4 carrots, peeled and cut in half lengthwise (or sliced)
2 tomatoes, thickly sliced
2 or 3 small zucchini. cut in half lengthwise or thickly sliced
1 or 2 large potatoes, peeled and quartered (or cut into 1/4″ thick slices)
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
pinch of saffron threads, crumbled (optional)
a handful of red or green olives (optional)
1 cup water
1 tablespoon chopped parsley or cilantro, for garnish
How to Make It
I just returned from the shuk with a load of yellow and orange vegetables It’s always nice to combine some frozen vegetables with squash, zucchini and pumpkin gourds
Wash and prep the vegetables
Place the potatoes, carrots, and zucchini in a bowl; add the spices and toss to coat the vegetables evenly
Pour half of the oil into the base of a tagine or in a skillet. Add the onion slices and top with the tomato slices
Arrange the vegetables in conical fashion on top the tomatoes; or, if they were sliced, layer the vegetables over the tomatoes: first the carrots, then the potatoes, then the zucchini
Add the olives. Drizzle the remaining oil
Rinse the spices from the bowl which held the potatoes by swirling one cup of water in the bowl. Add this water to the tagine or skillet and cover
Place over medium-low to medium heat (use a diffuser between a tagine and the burner) and bring to a simmer. It’s normal for this to take 15 or 20 minutes if cooking in clay, so stay patient.
Once you hear the tagine simmering, adjust the heat to the lowest temperature necessary for maintaining a simmer. Allow the tagine to cook undisturbed for about one to one-and-a-half hours. Check to see that the vegetables are tender and reduce any excess liquid
Garnish the tagine with the chopped parsley or cilantro and serve warm
There’s a thread running thru this post. Passover is the holiday of Tshuvah and beginning with Rosh Chodesh Nissan we see events in the Jerusalem area related to living “Green”, exercise, and volunteering. We are fortunate no not need to ask others to help prepare a festive holiday.
Ramada Hotel
Ruppin Bridge at Herzl Blvd, Jerusalem, 91033, Israel
Jerusalem
to register: https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#search/The+Jerusalem+Business+Networking+Forum+(JBNF)++Monday%2C+April+4%2C+2016+8%3A30+AM++Ramada+Hotel+Ruppin+Bridge+at+Herzl+Blvd%2C+Jerusalem%2C+91033%2C+Israel+Jerusalem/153c124b5f4f4ff7
My building’s roof is a place where I reflect on the special privilege it is to live in Jerusalem. When I want to exercise I use one of several weighted ropes. Not on the roof, across the street on a wooden area outside Ha Ma”Alot restaurant or on a cushiony surface in Gan Ha Atzmaot.
I have been using jump ropes over several years, starting with the one lb. and increasing now to five lbs. It is my belief that exercise is the key to permanent weight maintenance for women as they age.
Would my readers be interested in joining me in a class in rope jumping in the park?I would supply the ropes starting with the lightest. My proceeds would be going to tzaduka.
Jumping rope is a traditional exercise that provides a total body strength and conditioning workout. With the ability to burn up to 1,000 calories per hour, you can use the jump rope to improve strength, agility, coordination or endurance.
A common question about the effectiveness of jumping rope, however, is the selection of the jump rope and choosing between a weighted jump rope or a speed rope.
Benefits :
A weighted jump rope and speed rope both provide the same basic benefits, which include improved coordination, agility, footwork, quickness and endurance. Using a speed rope, however, focuses on speed and quickness and is better for developing coordination and conditioning by increasing the speed of the rope. Weighted jump ropes, on the other hand, burn a significant amount of calories and can be effective for increasing strength and promoting weight loss.
Beginners:
Beginners should start with a basic lightweight speed rope before progressing to a weighted jump rope, according to Ross Enamait, professional fitness trainer. The durable plastic jump rope allows you to perform basic jump rope exercises and workouts to develop speed, agility and endurance. Also, the speed ropes are better at developing overall fitness and conditioning to complement a wide range of workout and training programs.
Speed:
A speed rope is ideal for beginners but can be used by elite athletes to develop footwork, coordination and conditioning. For example, boxers use a speed rope during their general strength and conditioning workouts. After learning the basic techniques for using the speed rope, you can progress to advanced exercises such as double unders. Double unders are a jump rope pattern that includes making two revolutions with the rope for every one jump and requires a significant amount of speed, coordination and endurance.
Strength:
Use a weighted jump rope if your fitness goals revolve around strength or weight loss. The heavy ropes require upper body strength to continue spinning the rope for repeated jumps. You can choose from 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 lb. weights to match your individual fitness and strength levels. Use the weighted jump rope to complement your normal strength training workouts.
Ramada Hotel
Ruppin Bridge at Herzl Blvd, Jerusalem, 91033, Israel
Jerusalem
to register: https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#search/The+Jerusalem+Business+Networking+Forum+(JBNF)++Monday%2C+April+4%2C+2016+8%3A30+AM++Ramada+Hotel+Ruppin+Bridge+at+Herzl+Blvd%2C+Jerusalem%2C+91033%2C+Israel+Jerusalem/153c124b5f4f4ff7
‘JEWISH PEACE CORPS’ VOLUNTEERS TO DISTRESSED COMMUNITIES
Jewish Agency Sending ‘Jewish Peace Corps’ Volunteers to Distressed Communities.
1,000 Young People to Serve Communities in South Africa, Ghana, Ethiopia, Mexico, Peru, and Israel
The Jewish Agency for Israel has started recruiting young people from Israel and around the world to volunteer in distressed communities in Africa, South America, and Israel, as part of the organization’s Project TEN program.
A launch event was hosted by Israeli Consul General in New York Ido Aharoni and was attended by dozens of Jewish community leaders, diplomats, philanthropists, Jewish Agency representatives, and former participants in the program.
In recent weeks, hundreds of students at top American universities have participated in on-campus information sessions hosted by Project TEN in order to familiarize them with volunteer opportunities at the three international centers currently operating in Winneba, Ghana; Gondar, Ethiopia; and Oaxaca, Mexico.
The volunteers may also choose to serve at the two Israeli centers in the southern city of Arad and Kibbutz Harduf in northern Israel, where they will run programs to empower Bedouin youth, new immigrants, at-risk teens, and individuals with special needs.
Project TEN was created by The Jewish Agency three years ago and offers young people from Israel and around the world the opportunity to live together in distressed communities and realize the Jewish values of tzedakah (social justice) and tikkun olam (repairing the world) by helping empower local residents.
Each participant receives a tailor-made volunteer program of several weeks or months in length, depending on their availability and preferences. Together, participants volunteer in educational, agricultural, and health-related initiatives, working together with local organizations and Jewish groups active in the area.
The ultimate goal is to develop local residents’ leadership skills and empower them to create models for sustainable development well after the volunteers return to their home countries.
The volunteers themselves return to their communities with a greater drive to engage in local activism and become involved in Jewish life.
In Ghana, Project TEN volunteers serve in the fishing town of Winneba, where they work with local residents and the fishermen’s children.
They run an educational center in which local children receive enrichment classes in a range of subjects and a mobile computer lab that provides digital knowledge to students whose prior exposure to computers was limited to sketches of keyboards on paper.
The volunteers also work in the fishing village of Akosua, which maintains some of the world’s most ancient fishing practices, teaching local children in a coconut hut.
In Mexico, volunteers serve in Oaxaca, where a series of natural disasters have prompted the creation of a Project TEN center to help local residents improve their preparedness and raise their standard of living.
The center is run in partnership with the Mexican Jewish organization CADENA, which specializes in serving communities struck by national disasters.
The volunteers work in dozens of far-flung, isolated communities spread across the vast, mountainous region.
Project TEN Director Yarden Zornberg notes that two additional volunteer centers are set to open in the coming year.
One will be hosted by the Jewish community of Durban, South Africa, where volunteers will work with local tribespeople, and the other will be located in Cusco, Peru, offering backpackers the opportunity to combine their treks with volunteerism.
According to Zornberg, more than one thousand volunteers are expected to serve in all seven Project TEN centers, engaging in activism over extended periods and realizing core Jewish values in the process.
Chairman of the Executive of The Jewish Agency for Israel Natan Sharansky said: “Through Project TEN, The Jewish Agency is creating a real opportunity for young Jewish people who want to be part of something bigger than themselves – to better their world through common work with young people like themselves from Israel and around the world. In so doing, Project TEN connects these young people’s vision of a better future with their Jewish roots. Making this wonderful initiative happen is yet another way for us to concretize Jewish and Zionist values.”
COST
The cost for the three-month Project TEN program outside of Israel, including volunteer, social, and learning activities; transportation between the center and your volunteer placement; trips and excursions; Internet connection; and subsidized food and lodging, is around $12 per day, or $1080 for the entire three-month period (Summer programs cost $1000 for a two-month track).
The cost for the five-month Project TEN program at its Israeli centers, including volunteer, social, and learning activities; transportation between the center and your volunteer placement; trips and excursions; Internet connection; and subsidized food and lodging, is $1,300 for the entire five-month period with a full Masa scholarship OR $1,500 for the entire five-month period with a partial or no Masa scholarship (scroll down to learn if you are eligible for a Masa scholarship).
The cost for shorter tracks in all Project TEN centers cost $24 per day per participante (in additional to group charges). These tracks are unique, and are open to special groups. Please contact> daniel.a@tenprogram.org for more details.
The cost does not include your airfare to the target country, health insurance, visa fees, or vaccination. Registration payment of $100 is required. The balance will be paid in two equal payments.
The UJA Federation of New York and Project TEN have established a Pay it Forward Fund that will provide some assistance to those volunteers who find it hard to pay for all of their expenses.
Each and every candidate will be required to participate in his or her own costs to some extent, and the scholarships will fund only up to 50% of the entire costs.
The UJA New York | TEN fund is based on a “pay it forward” model in which recipients are asked to sign an honor code, pledging to return the full amount within 2-3 years. This arrangement will not be legally binding, but will be actively encouraged, and will help other participants, in turn, to volunteer where they are needed.
Please contact ten@jafi.org for more details. Each application will be reviewed by a committee, and the applicant will receive a reply within two weeks from the receipt of the application.
Volunteering in Arad or Kibbutz Harduf, Israel?
Masa Israel Journey works to make it as easy as possible for young adults to go to Israel. They offer grants and scholarships to help make the experience more affordable. All Masa Israel participants are eligible to apply for universal grants and need-based scholarships towards the cost of your program.The grant/scholarship will be deducted from the total cost of the program. The amount available depends country of origin, age, and the length of your program.
Masa Israel Journey is funded jointly by The Jewish Agency for Israel and by the Government of Israel.
Grilled Salmon Kebabs
I mixed tuna and salmon
Prep time
15 mins
Cook time
10 mins
Total time
25 mins
Author: Maya Kitchenette
Serves: 4
Ingredients
600g salmon filet without skin/tuna
1 cup pineapples – cut into 2 cm chunks
1 green pepper – large cubes
Ingredients For The Marinade
¼ cup soy sauce/ or less
¼ cup honey/orange juice
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp minced ginger
¼ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
1 fat pinch of mixed herbs
Ingredients For The Dip
½ cup sour cream or mayonnaise (see notes)
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
1 garlic – grated
1 tsp lemon zest
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
For The Kebabs
Slice salmon into chunks.
Mix all the ingredients for the marinade in a bowl and whisk together till well incorporated.
Pour ¾ of the marinade over the salmon chunks and marinate for 15 minutes.
Marinate the pineapple and peppers with the remaining marinade for 15 minutes.
Preheat the grill for medium-high heat.
Thread peppers, salmon and pineapple onto skewers.
Brush with oil and grill for 5 minutes on each side.
For The Dip
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and keep it in the fridge till ready to use
Fennel and Kohlrabi Salad
A simple julienned fennel and kohlrabi salad recipe with red onion, parsley, and a lemony dressing.
Author: Brooklyn Supper, (adapted from The Frankies Spuntino Kitchen Companion & Cooking Manual by Franks Castronovo and Falcinelli)
Recipe type: Salad
Makes: two to four
Ingredients
1 small bulb fennel, well-cleaned and trimmed
1 small, tender kohlrabi, peeled and trimmed
1/2 red onion sliced thin into half-moons
1 cup minced flat leaf parsley
zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of red pepper flakes
fennel leaves
Instructions
Julienne the fennel and kohlrabi. Toss with the red onion and parsley. Combine the olive oil and and lemon juice, drizzle on the dressing, and add a few pinches of salt and tons of pepper. Taste, adjust salt and acid levels. Plate and give each serving a good squeeze of lemon juice, a pinch of red pepper flakes, and garnish with parsley and fennel leaves.
Plant sale in Kiryat Yovel, Meir Grunwald Street. All plants are from a container garden, kale, chard, oregano, mint, sage, thyme, dill and tomato plants. Each container is 2.50 NIS. Pick-up on Sunday or Monday of this week. Please contact Shoshana Dale if you are interested
Fundraising Fashion Show Tuesday April 5th $-6PM Inbal Hotel to benefit Hadassah Department of Neonatology levinson.phyllis@gmail.com
A FASHION SHOW & FANCY TEA 180 sh
To Be Presented By
The TAMAR & NACHAMA CHAPTERS
OF HADASSAH-ISRAEL
Tuesday April 5th, 2016 4pm-6pm
At the INBAL Hotel
OSFA Boutique’s fashions
OSFA-meaning “her collection” is a unique boutique on Derech Beit Lechem 53 in Jerusalem. Inspirational and friendly atmosphere, cutting edge Israeli designers synthesized with fabulous European imports and moderate prices.
There will be a raffle with over 20 wonderful prizes
for NIS 20 per ticket.
