Saying goodbye to the bread of affliction

April 16, 2009 - 12:25 PM by David · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Food, General, History and Culture, Holidays, Israeliness, Life 

Hungry for bread, the crowds swarm at Angel's as Passover ends.

Hungry for bread, the crowds swarm at Angel's as Passover ends.

One of the best things about Passover is that it’s over – especially when you’re not a big matza fan. Matza lasagne, matza meal pancakes, matza pizza, and of course, who could forget matza brie? Well, I could.

That’s why, for about the tenth year running, I joined the throngs last night at around 1 am at the famed Angel Bakery on the Kiryat Yovel-Givat Shaul border in Jerusalem. I invariably end up working the night shift on motzei Pessah, and closing time is the perfect time to head over to the Jerusalem institution. Just follow your nose. It’s one of the most tantalizing aromas you’ll ever have the opportunity to sniff.

They must strike up the ovens about a minute after the holiday is completed. Because only a few hours later – besides the piping hot pita, rolls and loafs of bread, their trays are complete with burekas and pastries of every kind.

There was a line of about 50 people outside the store – a mix of haredim, haredim and my friend and I. But it went rather smoothly and quickly, and once inside the store, it was quite organized. Within 15 minutes from beginning to end, I was munching a fresh, warm pita and putting all those matza memories far behind me.

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National pastime

October 2, 2008 - 9:36 AM by David · 2 Comments
Filed under: A New Reality, General, Holidays, Immigrant Moments, Israeliness, Sports 

As the Jewish calendar enters the High Holiday period, the weather in Israel is beginning to feel a bit like autumn. Cooler nights, high clouds and even a couple downpours have indicated that the season is changing, and always triggers in my mind an October connection between the ‘hagim’ and the weather.

Another perennial October connection is getting up in the middle of the night to watch the Major Leagues baseball playoffs and World Series. Or if a game’s on the West Coast at night, then it means sleeping in til about 5 am.

With my team, defending world champs The Boston Red Sox, making the playoffs for the millionth time in a row, we’re entering the sleepless night phase. All three playoff games played on Wednesday were on TV here – if you have cable, on Fox Sports and ESPN – or, of course, always available on your computer through a subscription to MLB.com.

I’m not enough of a fanatic to stay up all night and watch all three games, but I did set an early wakeup call for 5:30 to watch the Sox take on the Angels in Anaheim. I’ll be missing some games, as they invariably fall on Friday nights or on Yom Kippur. But following baseball is light years more advanced than it was during my first decade in Israel.

Then, it was two-day late scrawny wrap-ups in the International Tribune, and occasional overseas phone calls to get more details. It had its advantages though, as I was pretty much out of it when the 1986 Bill Buckner debacle took place, and didn’t feel the rage and sorrow that the rest of the Red Sox Nation went through.

But with their recent resurgence in the 2000s (did someone say dynasty?), it’s reassuring to know that the Sox are just a TV station away – as long as you don’t mind burning the midnight oil. There’s plenty Red Sox caps and t-shirts on display on the streets of Jerusalem these days, in English and Hebrew. So I know I’m not alone in setting the clock for 3 or 4 o’clock in the morning, and receiving rolling eyes glances from their spouses. As far as I’m concerned, it’s all part of being Israeli.

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