The party was hastily canceled and Shapira was left with pounds of beautiful Argentinean beef.

"There was only one thing to do," said Shapira. "Our soldiers were putting their life on the line and my partner and I wanted to show our support. We piled everything you can imagine that goes on a hamburger into a truck, bought a big barbecue, and drove to a training camp in Haifa.

"We grilled 1,000 burgers for the soldiers, but we weren't the only ones," he said. "We saw so many people bringing food — grandmas who cooked something every day and drove it to the border, piping hot. Nobody was thinking of the danger ... "

This year, right before the 10-day High Holidays, Shapira will gather basic ingredients — flour, honey, fruits and vegetables, fish and meat — and bring it to poor Israelis who can't afford a special Rosh Hashanah dinner.

But, unlike traditional charities, Shapira will not mass-produce one-size-fits-all meals and dole them out.

"If you give families the raw ingredients, they have the opportunity to recreate recipes just the way they remember them," he said. "They will celebrate with their own traditions and retain their dignity."

Rabbis say the High Holidays are a time to jolt us out of our mindless state and produce a more compassionate response. This makes Shapira's acts of kindness a series of religious events.

A time for celebrations

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, which starts at sundown today, is a time to rejoice. And this year, Shapira is in a particularly celebratory mood. The creative chef will celebrate the six-month anniversary of his upscale kosher restaurant in Tel Aviv, which he playfully named Yamaka.

No, it's not a typo.

"Yamaka is a play on the word 'yarmulke,' one of the most religious words in Judaism," he said. "We wanted to denote the restaurant is kosher, but the Japanese spelling indicates high-end, fusion food.

"In Israel, kosher restaurants often get a bad rap," Shapira said with a smile. "So, if they think we're serving Japanese, they will come."

Like many accomplished chefs, Shapira developed a love of food from his mother and grandmother. One cooked the typical Israeli dishes he still loves, the other instilled a sense of culinary adventure with her sophisticated cuisine.

"I grew up in Tel Aviv and I remember there were always delicious fresh fruits and vegetables on the table," Shapira said.

His mother would serve a plethora of salads including his favorite farm-fresh Israeli salad made with tossed lettuce, pomegranates, leek hearts and pears. She made a special carrot salad with Middle Eastern herbs, and eggplant with onions, garlic and tomatoes.

"When I eat these dishes, I'm transported back to my childhood," he said.

But even though his mother's farm-fresh offerings are his comfort food, it was his grandmother's aristocratic cuisine that fascinated him. From the time he was 5 years old, he said, his favorite activity was watching her in the kitchen.

An immigrant to Israel from Riga, Russia (now Latvia), his grandmother not only brought suitcases of beautiful belongings with her, but also her memories of the exotic food her family served.

"My grandmother made dishes that weren't part of the Israeli table and used ingredients I had never seen before, like rabbit, boar, venison, and duck," he said. "She gave me my love of experimenting. I feel like I took over from her."

But it was his grandmother's attitude toward cooking that influenced him the most.

"She was a perfectionist who didn't like shortcuts. When she didn't have the best ingredients or couldn't go to her favorite butcher for just the right cut of meat she was unhappy," he said.

Nurturing through special foods

During September, Shapira's family held monthlong food celebrations. "Not only did we have exotic meals for the High Holidays," he said, "but, since everybody in our family had a birthday in September, grandmother would cook the birthday person whatever they wanted for their special day. It was one big month of nurturing."

It's the same today, he said.

"We work very little and spend time with friends and family, who, maybe we have neglected over the year," he said.

"The whole country comes to a halt; there's a special feeling in the air.The streets are cleaner; people put on their holiday clothes. Even if it's just slacks and a white shirt, it looks festive. Everywhere you go you greet people with "L' Shana Tova" — Happy New Year.

"Israel is the only country in the world where everyone is celebrating the Jewish holidays," he said.

Upscale New Year's menu

For our Rosh Hashanah menu, Shapira does a quick left turn on the tried and traditional. For the gefelte fish, instead of using carp or other less expensive kinds of fish, Shapira uses elegant striped sea bass and dorade, referring to them as sea bream. For the piquant accompaniment, he shifts from horseradish root to the more exotic wasabi.

