Let’s Eat - The Traditional Meal in Jewish Living
Perhaps the most traditional meal in Jewish living takes place not on a special holiday, but every weekend when millions of Jews acknowledge the Sabbath. Many make it their custom to have a special meal on Friday night, after the men come back from the Synagogue and the women have lit the Shabbos candles.
For Natalie the main character in Next Year in Jerusalem, Romance, Mystery & Spiritual Awakenings, she often partakes of part or all or the traditional meal. Natalie and David (her husband) do not always observe the complete rituals of the dinner. But Natalie often makes homemade chicken soup, one of the most traditional items on the menu around the world. She loves to add lots of red onion chunks and fresh garlic to a fairly standard recipe. Her basic ingredients are: small whole chicken quartered, water, salt, pepper, sliced carrots, sliced celery, and lots of other seasonings, depending on Natalie's mood. Sometimes she even adds curry powder and brown rice. Nothing is set in stone for her cooking habits.
Natalie always buys a fresh Challah for the weekend. This sweet, white bread has been the traditional bread of Jews for thousands of years. Many women bake their own challah every week. This is considered a privilege and even a special good deed in the Jewish faith. However, Natalie, busy working as a school psychologist, hasn't felt inclined to put in the baking time. However, on rare occasions, she and David have baled a batch of loaves together. The last time was five years ago during a snow storm. They had great fun getting the dough ready, letting it rise and shaping the loaves and braiding the dough on top of the loaves.
The ingredients in a basic Challah are: yeast, water, flour, salt, sugar, oil, one egg beaten and if you wish a glaze on top then one egg yolk diluted with water, poppy seeds and/or sesame seeds.
Typically a full Sabbath meal is as follows:
- Gefilte fish, Chicken soup, Challah and of course wine for the Shabbat Blessings.
- A main course of chicken or beef, potato kugel, and a cooked vegetable
- Then dessert that might be a cookie called Mandel Bread or fruit compote or fresh fruit.
This meal is repeated in many households every weekend all year. You would think people would get tired of the menu. But usually they don't. There is the nostalgic part of the meal and the memories that are evoled by always eating a tasty meal in just about the same way. Natalie is a little more adventurous and plays with the meal. Sometimes she completely diverts and they have homemade chili for the main course. But for many Jews the meal is the acknowledgement of a gift from God. The gift being a day of rest and one of the ways of honoring that day is to dignify it with the same opening meal every Friday night soon after sundown.
Like any good ritual, the meaning is often more than half of the flavor! So if you are Jewish, I suggest you try the menu on Friday night if you aren't doing it already. And if you aren't, hopefully you will have a chance sometime to experience the ritualized menu and just Christmas sugar cookes you may enjoy, you will see how ritual around food plays a critical part in all of our lives.
About Next Year in Jerusalem
You may be wondering why I chose the title Next Year in Jerusalem! for my new novel. Why not Forbidden Romance or Romantic Travel or Spiritual Awakenings or Lust, Memories and Old Friends on Facebook? After all Natalie and Maggie are two women, both caught up in issues that many of us face: a somewhat dull but faithful husband; a bad marriage leading finally to a divorce; a desire for adventure; unsatisfied spiritual longings. They have a great friendship with each other, something research keeps confirming, keeps us young and emotionally happy, but life is far from easy for either women.
So again, why would I focus on a strange title that comes out of a book written thousands of years ago?
Here is one of the reasons. Next Year in Jerusalem! is actually a phrase that shows up at the end of the Haggadah. Those of you who are not Jewish may wonder what that is. The Haggadah is a book that the Jews have used for thousands of years to celebrate and relive the Passover experience. Many people know that the central theme of the story is how the Jews, who were slaves in Egypt, were finally able to escape and began their long journey of 40 years to get to the promised Land, which was Israel. However, what a lot of people don't realize is that this theme is universal and can be taken metaphorically for all of us. That is why when the Haggadah ends with the fourth glass of wine being drunk, and the words, Next Year in Jerusalem! the phrase becomes so significant.
About Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein
Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein, internationally known positive psychologist, inspires thousands with her ENCHANTED SELF®. Around the world people benefit from her techniques to enhance well-being, and to live up to their potential. Known for her ability to make complex psychological concepts easy to understand and to implement, she has now turned her talents to novel writing. "A great fiction read is a great escape, and yet, it is more! It is the gateway to new ways of thinking and behaving."
Dr. Holstein received her Doctorate in Education from Boston University and her BA degree from Barnard College. Dr. Holstein has been a school psychologist and taught first and second grades. She is in private practice with her husband, Dr. Russell M. Holstein, in Long Branch, New Jersey. Find her at www.enchantedself.com and www.next-year-in-jerusalem.com.
Her previous books include:
· THE ENCHANTED SELF, A Positive Therapy
· Recipes for Enchantment, The Secret Ingredient is YOU!
· The Truth (I'm a girl, I'm smart and I know everything) · Seven Gateways to Happiness: Freeing Your Enchanted Self
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