Parashat Vayeshev

Stripes and Stripes Forever

After rereading last year's posting, I decided to replicate it, but with a few additions. Because tonight is the first night of Chanukah, we will start with a candle salad at each place setting: a round pineapple slice with a banana topped with a grape flame in the center. We will also have latkes at dinner tonight.

As for tomorrow's lunch: Yosef's striped colorful coat all the way, with a layered salad, a striped roasted vegetable terrine, and striped jel dessert (see rainbow jello for Parsahat Noach).

Sorry this week's entry is so short. Chanukah consumes more time than I expected.

Shabbat Shalom!

Parashat Vayishlach

Dessert with a Bite to It!

I just reread what I wrote last year because I had no memory of Vayishlach at all. Lo and behold I discovered that we were not at home for that Shabbat; I can use all the ideas I had presented as possibilities were I to make Shabbat, so check the archives for those ideas.

As for new additions: Dessert will focus on a famous midrash related to Yaakov and Esav's reunion. When the brothers see each other again after decades of separation, the Torah text states that Esav runs towrd Yaakov, embraces him, falls upon his neck, kisses him, and they both weep. The Torah known for concision of language provides many verbs for this reunion. In addition, in the text itself, the word "and he kissed" appears with what appear to be extraneous dots above it. The midrash explains that the dots allude to Esav's true intent. While he seemingly envelops Yaakov in an embrace of forgiveness and fraternal love, Esav is really acting as a wolf in sheep's clothing (nice comparison to Yaakov in parashat Toldot who was a sheep dressed in wolf's clothes, so to speak). Esav falls on his brother's neck not to kiss him, but to bite him. The midrash continues that Yaakov's neck turns to stone/marble to become impervious to his brother's threatening action.
How does this midrash translate into dessert?
I have two confections that I am going to bake and serve side by side: Mexican chocolate cookies and marble cupcakes (recipe adapted to make them pareve). The cookies look like chocolate cookies but have a definite bite to them (pun very much intended). I plan to try to cut the cookies in the shape of chocolate kisses before I bake them if possible.

Shabbat Shalom!

Parashat Vayeitzei

Ladder of Years

This week's parashah opens with the beautiful dream of a ladder covered by angels that Yaakov has on his departure from Be'er Sheva. that opening scene will be the basis of our shabbat dinner. Even the challot we use will allude to the story. When Yaakov goes to sleep, he arranges a series of rocks to use as a pillow, but when he awakes, the stones have melded into one large rock, because, according to the midrash, they were all vying for the privilege of supporting Yaakov's head. A simple pull apart challah is made by rolling a series of balls of challah dough and placing them in a pan together so they fuse as they bake, a perfect representation of the stones under Yaakov's head.

{For a different take on the stones, see the amazing looking recipe at this new parashah blog to which a friend directed me: Elisha's Double Portion.}

As for the meal, it will include artfully composed dishes that are reminiscent of ladders such as asparagus, string beans, strips of London broil, a salad built with large juliennes of jicama and avocado stacked to look like a ladder, and, if time permits, skewers of vegetables and chicken. To accompany our ladders, we will serve angel hair pasta and for dessert, angel food cake.

For shabbat lunch, dessert will be the parashah highlight. I am going to pull out my lamb shaped baking pan so we can make a chocolate chip cake in the form of a spotted and speckled sheep, just like the vast flock that Yaakov amasses through ingenious genetic planning--and a lot of help from Hashem. We will also serve jasmine tea and some figs, both foods identified by mefarshim (rabbinic commentaries) as possibilities for the mysterious (and aphrodisiac/fertility inducing) dudaim that Reuven collects and Rachel begs from Leah.

Have a shabbat shalom.

Parashat Toldot

Please Pass That Red Stuff

Side note:
I don't know why my Chayei Sarah post never posted. Hmmmm. To recap last week: We had a beautiful pumpkin well filled with veal and seitan stew for dinner last week. Poached pear wells filled with pareve ice cream were dessert.
For lunch we were invited out to friends' and amazingly, we found a basket filled with treasures that had fallen off of one of Eliezer's camels to bring as a gift for our host. The basket overflowed with chocolate coins, candy necklaces and bracelets, and gems (the sunkist type :-) ).

