Sunday, May 13, 2018 6:23 AM

I walk into the spice merchant's shop in search of lentils. I don't know the Hebrew word for them, and he doesn't know what the English word means. Once I look the word up on my phone, I see them right in front of me: three large barrels of lentils, green, red, and black. The shop is impeccably clean and organized. Barrels and bins hold beans and dried fruit. The spices themselves are behind the counter in clear plastic drawers with neat labels that I can't read from where I stand. The merchant doles out both the pure spices themselves and his secret specialized blends, weighing the small amounts and packaging them precisely. I buy a scoopful of lentils and a container of date butter. Later, I regret getting only the green lentils and consider returning for the red and black, if only to add more color when I cook up a vat of rice and beans.