Ad Libbia: The Bethany Meal

"Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been

dead, whom he raised from the dead. There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but

Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. Then took Mary a pound of ointment

of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and

the house was filled with the odour of the ointment. Then saith one of his disciples, Judas

Iscariot, Simon’s son, which should betray him, Why was not this ointment sold for three

hundred pence, and given to the poor? This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because

he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein. Then said Jesus, Let her alone:

against the day of my burying hath she kept this. For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye

have not always. Much people of the Jews therefore knew that he was there: and they came not

for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead.

But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death; because that by reason

of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus."

John 12:1-11

With the coming of Spring there comes a whirlwind of busyness. There are music recitals, school completions, gardening, and almost every spring us kids get wound up in some sort of difficult project. (This year it is a movie, but thats for another blog post. : )

And then there are holidays. One of the most delightful ones is commonly know as Easter, though we prefer to call it Resurection Sunday, as we lack an affinity for Ishtar. To the bloggers of Ad Libbia the Resurrection season would hardly be complete without the traditional “Bethany Meal”.

About six days before “Passover” we pull out the handbooks on Bible customs, candles and the coffee table and do a family remembrance of this well known Bible story. We sit on the floor, eat traditional foods, go without plates or forks, and some of us kids attempt to dress authenticly. On an occaision or two we’ve had guests but usually it is just our family. We usually enjoy reading Scripture, singing songs, playing instruments and just talking.

This year, after Esther Rudomin mentioned braiding challah in The Endless Steppe, and I discoverd a fascinating little international cookbook with the recipe, I decided to make this traditional Jewish bread.

The recipe was simple, but it was the hands on yeast type, not the swish it togther, or throw it in the machine type, but the warm water type you had to knead and rise three hours, not really my expertise. But with Mama and Anna’s help I was certain it could be done.