As for this week:
We are back to red foods, so the kids can practice gentrifying Esav's request, "Gimme that red slop." We are starting with red lentil soup (of course), followed by red chicken and red tofu (proteins cooked in a tomato based sauce that tinges the food red), braised red cabbage, and a tomato salad. Our 6-year-old requested red jel dessert and our 10-year-old wants red berry kissel (a yummy compote of red berries cooked in grape juice).

Tomorrow for lunch we are doing dairy (see the Kli Yakar commentary mentioned in last years parashat Toldot posting). Thinking about that commentary that explains how being habitual meat eaters cultivates cruelty in a person, I cannot help but to think about the cooking in the parashah this week. Yaakov, the gentle man and gentleman, is cooking lentils according to tradition while Esav is back from the hunt. Clearly this very contrast vividly supports the Kli Yakar's thoughts. (I've also been thinking about Lord of the Flies and the hunts for meat that bring out the savagery of the boys, but those thoughts emanate from my teaching life rather than my parashah life.) Our 10-year-old has been waiting with bated breath for the week where we get to be vegetarians (even though we eat plenty of dairy and pareve on shabbatot in general....)!

Have a delicious and wonderful shabbat!

Parashat Vayera

Guest Blogger

My 10-year-old daughter composed this d'var Torah to share with her class at the annual 5th-grade school shabbaton. I thought you would like it. The regular Vayera post will follow.

Parashat Vayera: Dvar Torah

Shabbat Shalom! Welcome to the 5th grade shabbaton!!! This week’s parsha opens with the story of Avraham greeting the malachim. The torah gets all specific about how Avraham treats them, how he runs to prepare a meal, and hurries to make sure they’re comfortable, and goes out of his way to serve them nice food. Last week when we met Avraham we were introduced to someone who is considered the first person to believe in one G-d and to spread that there is only one G-d. How does the hachnassat orchim that Avraham shows in this week’s parsha connect? A rabbi from the 1800’s known as the Netziv, Rabbi Naphtali Tzvi Judah Berlin, has an explanation that I like. The explanation is that Avraham, who recognized Hashem in shamayim, is able to recognize people on earth. Because Avraham recognizes Hashem and believes in Hashem, he can see the spark of Hashem, the tzelem Elokim, in every person. Seeing the tzelem Elokim is what makes Avraham act with such chesed in welcoming anyone and everyone into his tent.

Parashat Lech Lecha

Bagels, Lox, and Stars, oh my!

A quick post....

Beginning lunch with bris food (as per my note to self last year) to commemorate the covenant that Avraham entered into with God in this parashah. We're serving bagel chips, smoked salmon, sliced vegies, and dollops of pareve cream cheese as the appetizer. Then, as a bow to our tradition-driven ten year old, we will return to stars and sand--the promises to Avraham about how numerous his offspring would be. For stars, I made star shaped squash kugel muffins, star pasta, and I used a cookie cutter to form stars out of vegies for a green salad (peppers and raw zucchini work best). For sand, we have couscous.

Dessert consists of a flip flop cake (sort of like feet going where God sends them). Enjoy the example below; this is not my photo! Ours is far less professional--and much more Avraham-esque, i.e. no bright colors and girlie looking accessories. To make the sand under the flip flops, I ground tea biscuits.

Sorry so short: Shabbat Shalom!

Parashat Noach

I discovered last week that my children, especially the oldest, maintain a strong sense of tradition. When I dared to make any changes to the parashat bereishit menu that we had served in previous years, they balked and complained. So, for this week, maybe I'm taking the easy way out, or maybe I'm bowing to the sanctity of tradition :-): We will do towers and rainbows just as we did last year. See the October 2008 archives for a detailed description.


For next year, though, I am already thinking (and polling friends) about foods with animal names. For right now, I think it would be difficult--and somewhat unhealthy--to create a shabbat meal around hot dogs, hush puppies, pigs in a blanket, bear claws, and elephant ears. I'm open to any suggestions, by the way.


One last note:. At school last week, the b'not sherut (two Israeli young women who come to the U.S. to do a year of their national service in an educational institution) sponsored a contest in which students were instructed to make replicas of Noah's ark using recycled materials. Our oldest fashioned her ark out of cardboard boxes, magazine pages, cotton balls, etc. Only later did I discover this great project online at one of my new favorite blogs Creative Jewish Mom that would have made for a wonderfully competitive piece will also serve as an equally adorable centerpiece for shabbat.


