Sabbath in Israel

You may have heard Sabbath in Israel is a big deal. It is. There is a wide spectrum of how serious people are about their religion, but it seems that virtually everyone from ultra orthodox Jews to the very secular (which there are tons of) recognize Sabbath by at least knocking off work at noon on Friday. The whole country seems to relax and unwind. People within sight of the playground come out on their porch to unwind and have tea, and to watch the crazy Americans continue to work like a bunch of suckers.

Friday night the city engineer, Nissim, invites the five of us to his house for Sabbath (Shabbat) dinner. I want to mention this engineer was a huge pain in Learning Structures’ butt when planning the project, because the last thing he wanted was for an American company to get the project, but he could not have been more hospitable once we were here. He, his wife, Betty, who is a doctor, and there 3 beautiful daughters went to the ends of the earth to prepare an amazing meal for us. Also, as I’ve never been for a traditional Shabbat dinner, it was quite an experience. Let me give you the “Play by Play”:

1. We are welcomed to their home along with an Israeli designer. We get a tour of the house while the women and girls are rushing around the kitchen. They are joyfully singing in Hebrew and having a great time. The men mill about the house with drinks. This is a happy place.

2. We gather around the long table. The gentiles and the local designer are all presented with Yamakas to cover our heads. This is a first for me. We stand for prayers and singing by everyone, which unfortunately I can’t interpret.

3. Nissim pours a tall glass of red wine, then pours the red wine into the very ornate silver devise that evenly distribute the wine into 10 smaller cups. He says a quick prayer (I think) and drinks his and then hands a cup to his wife. There is a prayer for bread, of which he takes a piece, then one for his wife, then the guests.

4. Then the meal begins. First tons of appetizers. Hummus, baked eggplant, fried soy beans, and several other things I didn’t get the name of. I’m already getting full. The plates are cleared and then we are brought an excellent fish fillet which we all agree is an excellent main course, except that it is actually just another appetizer! We’ve been tricked. The real main course arrives, a lamb dish, a chicken dish, and something else I didn’t have room to try. Meanwhile wine is flowing and the Israelis are telling jokes in English (which is funny on several levels). The daughters also tell some interesting stories, and their English is quite good compared to the adults. They seemed to be quite excite about having guests, and have each prepared a desert dish for us. We also learn their oldest daughter is leaving for the army soon.

5. For a post desert snack, a huge bowl of fruit is place on the table. Israel has an amazing variety of produce. Nissim tries to get his daughters to sing some closing hymns for Shabbat, but they act embarrassed and insist “not in front of company” in that universal teenager kind of way. They clear the table and start doing dishes in the kitchen, once again singing Israeli pop songs.

While the ritual of Shabbat was fascinating, several things really struck me. Because this was a single “random sample” of an Israeli family, I’m not sure if I can make assumptions about the whole culture, but I was moved by how warm and welcoming they were. Also they had a very affectionate and agreeable family. I don’t know many families in the US that could have 3 kids in college/high school that get along so well.

Also, with the exception of the Americans, their was an amazing amount of diversity around the table. Nissim immigrated from Morocco, his wife from Algeria. Their designer and good friend is from Russia, another family friend is from Iraq. Another friend who didn't make it is from Denmark. The are all very close. Hebrew is a second language for them all. I’m not sure if its religion or nationality that connects them, or a combination of both, but even in our “melting pot” I would be surprised to see such a diverse group of friends.