Pesach (Passover) in Israel is a very special time. Many restaurants in Jerusalem become Kosher for Passover, and even some bakeries! We could not believe the delectable foods that we were able to eat during the holiday while still keeping kosher l'pesach.
Right before the holiday started, we had a delightful lunch with Sandy and Dawn Margolin at Caffit which had already kashered for Passover. That meant that the bread roll was made with potato flour instead of wheat flour, and they had a special menu. We tried to go to Cafe Ben Ami but they were only serving desserts and drinks as they were in the preparation mode for Passover. We got to eat at Cafe Ben Ami during Passover and we had a similar potato flour bread roll. Mark got pizza, and I got shakshuka. It was great and didn't feel "pesadik" even though it completely was.
As we were walking to and from the shuk Machane Yehuda before Passover, we would pass a man at a table with big pots of boiling water. These were for people to bring their kitchenware for kashering for Pesach. Mark took a picture and wrote about it on his blog.
When we were here 12 years ago, we saw big vats of bread being burned. It is a ritual to search for crumbs and burn them the day before the holiday starts. We didn't see any of these vats this time, but we did smell it once when we were out and about.
We were honored to be invited to the family seder of the Swidler family. David and Naomi have six children. We met them through Shabbat.com 12 years ago during our sabbatical and became friends. We spend time with them whenever we are in Israel and they visited family California and spent time with us there. The night before Passover, we took all 8 of them to Pizza Hut for some yummy chametz. That was a lot of fun and Mark put that picture on his blog too.
The seder was phenomenal. It was so interesting and questions were encouraged. Anyone who asked a thoughtful question got a chocolate chip tossed to them. The seder was very long, the dinner was very tasty, and the singing was fantastic. The whole family is very musical. We didn't get home until 2:30 am. It was very tiring for me. We even skipped services the next morning because we were too exhausted.
Keeping kosher l'pesach here was a lot easier than at home. We purchased one double box of matzah and had leftovers. We enjoyed many meals out and many baked goods from kosher l'pesach certified bakeries. It was amazing!
For the end of the holiday (the last day here is the 7th day and it is also a chag), we took the bus to Beit Shemesh and stayed with Brenda and Steve Ganot. they are dear friends who Mark has known since high school frm BBYO leadership. They are Orthodox so we observed fully in their home. They made us snacks often, a wonderful evening meal for the holiday, and lots of wonderful leftovers for the ending meal. We did go to their synagogue for the morning services, then we had lunch at the home of friends of theirs where we enjoyed another delicious meal and interesting conversation. After that meal, we napped, ate the ending meal, and had a short havdalah with just the blessing over the wine. Brenda drove us to the bus stop, and we took the bus back to Jerusalem.
Now, this was our first bus trip like this and we had difficulty paying. Brenda had told us about the app we needed called Moovit but it was very confusing. And there was no way to purchase tickets at the station unless you already have a RavKav card which we don't. Anyway, we got there and missed our stop so Brenda had to drive a few extra minutes to pick us up. There was a makolet there though so we picked up two yahrtzeit candles that we forgot to bring.
On the bus ride home we had a very "rak b'yisrael" experience. Mark wrote about it in his blog:
A Very Israeli Bus Ride. On our way back from Beit Shemesh right when Passover ended, the bus became overcrowded, and, at a certain point, the driver was not allowed to pick up any more passengers. At one stop, two people attempted to force their way onto the bus, but there was only room for one person by law. They argued with each other, and neither would get off. The bus driver came out and nearly got into a fight with the man. The woman was giving a sob story about how she had to get to the hospital (though she seemed physically fine, plus a bus would arrive 30 minutes later, 5 by the time it was resolved). Every passenger was yelling something, most of which I couldn't understand, and each person thinking they could resolve the situation. Eventually, the police had to come, and the male was the one who was forced to leave the bus. You kind of had to be there, but it was another of those rak b'Yisrael, only in Israel moments.
We were lucky to have a young Israeli next to us who translated some of the conversations for us. There was no chametz (of course) to break the chag at Brenda's house, but when we arrived in the bus station in Jerusalem, there were all kinds of chametz to enjoy! We went to a delicious bakery and got some rugelach and a very cheesy bread thing. It was delicious! And we have a few sheets of matzah to use up which I will enjoy over the next few days as a cracker with avocado or other toppings. :-)
No comments:
Post a Comment