Netivot is known to us, at least in our minds, as a city of arrivals. The city of Baba Sali zt"l. It usually makes headlines, especially when stories of organized crime combined with rabbis, or wars between kabbalist courts, are revealed.
But on a normal day, there's nothing to find there.
A few days ago I went down south to receive my certificate of exemption from the reserves, after 12 years of service. On my way back to the center of the country, I entered Netivot. Maybe I'll find something interesting there besides the ancestors and graves, I mused.
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After extensive wandering, I arrived at the old Netivot market. There, from the main road, I noticed a shop with a single lamp shining and a crowd around it. I stopped the car and got out to see what it was all about.
After making it through the pile of people standing in line, I found myself standing in front of an old man, who smiled and asked: "What do you want - an egg or mashed potatoes?""
For those who don't know: There is a dish called in the vernacular 'Brik.' It is a sheet of thin dough into which you put mashed potatoes, a little parsley, an egg straight from the shell, close the sheet of dough, and put it in deep oil to fry for about half a minute.
Right after it comes out hot, the egg has hardened and the yolk is delicious, juicy and fun. Crunchy with softness.
I won't bore you with the details, but I learned that the old man's name is Adam Khoury. He immigrated to Israel decades ago from the city of Sfax in Tunisia, and worked dozens of jobs throughout his life.
Today, after having retired twice, he arrives in the evening at his shop, which includes a single bench, five chairs of different models, a deep-frying pan and 300 cigar sheets - and begins preparing his customers' favorite dish.
He opens the shop at four in the afternoon. The leaves are prepared by his wife, who is exactly his age. She prepares them at home and he comes to sell the beloved dish to the hungry crowd. The sale is carried out until the last of the leaves is sold. It doesn't matter, he says, when it ends - whether an hour after opening or at midnight.
You can buy beer or soft drinks there, and the chefs also add spicy or Tunisian harissa to the 'brik'.
So if you find yourself in Netivot, do yourself a favor: go treat yourself to a delicious meal on one leg, for zero money with amazing flavors. And don't forget to give him my regards.
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