Learning Arabic is confoundingly difficult. I have learned languages in my life – Spanish, French and Hebrew – but Arabic is something completely different. I have never invested so much time and effort, with such meager results, as in my study of Arabic.
The rules of grammar, the vocabulary, the accent – each of them stubbornly elude my grasp. The other students in my Arabic class, all native Israeli Jews, don’t seem to be progressing any faster, albeit having the advantage of a Semitic mother tongue. The Tower of Babel comes to mind again and again.
The bright side of Arabic class is the homework – which provides a very good reason to visit my friend Abu Malek in Kfar Manda. Abu Malek is a retired high school language teacher, and over the years he has patiently worked through my lessons with me, spicing them up with proverbs and tales.
Today we sat on the rooftop porch in the warm winter sun and crafted sentences from my list of vocabulary words – under, over, inside, outside, this far and no more. Just as we finished our last sentence, Um Malek brought up a tray with lunch – a platter of bright green tabouleh.
I love the way tabouleh is made here, with its overwhelming emphasis on fresh parsley. Um Malek doesn’t speak Hebrew or English, and I asked Abu Malek to explain to her that in the States, tabouleh is made with more bulgar than parsley. Here, I told her, there is so much green that the bulgar is barely perceptible. She burst into laughter, and explained that she’d forgotten to add the bulgar.
And we all laughed together because each of us has forgotten the bulgar at some point, and more than once. On that rooftop this afternoon, we modestly scaled our own Tower of Babel , celebrating what we have in common over what separates us, reaching out to each other through friendship, laughter and a meal lovingly prepared and shared.
Two auspicious developments regarding my book “Breaking Bread in Galilee”:
1. A review recently appeared in the Jewish Review of Books, putting me in very distinguished company:
http://www.jewishreviewofbooks.com
2. The legendary Kitchen Arts and Letters bookstore in New York City just re-ordered copies of my book. I am so pleased.
Abbie,
I am on my way to the local Whole Food shop to see if they have any tabouleh, with or without bulgur, and will let you know what is available, and how it tastes, out here in the Tucson desert area,
Enjoyed reading your snapshot of a moment to be remembered.
Sy
Abu Malek is not a male name , I had a little confusion in my English as you reffered to Her !
Here in Italy they sell also a box with dried tabouleh , but we like to prepare with fresh parsley and mint , we have anyway good bulgur !
Fine to read you !
Angelo
Dear Angelo – Thanks so much for your comment! In Arabic, Abu means “father of”, and Um means “mother of”. When you respectfully address an adult, you call them Abu … or Um … and the name of their oldest son – in this case, Abu Malek and Um Malek. If you like fresh coriander, you can try adding it to the tabouleh as well. That really makes it good!