English

Foods

Dedicated to the entire Lebanese community and to my students at the Alliance School in Beirut, 1962–1969

Name of speaker: 
Gracia ʾArazi (Muhaddeb)
Gender of speaker: 
Female
Occupation of speaker: 
Teacher
Age of speaker at time of recording: 
78
Year of immigration: 
1969
Speaker's country of origin: 
Speaker's community of origin: 
Language: 
Conversation topics: 
Documentation: 
Yaʿel Baruch
Year of recording: 
2021
Translator: 
Nathan Himmelfarb

Translation: 

Meat on a plate. The Christians call it something else, but they make the same dish. But they don’t call it meat on plate. They used to laugh at us (about) meat on a tray. Meat with parsley and onion and spices. Underneath (there was) potato, sliced potato…meat and we make kebbe or patties…or we would put it on the potatoes. And then above it potato and tomato on top. The…sauce…water…we would put a lot of spice. Spice and…not hot (spicy). Not hot. Spices. Spice and salt and a little lemon. And they’d try one each. That’s meat on a plate. That’s a thing that Christians and Muslims don’t call meat on a plate, but they do make it. This is…lahmajin and kebbe. Kebbe Nablusiye mostly, or kibbe on a tray. Jews…rice and lemon. Rice and lemon. Rice…and the lemon…kubba hamusta. Celery, parsley…celery and garlic, lemon…and they put inside it a head of meat. Meat, but with…semolina…we don’t do that. Semolina. Rice and lemon and kebbe every Friday. Every Friday. On Sunday (we’d eat) grilled meat. On Monday we had a washerwoman…we didn’t have a machine. The washerwoman came on Mondays. Rice and white beans. On Tuesday…we’d make…if we made meat we’d make it. If not, hummus and vegetables. Hummus and vegetables. And things with eggs. On Wednesday, also laban. If we say laban, we’d eat laban, we’d eat medyas. On Thursday, everyone made mjaddara. With laban. Why? Because they were waiting for…the slaughter on Thursday. We’d eat laban with mjaddara. And on Friday (we’d eat) rice with lemon and kibbe. On Saturday (we’d eat) hamin or a thing they’d called “kraya” - basically pasta with chicken or with pasta with meat. And in front of it, stuffed zucchini. They’d make stuffed zucchini or kebabs…kebabs, as in kibbe…kibbe basha…kibbe with…just kibbe. But not fried; baked. Baked. That’s it.

Incident with a candle that almost caused a fire

Dedicated with love to my children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren for the preservation of the heritage of Lebanese Jewry

Name of speaker: 
Rozette Zaʿafrani (Cohen)
Gender of speaker: 
Female
Occupation of speaker: 
French teacher
Age of speaker at time of recording: 
90
Year of immigration: 
1969
Speaker's country of origin: 
Speaker's community of origin: 
Language: 
Conversation topics: 
Documentation: 
Yaʿel Baruch
Year of recording: 
2021

Folk medicine

Dedicated with love to my children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren for the preservation of the heritage of Lebanese Jewry

Name of speaker: 
Rozette Zaʿafrani (Cohen)
Gender of speaker: 
Female
Occupation of speaker: 
French teacher
Age of speaker at time of recording: 
90
Year of immigration: 
1969
Speaker's country of origin: 
Speaker's community of origin: 
Language: 
Conversation topics: 
Documentation: 
Yaʿel Baruch
Year of recording: 
2021

Healing the son by applying ʿaraq (drink)

Dedicated with love to my children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren for the preservation of the heritage of Lebanese Jewry

Name of speaker: 
Rozette Zaʿafrani (Cohen)
Gender of speaker: 
Female
Occupation of speaker: 
French teacher
Age of speaker at time of recording: 
90
Year of immigration: 
1969
Speaker's country of origin: 
Speaker's community of origin: 
Language: 
Conversation topics: 
Documentation: 
Yaʿel Baruch
Year of recording: 
2021

Studying the book of the "Hatikva" anthem and Israeli songs

Dedicated with love to my children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren for the preservation of the heritage of Lebanese Jewry

Name of speaker: 
Rozette Zaʿafrani (Cohen)
Gender of speaker: 
Female
Occupation of speaker: 
French teacher
Age of speaker at time of recording: 
90
Year of immigration: 
1969
Speaker's country of origin: 
Speaker's community of origin: 
Language: 
Documentation: 
Yaʿel Baruch
Year of recording: 
2021

Proverbs

Dedicated with love to my children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren for the preservation of the heritage of Lebanese Jewry

Name of speaker: 
Rozette Zaʿafrani (Cohen)
Gender of speaker: 
Female
Occupation of speaker: 
French teacher
Age of speaker at time of recording: 
90
Year of immigration: 
1969
Speaker's country of origin: 
Speaker's community of origin: 
Language: 
Conversation topics: 
Documentation: 
Yaʿel Baruch
Year of recording: 
2021

Natural disasters: floods and earthquakes in Lebanon and Mexico

Dedicated with love to my children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren for the preservation of the heritage of Lebanese Jewry

Name of speaker: 
Rozette Zaʿafrani (Cohen)
Gender of speaker: 
Female
Occupation of speaker: 
French teacher
Age of speaker at time of recording: 
90
Year of immigration: 
1969
Speaker's country of origin: 
Speaker's community of origin: 
Language: 
Conversation topics: 
Documentation: 
Yaʿel Baruch
Year of recording: 
2021

ʿAyin Haraʿ (the evil eye) and brit mila

Dedicated with love to my children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren for the preservation of the heritage of Lebanese Jewry

Name of speaker: 
Rozette Zaʿafrani (Cohen)
Gender of speaker: 
Female
Occupation of speaker: 
French teacher
Age of speaker at time of recording: 
90
Year of immigration: 
1969
Speaker's country of origin: 
Speaker's community of origin: 
Language: 
Conversation topics: 
Documentation: 
Yaʿel Baruch
Year of recording: 
2021

Family, rabbis and Ḥachamim (sages of Talmud)

Dedicated with love to my children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren for the preservation of the heritage of Lebanese Jewry

Name of speaker: 
Rozette Zaʿafrani (Cohen)
Gender of speaker: 
Female
Occupation of speaker: 
French teacher
Age of speaker at time of recording: 
90
Year of immigration: 
1969
Speaker's country of origin: 
Speaker's community of origin: 
Language: 
Conversation topics: 
Documentation: 
Yaʿel Baruch
Year of recording: 
2021

Moral tales

Dedicated with love to my children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren for the preservation of the heritage of Lebanese Jewry

Name of speaker: 
Rozette Zaʿafrani (Cohen)
Gender of speaker: 
Female
Occupation of speaker: 
French teacher
Age of speaker at time of recording: 
90
Year of immigration: 
1969
Speaker's country of origin: 
Speaker's community of origin: 
Language: 
Conversation topics: 
Documentation: 
Yaʿel Baruch
Year of recording: 
2021

Contact us