Rosh Hashana, literally head of the year, is accepted as the New Year within the Jewish calendar.

Jewish concept of a new year is somewhat different from Christian concept. Rosh Hashana is part of a longer period known as the High Holidays. It begins about a week earlier, includes Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur and Sukkoth.

Since Rosh Hashana symbolizes the beginnings, a traditional belief has it that this day is the sixth day of Creation (the day man was created and all creating completed). Rosh Hashana is also seen as the day of God inscribing you into the Book of Life, which is sealed on Yom Kippur.

A period preceding Rosh HaShana is known as Shlihot (forgiveness). For many this entails getting up earlier than usual, as the shlihot prayers are usually said at midnight or before sunrise. There are areas in Jerusalem where this has become a great tradition, attracting Jerusalemites from all its neighborhoods.

Like all Jewish holidays Rosh Hashana begins at sundown, in this case marking the end of the month of Elul and the beginning of the month of Tishrei. It is generally celebrated for two days, partly because after the destruction of the 2nd Temple (70 CE) it became difficult to determine the exact day of the new moon.

Part of the celebrations is to hear the blowing of the horn, usually a ram’s horn, as was done in the days of the Temple to mark the beginning of holy days, including Shabbat. This blowing is known as the tekiot.

There are of course traditional foods linked to this holiday. Since Rosh Hashana begins with sundown, families join together to celebrate. As part of the blessings of the evening and the holiday, apple slices are dipped in honey, to symbolize the sweetness of the year to come.

For some it is also customary to add meat from the head of an animal or even a fish head, to mark beginning (rosh=head). Other foods eaten by many are dates and pomegranates. Often a special blessing may be said when serving pomegranate: May you have as many blessings in the New Year as there are seeds in the pomegranate.

Rosh HaShana is an official holiday in Israel, and so all places of work are closed, as well as shops, schools. It is considered as a shabbat.

Since all Jewish holidays follow the Jewish calendar there are always variations in the Christian calendar, but generally Rosh Hashana falls in September, to be followed by Yom Kippur and Sukkoth.

JNF helps stimulate greater honey production

One of the most traditional and symbolic foods for Rosh Hashana is honey. Months before the holiday bee keepers all over Israel prepare themselves and their hives.

Honey, sweet honey, is used to bless the New Year. May the year ahead be as sweet as the honey. Tradition is to eat apples dipped in honey during the festive evening meal.

Only thing is Rosh Hashana falls at the end of the hot Israeli summer. There are no flowers to speak of, so how are the bees supposed to supply the growing demand for honey.

According to a report in the Jerusalem Post a new innovative project has begun to solve this problem. The JNF (Jewish National Fund) has for more than 100 years been responsible for planting trees all over Israel. With the changed awareness of what trees to plant, the JNF started a project some 10 years ago, under the directorship of David Brand, to identify “mega trees”, that will flower all year round and produce the nectar so needed for honey.

When these trees have been identified, the saplings are grown in nurseries throughout the country. They are then planted throughout the country.

Though the trees are still young, bee keepers report a increase in honey production. They also report that they no longer have to move the hides, and can leave them for most of the year near the new groves.

As different species of trees are used, each with its own unique flavor, we can still get honey with its own unique flavor. No losers here. More groves adorn the country, the bees are kept busy, the bee keepers are happy, and we have no shortage of honey for Rosh Hashana.

Shana Tova u’metuka (A good and sweet year) to all my readers

For full Jerusalem Post article

Today most of us think of olives and olive oil primarily as foods. And for very good reasons. Olive oil is considered to be one of the healthiest oils to use in food and food production.

In ancient times olives and olive oil had a much greater use. It was used in food. One of the greatest uses of the oil was for lighting in the oil lamps. It was used for offerings in the Temple in Jerusalem, as anointing oil of kings and priests, in cosmetics and in medicine. What was left over after extraction of the oil was used as fuel and as fertilizer. No wonder that the olive became one of the prestigious ‘Seven Species’ of Deuteronomy (8:8).

