Dateline Jerusalem — Israel is the quintessential melting pot.  My small city of 150,000 is comprised of 70 nationalities, resulting in a gathering of different cultures, traditions, customs, religions, languages, and food.

Although keeping their distinctive identities, they blend into a cohesive “Israeli” community.  Therefore, living in Israel is like going on a tour of the world without the hassle of packing and expense.

Every Shabbat dinner and lunch is a learning experience.  Often the diners describe the source of family traditions and history while enjoying unique food and exotic spices. They sing similar songs but with different melodies.

Yet even common items sold all over the world are often known by different names. In Israel, french fries are known as chips, but so are potato chips.

This week I brought a couple of pounds of Jordan Almonds to my friends for Shabbat lunch dessert.

I have always known of these colorful sugar coated almond candies as Jordan Almonds. That is what they are called in the U.S.

It has been said that the term “Jordan” may be a corrupted version of the French word for “jardin” or “garden” for they are a cultivated rather than a wild almond.

Others say it refers to a variety of almonds long and thin with thick shells, originally grown along the Jordan River that flows from the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) to the Dead Sea.

At the Shabbat table I called them Jordan Almonds.  A woman from England knew them as “dragees,” probably named after the ancient Roman confectioner Julius Dragatus.  A man at the table raised in Libya — whose family history is Italian — said they were called “confetti.”

These candy coated almonds actually originated in Italy.

A Little of This and That

Israeli cuisine is known for its blend of Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, North African, Ethiopian, Spanish, French, Yemenite, Moroccan, Iraqi, Persian, Indian, Russian, German, Polish, Hungarian and Eastern European influences.

Therefore, Israeli table fare is as diverse as the countries that contribute to it.  But the delectable flavors and tantalizing aromas of Israeli spices and condiments make the dishes uniquely Israeli.

Interestingly, various countries in the Middle East, Israel included, claim to be the originator of certain shared dishes.  Of course, each is prepared with its own twist to make it unique.

Shwarma is either turkey in Israel or lamb in surrounding Arab countries, seasoned with cumin and curry powder,                   and slow roasted on a vertical spit before being shaved off into pieces and put in a pita sandwich.

Deep fried falafel balls can be made from ground garbanzo beans or chickpeas as well as from ground fava beans (Egyptian way), all seasoned with onion, garlic, parsley, coriander, cumin, and cardamon.

Even the world renowned Israeli Salad of finely diced tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, lemon juice and parsley or mint is claimed by other countries as their own.

Other well-known Israeli dishes include:

• Kubba (minced lamb or beef patties mixed with onion, parsley, raisins, peas, turmeric, and cumin stuffed in a rice and breadcrumb coating and deep fried),
• Matbucha (tomatoes, garlic, chili peppers, and red peppers slow roasted and served cold as a dip),
• Shashuka (sunny side up eggs swimming in tomato, cumin and paprika sauce),
• Schnitzel (flat slices of chicken or turkey breasts dipped in egg, flour, seasoned bread crumbs and deep fried or oven baked),
• Shishlik (kebabs of marinated chunks of beef, lamb, or chicken  roasted on skewers),
• Mejadra (rice with onions, cumin and lentils),
• Bourekas (puff pastry filled with salty or sweet cheeses, potatoes, mushrooms, or eggplant),
• Sabich (deep fried eggplant slices, hard boiled egg slices, mango chutney, tomatoes, slices of potato, and pickles served in a hummus coated pita).

Eggplant is a staple in Israel.  It is said that if an Israeli woman cannot cook eggplant 100 different ways, she cannot call herself Israeli.

Popular eggplant dishes include

• Baba Ganoush (minced roasted eggplant with tahini ,minced garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil),
• Roasted eggplant and peppers, and
• Deep fried eggplant.
• Hummus is chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice and garlic make into a paste.
• Tahini is a sesame seed paste.
• Popular spices include cinnamon, turmeric, cardamom, coriander, cumin, nutmeg, and ginger,
• Baharat spice (a mix of cardamom, allspice, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg),
• Hawaj (a mix of ground black pepper, cumin cardamom, caraway, turmeric, coriander, and cloves), and
• Za’atar (sumac, dried hyssop and/or oregano, salt, and sesame seeds).

The term melting pot in Israel is also referred to as an “in-gathering of the exiles.”  It was an official governmental doctrine of assimilating Jewish immigrants from various cultures.

Everyone Will Come Home

According to Deuteromony 30:1, all the Jews who have been scattered to the four corners of the earth will return to Israel at “the end of time.”  The Talmud states that this will occur before the year 6000 of the Hebrew calendar.

We are currently in year 5777.  Therefore, it is not unusual that so many people in the world are looking into their possible Jewish roots.

Under Israel’s Law of Return, at least one grandparent must be Jewish.  If one’s mother and maternal grandmother are Jewish, then a person is considered Jewish.

Judaism goes through the mother, not the father.  Various groups have been claiming Jewish roots.  For example, Kaifeng Jews from China go back to seventh century Jewish merchants.

The Beta Israel or Ge’ez from Ethiopia are accepted as Jewish from the tribe of Dan, but the Falash Mura Ethiopians converted to Christianity and must convert back to Judaism to be recognized as Jewish.

In Africa, Putti villagers are undergoing Orthodox conversion but other Abayudaya are not strict in Jewish observance.

The African Lemba tribe of Zimbabwe and South Africa actually have DNA that is found among the Jewish priestly line of Kohanim (Cohen).

African tribes in Cameroon and Mauritania also claim they are among the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel and descend from the tribe of Issachar. The famous Igbo tribe in Nigeria also claims to be a lost tribe.

Others claiming to be among the Lost Ten Tribes include the Bene Menashe and Bene Ephraim of India.

In 2005 the chief rabbi of Israel ruled that the Bene Menashe will only be allowed Aliyah after formal conversion even though they are recognized as one of the ten lost tribes.

The Bene Ephraim have only been practicing Judaism since the 1980s so they too must convert.

However, the Baghdadi Jews from Calcutta who originate from Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan, and the Bene Israel Jews from Bombay (Mumbai), some of whom originate from Karachi, Pakistan, and the Cochin Indian Jews from Cochi are accepted as Jewish and do not have to undergo conversion.

Also the Pashtun people of Afghanistan and even Native Americans (a tribe in Colorado of American Indians with genetic markers the same as Ashkenazi Jews) claim to be descendants of Jews.

Throughout South and Central America, Mexico,  the Caribbean,  and several groups in Arizona and New Mexico in the U.S., are descendants of Jews exiled or forced to convert to Catholicism during the Inquisition.

They are making their way back to Judaism and to making Aliyah (moving) to Israel.

Israel is definitely a melting pot and gatherer of exiles.

It is exciting to live here in this day and age.

 

L’hitraot.  Shachar