I've discovered that I am very happy with the Parashat Toldot menus from years past. Placing lentils and red food front and center on the shabbat table just works so well for this parashah that I can only think of swapping out one lentil recipe for another or trying a meat stew to replicate the delicious delicacies that Rivka cooked up for Yitzchak.
With that said, I am going to focus on the decor for shabbat this year. I plan to set the table up as a sort of color war--the two competing sons/sides at odds with each other. One side of the table will be decorated with furry red napkin rings and arrows in the centerpiece. The other side of the table will be decorated with books and pictures of tents fashioned around the napkins. We will talk about the connotation of color: why red is such a strong association with Esav, why he actually went for the lentils when he preferred a fresh kill (what did he think was actually in Yaakov's pot?), what color could we associate with Yaakov (even though the Torah does not mention one) and why?
At another point over shabbat, I'd like to introduce a variation on a game our daughter invented on Sukkot: the blessing game. Our daughter instructed each person at the table to say something nice about the person sitting next to him or her. In honor of this week's parashah, we will switch it a bit and ask each person to give a berachah to he person sitting next to him or her. It would be intriguing to hear what our kids think of berachot, what they consider important for a parent to impart, how thy understand the birth order blessings that Yitzchak planned to give, etc.
I invite any additional ideas you might have about the parashah and ways to incorporate it at the shabbat table.
Shabbat Shalom!
© Tammie Rapps, 2010/5771
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