For the Love of Hummus

Delicious, delicious hummus.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Springtime for Israel

Chodesh tov, friends! Time to throw a little Jewish knowledge your way. Today is the first day of the Jewish month of Nisan. This is an important day for several reasons. Firstly, it's Rachel's Hebrew birthday. Secondly, tradition teaches it's the day the mishkan (the tabernacle the Jews carried in the desert for 40 years) was finished. Thirdly, recognizing rosh chodesh ("head of the month") Nisan was the first commandment given by G-d to the Jewish people. Soon followed by the commandment to never covet your neighbor's hummus or falsely testify against hummus. The arrival of Nisan also means Pesach is upon us (14th Nisan), so start peeling those tomatoes, liquidizing your sugar and hiding your quinoa (it's a gray area?!). Speaking of delicious foods, I went to the hummus capital of Israel last week with my parents and the Congregation Beth Am group that was visiting. The restaurant was a major crowd pleaser. The hummus was okay. Kind of a let down, honestly. Lacking in flavor, crucial lemon juice and too oily. None of that stopped me from dipping the fries like a beast. I mean, it's still Abu Ghosh. I had a wonderful visit with my parents. We happily spent several days in the lush, rainy north. Below, our hike in Banias. Everything is in full bloom in the north. Springtime always makes me think of Hitler in the best way. My cousin apparently built this beautiful new metal sculpture called "Turning the World Upside-Down" (by Anish Kapoor) at the Israel Museum. My dad, pictured in front of it. I found a photograph at the Israel Museum of one of Dafna's pastry chef colleagues. August Sander, German 1876-1964. Pastry Cook, 1928. Moshe Dayan on King George St. Sculpture of the national sport in Israel, spitting like you just don't care. Outside Dafna's favorite government building, the ministry of culture and sports. Shout out to UConn for winning the NCAA! I've been hearing about some tasty hummus in the Ein Karem neighborhood of Jerusalem. Looking forward to trying that!

2 comments:

  1. Love the pictures! Which cousin built the sculpture?

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  2. Ethan Silva, http://www.statueofunity.net/fabricator.html

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