posted by Lily on books, cooking

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I really do love our neighbourhood.  It’s very Jewish – there are many synagogues, schools, community groups, bakeries, restaurants … and several communities within the one – Holocaust survivors who sought refuge here from Europe after World War II, different orthodox groups, immigrants from Israel and South Africa … and surely many more I am unaware of.  Mostly I meet the Jewish folk of our neighbourhood in the bookstore and today there was a marvellous energy and joy to the street.  It is Rosh Hashanah – Jewish New Year.

Wow!  There was such a buzz all morning.  The florist next door was doing a roaring trade as huge bouquets and armfuls of glorious colour were carried up and down the street.  Aviv’s – the best bakery I have ever had the pleasure of shopping in – was frenetic.  The glass shelves in the window were almost buckling under the weight of thousands of biscuits and pastries.  Lined up behind the counter were hundreds of loaves of hallah – beautifully golden and round (instead of the usual braid) to symbolise the circular nature of the year and the rosh (head) of the year (this little piece of information was shared by Leslie, one of our LOVELIEST customers).  Customers were coming in to choose presents for their children, their arms and baskets full of wonderful foods for the coming feasts.  And there was surely a bit of frazzle going on :-)  There was plently of “I’ve been cooking for days and there’s still so much to do!”

At midday, the Jewish school children descended upon the street, helping their parents finalise their shopping.  I have never seen them look more excited and happy.  There were shrieks of laughter and mischief echoing up and down the street as they raced by, little ones hand in hand with the bigger ones.  Then, by 3, it was like a ghost town.  Everything was quiet, sedate, slow.  Truly, the glow that had pervaded the street since opening, had vanished in a moment as this community rushed home to begin their celebrations.  How I would love to be a fly on the wall of one of their homes this evening as they feast and atone :-)  I so admire their commitment to their culture, its history and traditions.  The Jewish faith and society is rich in symbolism – it’s lovely and so very focussed upon preserving the connections and love between family and friends – something I do feel is missing somewhat in my own community.

So, as a small tribute to our neighbours’ customs, I ran up to Aviv’s in a quiet moment, and garnered a round hallah for our own dinner.  Yum!  So soft and sweet, and oh so nice slathered in butter and dunked in our pumpkin soup.  I also brought home a new to me Jewish cookbook – The Jewish Princess:  Feasts and Festivals.  Tomorrow night we will be feasting on Marmalde Chicken, Israeli Salad (with spring onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, pomegranates and parsley) and Ginger Beer Honey cake.  I’m hungry just thinking about it.  I LOVE ginger!  And pomegranates – Abby and I have been known to stand silently, side by side, at the kitchen bench, oblivious to everything else but those glorious red juicy seeds, for over an hour.

And now, I’m about to pick “Annexed” back up and lose myself in its poignancy and humanity.  I feel a bit funny about reading this tonight – a night of celebration.  It is a fictional account of the last two years of Peter Van Daan’s life – the boy who shared the Frank’s hideaway and the shy love of Anne Frank.  But after reading the introduction at work today, I could not leave Sharon Dogar’s book on the shelf tonight.  Just let me share this little bit with you …

“Re-imagining can be an important part of keeping history alive, and there was no one more acutely alive, clever and curious about the world than Anne Frank.  Sadly, we can’t change what happened to her or her family and friends. But we can keep on telling her story, keep on thinking about what it means to be human, and we can try (as Anne Frank has) to keep the facts of what happened during the Second World War alive for each new generation, in the hope that they remain aware of how catastrophic the consequences of hate can be.”

Written in the first person, it is an incredibly compelling narration of how Peter coped with life in hiding, what he missed, what he feared, what he hoped for.  Whilst it is almost completely fictional, “Annexed” is really very beautiful and brings such a vivid and enriching dimension to Anne’s story.  Highly recommended :-)

It is certainly one of the marvellous benefits of living in a big cosmopolitan city and in a country that, since European colonisation, has been re-invented over and over and over as waves of people arrive bringing their stories, their traditions and their dreams with them.  And just to add to the flavour – guess where my colleague Gemma is heading this weekend?  To an Ethiopian restaurant in a nearby town where she will perform with her drumming ensemble for a community celebration of the Ethiopian New Year.  Cool huh!