Going to the Shuk with Savtush

Last night, Tikva had a playdate with a couple of kids from her gan, while their mothers all hung out together and prepared food for today's Mesibat Tu B'Shvat. We were at the home of a lovely with Iraqi roots, and her mother was there to help with the cooking. We made Madjetera, a popular Sefardic dish with rice and lentils, and I watched with great interest to see how she prepared it. I have been making a dish with the same ingredients, but it doesn't come out nearly as delicious as her's did, and I now understand why (order of ingredients, and more oil, salt and cumin).

The children all enjoyed themselves, and the adults shmoozed about food. One woman said that she married an Ashkenazi, and that he wouldn't eat garlic, and she bemoaned her loss and suffering. Savtush, our food expert, said she's never met an Ashkenazi who did not use garlic. I agreed, that we always cook with garlic. On the topic of foods our husbands won't eat, I chimed in that my husband won't eat pickles or olives, and Savtush responded that I'm not buying the right pickles and olives. I said, "oh? which ones should I buy?" She told me there's a special store in The Shuk- at Machane Yehuda, where I can buy the best pickles and olives, and those, he will eat. I was skeptical, but I figured this sounded like a worthy project, since I rather miss eating pickles and olives. "Which store?" She tried to describe it to me, and when she had difficulty describing it to me, she offered to take me the next time she goes to the shuk. I told her, "let's go tomorrow morning!" and she agreed.

So this morning, after I dropped of Tikva at gan, Savtush got into my car, and we went together to drop off the boys at their respective locations, and then we went to the shuk together. (Mind you, Savtush does not have a cell phone, and there was great tumult around making sure we meet up at the proper time at the Gan. It all worked out ok, thus reminding us that people existed before cell phones).

On the road to the shuk, Savtush (Savta is my mother's name in my head, and "ush" is the new endearing suffix for everything is Israel, so there you have it) became a tour guide, talking to me about the history of the neighborhoods, and which buildings had been there since the British Mandate. She told me about where she was born, in Talpiyot, and how their house had a tin roof in the beginning, until the country got some more money for building. I told her I had family that left Israel during the difficult period, but that many of us had returned, and it turns out we both have family roots in Sfat, but she also has family from Cholon. They've all been there for close to a hundred years, having come in the 30s.

At one point in our morning, I regretted not bringing along a video camera and capturing the whole interaction for generations to come. I felt I was truly in the presence of Israeli history, and that this woman was absolutely spectacular. She brought me to the place where she buys her pickles and olives, and they were not open yet, but I got a picture of it to go back and find these mystery pickles and olives.

She mentioned that she likes to come in the morning, when not so many people are there, but that if you came back in a couple of hours, it would be so full, you couldn't bring the wagon to carry your groceries. Her eyes lit up as she described the way the crowded shuk feels on Fridays, Erev Shabbat. The market's bustle brings her so much joy.

Savtush is Jerusalem. Taking buses everywhere, describing the city's history, she told me, every time we passed a different dried goods place, "see, they have, too- but they're not as good as the ones I showed you. I know, because I've tried them all." This was local knowledge to end all local knowledge. She took me to her favorite fruit and vegetable stands and market, her favorite fish vendor, her favorite meat vendor, and she introduced me to the people who worked there, who all wished me good luck and success in Israel.

Dried goods and spices:

 Chicken and meat:

This is where Savtush gets her disposable stuff, and they also have good things for decorating birthday parties

The trip was like getting a big hug from the shuk, and I gave Savtush a big hug before we parted ways. I don't know if she fully appreciates how wonderful that experience was for me. But I think she has some idea.