Piles of fresh green fava beans are currently laid out on the stalls of Mahane Yehuda Market in Jerusalem. Next to the broccoli, cauliflower and chard on Etz Haim Street, a mound of young, fresh fava pods catches the eye. Veteran Jerusalemites fill their bags with the freshest beans they can find. This is the time when the greengrocer still allows customers to choose the pods themselves and enjoy the scent of the soil – soil that has known rain and war and still produced fava pods that herald the coming of spring and the Passover holiday.
At 10 to 12 shekels per kilogram, buyers take home what will remind kitchens in 2026 and in the spring of the Hebrew year 5786 of the green fava delicacies once cooked in the homes of Jerusalem neighborhoods such as Mekor Baruch, Mazkeret Moshe and Nahlaot during the distant 1970s. The memory of the aroma – onions frying, pieces of rib meat, tomato paste and white rice – still brings a smile from the taste of this beloved seasonal dish.
Why does the green fava bean appear in Mahane Yehuda Market only for a short time?
Unlike vegetables that arrive in Jerusalem’s markets throughout the year, the green fava bean appears only briefly. It is a distinguished seasonal guest with good reasons for its popularity. Culinarily, it is especially rich in plant protein, dietary fiber, magnesium, vitamin B and iron. And it is delicious, like other pod vegetables such as green peas, beans and lupin.
Fava beans are known in many traditional cuisines across Ethiopia, Lebanon, Cyprus and the Middle East. In Israel they are grown widely in warm valleys from the Negev to the Galilee, along the coast and near water sources. It is a simple crop with many advantages, sown in September and harvested in March and April.
As children in Jerusalem, many first encountered the fava bean in the poem “In the Garden Bed” by Hayim Nahman Bialik. Back then, in second grade, we did not know its taste. It was served to fathers and visiting uncles at home. Yet we learned to pity the “poor bean,” which did not join the dance of winter vegetables because its pods were empty.
What is the connection between fava bean pods and the Bible?
As adults, we learned to appreciate its deep flavor and its historical charm. The bean is mentioned in the story of King David’s flight from Absalom, in the Book of Samuel, which describes how the green pods were served before the king. In the Book of Ezekiel, the prophet is instructed to make bread using several grains together – spelt, wheat, barley and fava beans (Ezekiel 4:9).
At Mahane Yehuda Market in Jerusalem there is no need for an agricultural calendar. Just look at the stalls. From the day the green pods appear, vendors like Ahmed and Tzachi raise their voices and announce the arrival of fava beans at their stands, while shoppers reach out to choose the perfect pod. Without any official declaration and without big headlines, spring quietly begins – the season of outings and of pods.