Have a colorful and dry shabbat!

Bereishit Addendum

Just a quick addition to the Bereishit menu--something for the vegetarian in our family:
tofu va'vohu and seitan (kri/read: satan). The tofu dish will contain a kitchen-sink-full of ingredients, a veritable mish mash of flavors. The seitan might be interesting if I cook it with some apple, fig, and a little etrog zest to recognize the various traditions about the fruit from the etz hada'at that the snake/Satan tempted Chava to eat.

I'm Back!!!

Parashat Bereishit Revisited

One of the wonderful things about the month of Tishrei is that it affords us new beginnings. With the celebration of Simchat Torah, we renew our dedication to Torah and the cycle of weekly parshiyot begins again. So, with that in mind, I am going to renew my commitment to creating ParashahMom menus, divrei Torah, and decorative Shabbat ideas.

As I was learning parashat Bereishit yesterday with a good friend, I was struck by the image of Hashem separating in order to create. I imagine that the tohu vavohu described in the opening of the Torah is not a void and nothingness, necessarily. Rather, I see it more as a giant scribble, a huge knot of elements that cannot work because they are so jumbled and confused. To create, then, Hashem separates the elements and pulls out distinct, productive, and unique components from the mass tohu vavohu and renders them purposeful. Hahsem uses the same M.O. throughout the rest of the Torah: G-d separates Noach from his corrupt generation, Avraham from his peers, Yitzchak as a sacred gift, Yaakov as a courageous and victorious wrestler and father, Yosef as a gifted interpreter and leader, etc. Not only are individuals separated from the rest to serve G-d's purpose, but the entire nation is separated from other peoples at Har Sinai with the acceptance of the Torah. Every halachah in the Torah can be seen as a means of providing the Jewish People with a distinct and G-dly mission. By creating our own separations, we create a holiness in ourselves and join G-d in creative partnership in the work of making the world a meaningful, productive, good place.

So--how to make that idea accessible for kids? Hmmmm?
For starters, I to have a large bowl in the middle of the table with a jumble of objects in it. The objects will represent the various days of Creation. Over the course of the meal, we'll ask the kids to extricate the objects that apply for each given day. (Note to self: make sure this isn't a borer issue.) That way they can review the days of creation and see how organizing the elements ion the bowl make the world neat, orderly, and comprehensible.

As an alternative (if borer is a problem)????? I'll have to work on that. Check back later in the week for an alternate plan!

As for a menu: I'll have to stick with last year's. It's too good not to replicate.

Shabbat Shalom!

Parashat Behar-Bechukotai

Growing Holier

This shabbat I am at home with our two younger kids while my husband and oldest are on a school shabbaton; therefore, the motivation to come up with a bang-up parashah idea is somewhat weak. I'm hoping the kids might fall asleep shortly after kiddush. Nonetheless, I did deliver a parashah present to a good friend and thought it might spark some creative ideas (more on that later).

For starters, I offer a few topics to discuss at the shabbat table. Parashat Behar deals with the laws of shmitah, the sabbatical year. After working the land for six years, the seventh year, the land (of Israel) lies fallow. What an amazing opportunity to discuss hakarat hatov (appreciation) for the gifts God grants us. During that shmitah year, we are to rely upon the natural bounty of the land without cultivation; we also must subjugate our sense of ownership and recognize that the land itself is a gift from God. Any food--processed or natural--can lead to a discussion about appreciation. A backtracking discussion can easily do the trick: Where did we get the challah from? How did the bakery prepare it? Where did the baker get the ingredients? How did the store/market/supplier get the flour? What did the mill do to produce the flour? Where did the mill get the wheat? How did the farmer grow the wheat? etc., etc. until the discussion leads to God. We could also talk about how the shmitah cycle mirrors the weekly cycle of six days of work and the seventh day as rest. One other possible topic of discussion: kedushat hamakom. How does shmitah demonstrate the holiness of the land of Israel? What is sacred space? How do we create sacred space outside the land of Israel?

