i tinker in the kitchen. i have taken to pickling a variety of vegetables. experimentation with celery led to a surprising result. i created sesame flavored celery which included sesame oil, toasted sesame oil, and ponzu sauce with roasted sesame.
after marinating, the celery was sampled. it tasted like something from my childhood. in that moment, i realized that i had in essence created a dish that taste like the celery snack where peanut butter inside the grove. oh my! irrespective of the salt, pepper, vinegar and sugar, that were added to my recipe, the familiar taste was inescapable.
with this in mind, i thought about writing about sigd, which is today. sigd, the uniquely ethiopian jewish holiday which is an official israel state holiday, appears to resemble and have the flavor to the holiday of chanukah. both holidays are not in the torah. both holidays’ origins are based upon historical events involving persecution and conflict. both holidays celebrate a re-dedication. both holidays have jerusalem as focal point. both holidays are relatively close to each other on the calendar.
from all appearances, the holidays were uniquely created and celebrated in different parts of the world. despite this, they appear to share the theme of re-dedication. while the maccabee’s had the temple to re-dedicate, the ethiopian jews had the torah and their bible to re-dedicate towards. sigd, unlike chanukah, marks a time of religious fervor. fasting and reading from scripture take part within the celebration. chanukah’s focus upon the physical temple’s re-dedication divorces itself from a scripture orientated celebration.
is this similarity something random? or, is there something more to this? one must wonder whether there is an “universal” jewish people psyche. communities distant from each other reacted to persecution and conflict with the outside world in the same way.; there was re-dedication to the faith. it is remarkable that this belief system applies to communities with a millennia of separation.
be well!!
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