Aloha Bread Lovers

Aloha Bread Lovers – this Sunday we will be serving up Hummus Mashausha for our Sunday Special. For those don’t remember or don’t know what it is – mashausha is warm whole hummus (chick peas) mixed with tahini and served with a healthy dousing of olive oil, a tangy lemon-garlic sauce, a hard boiled egg and of course a freshly-baked pita to scoop it up. It is a super tasty and super healthy and nutritious dish

.

This is a big week for everyone as today marks Good Friday. Being Jewish, I am pretty unfamiliar with the traditions around this holiday. For example, why is it called “Good Friday” if in fact Jesus was crucified? What’s so good about that? A little research taught me that “Good” in old English is actually another term form “Holy” such as the Good Book. Another explanation is that it was Good because of the good news of salvation. Then there is the Last Supper which was essentially a Passover Seder. Having experienced by now many Passover Seders, I have to say that it sad to think that Jesus’s last meal may have included gefilte fish, dry matzah, some bitter herbs and possibly a tough piece of brisket.

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem is where Jesus was resurrected. It is a site claimed by 6 branches of Christianity. On the ledge above the entrance to the Holy Sepulcher there is a wooden ladder that has been there for more than 250 years. Way back in the 1700’s someone put out that ladder to access the roof. Any unilateral action by any one branch of those who claim ownership of the Holy Sepulcher insinuates a higher status of ownership relative to the other branches and therefore only a unanimous decision can make any changes…..and so it still stands there to this day.

But that’s not all. If a ladder has remained in place in order preserve a delicate balance between the different branches of Christianity, who gets to hold the keys to the Holy Sepulcher? The answer might surprise you – there are two Palestinian Muslim families who hold the keys – a representative of the Joudeh (Al-Husseini) family holds the 12-inch physical key and has been doing so for centuries. A representative of the Nuseibeh family is responsible for getting the key from the Joudeh family every morning and every night in order to unlock and lock the Holy Sepulcher each morning and every night

.

It is said that this arrangement dates back to the time of Salah Al-Din after he took Jerusalem from the Crusaders. In any case, it is an often overlooked example of interfaith cooperation that has weathered centuries of wars, plagues, changes of rulers, etc.

Mahalo and Happy Easter

David and Yael

P.S. – A Joke: WARNING CLICK ON THIS LINK AT YOUR OWN PERIL https://www.oldjewstellingjokes.com/2022/01/12/sherwin-kepes-neil-armstrong-599-38/