The Ramadan way

August 25, 2011 - 12:53 PM by Jessica · Leave a Comment
Filed under: A New Reality, coexistence, Food, General, History and Culture, Holidays, Israeliness, Life, Religion

Speaking of Ramadan, I was having an interesting conversation about Ramadan with our butcher, Suleiman, over at SuperDeal in Baka. He was telling me that he leaves early for his home in Abu Tor most days of Ramadan, except for Thursday, when he cuts up many chickens for those preparing for Shabbat. He’s not the most religious Moslem, he admitted, and doesn’t head to prayers when he does go home early during the days of Ramadan. In fact, while his mother and wife spend “hours in the kitchen preparing all kind of complicated cooked dishes”, such as chicken or meat and rice, dozens of salads, decadent fruit trays, baklava, and all the other parts of these elaborate Iftar meals that come after sunset, he often prefers to steal outside and grab some chummous and falafel.

“That just suits me better after a long day of fasting,” says Suleiman. Not surprising, really, when I think about what I like to eat after a fast. I’m kind of an old Jewish man myself at those moments, loving nothing more than a shot of Scotch and some herring for my first taste of food. Then some eggs, a bagel perhaps, and a glass of OJ and I’m back to myself.

In any case, my conversation with Suleiman took me in a different direction for another story, about Ramadan observance and accommodation in Israel, for JTA. Read it here, and let me know if you’ve had your own Ramadan experiences.

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Tags: drama, Iftar, JTA, Ramadan, SuperDeal

Holiday transitions

October 12, 2008 - 8:19 AM by Jessica · Leave a Comment
Filed under: General, Holidays, Israeliness

Hard to believe, but we are already in the middle of the chagim period, the month-long period of holidays that falls every autumn. We’re past Yom Kippur, a.k.a., the Festival of Bicycles, when a good chunk of the country spends the evening and following day in synagogue, while many kids take over the empty streets of all cities on the eve and day of Yom Kippur with bicycles – as well as skateboards, roller blades, skates and scooters. In fact, bicycle sales rise in the weeks prior to YK, with companies advertising Yom Kippur specials.

Then, it was straight into another Shabbat, as Yom Kippur ended on Thursday night, which meant a rush for the supermarket and butcher counter on Friday morning. Unlike the week before, when Rosh Hashanah ended and we went into another Shabbat, there wasn’t quite as much of a fresh chicken shortage, because the week before also coincided with the end of Ramadan, which meant a lot of chickens being eaten out there.

But the end of Shabbat this week brought the annual put-up-the-sukkah evening, when you gather your forces to snap together metal poles and string up the canvas walls. With Sukkot beginning Monday night, it’s another rush into the third holiday of the season, and the longest, at a full seven days. So now we’re thinking sukkah decorations of paper chains, plastic fruits and blinking lights, and one-dish meals that are easier to serve to the crowd.

I’ll let you know what I decide to make, as soon as I get started on the paper chains…

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