee city of Safed for a three-month student program in the Old City called Livnot U’lehibanot which combined physical labor and Jewish studies. (one of the best experiences you can ever have in Israel, if you’re interested)
For Rosh Hashana, they set the participants up with observant families around the city, and we found oursevles at the dinner table of the traditional Moroccan family. It was a huge contingent, with children, grand children, cousins, etc – and us.
We were introduced to a series of culinary traditions to mark the new year – lovely customs like eating apples and honey (believe it or not, the first time I had been exposed to this common practice), partaking of pomegranate seeds, and of course, the delicious, braided round hallot.
And because we were the guests for the evening, I was honored amid great flourish and fanfare, as the grandmother of the family, beaming with pride, carried a tray out of the kitchen and set it before me. And there I was, staring at the fish head, the ultimate symbol in their household of bringing in the new year with its blessing “May you be at the head of the new year and not its tail.”
The fish in question might have been a carp, or maybe a mackerel. I wouldn’t know, I was too concerned with staring at its eye there on the plate. Serving whole fish might be commonplace in Israel, but where I came from, filet was the name of the game.
Would I insult my hosts beyond repair if I refused to tuck into the morsel in front of me? Knowing that was unthinkable, I feigned elation and picked at a few pieces as far away from the eyeball as possible, and then graciously passed the plate around to the extended family gathered at the table.
I sighed, thinking I was home free. Then the sheep’s brain came out (maybe a little overkill on the “head of the year” theme) and the scenario repeated itself.
Thank goodness rabbit skulls weren’t next on the menu, which moved to the slightly more conventional main course of stewed beef with prunes on top of couscous. Slightly shaken, but not totally stirred by the experience, I survived my first Israeli Rosh Hashana, and – fish heads and sheep’s brains included – actually ended up staying in the country.
Hoping that all of you have a joyous Rosh Hashana and find yourself at the head of the new year.
Rosh Hashana videos…and more
New Year’s videos from Israel and other Jewish organizations tend to circulate around the web and email at this time of year. The Fountainhead’s “Dip Your Apple” video is by far the most popular, with well over a million YouTube views.
But there are other cute clips, including one where a bearded techie dips a variety of Apple products (an iPhone and an iPad) in honey vats of varying sizes.
There are also a couple of videos not specifically related to the holiday but that also provide inspiration and enjoyment for the New Year.
Guy Barzily was born in Israel, raised mostly in London and recently appeared on the Dutch version of the “Idol” franchise. His audition was wildly received by the judges. One said “I’ll kiss the ground you walk on.” From another: “That was a perfect audition, more than perfect. You’ve astounded me.” (For the record, I didn’t think it was that good, but judge for yourself.)
Then there’s this cool video made by 24-year-old Jerusalemite Eran Amir, which depicts 500 people flashing across the stream in 100 seconds while holding 1,500 photographs from around the country. Like the Fountainheads, his clip has also racked up an amazing million + views.
From all of us here at Israelity (and me personally) – Shana Tova!
A personal validation of Zionism
When I backpacking around Europe and Asia, some 25 years ago, I felt a mix of disdain and sadness for the many tourists I’d encounter ensconced in their oversized, air conditioned tour buses, being ferried around from site to site, taking in the highlights through tinted windows which they’d abandon only at carefully selected cafes and for quick museum jaunts. They’d never get a chance to really know a city, I thought to myself, by walking it block by block, riding the trams and soaking in the local atmosphere.
But when my mother recently came to Israel, an organized tour was just the ticket. Despite our having lived in Israel for 17 years, this was my mom’s first ever visit to Israel and, at nearly 80-years-old, she wanted to see everything.
The two-week tour, run by the Margaret Morse travel agency, was as challenging as it was comprehensive. The 100-person, three bus “adults only” group started in Tel Aviv, headed up the coast via Caesarea to Haifa, cut across the Galilee to Kibbutz Goshrim with a stop in Safed, climbed up to the top of the Golan Heights, danced on a boat in the Sea of Galilee, drove down the Jordan Valley to Jerusalem (where they spent 5 days touring the capital’s extensive offerings) before plunging even further south to the Dead Sea, Masada and Eilat.
The tour guide on my mom’s bus was a staunch Zionist and peppered his exhaustive descriptions of antiquities and modern Israeli innovations with an hefty dose of idealism. The 2,000-year-old longing of the Jews for the land of Israel, why all Jews should move here, our tragic history and inspiring renewal in the modern state – it was all there in spades.