Price of Fashion Show: NIS 180.00
For reservations please contact:
Phyllis Levinson Pyllis.levinson@icloud.com or 02-642-1953
Egged Ambulance: (03) 550-9156
Kfar SavaRon Ambulance: (09) 767-0838
Netanya Derech Hachaim: (09) 833-7031 Tal Raz: (09) 861-4417
Petah Tikva Ambulance Sami and Jacob: (03) 535-1129 Tal Ambulance: (03) 930-1924
Ra’ananaShahal Medical Services: (09) 760-4455
Ramat Gan Ambulance A.B.: (03) 676-5717 Ambulance Noam: (03) 574-3339 Magen David Adom: (03) 579-3589
Rehovot Ambulance Dor-2000: 935-4177 Shlomo Ambulance: (08) 941-8004
Rishon Letzion Shahal: (03) 831-4333 E.R.N. Ambulance: (03) 945-1828
Embassies & Consulates(In Tel Aviv, unless otherwise noted) The Consulate of Armenia, 5 Sheikh Jarrah, Jerusalem: (02) 581-7162
The Embassy of Argentina, 3 Jabotinsky, Ramat Gan: (03) 575-9173
The Embassy of Australian, 37 Shaul Hamelech, Europe House: (03) 693-5000
The Embassy of Austria, 12 Hahilazon, Ramat Gan: (03) 612-0924
The Embassy of Belarus, 2 Koifman: (03) 510-2236
The Embassy of Belgium, 12 Hahilazon, Ramat Gan: (03) 6138130
The Consulate of Britain, 1 Ben Yehuda: (03) 510-0166
The Embassy of Britain, 192 Hayarkon: (03) 725-1222
The Embassy of Bulgaria, 124 Ibn Gvirol: (03) 524-1751
The Embassy of Cameroon, 10 Koifman: (03) 519-0011
The Embassy of Canada, 3 Nirim Beit Hasapanut: (03) 636-3300
The Embassy of Chile, 7 Havakuk: (03) 602-0130
The Embassy of China, 222 Ben Yehuda: (03) 546-7277
The Embassy of Colombia, 52 Pinkas: (03) 546-1717
The Embassy of the Republic of Congo, 1 Rachel: (03) 524-8306
The Embassy of Costa Rica, 13 Diskin, Jerusalem: (02) 566-6197
The Embassy of Croatia, Canyon Ramat Aviv: (03) 643-8654
The Embassy of Cyprus, 50 Dizengoff: (03) 525-0212
The Embassy of the Czech Republic, 23 Zeitlin: (03) 691-8282
The Embassy of Denmark, 23 Bnei Moshe: (03) 544-2144
The Consulate General of the Dominican Republic, 13 Yona Hanavi: (03) 516-2020
The Embassy of the Dominican Republic, 19 Soutine: (03) 527-7073
The Embassy of Ecuador, Asia House, 4 Weizmann: (03) 695-8764
The Consulate of Ecuador, 12 Harav Friedman: (03) 604-6856
The Embassy of Egypt, 54 Basel: (03) 546-4151
The Embassy of El Salvador, 4 Avigayil, Jerusalem: (02) 672-8411
The Embassy of Ethiopia, 48 Petah Tikva: (03) 639-7831
The Embassy of Finland, 40 Einstein: (03) 744-0303
The Consulate of France, 1 Ben Yehuda: (03) 510-1415
The Embassy of France, 112 Herbert Samuel: (03) 524-5371
The Embassy of Germany, 3 Daniel Frisch: (03) 693-1313
The Embassy of Ghana, 15 Abba Hillel: (03) 752-0834
The Embassy of Greece Embassy, 47 Bodenheimer: (03) 603-3461
The Embassy of Guatemala, Beit Ackerstein, Herzliya Pituah: (09) 956-8707
The Embassy of Hungary, 18 Pinkas: (03) 546-6991
The Consulate General of Iceland, 5 Tuval: (03) 623-5013
The Embassy of India, 4 Kaufman: (03) 510-1431
The Embassy of Ireland, 3 Daniel Frisch: (03) 696-4166
The Embassy of Italy, 25 Hamered: (03) 510-4004
The Embassy of the Ivory Coast, 25 Bezalel, South Africa Building: (03) 612-6677
The Embassy of Japan, Asia House, 4 Weizmann: (03) 695-7292
The Embassy of Jordan, 14 Abba Hillel, Ramat Gan: (03) 751-7722
The Embassy of Kenya, 15 Abba Hillel, Ramat Gan: (03) 575-4633
The Embassy of Korea, 38 Chen: (03) 696-3244
The Embassy of Latvia, 2 Weizman: (03) 03-727-5800
The Embassy of Liberia, 74 Menachem Begin: (03) 561-1068
The Embassy of Lithuania, 8 Shaul Hamelech: (03) 695-8685
The Embassy of Mexico, 25 Hamered: (03) 516-3938
The Embassy of Moldova, 7 Havakuk: (03) 604-0014
The Consulate General of Monaco, 51 Hamelech David: (03) 522-3053
The Embassy of the Netherlands, 14 Abba Hillel, Ramat Gan: (03) 752-3150
The Embassy of Nigeria, 34 Gordon: (03) 522-2144
The Embassy of Norway, 40 Einstein: (03) 744-1490
The Representative of Oman, 79 Yehuda Hamaccabi: (03) 546-7860
The Consulate General of Paraguay, 1/4 Rehov Carmel, Mevasseret Zion: (03) 561-5268
The Embassy of Panamana, 10 Hei Be’lyar: (03) 695-6711
The Consulate of Papua New Guinea, P.O. Box 31081, Jerusalem: (02) 534-1721
The Embassy of Paraguay, 1 Carmel St., Mevasseret Zion: (02) 533-4830
The Embassy of Peru, 60 Medinat Hayelmedim, Herzliya Petuach: (03) 957-8835
The Embassy of the Phillipines, 2 Koifman: (03) 517-0653
The Embassy of Poland, 16 Soutine Street: (03) 524-0186
The Embassy of Portugal, 3 Daniel Frisch: (03) 695-6373
The Embassy of Romania, 24 Adam Hacohen: (03) 524-2482
The Consulate of Russia, 1 Ben Yehuda: (03) 510-1020
The Embassy of Russia, 120 Hayarkon: (03) 522-6736
The Embassy of Rwanda, 30 Hei Be’lyar: (03) 691-2319
The Embassy of Slovakia, 37 Jabotinsky: (03) 544-9119
The Embassy of Slovenia, 50 Dizengoff: (03) 524-2482
The Embassy of South Africa, 50 Dizengoff: (03) 525-2566
The Embassy of Sweden, Asia House, 4 Weizmann: (03) 695-8111
The Embassy of Switzerland, 228 Hayarkon: (03) 546-4455
The Embassy of Spain, 3 Daniel Frisch: (03) 696-5218
The Economic and Cultural Office Taipei, Azrieli Center: (03) 695-4688
The Embassy of Thailand, 21 Shaul Hamelech: (03) 695-8980
The Commercial Section of Thailand, 57 Pinsker: (03) 528-0870
The Embassy of Turkey, 202 Hayarkon: (03) 524-1101
The Consulate of Uganda, 21 Yunitzman: (03) 690-2743
The Embassy of the Ukraine, 12 Stricker: (03) 604-0242
The Consulate of the Ukraine, 1 Ben Yehuda: (03) 517-8784
The Embassy of the United States, 71 Hayarkon: (03) 519-7575
The Embassy of Uruguay, 73 Nordau, Herzliya: (09) 956-9612
The Consulate of Uzbekistan, 4 Mateh Aharon, Ramat Gan: (03) 579-6026
The Embassy of the Vatican, 1 Netiv Hamazalot, Old Jaffa: (03) 683-5658
The Embassy of Venezuela, 2 Koifman: (03) 517-6287
The Embassy of Yugoslavia, 10 Bodenheimer: (03) 604-5535
The Embassy of Zaire, 1/2 Rachel: (03) 524-8306
Eran Emotional First Aid: 1201
Dental Clinic 18 Reines St., Tel Aviv: (03) 523-9241; 2 Moriah Street, Jerusalem: (02) 537-3691
WIZO Hot line for battered women: (03) 546-1133, (08) 855-0506, (02) 651-4111
Rape Crisis Center Tel: 1202 or Tel Aviv: (03) 517-6176, Jerusalem: (02) 625-5558, Haifa: (04) 853-0533, southern Israel: (07) 633-1977
National Poison Control Center: (04) 852-9205
Child Abuse Hotline: (04) 855-6611
Crisis Counseling Hotline in English: 1-800-654-1111 or (02) 654-1111
Teletmicha Israel Cancer Association hotline for patients and their families: (02) 624-7676
Yad Sarah Medical (rehab equipment, oxygen supplies): (02) 644-4444
Public Information Telephone Repair and Maintenance: 166
Electric Corporation: 103
Information (Bezeq): 144
TravelFlight Information: (03) 972-3333 (Hebrew), (03) 972-3344 (English)
Bus Schedules: (03) 694-8888
Train Schedules: (03) 693-7515
Airport Bus: (Tel Aviv – Ben Gurion): (03) 607-0000
Tourist Information OfficesAcre: (04) 991-1764
Arad: (07) 995-4409
Ben Gurion Airport: (03) 971-1485
Eilat: (07) 637-2111
Haifa: (04) 853-5606
Jerusalem (Safra Sq.): (02) 625-8844
Jerusalem (Jaffa Gate): (02) 628-0382
Nazareth: (06) 657-0555
Netanya: (09) 882-7286
Safed: (06) 692-7485
Tel Aviv (Central Bus Station): (03) 639-5660
Tel Aviv (City Hall): (03) 521-8500
Tiberias: (06) 672-5666
Foreign Currency Exchange OfficesTel Aviv Area:Change Spot, 140 Dizengoff, Tel Aviv: (03) 524-3393
Quick Change, 22 Ben Yehuda, Tel Aviv: (03) 629-9299
Quick Change Phone-Li, Azrieli Center, Tel Aviv: (03) 609-5020
Change, 2 Nehemia, Bnei Brak: (03) 578-8419
Change Bar, 94 Hayarkon, Tel Aviv: (03) 527-9050
Change Spot, 1 Ben Yehuda, Tel Aviv: (03) 510-3301
Change Spot, Opera Tower, Tel Aviv: (03) 510-6035
Change Spot, 35 Sokolow, Holon: (03) 503-8079
Jerusalem: Calothy Jaleb, 4 Salah A-Din: (02) 628-2915
Change Point, 2 Ben Yehuda: (02) 624-0011
Change Spot, Malka Kanyon: (02) 679-5401
Levi Yithak, Talpiot Kanyon: (02) 672-2070
Moneynet Ltd., 8 Ben Hillel: (02) 622-2318
Haifa: Change Spot, 5 Nordau, Haifa, (04) 864-4111
Eilat: Change Express, 137 Shalom Center: (07) 632-6842
Interchange, Mall Hayam: (07) 634-0049
Moneynet Ltd., North Beach: (07) 632-6696
Sinai Change, King Solomon Promenade: (07) 631-8450
NazarethChange Spot, Jumbo Center, 1st Floor: (06) 657-7288
NetanyaChange Spot, 5 Herzl: (09) 832-2112
Tiberias Maninet Ltd., 3 Habanim Midrehov 2nd Floor: (04) 672-4048
Airlines:Aero Mexico, 23 Ben Yehuda, Tel Aviv: (03) 795-1333
Air Canada, 1 Ben Yehuda, Tel Aviv: (03) 511-8686
Air France, 1 Ben Yehuda, Tel Aviv: (03) 511-0000
Alitalia, Ben Gurion Airport: (03) 971-1047
American Airlines, 29 Ben Yehuda, Tel Aviv: (03) 795-2122
Arkia International Ltd., 11 Frishman, Tel Aviv: (03) 523-3285
Austrian Airlines, 1 Ben Yehuda, Tel Aviv: (03) 511-5110
British Airways, Azrieli Center, 20th Floor, Round Building, Tel Aviv: (03) 608-1800
Continental Airlines, 25 Hamered, Tel Aviv: (03) 511-6700
Delta Airlines, 29 Allenby, Tel Aviv: (03) 620-1101
El Al Israel Airlines, 32 Ben Yehuda, Tel Aviv: (03) 526-1222
Japan Airlines, 23 Ben Yehuda, Tel Aviv: (03) 795-1333
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Ben Gurion Airport: (03) 971-1138
Lufthansa German Airlines, 1 Ben Yehuda, Tel Aviv: (03) 514-2350
S.A.S. Scandinavian Airlines, 1 Ben Yehuda, Tel Aviv: (03) 510-1177
Sabena Belgian World Airlines, 1 Ben Yehuda, Tel Aviv: (03) 511-6610
South African Airways Israel Building, 5 Shalom Aleichem, Tel Aviv: (03) 795-1344
Swissair Swiss Airlines, 1 Ben Yehuda, Tel Aviv: (03) 511-6666
Turkish Airlines, 78 Hayarkon, Tel Aviv: (03) 517-2333
T.W.A. Trans World Airlines Inc., 76 Hayarkon, Tel Aviv: (03) 795-5355
Taxis:Tel Aviv:Hashekem: (03) 527-0404
Kastel: (03) 699-3322
New York: (03) 523-7722
Nordau: (03) 546-6222
JerusalemGilo: (02) 676-5888
Hapalmach: (02) 679-3333
King David: (02) 625-2510
HaifaBalfour: (04) 866-8383
Carmel: (04) 838-2626
EilatHamelech Shlomo: (07) 633-3338
Taba: (07) 633-3339
Internet Cafes
Tel AvivBambili, 22 Peretz: (03) 688-8031
Private Link, 78 Ben Yehuda: (03) 529-9889
Webstop, 28 Bograshov: (03) 620-2682
JerusalemAlami Net i.Cafe, 2 Mount of Olives: (02) 627-7891
The Netcafe, 9 Heleni Hamalka: (02) 624-6327
The Site, 12 Rivlin: (02) 625-9888
Strudel Internet Cafe and Wine Bar, 11 Monbaz Street: (02) 623-2101
HaifaNorEm Internet Cafe, 29 Nordau: (04) 866-5656
EilatBJ’s Books, New Tourist Center: (07) 634-0905
Private Link, Central Bus Station: (07) 634-4331
Car RentalsTel AvivAvis, 113 Hayarkon: (03) 527-1752 Eldan, 20 Hahaskala Boulevard: (03) 565-4545
Jerusalem Avis, 22 King David: (02) 624-9001 Eldan, 24 King David: (02) 625-2151/9
Haifa Avis, 7 Ben Gurion Boulevard: (04) 851-3050
EilatAvis, Tourist Info Center: (07) 637-3164 Eldan, 143 Merkaz Shalom: (07) 637-4027
skip –
read more: http://www.haaretz.com/news/useful-numbers-in-israel-1.63269
Sloopy Soup-use what you have before Purim and Pesach
Why did we call it Sloopy Soup? Well, we can’t quite remember, to tell you the truth! But it’s been hanging around as a favorite in our home for years. Because it turns out different every single time we make it. Every single time! In other words, you’ll never get bored with Sloopy Soup. And If you begin now you can empty out those grains and legumes!
I thought you might enjoy learning how to make it too.
This isn’t an exact recipe, because I don’t use a recipe when I make it. But you’ll get the gist.
The main point of the soup is to stuff it with whole foods. You can use any combination of beans/legumes/lentils, vegetables, and whole grains. These whole foods form the base of the vegan diet and their slow-burning carbs will keep you filled up for hours.
Sloopy Soup!
Start with about 2 cups of any combination of uncooked dried beans, lentils, split peas, or other legume. I recommend pre-soaking them in triple the fresh water for at least 8 hours, although 24 hours is best.
You’ll also need about 1 cup of your favorite grain, uncooked. Again, pre-soaking your grain is best.