The Olive Tree

There are still many wild olives in Israel, but it is the domesticated varieties that are seen throughout the country from the southernmost parts of the Hills of Judea to the high mountains of the Galilee.

The tree flowers in May, small inconspicuous flowers. The fruit ripens in late fall, and harvest goes on from late October through November, sometimes into December. The traditional way of harvesting is to shake the branches and allow the fruit to fall unto burlap spread underneath.

Even at this stage when the fruit is ripe, don’t do what I once did – eat the fruit straight from the tree. As I said at the time: I ate the fruit three times – the first, the last and never again. The fruit is so bitter as to be inedible.

But take the time to crush the olive, or place it in a lime solution for a couple of days, and then marinate it in water with garlic, lemon or other spices, and you get the wonderful fruit that many of us like to eat.

Olive Oil Press and Production

Harvesting the olive and producing olive oil is extremely labor intensive. Once the fruit has been harvested the farmer now brings it to the press. In some occasions the biblical farmer had his own press, but usually a privately owned or community press would serve a large area. We are fortunate that many of these presses have survived till today and been found in archaeological excavations. In a few places they have been restored to show the visitor the full process.

Today we are advised to buy only cold press oil. When heated the olive and the oil looses some of its nutritional value. This was also known in ancient times, though occasionally the farmer would heat the fruit at home, in order to get a larger quantity of oil.

"Crusher" in Capernaum

In the olive press the olive must first be crushed. This was done in large “crushers” consisting of a container and the round upper stone, the crusher. The two were connected with an upright pole and a horizontal beam running through the crusher. This stone would be pulled either by people, or in the lucky cases by donkeys.

After running the crusher over the olives for app. half hour, the crushing was completed. This mass was now scooped up and placed in large baskets to be placed on the press. Before this process began the baskets were soaked in water, so that all the oil could be retrieved.

The baskets were now stacked over the press-bed, either with a basin underneath, or a rim around it, to catch the liquid being pressed out. The liquid would run into the catching basin where it would be left, so that the water and oil would separate, the light oil on the top, which would then be ladled off into storage jars.

Presser in Nazareth Village

The earliest form of presses was through a weight system, with three 600 pound weights hung from the cross beam. These weights could be lowered to apply more pressure as needed. In the first century BCE a screw system came into being, making the pressing somewhat easier.

Pressure would be applied at different stages to get the maximum amount of oil out. The time needed for full pressing was 24 hours, and so there would usually be two presses to one crusher. In this way while one press was pressing, the other would either be emptied or filled up again.

The Olive Oil

This production process gave three separate qualities of oil. The first, the purest and most expensive, was the only one used for tithing to the Temple. All three qualities were used for food, for fuel, in cosmetics and medicine, to allow all to be able to buy it.

Ancient oil lamp

By far the most common use of olive oil was for lighting. It is so easy for us to forget how blessed we are that all we have to do when it gets dark is to flip the switch. Until not that long ago, if you wanted see in the dark you had to have candles, or as in the case of the Middle East and Southern Europe – oil.

The olives and the oil could and was exported long distances. The oil from Israel was considered one of the finest, and was much sought after. For Israel the olive oil was the golden oil of biblical times.

The Left-overs

The ancient world did not waste. Everything could and was used, and so also with the pulp left over from the pressing. The pips still contained a great amount of oil was excellent for burning in cooking or heating ovens.

The pulp could be used as fertilizer around growing trees and vines. It was often also used in the plaster mixture painted on the walls of houses. This helped to keep away insects. It was also poured over grain to protect it from mice and insects. This as well as lower quality oil was also used eventually for making soaps.

The tree needs to be trimmed occasionally. The wood lends itself beautifully for carving with its soft undulating lines in different hues of brown, and was therefore much in demand for furniture and doors. In the First Temple in Jerusalem the doors to the inner sanctuary were made of olive wood.

Some Places to see Oil Presses
One of the easiest places to see an olive press in its original location is within the grounds of Capernaum.
For the slightly more off the beaten track traveler, Tel Maresha in the Beit Guvrin area has a beautiful example of a restored olive press. In the Talmudic town of Katzrin on the Golan Heights there is also a fine restored olive press.

