“A Place at the Table” is a commemorative project that documents the favorite dishes of those lost on October 7 with the help of their families.
“I don’t know if there is a concept or a term that can describe the longing I have for my daughter,” reflects Rachel Mann, the mother of the late Amit Mann. Amit was 22-years-old when she was killed on October 7 while serving as a paramedic at the clinic on Kibbutz Be’eri trying to save others. As the aroma of the bean and meat stew that was Amit’s favorite fills the kitchen, Rachel struggles to articulate her profound grief.
If one were to trace the essence of Amit’s life, it would intersect between her unwavering dedication to her paramedic work at Magen David Adom, her musical talent, and her passion for gastronomy. Alongside her appreciation for home-cooked meals, Rachel fondly recalls how her daughter delighted in exploring Israel’s best restaurants. “This was also our way to get her to come visit,” says her older sister. “Whenever we’d invite her over, she would ask, ‘Is there anything to eat?’ We would prepare something she liked, and she would come with the ambulance, eat, and then return to her shift.”
On October 7, despite the instruction received by the residents of Kibbutz Be’eri to shut themselves in their shelter, Amit, who was on call, took her first aid kit and ran to the clinic. At 7 a.m., she wrote to her sisters in the family WhatsApp group that there were many wounded and dead and there were terrorists in the kibbutz.
“She was in contact with us until 2 p.m.,” her sister Mery explains. “She heard gunshots, said she smelled smoke, and knew that houses were burning. I knew she was in terror and hell, but I believed she would make it out. The terrorists marked the clinic as a target and would not give up. At 1:50 p.m., the emergency room ran out of ammunition, and the terrorists threw grenades into the clinic. She didn’t think they would survive the attack. She wrote, ‘Be strong if something happens to me.’ We were in a frenzy after that last message. I called her, and she answered and said she was shot in the legs. She said they murdered everyone, and that she would not survive. The call was disconnected. We didn’t know if she died — or if she was in Israel or Gaza.”
Looking back, her sisters say, her apartment in the kibbutz remained unharmed. Had she stayed in the shelter, she would have been safe since the terrorists never reached it. Instead, she chose to rush into danger to save others. This, according to her sister Ron, encapsulates who Amit was. “Despite her deep love for life, food, music, family, and friends, her priority was always caring for others.”
Although Amit was the youngest sister in a family of five girls, when she was 9-years-old and found out that her father had cancer, she stayed by his bedside and cared for him devotedly for five years until he passed away. She felt it was her calling. Amit visited the library to read medical books, drew the human body on windows with lipstick, and explained it to anyone who would listen. At 14, she began volunteering at Magen David Adom, and at 20, she completed a paramedic course with honors. Later, she became an instructor for the course and dreamed of studying medicine.
Despite the stress of her shifts, Amit always sang. “That’s what kept her optimistic,” family members say. She participated in every ceremony and performed on every stage she came across. She was even offered opportunities to pursue a career in singing, but she chose to dedicate her life to her work as a paramedic, with plans to fulfill her dream of singing later on in life.
Amit had a particular fondness for the Egyptian fasulia dish, which her mother often prepared on Thursdays for a pre-Shabbat meal on Friday. Cooked with lamb fat, beef neck, tomato paste, and spices, the dish has a texture somewhere between a soup and a stew. While the rest of the Mann family enjoys the fasulia with bread dipped into it, Amit had her own preference: She always asked for hers alongside steamed white rice — a request her mother happily obliged.
Did you make this recipe? Share a photo of it and tag it with #a_place_at_the_table to honor the memory of the late Amit Mann.
500 grams (1.1lb) dried cannellini beans
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, coarsely chopped
4-5 garlic cloves
500 grams (1.1lb) beef neck, cut into 4 cm (1½-in) cubes
4 chicken wings
4 turkey necks
150 grams (5 oz) bone marrow
50 grams (1.7 oz) lamb fat
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons sweet paprika
½ teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon cumin
150 grams (5.3oz) tomato paste
Approx. 1½ liters (6 cups) water, chicken or vegetable stock
To serve:
Bread or steamed white rice
- The night before: Place the beans in a bowl, cover with water, and let soak overnight. Drain.
- Heat the olive oil in a deep pot over medium-high heat. Add the meat, bone marrow, lamb fat, and 1 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally until the meat is seared on all sides.
- Add the onion and cook while continuously stirring until golden, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the drained beans, spices, and tomato paste, mix well and cook for several minutes.
- Pour enough boiling water or stock to cover up ¾ of the meat in the pot, ensuring that the contents slightly protrude, and bring to a boil.
- Reduce to a gentle simmer and cook covered for 3-4 hours.
- Serve with bread or steamed white rice, the way Amit Mann liked it.
**This recipe appears exactly as the family makes it; it has not been edited.