Next, chop any vegetables you’d like such as broccoli, carrots, celery, cabbage, beets, organic corn, potatoes, etc. You’ll want to end up with about 6 cups’ worth of chopped veggies.
Finally, chop up any dark leafy green such as kale or collards or Swiss chard, etc. When you’re done coarsely chopping them they should measure about 4 cups’ worth of dark greens.
Now, let’s put your soup together.
Boil about 8 cups of water (more or less, depending on how thin/thick you like your soup) in a large pot that has a lid—you can also use unsalted vegetable broth. Add your (drained) pre-soaked beans/legumes, your (drained) pre-soaked grains, and all of the vegetables—don’t forget the greens, even lettuce!
At this point you can also add 1/2 cup nuts (any kind will do) and even 1/2 cup of raisins which add a fun “pop” to a mouthful of soup because they plump up as the soup cooks.
Bring your soup to a boil, then lower the heat to the lowest flame and simmer for 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours or until the beans/legumes can be smushed between the roof of your mouth and your tongue and the grains are tender.
During the last 10 minutes of cooking, if you used plain water earlier go ahead and add 4 vegetable bouillon cubes now. (We add these last if they’re the salted variety so the salt doesn’t interfere with the cooking of the beans.) At this time you’ll also add any combination of herbs and spices you like such as basil, oregano, marjoram, celery seeds, salt, pepper, red chili pepper flakes, etc.
Turn off the heat and let your soup sit for 10 minutes. Stir. Serve.
This “recipe” serves about 8 but it can be halved if you’d like. Leftovers store beautifully in the fridge and even in a tightly-sealed container in the freezer.
Sloopy Soup…
…is a meal everyone in your family will love, especially because you can tailor it to your favorite whole food ingredients. Give it a go. Enjoy!
I love spaghetti squash, and have stuffed it on many occasions to make a wonderful vegetarian entree that presents well and is super tasty. I typically choose smaller squashes because I like to serve a half squash rather than navigate cutting the larger ones into portions, but either works fine. (The recipe is based on a smaller squash serving two people; if you go for the bigger one, just double the stuffing ingredients. See the tutorial on “How to Cook Spaghetti Squash” and we will proceed from there. The stuffing is an adventure and can go far beyond the simple version listed here: Pan Seared Wild Mushrooms make a great addition to the stuffing; so does topping the squash with homemade Summer Tomato Sauce or, for meat eaters, a ladle of Best Turkey Bolognese sauce. In other words, be adventurous and play around with this recipe. You won’t be disappointed.
Scoop out all of the insides of the spaghetti squash into a mixing bowl and set aside, reserving the shells of the squash.
Heat the olive oil over medium high flame and add the garlic, stirring for one minute.
Add the spinach (or kale or broccolini)and stir the greens until they are just wilted.
Season with salt and pepper, and add a pinch of herbs if desired.
Mix the greens and the spaghetti squash together, and adjust seasoning if needed.
Divide the mixture between the halves of squash.
Top the squash with tomato sauce and a generous sprinkling of cheese.
Place the squash in a baking dish and bake in the middle of the oven until the stuffing is heated through and the cheese has melted, about 15 minutes.
Serve immediately.
Variations: Use chopped broccoli instead of the greens, or add sautéed wild mushrooms along with the spinach. Top with goat cheese (or vegan cheese for a vegan entree). Serves 2
Into the depths Caving (known as “potholing” in the UK) is not an activity to be attempted alone, or without the proper equipment and preparation. It involves climbing, hiking, rappelling – and no small amount of danger. “It’s possibly the most dangerous challenge sport there is,” says Sergey Shipitsin, one of Israel’s most accomplished speleologists. “In most countries you can not even get insurance for it. It’s also one of the few activities where you can still go where no one has gone before – and even discover things not found beforehand anywhere in the world.”
Caving at the Avivim caves in Israel involves climbing, hiking, rappelling –
and no small amount of danger (Photo courtesy Sarma)
Shipitsin, 43, says Israel ranks among cave explorers’ top 10 destinations.”Israel is a dream country for the cave explorer. In Such a small country, we have everything. There is no country in the world like it in this Respect.”
Israel’s four main caving areas are the Jerusalem hills; Mount Sodom;around Peki’in in the Upper Galilee; and the Hebron Hills in the West Bank.
Mount Sodom – basically a block of salt rising 230 meters above the Dead Sea that sank into the ancient lake before being lifted out as a slab by tectonic tremors – is pierced by labyrinth caverns and tunnels formed by rainwater, including the world’s biggest salt caves. “And we have not even started exploring it in depth yet,” says Shipitsin.
If you know where to look, the Jerusalem hills have thousands of caves, many of them eminently explorable. The most interesting cave in Israel, says Shipitsin, is the 2.5-kilometer Ayalon Cave, discovered in April 2006 when a small opening was noticed in a quarry near Ramle. The limestone cave, completely cut off from the outside environment for millennia, sustained an independent, sunlight-free ecosystem. Four crustacean and four terrestrial species previously unknown to science, all without eyes, have been identified already. However, this cave remains closed to the public to allow scientific investigation to continue undisturbed.
“I started in Russia at age 16,” he says. “Israel has many people experienced in both cave exploration and rappelling. We organize challenge trips underground and training courses of various lengths. You do not have to be particularly fit – we had children aged seven and a 74-year-old in last weekend’s tour. ”
Climb up, rappel down
Israelis wishing to train for rock climbing have their choice of 12 rock-climbing walls – in Ashdod, Haifa, Jerusalem, Kibbutz Ha’Ogen, Kiryat-Ono, Kfar Blum, Petah Tikvah, Ramat Yishai and Tel Aviv.
When it comes to the real deal, Israel has some spectacular sites for rappelling, or the controlled descent down a rope known as “abseiling” in British English and “snappling” in Hebrew. Aficionados say that nothing matches the adrenalin rush of rappelling against the cliffs of the Ramon crater in the Negev, or down wadis in the Judean Desert.
One of the most popular rappelling sites is at Khirbet Oren on Mount Carmel, where the stone wall rises up from the valley almost vertically.Include popular sites Other the Keshet (Arch) Cave on the border with Lebanon and the Pigeons Caves, a Prehistoric site near Karmiel. Then there’s the notoriously challenging Black Canyon trail in the Golan Heights that combines rushing water with hiking through a unique nature reserve.
The quickest way down
Now, free-falling is for the really strong of heart. “Yes, it’s dangerous,” Admits Ziv Kochva, a Parachuting guide at the Paradive jump school near Habonim Beach opposite the Carmel mountain range, “But Parachuting is an Empowering experience. It Makes you the think you can do anything – a Tremendous feeling of freedom . Fear that turns into elation: Nothing can be compared with it. Anyone who does not do it once in their life is missing out. ”
Israel has its own skydiving fraternity, many of them graduates of paratroop units or the IDF’s jump school at Tel Nof. One stalwart, Shlomi Perel, jumped for the 15,000th time in January – an Israeli record. Civilian skydivers must take a two-day study course and have at least 10 jumps under their belt before being allowed up to 12,000 feet. But the beauty about parachuting is that you do not need to take a test – anyone can experience it through tandem jumps, in which the thrill-seeker and guide are harnessed together.
A long way down: parachutists get a birds-eye view of the country’s coastline.
Since opening a decade ago, Paradive, the country’s largest jump school, has conducted more than 300,000 jumps. Paradive offers three types of tandem jump: the basic jump, in which the paying client can passively enjoy the ride; “challenge tandem,” in which the customer opens and controls the ‘chute in the air; and “tandem jet,” where the plane drops you off at five kilometers.
“It can be the greatest experience of a lifetime,” Kochva exclaims. “You drop for 50 seconds at 200 kmph, then spend five to seven minutes floating down in one of the most beautiful places in the world. It’s a closed area – a nature reserve and the only part of the Mediterranean coastline closed to flights.”
Parachuting is definitely not a cheap thrill – a basic tandem jump costs about NIS 1,200 ($ 333).
What kinds of people parachute? “Literally all sorts – from 12-year-olds to some in their 70s, and not necessarily former paratroopers,” says Kochva.”We have one elderly gent who’s already done 15 tandem jumps. Often they come as a birthday present – it’s a present they never forget.”
Free flight
First of all, let’s differentiate between the complementary sports of paragliding and hang gliding. Both answer one of our greatest desires: to fly. A hang glider, with its aluminum frame, outperforms a paraglider in terms of speed and glide ratio – but landing a hang glider requires more skill. A paraglider flies more slowly and takes advantage of light conditions, can land in the smallest field and easily folds into the car trunk. Hang gliders are more suitable for blustery conditions. A hang glider pilot flies prone (suspended face down), while paraglider pilots fly supine (seated).
Israel, where the weather conditions are considered ideal, has no fewer than 25 official launch pads – and thousands of aerial sport fans. The country is blessed with favorable soaring conditions almost year-round. There are several popular launch sites in the Galilee including the Manara cliff near Kiryat Shmonah in the Upper Galilee; the Gilboa mountain; Zichron Ya’akov;off the cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean coastline; and Mount Tabor above the Jezre’el Valley – an excellent thermal machine where, according to a fourth-century Christian legend, Jesus underwent the process of his Transfiguration. Ever since, the hill has been known as “The Mountain of the Leap.”Several professional schools offer courses and equipment rental for everything from glide parachutes to flying dune buggies.
The drink Into
When the waves are high, Thousands of surfers and windsurfers can be spotted frolicking in the Mediterranean waters all along Israel’s coastline.The sea often throws up sufficient swell, and the country has produced some fine surfers, including its first Olympic gold medalist in windsurfing, Gal Fridman.
Surfing here can be traced back to the 1950s, when young Californian physician Dorian Paskowitz immigrated together with six part-balsa longboards and introduced the sport to incredulous Tel Avivians. The days of learning to surf by trial and (Drowning) are long gone error, and surfing schools now dot the country’s coastline.
Not that local adventurism is limited to above sea level: The Red Sea coastline from Eilat, with its magnificent coral reefs and multiple marine species, is renowned worldwide for scuba diving. The Mediterranean coast also has several popular scuba-diving areas, among them the biblical sites of the ancient port of Caesarea and Tel Shikmona near Haifa.
Endless options
OK, it’s not Aspen, but Israel’s sole ski slope features a wide range of ski trails at novice, intermediate and expert levels, plus winter family activities such as sledding and Nordic skiing. The highest point in Israel, Mount Hermon (the chairlift operates year-round) is also a wonderful base for summertime activities such as mountain biking.
In the past decade, mountain biking has become an incredibly popular weekend pastime in Israel, with dozens of biking clubs boasting thousands of members. This compact country boasts myriad bike routes through some of the most diverse terrain you’ll ever ride – you have not lived until you’ve ridden through the Negev desert by moonlight.
And those who thrive on the vibrations of a rumbling engine through their bones will find that Israel is rife with off-road routes for dirt bikes, four-wheel drives and ATVs (all-terrain vehicles). There are dozens of tels (biblical mounds) for drivers / riders who love shooting up and down the slopes.
You do not see the same numbers of skaters tearing up Israeli sidewalks as you do in North American metropolises, but Israeli cities have many new marble-lined plazas that come alive after office hours. The country also has a number of skate parks. The Sporteque in Tel Aviv, the best and biggest park in the country, has a vert, a mini ramp, a mini vert, four quarters, three fun boxes, four banks, two rails, a pyramid and a pro shop.Golda Park in central Tel Aviv is the city’s best unofficial skate spot.Jerusalem boasts a newly rebuilt concrete skate park at Gan Sacher, adjacent to the Supreme Court, while skaters also hang out at Safra Square, next to City Hall.
Crazy Roller in Herzliya has a mini-half pipe and a 3.4 meter high vert, and there are also skate parks in Ra’anana, Katzrin and Shoham. S even a There skate major event in the ancient Roman Amphitheater at Caesarea, sponsored by Red Bull.
Skateboarding has been around in Israel since at least 1978, and is alive and kicking in this corner of the Middle East. And unlike in other countries, skateboarding is not a crime in Israel and there is no police harassment of skaters.
That might not be the case with parkour, also known as free-running – the non-competitive, utilitarian discipline of French origin in which participants negotiate a route lined with urban obstacles using only their bodies’ natural abilities. Law-enforcement officers are keeping a wary eye on Israeli city teenagers taking to their local concrete jungle using a gamut of skills involving leaping, climbing, vaulting, rolling and swinging. Sometimes they can even be spotted leaping from one rooftop to the next.
RED LENTIL SOUP
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced or pureed
4 stalks of celery, washed and sliced crosswise 1/2-inch thick
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 generous pinch saffron
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 large or 2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced
1 pound red lentils/yellow
2 quarts water
1 cup cooked wheat berries or alfalfa sprouts
6 Italian Roma tomatoes, cored and diced
1/2 bunch cilantro, washed, leaves sliced thin /crosswise or beet green leaves
CROUTONS TO FLOAT ON A BOWL OF SOUP
1 loaf long skinny bread, sliced on the diagonal 3/4-inch thick
2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil or softened butter
Directions
Heat olive oil in Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring, 10 minutes until softened and beginning to color. Add garlic and cook one minute to release its aroma. Add celery and cook 2 minutes until softened. Add 1 teaspoon of salt, the pepper and the turmeric, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, saffron, and bay leaf and cook 2 to 3 minutes to develop the flavor of the spices. Add tomato paste, potatoes, lentils and water and cook 45 minutes; the lentils and potatoes should be quite tender. Stir in remaining 1 teaspoon salt, wheat berries and tomatoes and heat through. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve garnished with cilantro. I did not add the cilantro. Also guests commented that the cinnamon was not necessary.
CROUTONS TO FLOAT ON A BOWL OF SOUP
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly brush oil or butter on both sides of bread slices. Arrange bread in a single layer on a cookie sheet and bake 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool croutons on a wire rack.
c.1996, M.S. Milliken & S. Feniger, all rights reserved
TUNA/ BROCCOLI/KALE/BEET GREAN QUINOA PATTIES WITH LEMON CAPER SAUCE adapted from: http://www.allergyfreealaska.com/2014/01/18/tuna-broccoli-quinoa-patties-lemon-caper-sauce/
Serves: 12 three-inch patties
INGREDIENTS
For the Lemon Caper Sauce:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon capers, minced-OMITTED
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
FOR THE TUNA/ BROCCOLI/KALE/BEET GREAN QUINOA PATTIES
1/2 cup uncooked quinoa/KASHA/MILLET cooked use 3/4 cup
1 cup diced broccoli/KALE/beet greens plus 1 shredded carrot
1/2 cup minced onion
2 cups drained & flaked tuna or salmon (about a 7 ounce can) i used 18 oz total mixed with egg in food processor
1/2 cup blanched almond flour or gluten free bread crumbs or flax meal
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried dill
Sea salt & fresh ground black pepper/sprorachio sauce/cayenne
2 eggs- I used one with 4 oz flax seed meal
1-3 tablespoons coconut oil, for frying ,seasoned matzah crumbs.
