Written by Preston Neimeiser
Following a light and engaging Thursday morning Hebrew class, the Nachshon Fellows piled into a charter bus and headed to a moshav just south of Beit Shemesh, a little over an hour away. Stepping off the bus into the afternoon sun, we were greeted by a beautiful orange grove and a smiling woman who introduced herself as Osnat. After being treated to tea, coffee, and rugelach, we rolled up our sleeves for a cooking class we would never forget. Osnat placed a large bowl filled with uncooked rice and simple seasonings (salt, black pepper, green onions, etc...) and showed us with expert hands how to roll the concoction into slices of onion and cabbage, which had been soaked their own seasoning prior. We laughed and joked with sticky hands as we stuffed the rice into zucchini, Osnat playfully comparing two slices to zachar and nekevah (male and female) parts. Osnat kept us diligently at work, showing us how to press and roll dough, filling it with ground beef to make kubbah.
After we finished the preparations Osnat put the food in a huge pot lined with cabbage (to prevent burning) and began the cooking process. While we waited, taking in the scents drifting from the kitchen, we had the chance to explore Osnat's property on the moshav. We picked her oranges and smelled the sweetness of the lemon trees. We met a gigantic dog in front of the horse shed who was all too eager to play and jump all over us. We kicked around ideas and soccer balls and had the opportunity to take in the sun while enjoying each other's company. When we're called into lunch we start with pickled and Israeli salads and olives which were all produced on the moshav, picked and pickled from the same land we had the opportunity to walk on. Next we had our stuffed grape leaves and cabbages and onions, still steaming hot from the pot. After the rice and kubbah, we were so stuffed ourselves that after cleaning up and saying our goodbyes to Osnat, we all fell into a group coma on our bus home.
