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