Bitachon

Fear, they say, is the greatest obstacle and the worst enemy. Fear makes us avoid taking chances, which leads to stagnation. Fear causes us to cower down, to live a small life and not realize our full potential. Fear is about missed opportunities.

D'varim is a sad book. Moshe, knowing he will never walk upon the promised land, knowing he is to die soon, nevertheless centers his attention and his efforts on the same people who have been making his life miserable for the last forty years. Like a real Jewish mother, he worries that once he is gone, they will forget everything he taught them and will get on G-D's bad side. Oy. So he talks. And talks. And talks. For the whole book of D'varim he reviews everything they need to know, fervently hoping that it will stick. 

He starts by talking about the land. The land that is promised. The land they have been wandering towards for so long. The land they were taken out of Egypt to go to. The land of milk and honey that they have rejected almost forty years ago because they were scared of the giants that reportedly inhabited it. Remember this point. It's important.

Then he talks about the wanderings that occurred along the way. Here are some highlights:

We reached the land of Edom and G-d told us not to try and fight with them or even take anything from their land unless we paid full price for it because (pay attention here) He had promised this land to Esav. The land used to be populated by some strong people but G-d has destroyed them so Esav's descendants got the land. As promised.

We also reached the land of Moav and G-d told us not to fight with them because this land was promised to Lot. There used to be giants there but G-d has destroyed them so the descendants of Lot got the land. As promised.

We then reached the land of Ammon and G-d told us not to fight with them because this land was also promised to Lot and G-D has destroyed the.. you guessed it - giants who used to live there so Lot's descendants got the land. As promised.

Do we see a theme here? One more item. Moshe basically ends the parasha by telling the Israelites that they must not fear the people who are occupying the land right now since the land was promised to them by G-d and He will fight alongside them and make sure they will overcome any enemies and actually get the land. As promised.

Many years ago, the Israelites rejected the promised land because of their fear of giants. In the next 38 years they have encountered various "cousins" who were also promised various lands, which were also populated by giants. These distant relatives apparently had a little more faith in G-D's promises since they went ahead and got what was theirs despite the giants. And, surprise, surprise, the giants were beaten. As promised.

So what are you afraid of, oh people of Israel? Shouldn't you trust G-d by now? You have defeated practically everyone you have encountered, including, I might add, the giant Og. Don't you know by now that G-d will help you?

Fear holds us back. Makes us weak and timid and robs us of our heritage. Some people are afraid that if they will start keeping mitzvot, they will turn into fanatical lunatics and give up everything fun. They won't even give up their emails and texting on Shabbat, despite recent evidence that shows these things are ruining our mental health (among other things.)

Others are terrified that if they allow themselves even the smallest glimpse into anything "modern" they will end up throwing away everything that makes them Jewish. So they are not willing to consider such modern "nonsense" as women's lib or environmentalism.  

Our ancestors paid for their fear with a 38 year long penalty. Shouldn't we learn from their mistakes? Trust in G-d (have "Bitachon") to take care of you as He promised.

Of course, that doesn't mean 'sit back and expect Him to do all the work'. We are partners, after all.

Last Channuka, while helping my friend Aidella with the Channuka fair, I met her mother, Shira, and immediately liked her (a very rare thing for someone like me, who hates all people, all the time.) We got to talking and it turned out Shira is an amazing cook (not at all surprising to anyone who ate her daughter's cooking), but she won't make hummus. She buys it. 

I have nothing against store bought hummus. Except for the additives, extra oil, too much salt and the price, it's perfectly nice. But I have met so many people, including Israeli born cooks, who shy away from making it at home. They are afraid that it is complicated, they won't get it right, it's too much work, there are giants, etc, etc.

To all of this I say "have Bitachon". How difficult can it be to make hummus when you have a food processor and your taste buds have already been ruined by the store bought stuff? How bad can it possibly be?

So here's the recipe and I dare you to make it at home. Or keep eating the store bought stuff for another 38 years. Your choice.

Note: You can use canned chickpeas or cook your own. If you want to cook them yourself, soak dry chickpeas in plenty of water (they drink it up so use a lot) overnight. Drain and cook in plenty of water until quite soft (an hour or two.) Rinse well.

Another note: It is said that if you get rid of the semi-transparent peel of each chickpea (it rubs off if they're wet) your hummus will taste much better. I never had the patience for that but feel free to try it.

Hummus

1 can (15oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed very well. Or use 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas.

2 heaping Tbs Tahini*

2 large garlic cloves, peeled

1 Tbs lemon juice

1 tsp cumin

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup water (or more, as needed)

Put everything in the food processor.Process until smooth. You may need to add water until you reach the consistency you like but add it one tablespoon at a time, processing after each addition.

The hummus will thicken a bit after it stands a while so make it slightly less thick than you like.

* Tahini comes in two forms: prepared Tahini and unprepared one. You want the unprepared type or "raw". This is a sesame paste and should contain nothing but sesame. You can buy it almost anywhere nowadays and, while it is always better to get the Israeli brands (you can be sure they're kosher,  you're supporting Israel and the final flavor will be closer to Israeli brands), you'll get perfectly good results with almost any brand as long as it contains nothing but sesame seeds.

Most important note: This will taste different than what you're used to because commercial brands use, as I said, way too much oil, salt and additives (so the product will live forever) and our taste buds got used to it. Play with the spices and the ratio between ingredients until you get what you like. If you must have the commercial flavor (I was once at a party where the host made hummus and was pleased when I said it tasted store bought. He said that was what he was aiming for,) substitute some of the Tahini with oil. Not recommended.