INSTRUCTIONS
TUNA/KALE/BEET/GREENS BURGERS
To make the Lemon Caper Sauce:
In a small mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients and refrigerate in an air tight container until ready to serve.
To make the TUNA/ BROCCOLI/KALE/BEET GREAN QUINOA PATTIES
Cook the quinoa according to package directions, or use The Better Way to Cook Quinoa method. Drain and cool.
In a medium sized skillet or wok, sauté the vegetables and onions in 1-2 teaspoons of coconut oil over medium heat until they are beginning to turn soft, about 5 minutes. Remove from burner and cool.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the quinoa, vegetables and onions, tuna, almond flour, or substitute, garlic, and dill. Season with fresh ground black pepper to taste.
Stir in the egg.
Warm a tablespoon of coconut oil in a 10-12 inch skillet (this is the one I recommend) over medium heat.
Pack a 1/4 cup metal measuring cup or a falafel maker with patty mixture and carefully ease the mixture out into the skillet. Use the back side of a spatula to press the mixture into a three inch patty, about 1/2-3/4 inch thick. I made mine 1 1/2 in wide by 1/2 inch thick. Made them easier to turn.
Reduce temperature to medium low, and fry the patties for 3-5 minutes on each side, or until they are golden brown. I baked them on parchment in the oven by toping them with canola oil, Keep adding more coconut oil to the pan as needed. Serve warm or at room temperature with the Lemon Caper Sauce.
RECIPE NOTES FROM MEGAN
I like having a good amount of coconut oil in my frying pan, about a tablespoon, because it makes the outside of the patties nice and crunchy (but that’s just my preference, feel free to do what you like).
If you are using left over cooked quinoa, 1/2 cup of uncooked quinoa equals about 1 3/4 cups of cooked quinoa
An Introduction: The Negev encompasses- 60 % of Israel’s land mass and about 9 % of the population, including many Bedouin tribes, who “live” in reserves. The plan today was to visit Ein Avdat National Park . We hiked in a wadi, part of the park. However the sunny photos in En Avdat are not of our hike-I am including a soup recipe. A long trip requires provisions.
This was an extraordinary day; Many places in the Negev are for a future sunny trip. Hashem did not grace us with sun there today. The day had many wonderful moments.The ruins of the spice route are luminous. Those are also for another trip but are included here just s a sample of the stretches of the Negev.
The NBNefesh bus is leaving from Binyanei HaUman, a few minutes after 8:00 AM with only a few passengers. One stop in Beit Shemesh for the fill up and we are on our way taking the circuitous road to route 6 South over-reaching the showers. The road’s side gullies are dry and there are another 2 hours before reaching the Negev. Nechama and I are raking our brains a bit with Arabic.
We meet several soldiers at a pit-stop, who enjoy practicing their English on us (to my regret). The group are stationed in Rehovot. They also are traveling together with their commanding officer, a smiling Ethiopian girl. She points this out to us with a big wave.
There is always a risk in the winter of showers and flash floods in the eastern and southern wadis.
Due to flooding, our group is stopped at a road-block at the entrance to Ein Avdat National Park. Our guide Noa explains that we are not the only ones to be disappointed and turned away from Ein Avdat National Park.
Clusters of families were huddled together. They had travelled from the surrounding areas, even from Tel Aviv to “catch a flood”. Check out the following map and U-tube which captures the flood on camera.
The Alpaca farm
The farm is located north of Mitzpe Ramon and houses many different animals such as alpacas, llamas, camels and horses. The farm offers a variety of activities such as hand-feeding, horse-back riding and more.
Makhtesh Ramon – Ramon Crater
The crater is located next to the city of Mitzpe Ramon. The visitors’ center offers a spectacular view of the crater, as well as tourist information, videos and an audio-visual show. Click here for more information about the Ramon Crater. In an earlier post I described an unusual astronomy talk.
Avdat National Park described in this post:Unfortunately our visit does not include this because of the rain. Visit the remains of an ancient city which served as a camping ground for Nabataean caravans traveling along the early Petra – Gaza road. Open all year round. Allow an hour or two for n full tour of the site.
Neve Midbar Spa: This sounds magnificent:
The spa spans 8,000 square meters and offers three mineral pools, sauna facilities and many relaxing massage treatments.
David Ben Gurion’s desert home: Will visit today. David Ben Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister, was an avid supporter of settlement in the Negev Desert. His desert home in Kibbutz Sde Boker is now a museum commemorating his life and contribution to the development of the Negev. Click here for more information about David Ben Gurion.
The region offers house-back riding, camel riding, alpaca riding and feeding, jeep and dune buggy tours, spas and beautiful hiking trails.
Exploring the Area
Shivta
Shivta is an impressive site, but it’s in the middle of nowhere, hard to get to, and has no facilities. If you have a car or plan to go on a tour, this can be a very worthwhile, atmospheric excursion — there’s a good chance you’ll have this ruined city all to yourself; otherwise spend your time at the other ruined Nabatean cities of Avdat or Mamshit.
Shivta is about 50km (31 miles) southwest of Beersheva, in the military zone about 8 km (5 miles) off the Nizzana road. It’s important not to get lost in the military zone, so here are explicit directions: From the highway, the Shivta road is two lanes and paved for the first 2.5km (1 1/2 miles). It then narrows, and after another kilometer you pass a road, on the left, to the military installation. After passing this road, it’s another 5km (3 miles) over a rough, curvy one-lane road to Shivta. There are few signs. Officially Shivta is a national park, but there is no office or telephone at this deserted location. Admission, if anyone is around to collect it, is NIS 12 ($3/£1.50) for adults and half-price for children 17 and under.
The Nabateans, a desert merchant people whose capital was the legendary city of Petra, in Jordan, established Shivta in the 1st century B.C., but Shivta (or Subeita) reached its high point during the time of Justinian the Great (6th c. A.D.), when Byzantine wealth and caravan trade were at their height. In addition to commercial wealth, Shivta’s ingenious citizens built an elaborate irrigation and water-collection system that allowed them to farm the barren soil. Israelis are studying Nabatean irrigation techniques to this day.
Eventually trade routes slowly changed, and though Shivta survived as an Arab outpost for many centuries, by the 1100s it was a ghost town.
The ruins of Shivta remained in fairly good condition throughout the centuries because they were too far away from newer building sites to make pillage economical. As a result, the city, which dates from the 500s, is still somewhat intact. Restoration work began in 1958. Buildings restored include three churches, a mosque, a caravansary, two water-collection pools, and houses. Signs identify and discuss the principal buildings.
Sde Boker & Avdat
About 50km (31 miles) due south of Beersheva, surrounded by sand and parched mountains, you suddenly come to a farm settlement — the famous Ben-Gurion kibbutz, Sde Boker. The settlement began in May 1952, at the prime minister’s instigation, when the country was first encouraging settlers to populate the Negev. Ben-Gurion became a member of this kibbutz in 1953; he lived and worked here until his death in 1973, at the age of 87. He and his wife, Paula, are buried here, and his fascinating personal papers, photos, and eclectic collection of books on history, philosophy, and religion may be seen in the Paula and David Ben-Gurion Hut (tel. 08/655-0320 or 655-8444; http://www.bgh.org.il). The hut remains as it was when Ben-Gurion lived in it. Visiting hours are Sunday through Thursday from 8:30am to 3:30pm, on Friday, Saturday, holidays, and holiday eves from 8:30am to 2pm. Admission is NIS 12 ($3/£1.50).
Over the years Sde Boker began to thrive, as did several other young settlements in the Negev. A campus of the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has been established at Sde Boker. A modern library, housing the Ben-Gurion Institute and Archives (tel. 08/655-5057) and containing 750,000 documents associated with Israel’s first chief of state, is located here. The institute also contains a Research Center for Solar Energy and a Museum of Desert Sculpture, a collection of art created from natural objects and materials found in the desert. The institute also serves as a center for the study of desert areas. It’s open daily from 9am to 5pm; you must phone ahead for tours, which are given by appointment for NIS 10 ($2.50/£1.25).
The graves of David and Paula Ben-Gurion are 3km (2 miles) southwest of the Ben-Gurion House, to the right of the Gate of Sde Boker College. The site, chosen by Ben-Gurion, overlooks the dramatic Zin Valley, with the greenery of the Ein Avdat spring in the distance to the right.
Avdat Archaeological Park, 20km (12 miles) south of the Paula and David Ben-Gurion Hut on Rte. 40 (tel. 08/655-0954), was a major city built by the Nabateans in the 2nd century B.C. as a caravan post on a spice and trading route that ran from the Red Sea to the Nabatean capital at Petra, then to Avdat, Beersheva, and onward to Gaza on the Mediterranean coast. The city reached its peak of importance during Roman and Byzantine times and went into decline after the Roman conquest in the 7th century A.D.
Situated on a cliff 600m (1,969 ft.) above sea level, and with many partially restored structures, Avdat offers dramatic vistas across the desert; along with the ruined Nabatean city of Mamshit, it was used for location shots in the film Jesus Christ Superstar. The western half of Avdat’s acropolis contains the ruins of two Byzantine churches; the eastern section is dominated by the city’s fortress. Beyond the acropolis are a large Byzantine-era wine press and an olive press, evidence of the Nabateans’ amazing ability to irrigate and farm the desolate Negev 1,500 years ago. Admission to the Avdat Archaeological Park is NIS 20 ($5/£2.50) for adults and half-price for those 17 and under. It is open from 8am to 5pm (until 4pm in winter). There is a small visitor center (tel. 08/658-6391) at the entrance offering snacks, very good pamphlets with explanatory maps, and a brief video. Beside the ruins of Avdat, the Hebrew University has operated an experimental farm for the past 40 years in which Nabatean agricultural techniques, as uncovered by archaeologists, are being explored and redeveloped.
Mamshit National Park
The ruins of Nabatean cities carry a certain aura of mystery and grandeur about them. This third ruined Nabatean city, 6km (4 miles) southeast of Dimona, is probably a few centuries older than Avdat and was built on a slightly more important trade route. It was a town of large caravansaries, warehouses, and accounting offices; by Roman times, the town sported large public bathhouses, villas with wall murals, and houses of pleasure. The two large, well-preserved Byzantine-era churches may have been converted to mosques after the Muslim conquest in A.D. 635, judging from Koranic verses inscribed on the walls of their ruins. However, the city seems to have been permanently abandoned not long after that time, and the inscriptions may have been made after the city was no longer inhabited. The ruins are set above Machtesh Ha-Gadol, one of the Negev’s dramatic erosion craters. Mamshit National Park (tel. 08/655-6478) is open daily 8am to 5pm; until 4pm in winter. Admission is NIS 20 ($5/£2.50).
Ein Avdat National Park is located in a beautiful canyon in the Negev desert. The Ein Avdat Spring flows down in a waterfall towards an 8-meter deep pool of water. The oasis created by the springs attracts ibex and other animals.
The oasis at Ein Avdat is created by a number of springs which begin at the southern, or upper, section of the national park. The water creates a number of pools which descend in waterfalls to the lower section of the canyon. The source of the springs is not definitively known, but is generally thought to be rain water which seeps into the ground.
The canyon is actually part of Nahal Zin, which is the longest wadi or dry riverbed in the Negev desert. Nahal Zin begins inMachtesh Ramon and travels 120 kilometers north, although at Ein Avdat the Nahal actually heads east. Nahal Zin andEin Avdat were created by flowing water which eroded the rock and carved canyons.
The first spring is called Ein Ma’arif. This spring creates pools and small waterfalls, finally reaching the main waterfall which is 15 meters high. The waterfall leads into an 8 meter pool of water which is separated into two parts by a man-made dam. This spring is called the Ein Avdat Spring, from which the nature reserve gets its name. The northernmost spring in the park is known as Ein Mor, called for the spice Myrrh (in Hebrew, mor). The name of the spring is fitting, as the park is located near the ancient Nabatean city Avdat on the incense route.
The water is slightly salty, and the trees growing in the area are Euphrates poplar trees, atriplexes(commonly known as saltbush), and other salt-loving trees. Also common to the area are Bulbul, rock pigeons, eagles, vultures, hawks, bustards, frogs, crabs, and ibexes.
At the northern, or upper section, of the nature reserve, there are caves which were used b Byzantine monks from Avdat from the 6th century until the Muslim conquest of the area. The monks sculpted shelves, benches, stairs, and water systems from the rock. The caves were also decorated with crosses and prayers were engraved in the rock of the caves.
The Hike which we did nottake but we were on an alternate:
The hike itself is easy, but it requires mobility to climb the steps and ladders. The hike begins at the northern section, which is located neat Ben Gurion’s grave in Sde Boker. Follow the path in an easy walk to the waterfall and pool with the dam.
Next to the dam are steps which lead upwards towards the southern part of the nature reserve. These steps were initially carved by Israeli youth in the 1950s. Follow the steps to the oasis above, bursting with trees and additional pools of water.
From here, additional steps and two ladders lead past the Byzantine Monks’ caves to the upper observatory at the southern end of the park.
Tip: The complete hike requires one hour. However, the route is not circular, and can only be done in one direction. If you have two cars, a car can be left at the end of the trail. Alternatively, you could walk to the pools with the dams, return to your car at the lower end, and then drive to the observatory at the upper end. If you can manage it, I advise the hike, which is not difficult and lots of fun!
Tip: No swimming is allowed in the pools, as they are reserved for the animals in the park.
Tip: The park is open from 8:00-16:00 in the winter months, and from 8:00-17:00 in the summer months.
Tip: There is an entrance fee, which includes entrance into the upper and lower sections of the park. There is also a combined ticket which includes entrance to the city of Avdat.
flowering Negev plant
Tip: Ein Avdat is located off of route 40, just south of Kibbutz Sde Boker.
Negev native, shiny, bright drinking in the rain water
Notice the water droplets. Our group arrived as the rain was stopping
Serve and Learn:
Ben-Gurion University in Beer-Sheva (www.ipsl.org/programs/israel.html) invites foreign students to study and do volunteer service in Israel. The program includes an intensive Hebrew language course and exposes students to Israeli culture, history and society. Students may also choose among several trips, including a visit to a kibbutz or an archaeological dig. Students must volunteer 15-20 hours a week doing such things as tutoring Russian and Ethiopian immigrants and orphaned Israeli children; helping Bedouins transition from their desert village to modern Israel; helping ex-prisoners reenter society; or working on environmental projects. Cost is $10,500 per semester, excluding airfare, food, and certain other expenses. Financial aid and scholarships are available. – See more at: http://www.jwmag.org/page.aspx?pid=579#sthash.bq9uMDBX.dpuf
Ben Gurion’s library (a portion)
Ben Gurion was well versed in Tanach. His officers also knew that he admired “lived” with three leaders, Moses, Lincoln and Gandhi.