When visiting Israel in the fall, one of the most prominent fruits to be seen in the markets and in fruit and juice stands is the pomegranate (rimon in Hebrew).

The pomegranate is native to the Middle East, and so grows abundantly and with very little effort on the part of the farmers. In the last decade or so it has become more and more popular despite the difficulty in getting the seeds out. But this is also the time of the year for enjoying fresh orange juice, and the orange press lends itself wonderfully to pressing the juice from the pomegranate. Another reason for its popularity is the known nutritional value of the pomegranate.

Being a native of the Middle East it is no wonder that the pomegranate appears in many contexts in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible). Pomegranates adorned the two pillars in front of Solomon’s Temple (1 Kings 7:13-22); small pomegranates and bells were tied to the outer garment of the High Priest (Exodus 28:33-34); and was selected to be part of the Seven Species in Judaism (Deut. 8:8).

The tree comes out with its bright red flowers in early spring, and has therefore became a symbol of renewal. The fruit ripens beginning September through February, and became an important part of the celebration of Rosh HaShana (The Jewish New Year).

Many traditions have attached themselves to this versatile, healthy fruit. The Jewish sages declared it the fruit of righteousness, claiming that it contains 613 seeds, the same number as mitzvot (good deeds) to be performed by Jews. During the Rosh HaShana celebrations Jews bless each
other with the symbolism of the pomegranate – that the new year may contain as many blessings as there are seeds in the pomegranate.

So what about the Garden of Eden? When Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, tradition has it that they ate an apple. But this may not actually be so. In the Tanakh no fruit is actually specified, and many scholars today believe that the fruit of the tree of knowledge may rather have been a pomegranate. But we shall of course never know, which fruit it really was.

The pomegranate became an important ingredient in the cuisine of ancient Middle East and neighboring areas. It could be used both with meats and fish, and was often included in salads or as glazings.

An easy, tasty and colorful salad that I make every Rosh Hashana:

Seed 5-6 large pomegranates
Finely chop a generous amount of mint and/or parsley
Mix and add one tablespoon of honey

Leave refrigerated overnight. Decorate with whole fresh mint leaves.

B’Teavon (good appetite)

When we hear those words: food for thought, most of will become very serious and start to think and even wonder what it is we are supposed to think about. In this case Food for Thought is actually food.

Click Banner for more details

On November 19-20, 2009 Israel will  hold the first ever “Food for Thought” Conference.
The topic of the conference is to make us think about our food, not just what to make for dinner today, but rather what kind of food are we eating, how it’s grown and distributed.

The conference will have a cook-down on making the tastiest meal with the lowest carbon footprint. There will also be talks on climate, agriculture, water, energy, consumerism and culture. The featured speaker will be Ruti Ozeki, author of “My Year of Meats” (1998), about two women living in Japan and America and connecting over a TV cooking show.

All this will take place in the Tel Aviv Harbor. To participate there is a need to register and pre-pay. For more information (in Hebrew) go to foodforthought.org.il

The conference is organized and sponsored by the Arava Institute, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry for the Protection of the Environment, Eretz Ahavati (The Land of My Love).

B’Teavon (good appetite)

It’s happening again. Another festival. You never get bored in Israel.

So during the summer we had the Israel Book Week. We had the Jerusalem Film Festival. We had the Maccabiah Games. Earlier this month we had the Wine Festival. And a bunch of other stuff.

The summer will go out with a bang in Jerusalem. A big bang with the Beer Festival. Yes, you heard me right. A beer festival in the the capital. For two days, August 26 and 27, you will be able to taste all Israeli beers (as if we have that many). But even more so, you will be able to taste more than 100 beers from around the world.

Now I like a beer once in a while, but Israelis have become quite a beer drinking country. Israeli beers that I have never heard of will be there, like Dancing Camel, with a large variety of beers, but also international brands not usually found in Israel, like Lindemans and Erdinger.

Whenever there are drinks, there must also be food. And so there will be in plenty. Food stalls with every kind of food that can be served at such festivals.