As for Bechukotai, the conversation is a bit darker. This parashah includes the tochechah, God's warnings if Bnei Yisrael fails to follow the laws set out for them. For younger kids, reward and punishment is a natural topic. Why are there rules? Why are there consequences for breaking the rules? What does it show about Hashem's relationship with Bnei Yisrael that there are so many rules to follow? How might Hashem's spelling out the consequences be a sign of the love that Hashem has for Bnei Yisrael? For a more sophisticated talk you might want to think about why at this juncture--at the end of sefer Vayikra--is the tochechah written in the plural whereas at the end of Devarim (in Parahsat Ki Tavo) it is written in the singular (question compliments of my husband). Aslo, how does the tochechah help us with the mandate to be holy (stated in parashat Kedoshim). How are rebuke and holiness related?

Now, the gift I brought my friends: several packages of seeds to grow vegetables and a cactus plant. The seeds are for Behar and the cactus is for Bechukotai. Hopefully, they will plant the seeds and discover the dedication, talent, and help from Above that it takes to grow food. The cactus represents that things get a little thorny for those who defy the dictates of the Torah.

If we were eating at home, I'd have created a centerpiece with seed packets and a cactus as well.

חזק חזק ונתחזק
Hope you have a Shabbat Shalom!

© Tammie Rapps 2009

Parashat Emor

Calendar Craze

I hope that you welcome the blog back into your inboxes after the hiatus of several weeks.

This week's parashah begins with a discussion of the sactity of the kohanim and the various blemishes that disqualify them from service in the mikdash or mishkan. That section of the parahsah will not be the focus of our shabbat meal.

Instead, our nod to Emor will highlight the fourth, fifth, and six aliyot of the parashah. This center section establishes the holidays as integral parts of Judaism. So, our dinner Friday night will include foods traditional for the various holidays mentioned in the Torah reading: shabbat, Pesach, the omer, Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah (I think our menu will have to skip Yom Kippur), and Sukkot. I'm still working on the specifics of the menu, but it will definitely feature romaine, matzah, and horseradish (Pesach), barley (the omer), some type of cream soup (pareve--for Shavuot), apples and/or honey (Rosh Hashanah), and hearts of palm (to represent a lulav).

I've also created a simple matching/ memory game that we can play--matching the dates given in the Torah and the name of the holiday.

We will also try to introduce the concept of kedushat hazman, sanctity of time/sanctifying time, through our discussion at the table. The holidays allow us to envelop ourselves in holiness and elevate ourselves spiritually during that sacred time.

That's it for this week. Have a shabbat shalom!

© Tammie Rapps 2009

Parashat Vayikra

Xie Xie, Cam On, Merci, Gracias, Todah, and Thanks

After reading this week's parahsah, I was concerned about what and how I would present at our table. Other than creating a meat fest with various sources of animal protein, I was stumped. Thankfully, our nephew who is serving in the IDF sent one of his updates including a d'var torah that gave me inspiration. He wrote about the sacrifice offered as a act of thanksgiving to God for a personal miracle. According to the midrash, this is the only sacrifice that will be reinstated in the future, because we will never lose the need to recognize the good God does for us or to gratefully acknowledge God's benevolence. In addition, the Netziv explains that a festive meal should accompany the korban todah, thanksgiving sacrifice, to celebrate God's goodness and to share the reminiscences of God's salvation with others.

Hakarat hatov, expressing appreciation for the gifts in our lives, is a value we cherish in our family. Tonight we will be borrowing from our U.S. vernacular and celebrating a Thanksgiving feast (turkey, cranberry, yams, etc.). However, we will be talking about the things for which we would like to thank God--the ways we recognize God's hashgachah in our lives. And for decorations: thanks you signs in all different languages!

Have a Shabbat Shalom!

© Tammie Rapps 2009

Parashat Ki Tisa

So I promised no golden calves this week, but I didn't promise no gold. In fact, gold is the color of choice for this week's parashah. It not only symbolizes the sin of the Golden Calf, but it also represents the kapparah (atonement/recompense) for that sin as it was used to make the lavish keilim (vessels) in the mishkan (tabernacle). I love that the material that caused such a dramatic spiritual downfall for Bnei Yisrael is the very material mandated for the mishkan--which will elevate Bnei Yisrael to spiritual heights. That, I think, is essentially a potent message of the parashah--and the next two that deal with the actual construction of the mishkan. Material objects (as well as personality traits, behaviors, etc.) begin as inherently neutral in their impact on the world. It matters, however, how humans use and relate to the materials. We have the potential to affect whether something quickens our descent into a spiritual quagmire or hastens our ascent to spiritual highs. That's why Onkelos, when translating the text at the start of the parashah about the basin for washing the kohanim's hands and feet, uses the work kiddush (sanctify) rather than rachatz (wash), because even the familiar and common act of washing can become holy. We possess the power to transform the mundane--material items, everyday actions, or even ourselves--into the sacred and sanctified.