It is telling that in a few days will be the tenth of Tevet. The Tenth of Tevet (Hebrew: עשרה בטבת, Asarah BeTevet), the tenth day of the Hebrew month of Tevet, is a fast day in Judaism. It is one of the minor fasts observed from before dawn to nightfall. The fasting commemorates the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylonia—an event that began on that date and ultimately culminated in the destruction of Solomon’s Temple (the First Temple) and the conquest of the Kingdom of Judah (today southern Israel).
Our group viewed a film (made up of half cartoon half actors) introducting the viewer to Ben Gurion’s rise to power. Other key players and the cabinet:
David Ben-Gurion, Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, Eliezer Kaplan, Minister of Finance, Behor Shalom Shitrit, Minister of Police and Minorities, Yitzhak Greenbaum, Minister of the Interior
Peretz Bernstein, Minister of Trade, Industry and Supplies.
Mordechai Bentov, Minister of Labor and Construction
Aharon Zisling, Minister of Agriculture
David Remez, Minister of Transport
Moshe Shertok (Sharett), Foreign Minister -They did not all agree with Ben Gurion that Jerusalem had to be held and the siege broken at all costs.
We saw a film/ cartoon meant for school groups before entering the house.
Ben-Gurion’s Hut
One cannot walk away from a visit to Ben Gurion’s home without strong impressions of the country’s “Founding Father”. He was ruthless in his goal of a single army to defend the state (i.e. the Alelena Affair). Opposing the left, he was not agreeable to the borders in the Partition Plan – UNGA Resolution 181, once Israel was attacked in 1948. On November 29, 1947 the UN General Assembly to adopt the partition plan, by a vote of 33 to 13, recommending the establishment of two states – Arab and Jewish – in the area and Jerusalem as an international enclave. We know what happened after that. Once the state was announced Ben Gurion was the prime mover in establishing institutions and furthering the ones already in existence.
In 1955, Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion challenged his people to develop the Negev and make it flourish. “Israel’s capacity for science and research will be tested in the Negev … and this effort will determine the fate of the State of Israel and the standing of our people in the history of mankind,” he declared.
Members of The Negev Funding Coalition — a consortium of Jewish Federations, foundations and other funders committed to developing arts, culture, education, health care, science and technology initiatives in the region — recently met in Delaware to discuss their progress in fulfilling Ben-Gurion’s vision for making the Negev a vital and vibrant place to live and work.
The conference, which was sponsored by Jewish Federations of North America, featured a keynote presentation by Rear Admiral (Ret.) Hezi Meshita, the deputy director of the Southern Relocation Administration for the Israel Ministry of Defense. Meshita termed this “the decade of the Negev” and expressed excitement at the impact of four proposed development projects.
Chief among them is the construction of a new $650 million training facility located 20 miles outside of Beer-Sheva. Beginning in late 2014, 10,000 soldiers will be moved to the new base from their current quarters in Tel Aviv. The program will centralize combat support training that is currently conducted at multiple sites throughout Israel.
Three more “mega bases” are expected to be built in the Negev by 2020 — part of a strategic plan to vacate the land and buildings that the Israel Defense Forces currently occupies in high-end Tel Aviv and central Israel in order to bring jobs and investments to Israel’s south. As part of this initiative, the Israeli air force base at Tel Aviv’s Ben-Gurion International Airport has already relocated to Netavim.
According to Meshita, these major military projects should bring one million new residents to the Negev. A new national cyber security research and development center called CyberSpark will open soon at Beer-Sheva’s Advanced Technology Park (ATP) in cooperation with BGU, adjacent to the University’s Marcus Family Campus. Lockheed Martin and IBM announced that they would invest in CyberSpark facilities, joining fellow cyber-security leaders Deutsche Telekom, EMC, RSA and many startups in the field.
The 16-building park is the only one of its kind in the world that includes Fortune 500 companies, cyber-incubators, academic researchers and educational facilities as well as national government and security agencies. The complex will also include a high school geared toward science and technology.BGU is the site of another project funded by the coalition.
The University’s Clean Technology Initiative strives to maximize the development of renewable materials and energy resources by providing fellowships to BGU graduate students interested in studying this new field and by supporting a new business plan competition for clean tech development, which targets Negev-based startups as well as BGU students.
“We have already received more than 25 entries — all environment Researchally and ecologically sound projects that will help drive development in the Negev,” says Doron Krakow, AABGU’s executive vice president.
Sam Katz, co-chair of the Philadelphia-Netivot Partnership Committee and AABGU supporter, is excited by the growth of arts and cultural initiatives throughout southern Israel and is particularly proud of one project that he helped to spearhead in Netivot.
Remember, the ancient cities in the Negev were not uncovered before the founding of the state. Background: The ancient city of Avdat (Oboda) was initially a station on the Incense Route in the Negev highlands. It was developed to a city by the Nabateans starting in the 3rd C BC. During the Roman period the city was part of the defense and transportation systems of the Empire, and flourished during the Byzantine period with the construction of Churches, structures, workshops and vast agriculture farming. The city was finally abandoned in the 7th C following an earthquake. It became a National park and World Heritage site, a recommended site on the road to the south.
Location and aerial map: The site is located in the middle of the Negev desert highland, between Beer Sheba and the Ramon Crator. The ruins of the ancient city are located on the edge of a high plateau, east side of highway #40.
If you travel south to Eilat via Mizpeh-Ramon, Avdat is a great place to stop – even for just one hour. There is an easy access road from the visitor’s center up to the ruins, which leads to the parking place near the Roman Tower.
Point on the yellow points to navigate to the selected point.
History:
The Incense / Spice route
The Incense & Spice route connected the east (Yemen and Oman), through Arabia, via the Nabatean capital city Petra, to the port city of Gaza on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea. This road, with a total length of 2,400 km, passed through harsh desert areas. It was used by the Nabateans to export the incense and spices from southern Arabia and the Far east to the Classic world of Greece and Rome.
Caravans of camels carrying the merchandise along the Incense route
The Biblical map below shows its path, with Avdat (Oboda) in the center of the Negev desert. The city started in the 3rd C BC as a fortified station (number 62) along this route, and protected the valuable cargo from robbers. It also supplied water, food and shelter to the caravans.
Map of the Incense/Spice route – during the Nabatean and Roman/Byzantine periods (based on Bible Mapper 3.0)
The Nabateans
The Nabateans originated from Arabia, where they have been nomadic tent dwellers. The name “Nabat” may have originated from the word meaning “of-Arab”, a name which is known since the 10th C BC. Their language was Aramaic and many of their words were Arabic. The Nabatean script is similar to the Moab script. Although they have not left any books, the research of their history is based on the inscriptions on tombs, and on Greek and Roman historians, such as Diodorus Siculus (half of 1st C BC) and Josephus Flavius (half of 1st C AD). The Nabateans excelled in ceramics, mastered in collecting the desert water, and were skilled merchants.
The Nabateans prospered from the operation of the Incense and Spice route, and established stations and cities along the route. This commercial enterprise started around the 5th or 4th C BC, and made these merchants rich. Their new capital city in Edom, called Petra, based on the Greek word for Rock. In the Bible it is also named ‘rock’ (Sela in Hebrew). Judges 1 36: “And the coast of the Amorites was from the going up to Akrabbim, from the rock, and upward”, Isaiah 16 1:”Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land from Sela to the wilderness, unto the mount of the daughter of Zion.” Petra was the center of a vast Kingdom: the kingdom included the Negev and Sinai, Northern Arabia, Moab and Hauran (Houran). The Nabateans mastered the utilization of the scarce rainfall in the desert area, by collecting the surface runoff into hidden cisterns, and then used it for their water supply and the development of desert agriculture.
The Nabateans arrived to the Negev during the Persian period (about the 4th C BC). Prof A. Negev, the excavator of Avdat and other Nabatean sites, defines 3 periods in the history of the Nabateans in the Negev:
Early Nabatean period (4th-1st C BC) – the nomad period during the Persian and Hellenistic periods
Middle Nabatean period (25BC to 50/70AD) – the trade empire – during the Early Roman period
Late Nabatean period (70/80 to 150AD) – the urban agriculture period – during the Early Roman period
Alexander the Great (332 BC) and successors – Hellenistic period
When Alexander the Great arrived to the area (332BC), the Nabateans suffered from his Army. The Greeks set siege on Gaza, their important outlet to the Sea, and conquered it after 2 months. The entire population was killed or sold to slavery, and replaced by new residents. The Greeks also fought against their allies, the Nabateans, and attacked Lachish. This was a major setback to the Nabateans.
After Alexander’s death, the Greeks continued to hit the Nabateans. Learning about the riches of Petra, the Greek general Antigonus sent his forces in 311 to capture and loot their capital city Petra. Although the Nabateans managed to retrieve the stolen treasures after one night, they learned their lesson – the Incense route must be protected.
Establishment of Avdat (3rd C BC)
In order to support & protect the Incense route, the Nabateans established stations and fortresses along the road. One of these stations, located in the Negev highland, is Avdat. It was established in the 3rd C BC, and was later named after their king Avdat/Obodas.
Hasmonean-Nabatean battles (2nd -1st C BC)
During the Hasmonean dynasty, the early Jewish Kings worked together with the Nabateans. This changed when in about 100 BC the Hasmonean King Alexander Jannaeus conquered the port city of Gaza, the final station of the Incense route. Gaza was under Nabatean control since the Persian period, and the loss of the city was a major defeat for the Nabateans, causing their cities along the route to decline. On the other hand, the possession of Gaza made the Hasmoneans richer and was one of the important sources of income for the Jewish Kingdom.
King Obodas (Avdat) I ruled the Nabatean Kingdom from 96-85 BC. He defeated Alexander Jannaeus in a battle northwest of Philadelphia (modern day Amman) in 95BC. This Nabatean victory gave the city its name.
Later, King Obodas III (ruled 30-9BC) developed the city and was buried there. His silver coin is illustrated here, with his bust on the left side with the word “Avdat” to his right. His queen is seen on the reverse side on the right coin, with the mint date and also an inscription of a blessing by the Nabatean God Dushara.
Nabatean coin of Obodas III (30-9BC) – Drawing by Rina
Left Obverse: bust of Obodas III, “Avdat”
Right Reverse: draped queen “Year — Barcat Dushara”
The Hasmonean Kingdom controlled Gaza until the Roman conquest by Pompey the Great forty years later (63BC).
Early Roman period (1st C AD)
Only during the time of Herod the Great (37-4BC) the Mediterranean ports were reopened and the Incense route revived, bringing Avdat a new era of prosperity. The city continued to prosper and develop under the reign of the Nabatean King Areta (Khartat) IV (9-40AD). This period is the Nabatean’s golden age, with fifty years of prosperity. The acropolis of Avdat, the pottery workshop, the army camp, and other remains of structures date to this period. At this time there were few residential houses in the city, and the majority lived in tents in the area outside the city walls.
Avdat was damaged by attacks of Arab tribes (the Thamuds and other Arabian tribes) during the middle of the 1st C AD. An evidence of fire was found in most of the excavated areas. The city was later reconstructed and further developed by King Rabbel II (70-106AD) who managed to deal with the invasion of the tribes and the economic changes following the decline of the Incense route.
The Incense route started to decline at the end of the 1st C AD, since it was replaced by other routes through the Roman empire. The Nabateans gradually switched to the development of desert agriculture and providing support to the Roman army and travelers along the desert roads. This successful transition – from the operation of the route to desert agriculture – revived the wealth of the Kingdom. According to some archaeologists, the desert farming was brought in only during the Byzantine period.
Roman Annexation (106AD)
In 106AD the Romans annexed the Nabatean Kingdom. It became part of the defense and road systems of the Roman empire, and appears on the Peutinger map (based on a 4th C Roman military road map) as “Oboda” (marked by a red square) as a station on the road from Jerusalem to Eilat. Note that the orientation of the Roman map is north on the right side. The Incense route is not shown on the map.
The Roman annexation brought a substantial religious change – from the Nabatean Semite religion to the paganism of the Roman world.
Peutinger Roman Military Map: Oboda/Avdat (in red) is a station along the road from Jerusalem to Eilat
Byzantine period (4th – 7th C AD)
The Nabateans converted to Christianity and their temples were replaced by two Churches and a monastery. A large residential quarter was built, as well as other installations and structures. The city continued to develop, but reached a tragic end following a massive earthquake in around 630BC. This led to the abandonment of the city.
Rediscovery (19th C)
The Arabic name of the ruins was Eboda, which preserved the ancient name. Palmer and Drake were the first researchers who correctly identified the location of Avdat (1870). The first archaeological detailed survey was conducted by Musil (1902), and the first excavations were by Colt (1937), Avi-Yonah (1958), and A. Negev (1959-1960). These were followed by excavations by A. Negev and R. Cohen (1975-1977), P. Fabian (1993-1994, 1999) and T. Erikson-Gini (1999-2000). Recent restorations are conducted (2010-2011) after the site was vandalized.
The site became a UNESCO World heritage site in 2005, and was listed together with the Incense route from Avdat to Moa in the Arava (65KM long).
City Plan:
The city is located on a high (alt 620m) plateau, about 160m above above the valley to the west (where the ancient road passed, and the modern road and visitor center are located).
A plan of the ancient city is seen in the diagram below, highlighting the major sights. The pink areas are dated to the Nabatean and Roman periods, while other areas date to the Byzantine period.
You can click on most of the titles in order to jump to the relevant section.
Photos:
(a) General View
The western edge of the city is seen from the visitor’s center. The ruins of the city are located on a plateau high above the course of the road.
Click on the photos to view in higher resolution…
A panoramic view, as seen from the Roman tower towards the city, in seen in the following picture. If you press on it, a panoramic viewer will pop up. Using this flash-based panoramic viewer, you can move around and zoom in and out, optionally click on hotspots and view the site in full screen mode. Note that it may take minutes to upload.
To open the viewer, simply click on the photo below.
(b) South hillside
The access road ascends from the visitor center up to the Roman tower, along the southern side of the city. The red square on the plan of the city shows the position of the southern hillside. The city was once protected by a wall, and the road passes along its path.
Along the hillside are traces of the wall and other ruins, such as the house seen in the photo below.
Another view of the south-west hillside is below:
The south western side of the city – the acropolis – is better seen after climbing up the road. A lookout platform is located at the edge of the higher side, where the ruins of a Nabatean temple are in the process of reconstruction.
(c) Southern Villa
On the south side of the Avdat ridge are ruins of a Roman villa. This is how it looks from its north side:
The villa has several rooms which were built around a square courtyard. At the center of the courtyard is a cistern.