Can a beer be drunk without music? Not at the Jerusalem Beer Festival. Local bands, like Hadag Nachash and Psutei Ha’am will be performing.

Need anything else? There will also be stalls selling crafts, jewelry and more. Two days of fun in Jerusalem.

The cost? A mere NS25 (discounted to NS20 for soldiers, students and card-carrying Jerusalemites. If you are in Jerusalem on these dates, this is a must go.

For more on Jerusalem

One day not long ago I was sitting in one of my hub cafes in the Old City of Jerusalem. This is a place I visit often, as part of my work. Most times, luckily, I don’t even have time to sit here.

But on this occasion I did. The tourist I was guiding was visiting the Western Wall Tunnel, in a group guided by the Tunnels own guides. This gave me time to walk the streets alone, take some photos, but most of all to sit in my cafe.

The reason I love sitting there is that to me this street and this point is typical of the Old City and of Jerusalem. To me Jerusalem is not, never has been, and never will be, what is shown on the media throughout the world. Like with so many other things that the media reports about, it has a hard time showing every day life, the life that the residents of Jerusalem experience. This is why I like to sit in my cafe and look at who passes by.

Now I should also tell you that the Old City of Jerusalem is divided into four quarters – the Muslim Quarter, Christian Quarter, the Jewish Quarter and the Armenian Quarter. Don’t get me wrong. There are no boundaries in the City. They are more neighborhoods of the Old City.
Just like any modern city may have its China Town, or Little Italy, or whatever other name. People like to live with other people of their own kind. There is nothing political about these neighborhoods, and they spill over into each other, and that trend is growing.

My cafe is in the heart of the Muslim Quarter, across the street from The Third Station of The Cross. It is on one of the main thoroughfares in the Old City, which starts at The Damascus Gate in the north. A short stretch of the Via Dolorosa is part of this street. Eventually it spills into the Western Wall Plaza and ends the Dung Gate in the south.

If you sit there long enough, you will be able to see the whole world pass by. Catholic priests, Orthodox Jews, Arab women dressed in their modest clothes, ordinary non-religious Israelis passing the day in the Old City, tourists in various levels of dress codes. You will see devout Catholic groups making their way along the Via Dolorosa toward the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, carrying a cross in turns, stopping at each station to say the appropriate prayer at each station. You will see less traditional Christian groups receive explanations from their guide as to the events that took place here.

You will see local Arabs going about their business, or on their way to Temple Mount for prayers. You will see people from most of the Western countries, Europe, USA, Canada, as well as visitors from Japan, Taiwan or Korea. At certain times of the year you will see groups from Nigeria. In short you can see the whole world pass you by.

If you look down on the paving stones between the Cafe and the Third Station, you will see very large paving stones that were found some 40 years ago, when work was being done on the water and sewage systems in the Old City. These paving stones date back to the 5th century Byzantine Jerusalem.

And while you are watching all of this hub, you may be drinking cups of hot, bitter, sweet Arab coffee, a cold soda, or a refreshing glass of tea with mint. If you happen to be there, when it is lunch time, this cafe probably sells the best pizza in the bazaars of the Old City of Jerusalem.

I have made a decision that I want to start every week with something uplifting, something fun or something unusual. Coming off a great weekend we need to jumpstart the week.

This week I am starting with wine. I will admit I am not so knowledgeable in wine, Israeli or otherwise. I do love a good wine with a good meal, or even a glass of cold white wine on a hot summers evening, looking out over the Mediterranean or the Mountain of Judea.

I think I know enough to distinguish between a good wine and a bad wine. I can even say a few chosen words about the wine, such as fruity, very fruity. But that’s about all. But that is me, and there are plenty of Israelis who know their wines.

In fact Israel has very much come on to the world scene of producing excellent wines. There are of course the large wine cellars, such as Carmel and Golan Wines, but in addition there are innumerable smaller wine cellars. I have been told something like 250 in all. That’s not bad for such a small country.

When you visit Israel it is quite possible to visit wine cellars throughout the country, from the Golan Heights and the Galilee in the north to the Judean Mountains and the Negev to the south. But you may want to get to know more about Israeli wines even before you get here. That can be done by reading about it on the premier blog on Israeli wines Hakerem: The Israeli Wine Blog. “Kerem” is Hebrew for vineyard. Well-chosen name.

