Dayan Moshav

Last Friday afternoon, I traveled an hour or so north of Tel Aviv with my new friend Dafna.  I had been looking forward to this trip ever since I semi-invited myself to her family’s home, the Talmei Elazar moshav.  This moshav is located in northern Israel, where the air is crisp and fresh, and you can hear the leaves of the eucalyptus trees blowing in the wind.  I felt this special air as soon as I got off the bus, and was happy to leave the busy, chaotic streets of Tel Aviv for a couple of days.

As we walked from the bus stop I was already smiling and taking so many pictures (click here to see them all!).  Dafna gets to practice her English probably more than she would like, because I’m always asking so many questions.  She does a fantastic job of describing all the plant life I’m seeing—the trees, the sabres or the cactus as we know them.  Dafna is a great story-teller, and did such a great job of telling me all about how the moshav got started.  After the state of Israel was founded, the government asked her family members if they would like to start this moshav, and take advantage of the fertile land.  They agreed, and the moshav has nearly tripled in size since it was started over 60 years ago.

As we approached the entrance to this farming community, I was really getting excited.  The street is lined with palm trees and bushes full of gorgeous pink flowers.  Each house stands in front of a large grove or open space identified only by a small sign stating the names of its inhabitants.  

We passed old and very new looking homes and finally arrived at Ya’achov and Batya Dayan’s house.  

As soon as I walked in, I felt welcomed.  Although her parents do not speak English, I knew that we were going to connect through so many other ways besides words.  I was introduced to warm, welcoming people who immediately offered me something to eat. We spent some time getting acquainted and then I was quickly saying hi to new family and new faces as they trickled in through the open back door.  So nice to meet so many family members, and see so many people coming to visit and talk.  The numbers would only increase as the weekend went on.

Just before welcoming the Sabbath, I went for a stroll with Daf and Liron, her eight-year old cousin.  She wanted to show me everything—the swing set, her bus stop, she was beyond cute.  We each learned words from each other—me in Hebrew and her in English.   Echla hagid I said as I pointed to the most basic objects.  It was great having Liron teaching me new and fun things.

After our short walk, we all showered and were ready for dinner. I had been anticipating this first meal for awhile now, and I was even more excited after I watched Batya prepare all of the dishes throughout the afternoon.   

This is the point where your mouths will start to water.  I took the liberty of asking about a million questions and taking just as many pictures, so you will have both a written and visual description of these amazing dishes.  Ok here is the menu, and yes, this was only for dinner:

Olives from the tree in the backyard marinated in olive oil with jalapeno peppers, lemon, and garlic

Kuba or matzah ball looking food, soaked in homemade tomato broth

Roasted potatoes with olive oil and sea salt

Bulgar wheat with cilantro, salt, pepper, and olive oil

Whole chickpeas with green onions and olive oil, salt and pepper

Local, organic dover sole with celery from the backyard, parsley, cilantro, and tomato

Homemade hummus

Homemade dessert croissants topped with sesame seeds

Homemade challah that will make your mouth water

Marinated beets, and

A specially prepared cheese-bread dessert baked especially for me because Batya knows I love it.

As you can see, taste, imagine the food was  really great and even better because it was honestly prepared with love.  Batya loves to cook and to make people in her home happy and content.  Well, she absolutely succeeded.  As if her cooking wasn’t enough, she is also a pseudo-environmentalist.—in a word, my hero.  Daf tells me that her mom insisted on using compact florescent lightbulbs and saving every drop of water she could when they were growing up.   Batya turns the water off in between each dish she washes and I especially took notice as she placed a bucket in the sink to catch the water from washing the fresh vegetables from her neighbor’s organic garden.  She then re-used that water to quench the thirst of the very dry plants in the backyard.  Batya tells Daf, who tells me that there used to be a lot of water—the garden was lush, green and fertile.  Now, there is a definite water shortage in Israel and so every last drop counts.  It’s amazing how necessity will spur you to make big changes in your every day life. 

These water shortages and other difficulties also forced Ya’acov to make changes in the way he cultivated the land.  The land used to be home to many rows of organic veggies, wandering goats, and cows.  However, the demands of this farm became too much and now Ya’achov focuses his efforts on growing citrus (that's a grapefruit in the picture).   When I first met him, his smiling eyes made me feel welcome to ask any questions.  

He told me (well, he told Daf) that he sells his citrus to Prigat, one of Israel’s largest beverage retailers..  It’s quite simple—he grows oranges and grapefruit and then is paid by the kilogram.  The citrus is then used in the orange and grapefruit juices sold by Prigat (I sampled, its great orange juice).  Because he has been working with Prigat, he trusts them, but there is no union to represent his interests and make sure he is receiving a fair price.   However,  he seems content with this arrangement and takes pride in his groves, I can tell.  When I walked down the midracha—sidewalk in Hebrew- to the grove, I sampled the citrus and it was fantastic.  This is enough for him and enough that he has been able to provide for his family, who is always visiting with hugs, kisses, and warm thoughts.

Warm thoughts are exactly what I have of Ya’achov, Batya, and the entire Dayan family.  Toda, raba, raba, raba for the weekend and for welcoming me into your home.

Shalom!