The roof was supported by arches, of which a pair were reconstructed in one of the rooms:
Another view of the arches:
From this side is a great view of the vast desert area around Avdat. This is the view towards the south:
Also seen, on the south-west side, are agriculture farming areas which are reconstruction of the ancient irrigation and cultivation methods. During the Roman and Byzantine periods these farms supplied the city with fresh products, and were also one of the sources of the city’s income, since the Nabateans used to grow crops and sell it to the Army.
Another view of the villa, this one from the exterior:
(d) Roman Tower
After completing the tour of the the southern villa, you continue to drive up the access road and reach to the parking area on the south-east side of the city. This is where the walking tour of the city begins.
A lookout tower, dated to the Roman period, is the first interest point inside the city. Its location on the plan of the city is indicated by a red square on the right.
The tower is built along the city wall. It was constructed in 294 AD according to the inscription above its entrance.
A view of the tower from its west side can be seen in the picture below.
The entrance to the tower is from this side:
Another view of the tower, this one from the south-east side, is in the picture below. The roof of the tower affords great views of the area.
Standing on the roof of the tower, there is a great view of the Avdat acropolis and the southern hillside. (If you want to see the panorama again using the flash view, press here. Note that it loads slowly…)
The far structure, seen among the ruins, is an agriculture installation used for wine production. It is dated to the Byzantine period, and was one of the five winepress installations found in Avdat.
(e) Byzantine Quarter
Beyond the city wall and the Roman tower is a vast area of ruins, which is still undergoing archaeological excavations and preservation. This residential quarter is dated to the Byzantine period. Its location is indicated on the map as a red square.
The quarter was first established during the Roman period, and was destroyed in an earthquake around 630AD.
A view of one of the structures is shown below.
Another section of the dwelling houses:
Arches were used in order to support the roof and the second level of the house:
The Byzantine quarter consists of a main street in the direction of south-east to north-west, directed towards the fortress which is seen in the background. The dwelling structures are built on both sides of the street.
The street has a system of water channels, such as this one shown below, which lead the rain water from the roofs to collecting cisterns as seen on the lower-left side. These cisterns were the main source of water supply for the residents.
Along the main road are residential dwellings in various stages of reconstruction. The structures were leveled in the 7th C by an earthquake and remained in ruins since then, following the decline of the Incense route and the Arab conquest.
A closer view of one of the structures. The two level building uses arches to support the upper floor.
A set of sculptures, with a shepherd and his goats, highlight the ancient nature of the busy street.
Another view of the shepherd and his goat, drinking from the water cistern, is in the next picture. During the Roman and Byzantine period the Nabatean residents became suppliers to the Army, and turned the areas around the city from a desert into green areas of farming and grazing lands.
(f) City Fortress
The city fortress, located at the edge of the main street, was built also in the Byzantine period. Its purpose was to protect the residents in time of attacks. Its location on the city plan is indicated as a red square.
The fortress is 63m long by 43m wide. The south-eastern tower, another good observation point, is shown in the following picture. An entrance to the fortress is on its right side.
Inside the fortress is a wide open court, with a large cistern located in its center. The water channel in the picture below feeds rainwater into the cistern. On the north side of the court is a prayer chapel (but is not seen here).
A closer view of the water reservoir is in the photo below. It is now dry, but a pair of pigeons (seen flowing away) use its shade to nest.
The entrance of the water into the underground water reservoir is shown in greater detail the next photograph. Water in this dry land, with only 80mm of annual rainfall, is precious. The surface and roof rain runoff was the only solution for this city, since there were no available springs in the vicinity to bring the water into the city.
(g) Nabatean Temples
Beyond the fortress is another wide open area of the Nabatean temples and churches plaza. This area is indicated as a red square on the map.
In this area there were one or more Nabatean temples, which were later replaced by Churches.
A western view of the paved area is seen in the photo below.
On the north side of the area is a gate house:
A closer view of the gate house:
The gate opens to the north area outside of the city.
Another section of the walled area, as seen in the northwest view:
(h) Southern Church
The southern church was part of a Byzantine monastery of St. Theodoros. It is located on the south-west side of the city, as indicated on the city plan with a red square.
According to the inscriptions found on the floor of the church, it dates to the 6th and 7th C AD.
An illustration of the church is shown below, based on the model that was on display at the site:
Atrium
The Atrium, the open court before the church, is located on its west side and sizes 15 x 14m. It is paved and consists of four rows of columns. The columns, made of hard limestone, were based on the original Nabatean temples built by King Areta (Khartat) IV (9-40AD).
A large cistern is located under the floor of the courtyard.
A southern view of the court yard. It probably had a second floor.
The courtyard is surrounded by rooms on its three side. The next picture shows one of the rooms on the south side of the courtyard.
Entrance to the Church
On the eastern wall are the three entrances to the church, seen here behind the eastern row of columns.
The entrance from the atrium is seen also from the inner side of the church.
The Church
The church is a three-aisled pillared basilica with three apses. The apses are located on its eastern side (as all ancient churches). The central apse, where the main altar stands, is seen in the middle of the following picture.
The main altar is located on a low raised platform.
The following picture shows a closer view of the main altar, with a table in the center of the apse.
A view from the main altar towards the west:
Another view of the nave – the central approach to the main altar.
Inscriptions
A number of tomb inscriptions (epitaphs) were found in the floor of the church. The marble slabs bear Greek inscriptions dating from 541 to 618AD. One of these tombs is seen on the south-eastern corner.
A closer view of the inscription on the south-eastern corner:
Another epitaph is located on the north-east corner, on the floor behind the fallen column.
A closer view of the inscription:
Yet another epitaph is seen in the next picture:
North Apse
A limestone chancel screen stands on the path towards the northern apse.
Behind it is the northern apse.
Stones
In other rooms and locations, there are some notable stone objects, such as the water vessel below:
Another interesting carved limestone:
Outside of the church, embedded in the stone, seems like a footprint. What does it mean?
Another footprint is drawn on a rock painting:
(i) Lookout Platform
On the western edge of the acropolis is a lookout platform, which is situated on the ruins of a Nabatean temple. It affords remarkable views of the area west of the city. The location of this spot is indicated as a red square on the map.
A western view of the lookout platform is shown in the picture below. There are current (year 2011) restoration works on the site.
From the platform are great views of structures below, such as this structure on the south-west corner.
Another view of the south side is shown in the next picture.
Another base of a structure is seen on the northern hillside.
(j) Baptistery
On the north side of the lookout platform is a large Byzantine baptistery, which was part of the adjacent Northern Church complex. Its location is indicated as a red square on the map.
In the larger pool, which is in the shape of a cross (see photo below), adults were immersed in the water during the process of conversion to Christianity. On its left side is a smaller pool for babies.
A closer view of the adult (right) and the babies (lower left) baptisteries is seen next.
Note that a similar cruciform baptismal design is found in the south and north churches in Shivta and the Eastern church ofMamshit.
(k) Repairs
In October 2009 two Bedouin youths smashed and toppled columns and caused severe damages to the site. A team of archaeologists and workers are working for months to repair the damages, and continue to restore and preserve the antiquities. The photo shows a repair to the wall of the Northern Church.
The next photograph shows repairs in the area of the southern church.
(l) Eastern Side
The eastern side of the city has a number of additional sights which can be reached by foot.
One of them is a reconstructed army camp, which is marked as as a red square (its location is actually farther to the east). Near it is a structure which was a Nabatean pottery workshop.
Additional structures are located around the city area, such as the structures seen in the photograph below.
An impressive army camp was excavated, located 300m north east of the city. The camp’s size is 100m square. It contains 8 long, multi-chambered structures. About 2,000 soldiers would have been stationed here, which is a large force – the size of one legion. The scholars debate if this was a Nabatean camp or a Roman camp. Near the camp are ruins of a large house, which may have served as the camp’s brothel.
The camp was in use until the middle of the 1st C AD, and abandoned following the decline of the Incense route, probably since the Nabateans could not afford any longer to finance the large number of soldiers.
Ancient camel pens are located on the eastern side of the city. A cluster of metal sculptures demonstrate a typical camel and donkey convoy coming from Petra. Note that a typical convoy was made up to a maximum of 25 camels.
(m) West side – Reconstructed Byzantine house, City of Caves
On the western hillside, just below the lookout platform, is an area termed “the city of caves”. The location of the area open to the public is illustrated as a red square in the city map on the right. It is accessed from a parking place, which can be reached halfway down back to the visitor center.
One of the dwellings in this area, with a large cave in its back portion, was excavated and reconstructed. Its southern side is shown in the following photograph.
The house is dated to the Byzantine period. The owner of the house may have been a wealthy wine merchant.
The entrance to the house leads into a courtyard surrounded by a number of rooms. One of them served as a toilet.
A view of the rooms in the house:
Inside the room, a reconstruction of the winery in operation. Wine production was one of the main sources of income in the Negev area. The desert climate, with extremely cool nights during winter with plenty of sunshine during spring and summer created an excellent quality dry wine which was in much demand during the Roman and Byzantine periods.
A large cave is located in the back of the house. The cave has two rooms, and was used for storage of wheat, dry fruit and as a winery.
The interior of one of the rooms:
Another room:
The next picture shows a view of the other entrance to the cave, and additional structures around the house.
The city wall passes just below the house and extends to the north. The picture below shows the northern hillside where the city wall continued.
(n) Visitor center
To the west of the ruins of the city is the visitor center. The office sells entrance tickets, presents an audiovisual presentation and offers information. Several stones and vessels are on display. Nearby, 100m to the north, is a well preserved Byzantine period bathhouse.
An adjacent coffee show and petrol station is a convenient place to stop and refuel. We highly recommend to have a one or two hour stops at this site on the way to Eilat or back.
Etymology (behind the name):
Avdat, Ovdat – named after the Nabatean king Obodas. King Obodas I ruled from 90-87 BC, and defeated Alexander Jannaeus in a battle near Golan. This Nabatean victory gave the city its name. Later, Obodas III (ruled 30-9BC) developed the city and was buried there.
With high speed trains this entire area will open up to tourists.
Lentil Barley Soup
Based on a recipe by J. Raymond
Thick enough to be called a stew, this hearty soup is easy to prepare and cooks in a single pot. Add more water or stock if you wish to have a thinner soup.
* 1 cup black lentils, rinsed
* 2 stalks celery, sliced
* 1/2 cup hulled or pearled barley
* 1/2 tsp oregano
* 6 cups water or vegetable stock
* 1/2 tsp ground cumin
* 1 onion, chopped
* 1/4 tsp black pepper
* 2 garlic cloves, minced or crushed
* 1/8-1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
* 2 carrots, sliced
* 1/2 tsp salt (optional)
* 2-4 cups fresh spinach (optional)
Place all ingredients except salt into a large pot and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the lentils and barley are tender, about 1 hour. Add salt to taste and spinach, if desired. Cook briefly until spinach is wilted but still bright green.
Tips:
Pearl barley is the variety most commonly sold in supermarkets. Natural food stores offer hulled barley, which is slightly less refined and cooks in about the same amount of time.
This soup can also be prepared in a crockpot. If you start with boiling water it will cook in 1 to 2 hours; with cold water, 5 to 6 hours
To cook in a pressure cooker, put all ingredients except salt and spinach into cooker and bring it to high pressure. Cook at high pressure for 12 minutes; then bring pressure down with a quick-release method. Lentils should be cooked, but barley may not be completely tender. Cook until barley reaches the desired state of tenderness, about 15 minutes, adding water if a thinner consistency is needed. Then add salt and spinach, if desired. Cook briefly until spinach is wilted but still bright green.
Servings: 6
Nutrition info per serving: 78 calories, 4 g protein, 16 g carbohydrate, 0.2 g fat, 159 mg sodium
HERO: The Soldier That Shot And Killed The Palestinian Terrorist On Yirmiyahu Street Is From Nachal Charedi [PHOTO]
(Sunday, December 6th, 2015 01:25 PM) Yeshivah World News
Stay Connected To The Jewish Culture Through YIDDISH!!
Some Yiddish Words For Chanukah
Yiddish
Phonetically English Hebrew
menoyre menorah מנורה
חנוכיה
this week’s proverb
אַלעס פאַרלירט דער מענטש מיט די יאָרן; יוגענט, שיינהייט,געזונטהייט, ליבּע פאַר כּבוד; נאָר איין זאַך בּלײַבּט אים – זײַן נאַרישקייט
transliterated
a’les farlirt der mentsh mit di yorn; yugent, sheynheit, gezunt’heyt, li’be far koved; nor eyn zakh blaybt em – zayn narishkeyt
the proverb actually means
a person loses everything as he grows older; youth, beauty, health, esteem or self respect; only one thing remains with him – his stupidity
translated to Hebrew
עם ההתבגרות הבן אדם מאבד את
הכל; הצעירות, היופי, הבריאות,רדיפה אחרי
הכבוד; רק דבר אחד תמיד יישאר איתו – הטיפשות
It’s almost Chanukah – The soufganiot recipe of the past (Post #40), has been revised. The dough now has addition of sour dough. I started with a yield of 1.25 K of dough and out of that made 30 balls of 40 grams each soufganiot for the freezer.
Always on the look-out for something “new”, my soufganiot with have red bean paste filling.
Adapted from Epicrious
Red Bean Paste Filling
YIELD Makes 1 1/2 cups
INGREDIENTS
6 ounces small red beans hoong dul, about 1 cup
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar/brown rice syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil
PREPARATION
Wash the beans, cover the cold water, and soak overnight. Drain beans and discard water.
I allow the beans to sprout over two days and pull off the skins.
They take less time to cook when they have sprouted.
Place beans in a 1 1/2-quart saucepan, add 3 cups cold water, and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 1 hour, or until very soft. Monitor the pan to make sure water doesn’t dry up. Drain and discard the water.
Sufganiyot (Israeli Jelly Doughnuts) Made these in past years with the help of my grand-daughter, when she was here for a gap year.
Sufganiyot (Israeli Jelly Doughnuts).
I doubled the recipe for a crowd.
1 package dry yeast-.25 oz
3 tablespoons sugar/agave/rice syrup
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup lukewarm milk/almond milk
3 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, spelt, oat (about)
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk (in addition to the whole egg) you may omit and use an equivalent volume of flax seed meal.
1 cup powdered sugar or added powdered cinnamon.I leave this out.
Filling: equal parts, carob, cocoa, almond, tahina, chocolate bits or pieces of 100% chocolate bar with added oatmilk/rice milk, chocolate liquor, vanilla combined in food processor.
The second part of the soufganiot stuffing can be either frozen mango drained or plum or apple compote (drained) or defrosted frozen cherries or blueberries. No powdered sugar. No stuffing tool needed.