There is so much information about Israeli wines on their blog, including a list of many, though not all wineries in Israel. There is also a lesson on Wine Tasting, which of course can never substitute the real thing.

The real thing can of course be had during a visit to Israel. But many Israeli wines are todaysold in many places in the world, especially USA and Europe.

Reference:

Hekerem: The Israeli Wine Blog

Traveling anywhere is also about food. Any traveler will want to taste of the local food, spend enjoyable hours in good company, enjoying food and drinks, preferably all local.

Israel by now is becoming a paradise for food and wine. It was not always so. But you don’t have to believe my word for this, since I still haven’t really started reporting on where to eat while you are visiting Israel.

As I said, you don’t have to take my word for it that Israel is becoming well known in the knowledgable circles world-wide on food and wine. How can I say this? Read a few words from Lael Hazan’s report Travel: Israeli food and restaurants come of age

Israel is becoming a surprising food Mecca (yes, I enjoyed writing that). Israelis enjoy traveling and are demanding higher food quality and variety when they arrive home.

I could have said that also, that Israelis enjoy traveling. But I have always know that Israelis and Jewish anywhere love good food. Food in Israel is no longer the standard Middle Eastern food. Many restaurants specializing in this type of food are adding their own individual, often gourmet touch to their dishes.

But Israeli food is today much more than Middle Eastern food. With Israelis acquiring tastes for food of other countries through their travels, restaurateurs and entrepreneurs have and are all the time starting new restaurants.

Tavlin in Eshtaol

And it is not just the major cities that have good eating places. They can be found all over the country, because Israelis travel not just to other countries, but through the length and breadth of Israel, and so eating places in what may seem remote places also thrive.

While eating, you will also want something to drink. Israeli wines have come on to the international market, both in production but also in consumption of good wines.

Read what Leal Hazan has to say on this subject:

What really surprised my food educator husband was the quality and variety of the less traditional food. Before going to Israel we asked our cooking school partner — Italian vintner Marilisa Allegrini, who distributes her wines in Israel — for suggestions. Her comment was telling: She said that Israel was an up and coming market for wine and that they appreciated quality. We found that to be true.

Is there a need to say anything more? Yes, again to finish with a quote from the original article Travel: Israeli food and restaurants come of age

This focus on food in Israel is exciting, and I can now recommend going to Israel not just for the beauty and history, but also to eat. Beteavon (good appetite)!

Visit Israel, enjoy the history, nature and culture, as well as your food. All this and more on the recommendation of your private guide to Israel.

There are foods that are an integral part of a country or regions lifestyle.

Date Palms

Dates are one of them. The date palms grow abundantly in all parts of the country and of course the Middle East. There are in fact several types of dates. The most common is the big dark brown almost black date that most are familiar with.

Dates have been a staple of the Middle East cuisine and cooking from who knows when and is used extensively in many dishes. It’s one of the fruits mentioned many times in the Bible, such a great source of information of bygone days.

One reason the above mentioned type of date became so popular was its high sugar content. After all it was not until the sugar cane that sugar became a commodity. One of the products from the dates was a syrup, maybe the biblical honey.

dried dates

Today dates can be bought all year round, not just in its well-known dried from, but also as fresh frozen dates. They are absolutely yummie.

Date Cake

When I first came to Israel I learned a recipe for date cake which has become a staple in my family. It is based on packets of pitted, crushed dates that can be bought here. But you can try any type of unsweetened date paste. (I’ve used that as well and it works well).

1 cup boiling water
1/2 pack dates, pitted, crushed
Dissolve the dates in boiling hot water, but do not boil (takes 10-15 minutes for dates to soften)

200 g margerine
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups crushed nuts
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cup flour
1 cup sugar

Melt margarine over hot water. Add sugar and mix. Add all other ingredients and mx. Finally add softened dates and mix well.

Bake in medium oven for app. 45 min.

B’teavon (good appetite)