On to the menu:
A friend an I are are cooking for another family this shabbat... A golden meal that will, God willing, brighten their shabbat!

Harvest Gold Lentil Soup
Golden Roasted Chicken
Shimmery Corn Kugel
Green and Gold String Bean Salad
Marinated Golden Beets
Golden Carrot Coins
Golden Yellow Tomato Salad

Baked Golden Delicious Apples stuffed with Golden Raisins

Next week it should challenging (and hopefully fun) to come up with ways that the mishkan can come to the table.

Shabbat Shalom!
© Tammie Rapps 2009

Parashat Tetzaveh

Fashion Sense

a belated return from hiatus...

I am so sorry for not posting the past two weeks. I hope that with this week's parashah I will be back on track. This shabbat will include a lot of play at our table. For starters, we have a paper doll set that I have been creating that introduces the bigdei kehunah, the priestly garments, that the Kohen Gadol wore in his service in the tabernacle. The clothes, as described in the parashah, are ornate, layered, and colorful--which makes them perfectly suited to paper dolls. A color printer and/or copier--and a pair of scissors--were all I needed to make the set. To add a tasty dimension to the fashion show, twelve cupcakes, each shaded with a different jewel-toned frosting form a beautiful choshen/breastplate for the Kohen Gadol...and make for a nice dessert.

Because it is shabbat Zachor, the shabbat preceding Purim in which we read about the Amalekites' attack in the wilderness, I also made a memory game (Zachor) to play at the table. It is mostly images and words associated with Purim, with Haman, and with the Amalekites.

Finally, the one other piece of decor in the dining room is a small LCD light that I put in a votive holder to serve as a ner tamid. We hope to spend time talking about the purpose and symbolism of the ner tamid and why light is such an essential symbol in Judaism.

Looking forward to writing for Ki Tisa next week. I promise, bli neder, no golden calves....

Shabbat Shalom!

© Tammie Rapps 2009

Parashat Yitro

It has been quite a week, so I am relying on an old and trusted friend for this shabbat. The highlight in this week's parashah is Matan Torah--the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. To create a dessert that represents Ma'amad Har Sinai and the sweetness of Torah, click here . You can also find some colorful midrashim about the Sinai experience here. Finally, take the opportunity over Shabbat to contemplate the people who bring each family member closer to Torah; use this lesson plan, which includes ideas that can be adapted for the shabbat table, to facilitate the conversation.
God willing, next week will be quieter and I will return to the regular format.
Thanks for understanding!

Shabbat Shalom!

© Tammie Rapps 2009

Parashat Beshalach

Savoring Songs and Heavenly Delights

This weeks parashah includes the splitting of the Yam Suf, Red (Reed) Sea, Moshe's and Bnei Yisrael's glorious hymn of thanksgiving to God for the miracle, and God's culinary plan for feeding Bnei Yisrael during their sojourn in the desert.

Next year, God willing, I will focus on Yam Suf and Shirat Hayam. This year, because we are invited out for both lunch and dinner, I will focus solely on the manna.

In Shemot 16:31, the Torah states:
"The House of Israel called it manna, and it was like coriander seed, white, and it tasted like a wafer in honey."

Rashi interprets this verse to explain that the manna tasted just like a doughnut glazed in honey. The gemara in masechet Yoma describes the manna in miraculous terms; the manna had the ability to taste like any food in the world. So....

I am baking honey cookies for shabbat to take to our hosts. (Sorry, I don't do deep fried doughnuts) to honor Rashi's interpretation. I'm probably going to use the honey cookie recipe I found here. Our Friday night host is a wonderful friend and an enthusiastic team player; when she invited us, she asked for an idea for a parashah-related menu item. We came up with tofu, which like the manna possesses the amazing power of adaptability. Dipping tofu in array of condiments will change the flavor of the tofu.