Now, since we moved to Israel, my mother has never really commented on our decision. Not visiting was less out of a philosophical stance than the fact that my father was disabled and never could have handled all the climbing, steps and stairs (which my mother pointed out were ever present). After he died two years ago, she began thinking seriously about visiting her children and grandchildren here.
While it’s true we never heard any outright cries of protest about our living so far from California, where I grew up and where my parents still were, we also didn’t receive any emotional support towards such a life-defining choice. Until now.
It was over a sushi lunch (these days becoming more the classic blue and white staple than the staid falafel) that my mom turned to us and mustered a few words that were as transformative for her as they were affirming for us. “I understand now why you’re here,” she said as a single tear ran down her face. “This is where you belong.” And then for emphasis: “I’m glad that you are here.”
After so many years of assuming (perhaps incorrectly) that our move here had dealt a mortal blow to my parents, a rejection of everything we’d been raised with that, in parallel, ripped their grandchildren away from the warm multi-generational embrace they had undoubtedly anticipated, these words of validation brought tears to our eyes too. We didn’t require it per se – we’re middle-aged adults ourselves and supposedly long past the need for our parents’ approval. But it’s never too late for a mother to tell her son “you done good, kid.”
Mom flew back to California Saturday night. Will the enthusiasm for our adopted home and her newfound Zionism remain, once the cheerleading of her tour guide has abated and the comforts of routine and sanitary bathrooms return? That’s not clear, though I hope a remnant at least will remain. But for a moment, we were all on the same page. And that was a happy enough conclusion to a novel that has been a long time in the writing.
A crafty New Year
Filed under: Art, Blogging, design, Food, History and Culture, Holidays, Immigrant Moments, Israeliness, Life
I’m thinking that the impending holiday has to be about more than the fact that my husband is leaving for two weeks to work as a baal tefillah at a synagogue in Toronto — read, vacation money, new furniture funds and maybe some put into savings — the food that has to be cooked for three days of chag and the mountain of dishes that will be washed. (Although there are some good recipes in there.)
And so, I’ve been inspired by a gan tradition that I had to fulfill, which was that we had to make cards to be given to our boys this week. It happens in schools and ganim throughout the country before Rosh Hashanah, but this was a first for me. So I first thought about easy ways to fulfill it; scribble something on a paper, print out a coloring page and use that. But then I warmed to the idea and came across all these momblogs that are just filled with crafty ideas, some cool, some kitchy. I finally settled on this one, from ChallahCrumbs, Thumbprint Bees for their RH cards, using just black construction paper, yellow fingerpaint and a white crayon. The idea was really adorable, just that my yellow paint ended up drying invisibly on the black paper and I had to use yellow crayons to outline the bees. No matter, it’s the thought that counts, right?
Even thought the thumbprint bees weren’t a total success, we had a great time today with Playdoh and a new Fun Factory, so much so that I’m thinking of embarking on another project tomorrow, Wine Cork Stamp Rosh Hashanah cards from creativejewishmom, in which you use wine corks and a red stamppad to create really sweet apple stencil cards, napkins, gift tags, what have you.
I can’t promise what will come out of all that, but I’m willing to give it a try. Finally, I’ll also be creating a non-dairy frosting for very sweet apple-shaped cupcakes. I already made these a week ago, using a lime cupcake base — gotta use all the limes from our tree — and a readymade frosting with red food coloring. But, have to think non-dairy for some big meat meals, so will probably be using this frosting recipe. Still, I can tell you that the cupcakes are a hit and there’s something very satisfying about creating such a finished looking product.
How’s them apples?
Nostalgia Sunday – Shana Tova!
Filed under: Art, design, General, History and Culture, Holidays, Israeliness, Life, Nostalgia Sunday, Pop Culture
Sometime during the early 1970s, the Jewish National Fund – Keren Kayemet l’Yisrael, issued a series of postcards in honor of the Jewish New Year. I came into possession of a pristine set some years ago and was charmed by the illustrations. (Click image to view full-sized).
The pictures, it turns out, are by Brigitta Brandeis, who illustrated other Jewish children’s books as well. I suspect this one is something of a self-portrait…
The tower, a symbol of Jewish settlement, in particular the communal kibbutz, is a recurring motif in this series.
The message on the back of the postcard reads: “Making the desert bloom and bettering the Land of Israel’s surroundings”. On the front, of course, it reads “Happy New Year” — which is what we wish all of our Israelity friends. May it be a sweet one, filled with health and happiness. Shana Tova!
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