Just last week my oldest child and my husband returned from Israel; it was our daughter's first time visiting. Needless to say, she loved being in Israel and loved walking the streets of Jerusalem with her father. It is because of this week's parashah that they were compelled to make this trip. In this week's Torah reading, Avram and Sarai travel to the land of Israel (aka Canaan) at God's bidding. God not only instructs our patriarch to go to Canaan, but God also tells Avram that he is to walk the length and breadth of the county--to really learn and love every corner of the land because it will be his and his children's for eternity. To commemorate Avram's trek throughout the land, I have footprint confetti that will dot the table and am using blue painter's tape to create a large map of the land of Israel on the floor under the dining room table. At each place setting, I will be placing the name of a geographic place in Israel (no cities as Avram would not have encountered those). During dinner, we will work on placing the locations in their appropriate places on the map. As a centerpiece, I have a large gift-wrapped box--wrapped in star studded gift wrap ( the way that network TV wraps boxes on soap operas: the lid separately from the bottom so the top can just be lifted off). Inside the gift box is a small map of Israel with the verse from the parashah (Bereishit 13:15) that states, "For all the land that you see I will give to you and to your seed to eternity."
For the menu, we will focus on a different part of the parashah: God's promise to Avram that his offspring will be as numerous as sand and stars. So, out come the star shaped baking pans and all the star shaped baskets and table accessories for this shabbat. (See the archives for more details.) For dessert we will once again enjoy a sandal-shaped cake resting atop cookie-crumb sand.
Enjoy and Shabbat Shalom!
© Tamie Rapps, 2010/5771
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