[BTW, if this sounds familiar to anyone who has been an avid reader of BabagaNewz, these ideas have been repurposed from a lesson I wrote several years ago. :-) ]

This shabbat, because of the reading of shirat hayam in the parashah, is referred to as Shabbat Shirah. To celebrate this reference I would (or will):

1. place a card with a Hebrew letter at each place setting. At different points in the meal, each guest would have to start a song that begins with that letter. (I'll see if either set of hosts is game.)

2. bring a decorative bird feeder and birdseed for our hosts' gardens as a host gift. (This commemorates that the birds did not dine on the manna--and to encourage the birds' warbling and song.)

3. create a palm tree out of tropical fruits (a pineapple, dates, etc) to represent Tomer Devorah, Devorah's palm under which she sat and judged--a nod to shirat Devorah in the hafatara this week.

Have a song-filled a harmonious shabbat!

© Tammie Rapps 2009

Parashat Bo

Three's a Charm

While last week's title may suggest that this week I will focus on the remaining three makkot that God hurled onto the Egyptians, I chose to focus this week's shabbat festivities on a more positive aspect of the parahsah. Locusts. darkness, and slaying of the firstborn were a bit too gruesome and challenging for me. Instead, this week's Torah reading introduces three mitzvot that were given to the fledgling Jewish nation.

The mitzvah of Rosh Chodesh is the first full mitzvah given. Because the Jewish months are set according to a lunar calendar, our table will be adorned with moons of all sorts: 3-D moons, half moons, crescent moons... some edible and some not. The edible moons will be mashed potatoes, crescent rolls, and slices of white-flesh melon.

Our main dish Friday night will be a nod to the second mitzvah mentioned in the parashah--the Korban Pesach, the Pesach offering. For this I am serving lamb chops on a bed of romaine with a horseradish dressing and a side of vegetable laden matzah farfel (yes, our family might be the only one that loves matzah all year round), reminiscent of the mandate to eat the offering with matzot and merrorim.

Finally, dessert will focus on the third mitzvah--the commandment to place the blood of the Pesach offering on the doorposts and lintel of every Jewish home, the precursor to the mitzvah of mezuzah. For that, I will serve canolis (sort of mezuzah shaped) on a plate that has been brushed with three lines of strawberry sauce.

I'd love for us to get into a discussion about the mitzvah of Rosh Chodesh and why it is the first national mitzvah. I'd also love for our kids to be able to recite the Hebrew months in order. :-)

So that's it: very short and very to the point this week.
Have a wonderful shabbat!

© Tammie Rapps 2009

Parashat Va'era

Seven Out of Ten

A shorthand entry this week, because I just returned from the other coast and am dealing with some jet lag and kids' jet lag:

The parashah introduces the first seven of the ten plagues that God sent down on Egypt. The plagues will form the meal... rather than just be represented by a drop of wine as at the Pesach Seder.

Dam/Blood: Tomato Red Pepper Soup

Tzefardea/Frogs: Chicken wings (frogs legs supposedly taste like chicken, ;-)) I also have frog decorations for the table.

Kinim/Lice: Rashi explains that the Egyptian sorcerers were unable to replicate the plague of lice because magic cannot happen on things smaller than a grain of barley, so... barley pilaf

Arov/wild beasts: More table decor (animal print napkins) and a lion made of a round squash kugel surrounded by a mane of spaghetti squash

Dever/cattle disease: Does dead meat count for this?

Shchin/Boils: Boiled potatoes ???? Other boiled vegies? If it were dessert, I would serve red gushers that would pop in one's mouth! In fact, I might do both!

Barad/hail: Again, thanks to a good friend who devised "barad balls"," round white cookies with flaming red hot tamales baked in the middle to simulate the fire encased by hail. The same effect would work with white toffuti balls around hot tamales.

Have a wonderful shabbat!

Parashat Shemot

The Moshe Chronicles

Originally, when I began pondering this whole blogging-the-parashah idea, I joked that reaching Shemot would be strange, because why would I want to make Pesach in January. How could I be creative when the Seder itself is a pretty creative event?!? As I reviewed Parashat Shemot, though, I was taken by how easy it would be to shift the focus of this shabbat's ParshahMom activities away from the slavery experience and take advantage of the opportunity to shine the spotlight on Moshe Rabbeinu, who receives none of the limelight come Pesach. Because Parashat Shemot serves as a brief biography of the greatest Jewish leader, highlighting Moshe seems to be the best approach to this shabbat.