I can’t give amounts because I make the filling fresh with the defrosted batch of soufaniot dough. Check out Post 40 for more details of making the frozen soufganiot dough.
Enter a captiazuki bean with beet broth before cooking in pressure cookeron
Filling for adzuki bean soufganiot Enter a caption
Endough before broken doen to 40 gram balls. ter a caption
Morrocan Carrot and Chickpea Salad
If you’re pinched for time, Diane suggests using pre-shredded carrots. I deployed my mandolin and made thin coins. I use some of the carrot tops as well, although there are mixed opinions about whether or not they’re edible (or edible for everyone) – you can read more here and here.
Dressing:
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1/3 cup / 80 ml extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more to taste
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
10 ounces carrots, shredded on a box grater or sliced whisper thin on a mandolin
2 cups cooked chickpeas (or one 15- ounce can, drained and rinsed)
2/3 cup / 100 g dried pluots, plums, or dates cut into chickpea-sized pieces
1/3 cup / 30 g fresh mint, torn
For serving: lots of toasted almond slices, dried or fresh rose petals – all optional (but great additions!)
To make the dressing, first toast the cumin seeds in a dry skillet until fragrant and lightly browned, a minute or two. Let cool, and grind to a powder with a mortar and pestle.
In a bowl or jar, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, honey, ground cumin, salt, and cayenne pepper. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine the carrots, chickpeas, dried pluots, mint, and almonds, and rose petals (if you’re including those as well.) Gently toss until everything is evenly coated. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. (You can toss this salad, minus the almonds, hours in advance. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before serving.)Pluots, apriums, apriplums, or plumcots, are some of the hybrids between different Prunus species that are also called interspecific plums. In the United States and Canada, these fruits are known by most regulatory agencies as interspecific plums. Wikipedia
Serves 6.
Adapted from Roots: The Definitive Compendium with more than 225 Recipes by Diane Morgan.
Prep time: 15 min
Event: Emunah Good as New Quality Clothing
Ladies, Men’s and Children’s
Hats and Jewelry
BARGAIN PRICES
CASH ONLY
Wednesday, October 21st
10:00 am – 17:00
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Proceeds to benefit the children in Emunah’s care.
And to keep trim, and frugal: Include tofu in your diet.
Tofu is not a dangerous food at all, but quite the opposite,“it actually protects the body. Here <http://www.pcrm.org/health/cancer-resources/ask/ask-the-expert-soy> is a brief and clearly written article on soy by Neil Barnard, president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. He says:
Think of it this way: An estrogen molecule is like a jumbo jet that attaches to the Jetway of an airport. It discharges passengers into the terminal, which is suddenly a busy, noisy place. Phytoestrogens, being weak estrogens, are like small, private planes with few passengers and no cargo, yet they still occupy the Jetway after landing. When phytoestrogens occupy the cell, normal [dangerous] estrogens cannot. Plant estrogens do not eliminate all of estrogen’s effects, but they do minimize them, apparently reducing breast cancer risk and menstrual symptoms.â€
Having said that, I would remind you that ovarian cancer is a relatively yang condition, so while tofu is fine, eating it in its pickled (cheese) form is not recommended in this case.
Here is that recipe, from the macrobiotic restaurant I used to own in the 80s in Boston. Feel free to substitute any vegetables you like for the ones listed.
Scrambled Tofu
From Satori Natural Foods Restaurant
Scrambled tofu is an easy and popular dish that can be made at the last minute when friends pop in unexpectedly or there is no time to make dinner. Experiment with different vegetables of your choice, such as a cup of green peas or 2 small celery stalks.
Ingredients:
1 package of tofu
½ teaspoon grated ginger (optional)
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 medium onion
1 carrot
½ cup corn
Pinch of sea salt
Shoyu or white miso to taste
I’ve been wearing hearing aids for 13 years. Before that it was a race between me and the sounds, especially the high ones. I couldn’t catch the words and they’d begin to vanish and I’d chase after them. My post is about crossing hurdles.
The holiday was wonderful. Sorry that it is over. The start-up wasn’t smooth.
The hard part was getting our sukkah up. Yes, Erev Yom Kippur the work was to begin. That’s the usual practice. Several hurdles were in the way to assembling the parts.
1.The building’s storage room was locked. They key that we had to it didn’t work. The next day we procured the key. We could see now where our cross poles were stored, but we could not reach them. Why?
2.The storage room that held the poles has been reconfigured. The building’s oil tank was on the other side of a sheet rock barrier. The polls were way to long to get around two narrow openings. How to do it?
3.Our grandson Nachman arrived. He’s a wiz and he got the poles out of the storage room. He did the impossible!
4.Our sukkah’s curtains are not in our machsan, nor is the extension cord. Nachman assembles the walls, straps, and schach to the sukkah. I start to decorate the sukkah skeleton. It’s an open air legal sukkah.Nachman wants privacy. He runs off and returns with curtains and an extension cord. He straps the curtains to the rod with the aid of my second grandson Binyamin.
5. The overall impression of the sukkah is gruesome. Standing in it feels like a covering for a trapped cat and it smells bad too. No-one wants to go into it. I pummel the curtains and they are still stained,
6. That was Friday before Sukot. What is one to do without a sukah to say the bracha “Leshev B’Sukkah”?
7. Then began our peripatetic Sukot journey. That FridayI scurried around to neighbor’s . ” Yes” “surely come was the reply. Sunday Night, the first night, we were invited to my daughter’s sukkah.
8. I began to search out neighbor’s for places to say the bracha. They all offered their hospitality. Sometimes we brought our own food. We were invited to small gatherings and I am really solid talking 1 to 1.
It was a wonderful, memorable holiday, as we made many new friends.
A new Hurdle. Today, October 7th is the second day of root canal treatment to be performed by a light-handed Australian endodontist, Dr. Sommer. The first visit went well, and the expectation was that this might not be too bad. I’d heard the instructions and anyway the key is to breathe easy. Sitting in the patient’s seat, listening to Bill Evans on the keyboard, feeling that numbness take over my chin, I relax. I remove my hearing aides. Why keep them in when they’ll only magnify the scraping? Dr. Sommer asks, “You can take a sip”. OH NO, He’s asking do I want to sleep? I reply thinking, I just got these needles, why put me to sleep? ” But I wasn’t asleep last time? Polite gentleman that he is, he repeats, ” But we ask the patients to sip after the needles.” Then, I got it. A mis communication.
Do NOT Eat or Drink after root canal treatment:
Crunchy foods such as carrots, corn on the cob or apples, as they could damage the tooth or cause undue pain.
Chewy foods such as gum, most breads or candy, like taffy, as it could pull out the temporary filling.
Hard foods such as ice or nuts as they could damage the tooth or cause unnecessary pain.
Avoid alcohol as it could increase bleeding.
Avoid food that is excessively hot as it could increase sensitivity.
Also avoid spicy food could cause unnecessary discomfort or sensitivity.
DO Eat and Drink:
Fruit smoothies
Yogurt
Ice Cream (without nuts or anything crunchy or chewy)
Bananas
Mangos
Pears
Milkshakes
Peaches
Soup (as long as it does not have anything crunchy or chewy in it)
Mashed potatoes or mashed cauliflower
Oatmeal
Cream of wheat
Eggs
Applesauce
Rice pudding
Tuna salad
Sushi
Tofu
Thin pastas cut up well (such as angel hair)
Pancakes
Pudding
Hummus
Macaroni and cheese
Most Indian, Thai and Chinese food providing provided the noodles are thin, the meal is very mildly spiced and there are not any peanut, carrots or other crunchy/hard ingredients
I am a fan of eggplant soup, and this one is a winner, creamy-textured and bright tasting. Charring the eggplant gives it a smoky flavor, but as opposed to some rustic versions, the soup has a smooth texture and a lovely pale color. It gets a good squeeze of lemon juice, a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of the Middle Eastern spice mixture za’atar, made with wild thyme and sesame, now widely available. Make sure to choose small, firm eggplants. Serve the soup chilled or hot, in small portions.
INGREDIENTS
2pounds small firm eggplants
5tablespoons olive oil
2cups sliced white or yellow onion
Salt and pepper
6garlic cloves, minced
Pinch cayenne
6cups chicken broth or mild vegetable broth
3 to 4tablespoons lemon juice
½teaspoon lemon zest
1tablespoon za’atar, available in Middle Eastern groceries
2teaspoons chopped parsley
PREPARATION
Poke 2 or 3 holes in eggplants with a paring knife, then place on a baking sheet under hot broiler, about 2 inches from flame. Cook for 3 or 4 minutes, allowing skins to blacken and char. Turn and cook on other side until eggplants have softened completely, about 4 minutes more. Set aside to cool, then remove and discard skins and roughly chop eggplant flesh.
Meanwhile, put 3 tablespoons olive oil in a heavy-bottomed stainless or enameled soup pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, season generously with salt and pepper, and cook until softened and beginning to color, 5 to 7 minutes. Add garlic, cayenne and reserved eggplant and cook 1 minute more, then add broth and bring to a brisk simmer. Reduce heat and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Check seasoning of broth and adjust salt.
Purée soup in batches in blender. Strain through fine-meshed sieve and discard solid debris and seeds. Add 3 tablespoons lemon juice to puréed soup and taste again, adding more as necessary. Soup should be well seasoned and rather lemony.
Mix lemon zest with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil for garnish. Ladle soup into small bowls, topping each bowl with 1 teaspoon lemon oil, 1/2 teaspoon za’atar and some chopped parsley. May be served hot or cold.
Moroccan Stew
Author: Moosewood Collective
Serves: 4 to 6
Ingredients
⅓ cup olive oil
3 cups coarsely chopped onions
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon cayenne
½ teaspoon paprika
1 cup sliced carrots
4 cups cubed sweet potatoes or butternut squash
3 cups cubed eggplant
1 green pepper, sliced in strips
4 cups sliced zucchini or summer squash
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1½ cups cooked garbanzo beans, liquid reserved
pinch of saffron
¾ cup dried currants or ½ cup raisins
Optional: 2 hard cooked eggs, chopped
Optional: ½ cup coarsely chopped toasted almonds
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
In a stew pot, heat the olive oil and sauté the onions for 2 or 3 minutes.
Add the garlic and spices, stirring continuously.
Add the vegetables in the order given above, so that the starchier vegetables will cook the longest.
Sauté after the addition of each vegetable until its color deepens.
Stir in the garbanzo beans, the saffron, and the currants or raisins.
There should be some liquid at the bottom of the pot from the cooking vegetables. However, if the stew is dry, add ½ cup of tomato juice, liquid from the garbanzo beans, or water.
Cover the stew and simmer on low heat until all the vegetables are tender.
For your amusement, here is the rain scene from one of my favorite movies: The Frisco Kid
Chief Gray Cloud: [in reference to Avram’s God]
What does he do?
Avram: He… He can do anything!
Chief Gray Cloud: Then why can’t he make rain?
Avram: Because he doesn’t make rain. He gives us strength
when we’re suffering. He gives us compassion when all that
we feel is hatred. He gives us courage when we’re searching
around blindly like little mice in the darkness…
but He does not make rain!
[Thunder and lightning begin, followed by a downpour]
Avram: Of course… sometimes, just like that, he’ll change His mind.
This morning the rain came floating over Jerusalem and everyone smiled.
The first rain reminds me
of the rising summer dust.
The rain doesn’t remember the rain of yesteryear.
A year is a trained beast with no memories.
Soon you will again wear your harnesses,
Beautiful and embroidered, to hold
Sheer stockings: you
Mare and harnesser in one body.
The white panic of soft flesh
In the panic of a sudden vision
Of ancient saints.
– Yehuda Amichai
(Translated from the Hebrew by Barbara and Benjamin Harshav)
October 10th 2015 David’s Tomb: Pay a visit Motzei Shabat: Feast on treats and dancing into the we hours, join a women’s tehillim group
King David’s Tomb (Hebrew: קבר דוד המלך) is a site viewed as the burial place of David, King of Israel, according to a tradition beginning in the 12th century. It is located on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, near the Hagia Maria Sion Abbey. The tomb is situated in a ground floor corner of the remains of the former Hagia Zion, a Byzantine church. Older Byzantine tradition dating to the 4th century identified the location as the Cenacle of Jesus and the original meeting place of the Christian faith. The building is now part of the Diaspora Yeshiva
History
The tomb is located in a corner of a room situated on the ground floor remains of the former Hagia Zion an ancient house of worship; the upper floor of the same building has traditionally been viewed as the Cenacle of Jesus. The site of David’s burial is unknown, though the Tanakh locates it southwards, in the Ir David near Siloam. In the 4th century CE, he and his father Jesse were believed to be buried in Bethlehem. The idea he was entombed on what was later called Mt Zion dates to the 9th century CE.[1] Writing around 1173 Benjamin of Tudela recounted a colourful story that two Jewish workers employed to dig a tunnel came across David’s original splendid palace, replete with gold crown and scepter and decided the site must be his tomb. The Gothic cenotaph preserved to this day was constructed by the Crusaders:the Mount Zion conquered by David according to the Book of Samuel was wrongly ascribed by medieval pilgrims to this site, and David was presumed to be buried there. In 1335, the ancient church became a Franciscanmonastery, but, due to tensions with the Greek OrthodoxPatriarch, the Franciscan residence was closed.
The Franciscan Monastery in Jerusalem during the 16th century did not encompass today’s King David Tomb complex. In fact it was not a monastery but the residence of a small band of friars—in a room on the Western part of today’s David Tomb complex because it was thought to be the site of the Last Supper. The friars used to throw their rubbish outside on the Eastern side of today’s Tomb complex. The Sharif Ahmad Dajani, the first to hold the Dajani name, cleaned up the waste and constructed the neglected Eastern side of today’s King David Tomb complex—where the tomb is located—in the 1490s. He established a place for Muslim prayer on the Eastern part of today’s complex. The “Franciscans were driven out from the mountain” by residents of Jerusalem in 1524. The “Ibn Dawood” mosque, a title given Sheikh Ahmad Dajani by the residents of Jerusalem, was established for Muslim prayers under the patronage of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and the supervision of al-Shareef Sheikh Ahmad bin Ali Dajani.
Ownership of the site was transferred to the Muslim Palestinian family al-Ashraf Dajani al-Daoudi family (Descendants of the Prophet Mohammad’s grandson Hussein) by an edict from Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent in 1529. Since then, the Dajani family supervised and maintained this site. As a result, they were given the title of Dahoudi or Dawoodi by the residents of Jerusalem in reference to the King David Tomb complex.
