Lentils “Hummus Style,” with Pomegranate and Mint and Toasted Za’atar Matzohs

Round as the wheel of life so it has no “mouth” to scream out against iniquities, the lentil, like other legumes, has been a food of mourning since Jacob consoled grieving Isaac with lentil soup after Abraham’s death.

Is it to hoodwink the Evil Eye then that Ashkenazi Jews feature mourning foods on the menu at a Shalom Zahar, the joyous celebration held the Friday night after a male child is born?

Perhaps. But I prefer another explanation. In the womb, the neshama