Now, I happen not to be at home this shabbat (although my husband and 9.5 year old are), but I do happen to be spending shabbat with my family who is amenable to my cooking some of the meal and decorating the shabbat table as I would like. So, in collaboration with my sister, shabbat dinner will become a "This is Your (Early) Life, Moshe" feast.


For starters, we are going to create baby Moshe in the basket hors d'oeuvres. At the suggestion of our very imaginative 5-year-old, we are going to make baby Moshes in small twice baked potatoes. His body will be made of carrot sticks, and our kindergartner would like his eyes to be raisins or black beans.


The next major episode in Moshe's life, killing and hastily burying the Egyptian task-master, will be represented by a big tray of sand-colored couscous.


For the Midian events, we will have a large well (made of crackers surrounding dip and crudite). We will also serve biscuits cut in the shape of sheep. And of course, Moshe's wife will be represented by chicken (Tzipporah=Bird... I know, a stretch!).


Finally, the burning bush will be the centerpiece of the table. We are still working on a safe and "shabbati" way to use greenery, red and yellow cellophane, and illumination on the table. I think we'll make a trip to Michael's to see if they have any of those LED votive "candles" that run on batteries.


Finally, dessert will be the otot, signs, that God teaches Moshe to prove to Bnei Yisrael that he was in fact sent by God. We will have pretzel staffs and gummy snakes; finger-shaped cookies dredged in white powdered sugar and coconut flakes (a hand covered in coconut leprosy would be too much!); and blood-red cherry juice.


At dinner, we hope to discuss Moshe's leadership qualities and what each of these episodes in his life helped to shape him as a leader.


Have a wonderful Shabbat! If you are on the East Coast or in the Midwest, stay warm.

Shabbat Shalom!


© Tammie Rapps 2009

Parashat Vayechi

Blessings for the Present and Future

Note: I would like to dedicate the learning that I did for this week's parashah to the chayalim who are protecting Medinat Yisrael. May their mesirut yield success, safety, and security for our people and land.

This week's parashah serves as a coda to the stories in sefer Bereishit. Yaakov has lived for the final seventeen years of his life in the embrace of his family--with all his children and grandchildren. Yaakov is the only one of the avot to see and interact in the text with his grandchildren. Through Efrayim and Menashe, Yaakov sees the future of Bnei Yisrael. These grandchildren of his do not have a relationship riddled with rivalry; they inherit Yosef's--and Yaakov's--commitment to Jewish attitudes, values, and behaviors, even in the midst of the seductive excesses of Egypt. They are worthy of their grandfather's blessing: they are the ultimate role models by which future generations of Bnei Yisrael will be blessed.

The blessing of Efrayim and Menashe--with Yaakov's switching of his hands to bless the younger with the greater blessing--sets the stage for Yaakov's deathbed blessing of his children. The commentaries discuss how Yaakov was blind, but was still able to see with insight and understanding. He glimpsed, through the gift of divine sight, the future of his grandchildren and the greatness that they would achieve. Yaakov was also blessed to see the personalities of his children and understand how those personalities would influence their futures. Thus, while many of the blessing sound less than positive, Yaakov really "gets" his sons and uses his insight to point out their shortcomings and bless their future endeavors. (Just as a side note, the mefarshim describe that while Yaakov lost his divine vision when it came to discussing the arrival of mashiach with his sons, he still retained enough vision to bless them appropriately.)

Our meal for Shabbat lunch will be a traveling one--which adds another challenge! We are cooking for a friends who just had a baby and are bringing the meal to them. To add to the challenge, the mom is a Tanach teacher.. so that ups the ante!

For lunch, I've devised a menu that includes a food or idea to represent each of the blessings that Yaakov bestowed on his children. Note that the chart below includes the sons, their blessings, and the food or idea associated with them., but I will not serve in the order in which they appear. Zevulun and Yissachar will be the appetizer and Yosef, Binyamin, will accompany a Chazak, Chazak, Venitchazek cake for dessert.

I hope you enjoy the list below. I'm, admittedly, underwhelmed by my Reuven, Naftali, and Binyamin choices, so if you have any good ideas, I invite them!