He could have suggested lamb shanks cooked the old-fashioned way; instead he chooses to simmer the meat in red wine, pomegranate juice and Guinness and garnish it with grapes and pine nuts.

To add zing to a dish of acorn squash he surprises us with oyster mushrooms and sage.

"L' Shana Tova."

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Rosh Hashanah recipes from Ido Shapira, chef/owner of Yamaka Restaurant in Tel Aviv, Israel:

SEARED STRIPED BASS WITH WASABI SAUCE AND HIJIKI

(Serves 8)

3 tablespoons wasabi powder (horseradish powder)

8 ounces cucumber, peeled and seeded

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 teaspoon sesame oil, divided

3 ounces hijiki seaweed

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

8 filet of striped sea bass, dorade or mahi mahi

Salt and pepper to taste

In a small bowl mix wasabi powder and 2 1/2 tablespoons water to blend.

Place cucumber in a blender; pulse until chunky. Add mayonnaise, 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil and the wasabi; puree until thoroughly mixed. Cover mixture and refrigerate.

Soak the hijiki in warm water to cover, 5 minutes or until tender. Drain and mix with the remaining sesame oil.

Heat oil in a heavy skillet. Sear the fish 2 to 3 minutes per side. Place fish on a sauced plate and garnish with the hijiki.

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OSSO BUCO OF LAMB SHANKS WITH GRAPES

(Serves 8)

8 lamb shanks (about 1 pound each)

Salt and pepper to taste

Olive oil as needed

16 large whole garlic cloves

2 large leeks (white and pale green parts only), chopped

8 carrots, peeled, cut diagonally into 1/2-inch-long pieces

4 celery roots cut into cubes

1 1/2 tablespoons dried herbes de Provence

1 pound seedless purple grapes

1 bottle of red wine

1 cup pomegranate juice

5 bay leaves

1 to 2 cans amber beer, such as Guinness

2 ounces pistachio nuts

Season lamb shanks with salt and pepper. In a large, heavy frying pan heat oil. Sear lamb shanks, two at a time. Remove to platter.

Using the same olive oil (and adding more, if necessary), sauté garlic cloves, leeks, carrots and celery root until garlic and leeks are golden and carrots and celery root are crisp tender, about 10 minutes.

Place the meat back in the pan along with the herbes de Provence, grapes, wine, pomegranate juice and beer. The meat should be covered with the liquid. (You can add more beer if necessary.)

Simmer for 3 to 4 hours, or until tender.

The dish is best if made the day before serving. Garnish with pistachios just before serving.

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ROASTED ACORN SQUASH WITH WILD MUSHROOMS AND SAGE

(Serves 8)

2 pounds acorn squash, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 pound cremini mushrooms

1 pound oyster mushrooms

Salt and pepper to taste

7 fresh sage leaves, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a 9-by12-inch baking dish toss together squash, brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of the oil. Roast until al dente, about 45 minutes.

In a separate baking pan roast mushrooms, salt and pepper with remainder of the oil until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Combine mushrooms and squash; toss with the sage leaves and roast at 200 for 30 minutes longer. Serve warm.

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POACHED FIGS IN SWISS MERINGUE

(Serves 12)

2 cups white wine

1 cup brown sugar

24 firm-ripe fresh purple figs

4 egg whites

1 cup superfine sugar

1/2 cup caramelized pecans

Poach the figs: In a non-aluminum saucepan large enough to hold figs upright, cook wine and brown sugar over a medium-high flame, stirring constantly until sugar is dissolved.

Cut a very thin slice from bottom of each fig. Stand figs in the liquid of the saucepan. Poach figs at a bare simmer for 5 minutes, or until tender. Remove figs from liquid and set aside.

Continue cooking syrup over low heat until thick. Set aside.

Make meringue: Place egg whites and white sugar in the top of a double boiler. Whisk over a low flame until sugar dissolves. Place in an electric mixer and whip on high speed until mixture is thick and glossy.

To assemble: Slice figs in half. Place 1 piece of the poached fig in a martini glass; cover with meringue; follow it by the other half and more meringue. Decorate with the pecans. Spoon the thickened liquid over all.