Falafel (Chickpea Patties)
Falafel is sold on street corners in every city and town in Israel.
Shishlik (Meat Kabobs)
The simple method of preparing meat on an open grill goes back to ancient biblical times.
Lokshen Kugel [Noodle Pudding]
Lokshen Kugel means "noodle pudding" in Yiddish. It originated in eastern Europe where the Jewish community spoke that language. This item falls into the category of "grandma's dishes."
Kichlach (cookies)
Derived from central Europe, the popular kichlach (Yiddish for "cookies") are to be found in many of the packages prepared by parents for their children serving in the Israeli military.
Vegan Lokshen Kugel (Noodle Pudding) Just Like Mom's
My mother's lokshen kugel is probably the best thing she made for us every year on Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur. It took some trial and error to successfully make it vegan, but here it is! This recipe makes a big, casserole-dish-sized kugel.
Sanctuary: A Poem for the End of Counting the Omer
I counted out the measures
In cubits
and inches
and baskets of grain
And made a sanctuary
From a field of grass
And cornflowers,
And it was pleasing to behold,
And silent.
Every Tu BiShvat Is a Second Chance
Tu BiShvat: How Israel Has Planted New Seeds in the Jewish Soul
What We Can Learn from Ruth and Naomi about Mental Health
In the Fields with Ruth on Shavuot
It was summer 2014, and Israel was at war. Tourists were sparse and so were volunteers. I was in a field outside Rehovot, picking daloriyot (butternut squash) alongside a dozen other visitors. And I was thinking of Ruth the Moabite.
In the Book of Ruth, which is read on Shavuot, Ruth and Naomi return to Bethlehem from their tragic sojourn in Moab, and Ruth goes to the fields to collect grain for herself and her mother-in-law. Leviticus (19:9-10 and 23:22) and Deuteronomy (24:19) state that the gleanings of the field belong to people who are poor, immigrants, orphans, or widows – and Ruth belongs to at least three of these categories. As a Moabite woman, whose husband died and who has arrived empty-handed in Bethlehem, Ruth is among the most vulnerable people in the land.