Aley Chubeza #271, December 7th-9th 2015

Puah and Oded from Meshek 42 at Tal Shachar invite you to celebrate Chanukah with them (click photo for larger image)

meshek 42 chanuka

_________________________________ mipri_yadea_logoNews from Melissa, Mipri Yadeha

Thanks to a Sabbatical windfall of guava fruit, Mipri Yadeha is delighted to extend this offer: all fruit leather orders will come with a complimentary taste of guava crunchies (one per customer while supplies last). Also, the raisins are back! Sun dried, preservative-free, from Chavat Tal, 12 NIS for 200 gram, 1 kg for 48 NIS. Make your order through Mipri Yadeha via Chubeza . With blessings for abundance and health, Melissa

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Ein HarodIn perfect timing for Chanuka, the Ein Harod organic barnea olive oil has arrived, fresh from this year’s olive harvest. Along with the olive oil, we’re now offering the organic almonds and excellent organic chickpeas from Ein Harod’s fields. Look for them in our order system. _________________________________________ And also –

samar

They’re here at last!!!! The Samar dates!!! Landed Monday afternoon: Brahi, Dekel Nur and Zahidi. Don’t miss another day without these heavenly dates! Add them to your orders via our order system now.

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Light One Candle

Light one candle for the strength that we need To never become our own foe; Light one candle for those who are suff’ring A pain they learned so long ago; Light one candle for all we believe in, That anger not tear us apart; And light one candle to bind us together With peace as the song in our heart…

Peter Yarrow

Hanukah, the Jewish holiday of fire and light, is parallel to similar holidays in other cultures. Somehow as winter set in and darkness prevailed, people throughout the ages have felt the need to light a candle to sustain their faith that despite the engulfing blackness, the days of light will come. Simply, quietly, gradually, one-by-one, steadily growing in number, the calm and modest light of the Hanukah candles intensifies. In the Hebrew calendar, this holiday also fell around the same time as an ancient oil festival (most probably pushed aside after the Hasmonean victory) marking the end of olive harvest season, celebrating the new olive oil which ignites the candles and assures man that there is fuel on hand to light the long winter nights ahead.

To me, Hanukah is a paean to how little one needs to abolish hardship and cruelty, to dismantle them, to find a soft corner within them. Like a thin, slight candle which conquers the darkness the moment it is lit, this holiday celebrates the victory of moderation. It tells us that sometimes so very little is needed to create so much light– only one small flask of oil, a few good intentions and the willingness to believe and to give, a little goodwill and love to drive away loneliness or to break into laughter (and it’s already been said that the difference between one friend and none is infinite).

I’m aware that Hanukah, like other holidays and any other day, has morphed into a festival of shopping and gifts. During my years in the U.S., I saw Jewish parents trying to keep up with their Christmas-spirited friends by buying many gifts, some for each day. In Israel, too, this holiday has become a parade of fireworks and giant-size flames, parties and gifts. I see this as being so contrary to the original intent of these days, as we mark the end of the harvest season for olives, the fruit of one of the most modest and self-denying trees in existence. This is the tree that hardly demands a thing and stands sturdy and graceful for years on end. Dry or rainy, hot or cold, the olive tree can endure it all and still emerge strong. Silently, this survivor produces olives that provide us oil for our light, food for our health, balms for our wounds, softeners for our skin, and more.

olivetree

And what’s really so beautiful is that the olive harvest is the last in the chain of harvest seasons: by now we’ve reaped, gathered, picked, pruned, and collected all the bounty of our fields into the storehouses and the wine press, taken pride over our successes or worried over our failures. And at the finale of this drama, voila, the olive harvest season debuts. There wasn’t much labor involved here, except mainly to hope for an appropriate measure of cold weather and rain, and a nice hard “first and second rain” to wash off the olives.

Modestly, silently, we harvest these hard fruits, which will burst with juice if we press hard on them, but not the kind of juice you want to lick off your fingers like from grapes, figs, pomegranates or dates. This is a strange and bitter juice which will strengthen our bodies in the long run, much more than that the sugar of sweet fruits. It will light our long winter nights. The olive harvest does not need lively festivals; this is a time of winter and introspection, to the quiet softness of a flickering candle flame.

It really is amazing to see golden oil burst out of such hard, un-tempting fruits. But in all honesty, it doesn’t start out golden. A rather disgusting sediment produces a rather foul, dirty liquid. Only after it sits in the dark does the oil separate from the dirty water and float above it, pure and light. This process is really magnificent and symbolic. It says a lot about what can seem futile or vain and what you can produce when you actually try, sometimes with effort and obstinacy; give it a chance, and let time run its course without our interference. And then there’s all that health, goodness and light to be found at the end of the process….

Wishing us all the ability to light a small candle For us For those who love us And to illuminate those who seem hated and hateful, threatening, strange. Perhaps we will also see a beacon shining our way from the other side, trying to illuminate us and find within us a smile and much-needed healing.

This past weekend was a festive time for the Chubeza family. Hearty congratulations to Mohammed, our work manager, who celebrated his 50th birthday, and to Aliza, our faithful translator, on the occasion of her birthday as well. The king of Thailand joined them and celebrated his birthday this weekend (December 5th), a national holiday for our Thai workers Ding, Yanai, Campoon and Rathfung. Mazal tov to all the celebrants!

Wishing you all a modest, familial, heartwarming and joyful Hanukah holiday, Alon, Bat Ami, Dror, Yochai and the entire Chubeza team

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WHAT’S IN THIS WEEK’S HANUKAH BOXES? Monday: Lettuce, coriander/parsley/dill, tomatoes, mustard greens/ arugula/totsoi, Jerusalem artichokes, Swiss chard/kale/spinach, cucumbers, sweet potatoes, carrots, radishes, turnips/beets/ fennel Large box, in addition: Celery stalk/celeriac, scallions/onions, broccoli/cabbage

Wednesday: sweet potatoes, cucumbers, cilantro/parsley, Swiss chard/kale, tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, arugula/Chinese cabage/tatsoi, lettuce. Small boxes only: radishes, celery.

Large box, in addition: green peppers/cabbage, fennel/beets, scallions/leeks, Jerusalem artichoke, spinach.

And there’s more! You can add to your basket a wide, delectable range of additional products from fine small producers: flour, fruits, honey, dates, almonds, garbanzo beans, crackers, probiotic foods, dried fruits and leathers, olive oil, bakery products and goat dairy products too! You can learn more about each producer on the Chubeza website. Our order system also features a detailed listing of the products and their cost. Make an order online now!

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