In the summer of 1997, Ben Sax, then a 22-year-old college student from New Jersey, was the head counselor at a sleepover camp in Pennsylvania. He had worked there for several summers but had not fully clicked with anyone yet. Sure, he had acquaintances among the other staff and was friendly with his campers, but he didn’t have anyone he considered a close friend—that is until he met Naomi. Naomi was the arts-and-crafts teacher at the camp. She was from Israel, and this was her first summer in the U.S. In an attempt to be welcoming, Ben asked Naomi if she had ever tried fried chicken or had a Slurpie before. When she said that she hadn’t, Ben offered to take her to the closest 7-Eleven so that she could try them. After one bite of chicken and a sip of her first Slurpie, Naomi said she couldn’t believe how tasty they were, even though she was a bit skeptical at first. To thank Ben, she made him her favorite Middle Eastern dish, an Israeli staple called shakshuka, made from eggs poached in tomato sauce, onions and spices. Ben was sold from the first bite.
Soon Ben and Naomi became good friends. They would hang out and do all sorts of activities together with their fellow councilors. The more time they spent with each other, the more they realized they had in common, despite their cultural differences. They shared similar interests and humor, which allowed their friendship to soon feel like family. During July, Ben decided to take Noami and some other counselors from the camp to a Fourth of July celebration near his home in Philly. This was exciting for Naomi because she had never been to the city or experienced the Fourth of July holiday before. Ben took Naomi to Pat’s King of Steaks on Passyunk Avenue and got her her first cheesesteak. She loved it. Ben brought Naomi and his other friends to spend the weekend with his family in New Jersey, a largely Ashkenazi Jewish neighborhood and introduced them to his mother’s cooking. A Sephardi Jew whose parents had emigrated to Israel from Iraq, Naomi was used to a very different kind of Jewish cuisine. She loved Ben’s mother’s whitefish salad and told Ben that one day he would need to come and visit her family in Israel to taste her mother’s red kubbeh soup, a Yemenite flatbread. Naomi loved meeting Ben’s family and neighbors and watching the fireworks with them as the holiday drew to an end.
Sadly, the summer ended soon thereafter, and Naomi had to go back to Israel. Ben and she exchanged addresses and began writing each other letters. The following spring, Ben found out that he had been accepted to graduate school at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Naomi couldn’t wait to welcome him and return the favor of introducing him to her local culture.
Ben arrived in Israel that August and spent the first few months getting settled into his life in Jerusalem. Naomi would invite him to her parents’ home for Shabbat dinners, and he fell in love with the spices used in Jewish Iraqi food. He loved Naomi’s mother’s food. By March, Ben had a girlfriend, a fellow American in his graduate program called Jenny. Jenny and Naomi clicked instantly, much to Ben’s delight, and the three of them soon became close friends. During the summer of 1998, they all would spend their free time together exploring Tel Aviv and relaxing at the beach. Their favorite activity was exploring food markets, which were brimming with smells and tastes Ben and Jenny had never experienced before.
Three years passed, and Ben and Jenny completed their graduate program. Ben was accepted to a Ph.D. program in Chicago, and the couple moved back to the U.S. They were sad to leave Israel and Naomi and everyone else they had met there, but it was time for them to move on to the next chapter of their lives.
Two years later, Ben got a grant to return to Israel to participate in a special summer workshop for his doctoral program. Jenny went with him. He proposed to her on the plane. Naomi met them one night, and the three of them celebrated over some Malawach, Yemenite pancakes and Jenny’s favorite. Ben and Jenny got married the following summer in Chicago.
Jenny got pregnant a few years later, and she and Ben moved to Israel for the year so that he could work on his doctoral dissertation. They lived in a small apartment in Jerusalem’s German Colony neighborhood. Naomi, who was living in a town near Tel Aviv, would come and visit them for Shabbat. They would go on day trips together to explore the Old City. They were on a quest to find the best hummus and may have found it in the nearby Arab town of Abu Ghosh, where you can watch the hummus being prepared and it tastes like nuts it is so fresh.