After the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, it fell on the Israel side of the Green Line. Between 1948 and 1967 the Old City was occupied by Jordan, which barred entry to Jews even for the purpose of praying at Jewish holy sites. Jewish pilgrims from around the country and the world went to David’s Tomb and climbed to the rooftop to pray. Since 1949, a blue cloth, with basic modernist ornamentation, has been placed over the sarcophagus. The images on the cloth include several crown-shaped Rimmon placed over Torah scrolls, and a violin, and the cloth also features several pieces of text written in Hebrew. The building is now part of the Diaspora yeshiva.
In December 2012, unknown persons completely destroyed a large number of 17th-century Islamic tiles in the tomb, and the Antiquities Authority decided to not reconstruct them.
Question of authenticity
King David’s Tomb in 2006
The contents of the sarcophagus have not yet been subjected to any scientific analysis, to determine their age, former appearance, or even whether there is actually still a corpse there.
The authenticity of the site has been challenged on several grounds. According to the Bible,]David was actually buried within the City of David together with his forefathers; by contrast, the 4th century Pilgrim of Bordeaux reports that he discovered David to be buried in Bethlehem, in a vault that also contained the tombs of Ezekiel, Jesse, Solomon, Job, and Asaph, with those names carved into the tomb walls. The genuine David’s Tomb is unlikely to contain any furnishings of value; according to the 1st-century writer Josephus, Herod the Great tried to loot the tomb of David, but discovered that someone else had already done so before him. The 4th-century accounts of the Bordeaux Pilgrim and Epiphanius both record that seven synagogues had existed on Mount Zion and that by around 330 CE (the end of the Roman Period and beginning of the Byzantine Period) only one of them remained, but no association with David’s tomb is mentioned.
After the conquest of the Jebusite city, the hill of the Lower City was divided into several parts. The highest part, in the north, became the site of Solomon’s Temple. Based on archaeological excavations revealing sections of the First Temple city wall,[where?] this is believed to have been the true Mount Zion.
Towards the end of the First Temple period, the city expanded westward.Just before the Roman conquest of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Second Temple, Josephus described Mount Zion as a hill across the valley to the west.Thus, the western hill extending south of the Old City came to be known as Mount Zion, and this has been the case ever since. At the end of the Roman period, a synagogue called Hagiya Zion[dubious– discuss] was built at the entrance of the structure known as David’s Tomb probably based on the belief that David brought the Ark of the Covenant here from Beit Shemesh and Kiryat Ye’arim before the construction of the Temple.
Mount Zion district in 1946.
According to Doron Bar,
Although the sources for the tradition of David’s Tomb on Mount Zion are not clear, it appears that it only began to take root during the subsequent, early Muslim period. Apparently, the Christians inherited this belief from the Muslims, and only at a relatively late juncture in the city’s history were the Jews finally convinced as well.
Epiphanius’ 4th-century account in his Weights and Measures is one of the first to associate the location with the original meeting place of the Christian faith, writing that there stood “the church of God, which was small, where the disciples, when they had returned after the Savior had ascended from the Mount of Olives, went to the upper room”.
Archaeologists, doubting the Mount Zion location and favouring the biblical account, have since the early 20th century sought the actual tomb in the City of David area.
In 1913, Raymond Weill found eight elaborate tombs at the south of the City of David,which archaeologists have subsequently interpreted as strong candidates for the burial locations of the former kings of the city; Hershel Shanks, for example, argues that the most ornate of these (officially labelled T1) is precisely where one would expect to find the burial site mentioned in the Bible. ] Among those who agree with the academic and archaeological assessment of the Mount Zion site, somebelieve it actually is the tomb of a later king, possibly Manasseh, who is described in the Hebrew Bible as being buried in the Garden of the King rather than in the City of David like his predecessors.
From ChoosingRaw:In the last ten years, studies of the human microbiome, which is defined as the collective genetic identity of the microbes (composed of bacteria, bacteriophage, fungi, protozoa and viruses) that live inside and on the human body, have exploded. These bacteria help to balance pH, to maintain immunity, to aid in the absorption and synthesis of nutrients, to neutralize harmful compounds, and to produce short chain fatty acids that play a role in the digestive process as well.
We’ve understood that gut bacteria aid in digestive balance and in women’s health for some time (while you were growing up, your mother might have encouraged you to eat yogurt if you were on antibiotics to prevent UTIs orcandida albicans), but scientists are only beginning to comprehend the profound influence that the approximately 400 species of bacteria residing in our gut, on our skin, and on other epithelial linings have upon our health. Research suggests that obese and slender people have different numbers and varieties of intestinal bacteria, as do people with digestive disorders and those without them, diabetics and non-diabetics, and so on. As some of you may have read, Michael Pollan has volunteered to have his microbiome mapped, and it may be that home testing of gut microbiota is soon available to us all.
I hope that these tools will create a sense of empowerment and consciousness, rather than confusion, because the truth is that we don’t yet know precisely how gut flora work. Because gut flora vary widely according to culture and geography, it’s hard to create a standard of what microbial bacterial populations “should” look like. Furthermore, studies of over-the-counter probiotic supplements have yet to yield much in the way of conclusive data. One particular probiotic blend, VSL #3, has been shown to aid in the management of IBS, among other digestive disorders. But because we’re not totally sure how probiotics function, there are few standards of dosage, and to some extent the fashioning of a therapeutic blend is a matter of guesswork.
What we do know for sure is that our Western fixation on sanitation may have some disadvantages. Inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s and colitis), asthma, and autoimmune disorders are far more common in ultra-sanitized nations. There is one hypothesis–the “hygiene hypothesis”–that suggests that less childhood exposure to bacteria and parasites in the US and Europe may actually interfere with immune development. Because of antibiotics, antibacterial products, and overall hygiene, we don’t have as much interaction with the bacterial species that may help to keep our guts balanced. Of course, this isn’t the only reason that Western nations display more signs of dysbiosis (imbalanced gut flora): medications, artificial foods, diets high in refined sugar and saturated fats, stress, constipation, and deficient dietary fiber are also associated with the condition.
We also know that the fermentation of food–which creates the very bacteria that is so helpful in maintaining our health–is a part of traditional diets around the world. Fermentation is especially prevalent in Asia, where foods like miso, soy sauce, kimchee, and tempeh are dietary staples. But sauerkraut, kefir, and lacto-fermented vegetables abound in Europe, while injera and fermented millet are traditional foods in Africa. In the Americas, sourdough bread, pickles, and cultured milk are all parts of the culinary landscape. A number of fermented foods are also shared between a number of cultures globally: wine and beer and other types of alcohol (of course), vinegar, yogurt, bread, and cheese. Fermentation has historically been an efficient way to store and preserve vegetables, sure, but it is surely no coincidence that these foods may also contribute substantially to our well-being.
Having struggled with digestive conditions for most of my life, I realize how crucial balanced intestinal flora is to my personal health. Fortunately, I happen to love fermented foods, so I’m happy to eat them frequently. I confess, though, that fermenting at home has always scared me. A few years ago, my friend Elizabeth sent me a copy of Sandor Katz’s wonderful book, Wild Fermentation, and I learned to make homemade sauerkraut. The process by which one makes ‘kraut is called “lacto-fermentation,” so called because sugars in the foods one uses feed bacteria that grow from the fermentation process, and that sugar is converted into lactic acid. This acid, along with added salt, preserves vegetables for extended periods of time. The process is shockingly easy, and you can use it to make a wide variety of tart, salty, and belly-friendly veggies. Today, I’ll show you how.
What you’ll need to start are super clean, wide mouth mason jars. I use 1 quart jars because I go through my fermented veggies very quickly! I tend to submerge them in boiling water or give them a very hot, soapy wash before getting started, but you don’t have to keep things as meticulously sterile as you would were you canning something for the long haul. I have some plastic lids I got because I didn’t like the way the metal lids tended to get dirty/rusty over time, but then again, plastic is plastic, so the more sustainable choice is to stick with metal.
You’ll also need veggies of your choosing. You can ferment pretty much anything and everything: shredded beets, carrots, cabbage, cucumbers, onions, green beans, shredded dino kale, zucchini, and so on. My favorites are beets, carrots, cabbage, and green beans. You’ll also want any herbs, seasonings, or spices you care for handy, which can include peppercorns, garlic, green onions, dill, rosemary, chilis, and many, many others.
Finally, you’ll need a brine. I use anywhere between 1 tbsp and 1 1/2 tbsp of salt per 4 cups filtered water (adjust this to your tastes). Simply stir the salt with your water till it dissolves, and the brine is ready.
With clean hands, layer your veggies into each jar you’re using. You can add a layer of peppercorns or spices between layers of different veggies; I like to use a few veggies per jar, resulting in a stratified creation! Pack the veggies down very tightly with your hands, and leave about two inches at the top. You’ll be adding liquid, and the veggies may rise up due to gases released during fermentation.
When your veggies are tightly packed, add a top layer to hold them down when you add the brine. I use kale, chard, or cabbage leaves. Zucchini slices may work, too, if they’re big enough!
Add your brine, filling it up and leaving about an inch of empty space in the jar. Screw the lid of the jar on loosely; you want air to be able to escape ad the fermentation process occurs, so it’s important not to have a tightly sealed jar.
Next, you simply want to move the jars to a warm place for the fermentation to occur. I like to stick them on my radiator, which looks sort of funny when I come home from campus, but works like a charm. As with homemade vegan yogurt, you can choose to keep the jars in a dehydrator on a low setting, but this is very energy costly, so it’s better if you can just find a warm nook of the home.
Let the veggies hang out for 3-5 days, checking on them every 24 hours or so. The cabbage or kale leaf may rise from escaping gas, so if it does, push it back down to keep everything submerged in brine. Starting at day 3, taste the veggies: if they’re tart enough for you, go ahead and serve! Day 4 is usually my sweet spot.
You can pile your fermented veggies into wraps, onto salads, mix them up with kelp noodles, mix them in with brown rice or quinoa, or simply snack on them the way they are. No matter how you choose to serve them, you will be treating your body to healthful bacteria and enzymes, as well as the vegetables’ own stores of minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants. Cultured veggies are simply so, so, so tasty and great for you.
If you’ve been squeamish about fermenting at home, I really hope this post demystifies the process for you! Making cultured vegetables reminds me of making raw crackers, or anything in the dehydrator:
it sounds intense because of the wait time, but really, the process itself couldn’t be easier. And the results will delight your belly and your tastebuds both.
I’ve resolved to take on way more DIY culinary projects this year, and home fermentation is a delightfully simple place to start.
According to the Book of Samuel Mount Zion was the site of the Jebusite fortress called the “stronghold of Zion” that was conquered by King David becoming his palace and the City of David It is mentioned in the Book of Isaiah (60:14) the Book of Psalms and the first book of the Maccabees (c. 2nd century BCE)
מארגני מאהל המחאה בעקבות הפיגוע, מול בית רוה”מ, צריכים מתפללים למניין בשבת
*ראש מועצת שומרון יוסי דגן ופעילים נוספים בימין הקימו מאהל מחאה מול בית
רוה”מ בירושלים בעקבות הפיגוע. מארגני המאהל מבקשים מהציבור לבוא ולהשלים
מניין בשבת, זמני התפילות הם: קבלת שבת בשעה 18:30, שחרית של שבת בשעה 08:15.
מי שגר באזור מוזמן להפיץ ולהגיע*
The head of the Samaria Council, Yosi Dagan, has announced that he will
soon begin a sit-in protest in front of the Prime Minister’s residence in
Jerusalem.
Dagan says that the protest will continue is in response to last week’s (Thursday) murder of the Na’ama and Eitam Henkin and will continue for as
long as he feels it is necessary.
Eitam and Naama Henkin HY”D from Neria, murdered by terrorists on Oct. 1, 2015
Rabbi Eitam (31) and Naama Henkin (30) from Neria in the Binyamin region were the victims of a terror attack between Elon Moreh and Itamar. They are the parents of four children who were in the car during the terror attack and survived.
Eitam is the son of Rabbi Yehudah and Rabbanit Chana Henkin. Rabbanit Henkin is the founder and dean of the Nishmat Institute for Advanced Jewish Studies for Women in Jerusalem. I have met Rabbanit Henkin and spent many weeks in classes at her Seminary, Nishmat. On May 18th, 2015, Rabbanit Chana Henkin was awarded an honorary Doctorate by Bar-Ilan University for her trailblazing life’s work in advancing women’s Torah scholarship and leadership in the Jewish community.
Settler leaders plan to camp out by Netanyahu’s home.
Reported by Debka:
Four days after the couple Na’ama and Eitam Henkin were murdered in a drive-by shooting ambush in front of their four children, Israel security forces Monday announced they had laid hands of the Hamas cell responsible for the attack following an intense intelligence effort. The Hamas cell based in Nablus had five members, all of whom have confessed. Each was allotted a task: One kept an eye on the road, three traveled in the attack vehicle – a driver and two shooters – and a commander who stayed back in Nablus. They were identified as Ghaeb Ahmad Muhamed Aliwi, 37, Yahya Muhammed Naif Abdallah Hajj Hamad, 24, and Karim Lutfi Fathi Rezaq, 23 – the two gunmen who fired the fatal shots; Samir Zahir Ibrahim Kusa, 33, the driver; and Zeid Ziyad Jamil Omar, 26 who kept observation. Rezak was accidentally shot by cell members during the attack. Israeli troops arrested him and took him in from his hospital bed. A number of accessories were also arrested.
Curried Lacto-fermented Cauliflower
Cauliflower is such a versatile vegetable, it’s a great one for fermenting. By adding your favorite curry powder blend, you are adding color as well as spice and flavor. The tang of the lactic acid combines with the heat and warmth of the curry spices to create a delicious, fresh, and crunchy curried vegetable.
1 small head of cauliflower (about 3 cups small florets)
2½ tablespoons curry powder
4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
Instructions:
Heat water; add salt and stir to dissolve completely. Cool to room temperature. Set aside.
Place garlic cloves in the bottom of a quart-size glass jar. Add curry powder, followed by cauliflower florets.
Pour cooled brine over vegetables until completely covered, leaving 1½ inches of head space.
If necessary, weigh the florets down under the brine.
Cover the jar with a tight lid, airlock lid, or coffee filter secured with a rubber band.
Culture at room temperature (60-70°F is preferred) until desired flavor and texture are achieved. If using a tight lid, burp daily to release excess pressure.
Once the cauliflower is finished, put a tight lid on the jar and move to cold storage. The flavor will continue to develop as the cauliflower ages
If necessary, weigh the florets down under the brine.
Cover the jar with a tight lid, airlock lid, or coffee filter secured with a rubber band.
Culture at room temperature (60-70°F is preferred) until desired flavor and texture are achieved. If using a tight lid, burp daily to release excess pressure.
Once the cauliflower is finished, put a tight lid on the jar and move to cold storage. The flavor will continue to develop as the cauliflower ages
pumpkin gourds
savyatseventy 