"Food at the Time of the Bible: From Adam's Apple to the Last Supper" by Miriam Feinberg Vamosh, Palphot, 104 pages

The world would presumably look different if Eve had not been tempted to eat from the Tree of Knowledge. That bite of the heavenly forbidden fruit, that moment of interaction between the human body and divine wisdom, ruined our lives. God's punishment was harsh: "Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life" (Genesis 3:17). The desire for food became a curse. We are fated to eat and suffer.

There's nothing like a biblical text to remind us that the road to food is paved with sorrow. Indeed, it's hard to find a biblical hero who hasn't wound up in some kind of trouble on account of food or drink. Jacob and Esau are fighting to this day over a bowl of lentil soup. Sisera absentmindedly drank the milk Jael gave him and paid for it with his head. King David owed his crown to the pita that Ruth the Moabite dipped in hummus for Boaz.

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Reading the Bible with a change of emphasis shows us a spiritual and philosophical world in which food played a crucial role. The manna that comes down from the heavens, Elijah's jug of oil, the veal that Abraham served the three angels - these are stories of an agricultural society for which a year of drought was a year of hunger, and where meat was a precious commodity, whose economic and spiritual importance were inseparable.

"Food at the Time of the Bible" studies the various mentions of food in the Bible, the New Testament, the Mishnah and the Talmud, and offers readers a different perspective on the history of the Land of Israel. Author Miriam Feinberg Vamosh compares historical sources, looks at archaeological findings and tracks down communities that have preserved old culinary traditions that date back to antiquity. In so doing, she paints a tangible and human portrait of the past, dashing some of the myths we have grown up with, along the way.

Renewal of life

The honey in the biblical description of Israel as a "land flowing with milk and honey," for example, was not bee honey, but a kind of molasses made from fruit, primarily dates. The verse "by the sweat of thy brow" - where "thy" is masculine in Hebrew - should really be read in the feminine gender because women were the ones who did the backbreaking work of grinding the wheat and baking the bread. The cycles of sowing, picking and harvesting that are dealt with at length in the Bible are directly related to the set of rituals that the historian of religions Mircea Eliade calls "the eternal return." Human beings repeat the act of Genesis to free themselves from the fear of the irreversibility of history.

The festive dinners that we serve up on Rosh Hashanah, Passover and Shavuot, year after year, symbolize the renewal of life and the cyclical nature of things. Even today a holiday meal provides a hiatus from the meaninglessness of time. Friday night dinners to welcome the Sabbath, meals that break the fast, wedding feasts - these are all components in a ritual that allows us to revive the experiences and tastes of the past.

That is probably why the author has provided an array of biblical-style recipes. Prepare "Jael's Labane" and feel Sisera's death on the tip of your tongue. Eat "Song of Songs Cake" ("before adding nuts, chop dates in a food processor") and feel the refreshment in your belly. Anyone who wants to nibble the delicacies that graced King Solomon's table is invited to whip up some "Solomon's Chicken Kebabs" spiced with coriander, garlic and cumin. Most of the recipes are pseudo-biblical, of course, and you will need modern kitchen appliances to prepare them, but the spices and ingredients were all available in biblical Israel. Tomatoes and potatoes, which entered our lexicon after the discovery of America, are not on the menu.

The recipes in the book thus combine historical research and contemporary culinary know-how. Some of them are a little bizarre, like "Pharaoh's Melokhia Soup" (taken from an inscription in an ancient Egyptian tomb), but most are characterized by the book's sober approach to biblical cuisine. The author discusses the spiritual significance of food customs in the Bible, and delves deeply into the metaphoric use of cooking and eating terms. But the symbolism of food, in her view, is anchored in the reality of biblical life.

A case in point is Ezekiel 24, where the prophesied destruction of Jerusalem is described in culinary terms. The city is likened to a pot, and the sinning Israelites to chunks of meat. The grim prophecy alludes to the cooking customs of the time. God, in his anger, turns up the fire under the pot and orders Ezekiel to add some bones. The author overdoes it, perhaps, with her recipe for "Ezekiel's Lamb Stew," but with a little substitution - lamb, onions and carrots, instead of Israelites - readers can enjoy an old Jerusalem favorite.

Despite significant differences in food consumption, it turns out, there are many similarities between ancient culinary traditions and those of today. Seating order, for example, reflects the social status of the diners just as it did in the days of Jesus, when his disciples quarreled over who would sit next to their spiritual leader at the Last Supper.

Table manners and etiquette, which testify to the diner's degree of self-control and social skills, were also important in ancient times. Mastering the art of dipping bread was essential when people ate from a common bowl. Issues like who went first, how big the piece of bread should be, and how many times one should "go back for more," were basic for eating together. Poor table manners could upset the delicate balance of social relationships. When the Talmudic sage Rabbi Yossi dipped his finger in the porridge, Rabbi Yehuda scolded him: "Until when will you feed me your excrement?" (Nedarim 49b).

"Food at the Time of the Bible" thus offers a fascinating journey into forgotten corners of biblical culture. Alongside the grand dramas of the Bible, it presents us with everyday life - a drama no less grand.

Yechiel Tsaban is writing his doctorate on food in literature of the Haskalah period.