Remember when?

Moshe opens D'varim with a history review. Remember when? First we did this , then we did that and this happened and the other thing. Wasn't that cool? 

OK. Maybe not "cool". The fact is, most of the time he reminds them of their misbehavior. But still. 

What is it with the past? Why are we so fascinated by it? Why do we return to it again and again? (certainly the Torah loves to repeat things over and over again.) Some people say that "Those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it." I wouldn't want to repeat any parts of my own history (adolescence comes to mind) but I still like to review parts of history; my own and my people's. 

This week we did a lot of historical reviews. We visited Acco and saw a whole bunch of old stuff. I won't tell you what we saw, just that it was well worth the heat, the sweat and the smell of the fish in the Arab market (even my vegetarian child was willing to brave walking past that particular vendor, in order to see everything.) The awesome thing about Acco is that, like Jerusalem and Rome, this is an ancient city where people live and work in buildings that are thousands of years old and are very blase about it. Like in most of Israel, people live in the midst of ancient history and don't really pay attention. It's good, actually. The past is important but the present is much more important.

We visited Rosh Hanikra and saw the wonderful caves where the sea crushes unto the rocks. The cable car ride was scary but we were very brave and did not scream. Well, not very loudly, anyway.

We also saw another ancient town. This one is not currently settled as it was mostly ruins. But the Israeli town that grew right next to it is a testament to the way the modern state of Israel has reinvented itself in the homeland. We toured the Beit she'an ruins at night and it was magical. No other words to it. 

So, like Moshe, we spent some time being reminded of places where important things happened in the past. It was very rewarding as it helped us to connect ourselves to this old-new land.

But Moshe also talks about people. Those they have encountered, those who passed away and those who are present right here, right now. People are important to remember because they are a direct connection to our personal past. This week I met with some relatives that I haven't seen for about 35 years. We had a "Fourth of July" party in the backyard. In the best tradition of their ancestors, my kids complained about the food. "A Fourth of July party without potato chips????" So one cousin called another and potato chips were picked along the way to the party and peace was restored.  We had food at the party, you understand, just not potato chips. Oh well. I guess it's a genetic thing. You're Jewish - you're a complainer. 

The guests brought all kinds of salads. Most of them phenomenal. Here is a carrot salad, made by my cousin Orly. Let me tell you first that my whole family hates carrot salads. Raw or cooked, savory or sweet, we don't care, we hate them all. I simply tasted the salad to be polite. Then I went back for seconds, thirds and fourths. Then I forced everyone to try it, ignoring their "But I hate carrot salad" protests. Everyone was surprised by how awesome it is. I asked for the recipe (well, duh!) and I could not believe it when Orly listed the ingredients.  How can something so simple taste so good?

Cousin Orly's Carrot Salad

10 large carrots, peeled, cut into thin matchstick size pieces and then halved (you should have pieces that are 1/2 an inch long with the thickness of a matchstick). I assume there is a way to do it with a food processor or one of these mandolin gadgets.

1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil

1/4 cup white vinegar

2 Tbs brown sugar

1 tsp salt

3/4-1 cup of really thin chives, chopped (not too small, about 1/2 inch long pieces)



Whisk together oil, vinegar, salt and sugar.
Mix carrots and chives. Add dressing and toss. 
Serve chilled.

Serves 8 (except it's so yummy it will never be enough for eight.)



And besides the food, we spent most of the evening remembering when. History, personal and national, is essential to understand in order to figure out who we are, what we're doing here and where we are going next. Just like the Israelites needed to do.