חזק חזק ונתחזק

Shevet/ Symbol--Berachah/ Menu Item

Reuven/ like a gushing stream /water beverages

Shimon/ anger and zeal--separate from Levi /hot & spicy chicken wings

Levi /anger and zeal--separate from Shimon /spicy garlic eggplant

Yehudah /lion cub,kingship, abundant vineyards /stuffed artichoke crowns and wine marinated turkey

Zevulun /ships and commerce /fish and cucumber boats

Yissachar/ donkey carrying a load, symbolizing yoke of Torah study (Rashi: blessed with land producing good produce to make more learning time available to them) /confetti salad

Dan /a snake that attacks at the heel/ roasted veggies plated as a snake

Gad /a troop /Israeli couscous (bunches of grains sticking together)

Asher /olive oil & bread, i.e., the fat of the land /olive tapenade on flatbreads

Naftali / swift, agazelle-like messenger / messages and blessings in the napkins

Yosef /fruitful, golden, and strong /fruit cup

Binyamin /a wolf /Lone Wolf mocktail

Efrayim & Menashe /models for future generations and blessings of fruitfulness/ criss-cross lattice topped fruit kugel

Shabbat Shalom!

© Tammie Rapps 2009

Parashat Vayigash

Subliminal Messages

First, my apologies for the post-shabbat post. We spent the last week without computer access (yes, in the waning days of 2008!!!) and with various viruses (the real-life type that cause runny noses, stomach flu, and ear infections). So, the post for this past shabbat will be several ideas that I had for the parashah that I hope to use, G-d willing, next year.

Parashat Vayigash recalls Yosef's dramatic revelation of his true identity to his brothers after Yehudah gives an impassioned plea to release Binyamin from servitude. Yosef then lavishes gifts on his family and requests/suggests/demands(?) that the brothers return to Canaan, talk to Yaakov, pack up their households, and return with their father and families to Egypt so they can live out the harsh famine in a fertile land. This invitation is, of course, the beginning of the exile in Egypt, although G-d appears to Yaakov and promises him that G-d will not forsake Bnei Yisrael when they are in Egypt.

The episode in which Yaakov learns that Yosef is still alive captures my imagination. The midrashim offer a fascinating narrative for how Yaakov learns that his favorite child is alive and well and prospering in Egypt. The midrashim indicate a point later in the parashah, when the Torah delineates the seventy souls that descended to Egypt, to explain how Yaakov was intentionally prepared for the startling news of Yosef that his sons brought him. In the list of names one woman in mentioned, Serach, the daughter of Asher. To provide a rationale for singling her out, the midrash in Pirkei d'Rabbi Eliezer teaches that Serach was assigned by her uncles and father the task of preparing Yaakov for the big revelation. She was a singer and musician (harpist?) who sang and played for her aging grandfather. Embedded in the lyrics of her songs were the almost unintelligible words that Yosef was alive in Egypt, the father to two young boys. Serach's song was a rhyming triplet that she sang while Yaakov davened. Although Yaakov was focused on his tefillah, he subconsciously integrated the words of Serach's song into his thinking and was thus ultimately able to accept the report about Yosef as true--without dying. For her part in caring for and preparing her grandfather emotionally, Serach was rewarded with a long life that ended without death. More midrashim explain how she functioned at the times of Moshe and King David , and how she ultimately went to Gan Eden alive!

I am intrigued by this figure of Serach and her subliminal messages she sends to Yaakov. For Shabbat, I was thinking of ways to hide messages about Yosef in the decor a the table. I wanted to use items that might allude to Yosef's name (cups of coffee, or Joe, baby kangaroos, yo-yos, for example) to build a centerpiece. I also wanted to use fancy writing that could be obscured in curlicues and decorations to write, "Yosef is alive and living in Egypt."

On a different topic, my husband and I were talking about how we could impress on our kids the idea of seventy individuals who went to Egypt. We thought of using cards (such as index cards) to help them build a family tree for Yaakov with all the names mentioned in the parashah. We wanted them to also do the same activity with cards with our own family names listed on them, so they could get a sense of how much seventy is and how closely related the seventy souls were.

I hope to be back on track this week, bli neder, with the Parashat Vayechi post published on Wednesday night!!!!!!!!!!!

Shavua Tov!