As the years went on and technology advanced, Ben, Jenny and Naomi found ways to keep in touch. When the pandemic hit last March, they started using Zoom. Over the past few months, the families have gathered monthly via Zoom to share a meal together and hang out. Ben, Jenny, and their kids will have lunch while Naomi and her daughters have dinner, because of the time difference. Even though it is not the same, the weekly Zoom mealtime gatherings have made up a little for this lost experience. Every once in a while the families will send each other care packages with food and seasonings that the others can't get in their home countries. No matter the distance or barriers keeping Ben and Naomi, and now their families, apart, food has nourished their relationship since it began. There are some things that not even a pandemic can take away.
Soon Ben and Naomi became good friends. They would hang out and do all sorts of activities together with their fellow councilors. The more time they spent with each other, the more they realized they had in common, despite their cultural differences. They shared similar interests and humor, which allowed their friendship to soon feel like family. During July, Ben decided to take Noami and some other counselors from the camp to a Fourth of July celebration near his home in Philly. This was exciting for Naomi because she had never been to the city or experienced the Fourth of July holiday before. Ben took Naomi to Pat’s King of Steaks on Passyunk Avenue and got her her first cheesesteak. She loved it. Ben brought Naomi and his other friends to spend the weekend with his family in New Jersey, a largely Ashkenazi Jewish neighborhood and introduced them to his mother’s cooking. A Sephardi Jew whose parents had emigrated to Israel from Iraq, Naomi was used to a very different kind of Jewish cuisine. She loved Ben’s mother’s whitefish salad and told Ben that one day he would need to come and visit her family in Israel to taste her mother’s red kubbeh soup, a Yemenite flatbread. Naomi loved meeting Ben’s family and neighbors and watching the fireworks with them as the holiday drew to an end.
Sadly, the summer ended soon thereafter, and Naomi had to go back to Israel. Ben and she exchanged addresses and began writing each other letters. The following spring, Ben found out that he had been accepted to graduate school at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Naomi couldn’t wait to welcome him and return the favor of introducing him to her local culture.
Ben arrived in Israel that August and spent the first few months getting settled into his life in Jerusalem. Naomi would invite him to her parents’ home for Shabbat dinners, and he fell in love with the spices used in Jewish Iraqi food. He loved Naomi’s mother’s food. By March, Ben had a girlfriend, a fellow American in his graduate program called Jenny. Jenny and Naomi clicked instantly, much to Ben’s delight, and the three of them soon became close friends. During the summer of 1998, they all would spend their free time together exploring Tel Aviv and relaxing at the beach. Their favorite activity was exploring food markets, which were brimming with smells and tastes Ben and Jenny had never experienced before.
Three years passed, and Ben and Jenny completed their graduate program. Ben was accepted to a Ph.D. program in Chicago, and the couple moved back to the U.S. They were sad to leave Israel and Naomi and everyone else they had met there, but it was time for them to move on to the next chapter of their lives.
Two years later, Ben got a grant to return to Israel to participate in a special summer workshop for his doctoral program. Jenny went with him. He proposed to her on the plane. Naomi met them one night, and the three of them celebrated over some Malawach, Yemenite pancakes and Jenny’s favorite. Ben and Jenny got married the following summer in Chicago.
Jenny got pregnant a few years later, and she and Ben moved to Israel for the year so that he could work on his doctoral dissertation. They lived in a small apartment in Jerusalem’s German Colony neighborhood. Naomi, who was living in a town near Tel Aviv, would come and visit them for Shabbat. They would go on day trips together to explore the Old City. They were on a quest to find the best hummus and may have found it in the nearby Arab town of Abu Ghosh, where you can watch the hummus being prepared and it tastes like nuts it is so fresh.
As the years went on and technology advanced, Ben, Jenny and Naomi found ways to keep in touch. When the pandemic hit last March, they started using Zoom. Over the past few months, the families have gathered monthly via Zoom to share a meal together and hang out. Ben, Jenny, and their kids will have lunch while Naomi and her daughters have dinner, because of the time difference. Even though it is not the same, the weekly Zoom mealtime gatherings have made up a little for this lost experience. Every once in a while the families will send each other care packages with food and seasonings that the others can't get in their home countries. No matter the distance or barriers keeping Ben and Naomi, and now their families, apart, food has nourished their relationship since it began. There are some things that not even a pandemic can take away.
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