Book & Cook

“Mom, Can I have six Liras please?” “What do you need it for?” “I want to join a club; it costs six liras per month.” “We don’t have that kind of money to spend,” said mom, “But I will talk to Dad and we’ll see what we can do. If it is that important to you.” This was a nice club to join. Almost everyone in the fifth grade joined. For the first time I actually joined a dance class, Israeli folk dance. Those days, Israeli folk dance was very simple. The repertoire was not elaborated or complicated, so in no time we learned a few dances.  Circle dances, line dances and yes, partner dances. “Alright everyone, partner up!” Yelled the dance teacher over the loud music. He was a tall guy with curly blondish hair, and he was very loud. Everyone found a partner almost at once. Being the shortest boy in my class didn’t help getting a partner. No girl wanted to dance with a shorter boy, and a dark skin one on top of it, no matter how cute or smart he was. “Will you be my partner?” I heard a ...

“Mom,” I said as she was showing me the new “ Zohar ” washing machine. “I need a Blanket.” “See that? She said, “this is how you start the machine. It is half automatic, which means we have to control when to switch the functions. What do you need a blanket for?  “We are building a sukkah.” “Nice, I will get you one of the old blankets, but now I want you to learn how to use this machine. When we rinse the laundry, we don’t waist the water. We can reuse it for the next wash. So, I have here a few buckets for the water to drain and collect. you have to remember to put the hose in the bucket before you turn the switch to rinse. You see, this machine has its own cycle of rinsing. We don’t have to put the clothes through that squeezer. You don’t need to be afraid that your fingers will get stuck in between the two hard cylinders.” Mom found an old green blanket we use only when we have guests and gave it to me. Bentzi’s father who was a contractor brought wood planks from one of his co...

“You can’t trust the people in that building,” said Dad about the southern building. “Most of them don’t work or go to school. As you can see, they fight amongst themselves all the time and I would be happy if you don’t make friends with them.”  I personally didn’t like that idea; I liked to make friends and give everyone a chance. Also, being a target for pure racism, I was surprised that dad had misconceptions about people from North Africa. It is still a phenomenon that I am trying to understand. Yet, Dad said and so I tried to stay away. Dad and I were busy setting up his new Jeweler’s desk. This time he had it made by a professional. That heavy desk we built from the woods we found on the beach was dismantled and put away. The new desk had drawers and a nice leather apron to catch the cuttings of the gold and even a nice light and a lot of new tools. I loved looking at dad work. He made all kind of jewelry. I saw him make rings, chains, earrings, and even cross pendants. I thi...