Parashat Bemidbar

Camping Gear

This week’s parashah begins with details about Bnei Yisrael’s travels in the desert. After Moshe conducts a census of the adult males in Bnei Yisrael, the Torah maps out the encampment that would be “home” for them throughout their journey to the Land of Israel. With the tabernacle in the middle surrounded by the tribe of Levi, the remaining twelve tribes (yes, twelve--Yosef is split in two) built their camps on the four sides of the Mishkan. The Torah delineates the positions of each of the tribes. Our Shabbat table and our Shabbat dinner will both, hopefully, be replicas of the encampment. To set the table, the challot will be in the center of the table covered by beautiful cloths, representing the Mishkan. I will tie red, white, and black ribbons around small vases of flowers to and place them around the challot. (Shevet Levi's flag is described as one third red, one third white, and one third black.) Then, although our table isn't square, I will set three settings on each of the four sides and label the sides with the four directions. At the place settings, I will fold a napkin in the color associated with the given tribe for that location.

To the East:
Yehudah (light blue), Yissaschar (dark grey), and Zevulun (white)
To the South:
Reuven (red), Shimon (green), and Gad (grey)
To the West:
Binyamin (rainbow), Ephraim (black), and Menashe (black)
To the North:
Dan (sapphire blue), Asher (pearlescent), and Naftali (deep red)

The meal itself will also replicate the encampment. When it is time to serve, we will lay the food out in a similar fashion. In the center of the table will be the protein—to symbolize the sacrificial offerings brought in the Mishkan. The serving pieces for the meal will be arranged around the meat, representing the Leviim who served in the Mishkan. For each tribe surrounding the Mishkan, there will be a food that either relates to the tribe’s color or the image on its flag. Each food will be placed in the appropriate direction:

Yehudah—a blue mocktail; Yissaschar—sunburst of yellow and orange veggies; Zevulun—white potatoes
Reuven—red gazpacho; Shimon—green broccoli; Gad—cucumber chunks standing at attention
Binyamin—tossed salad; Ephraim and Menashe—blackened chicken
Dan—pareve blueberry jell salad; Asher—olives (for the tree on his flag); Naftali—deep red beet salad

That’s the ambitious plan for this Shabbat.
Have a Shabbat shalom,
Tammie

Parashat Behar

Shoe Polish, Shemitah, and Shabbat

When I was a little girl, my Saba z"l would polish my patent leather Mary Janes every erev shabbat. He would carefully apply a thin layer of what I thought to be magical white cream and meticulously buff away the previous week's scuffs and stray marks. Why, you may ask, am I writing about polishing shoes for parashah? (Or in more Rashi terms: What does polishing shoes have to do with Har Sinai?) Saba's "polish" of choice, his wonder cream, was called "Jubilee," and I cannot learn or read about shemitah and yovel without thinking of Saba and his painstaking efforts every week, Jubileeing (his verb) my shoes.

So, jubilee it will be this week. The menu is simple for Friday night--Jubilee Chicken (a recipe can be found here: http://www.food.com/recipe/the-queens-golden-jubilee-chicken-official-recipe-331068. Of course, I'll be using a pareve substitute for creme fraiche) and Cherries Jubilee for dessert (without the flambe, unfortunately). During the meal we will talk about the shemitah cycle, which is mirrored in the omer cycle, and practice counting by sevens. We will discuss what happens in the shemitah year and how the Torah promises bumper crops in year six to compensate for the fallow land in year seven and the regrowth in year eight. Then, we will get to yovel. What does freedom have to do with the cycles of seven? If the end of the omer cycle culminates with Shavuot and celebrating matan Torah, how is yovel similar in its culmination? If seven is a natural cycle, how is the 50th day or year something that is above and beyond the natural? How does the commandment to set all slaves free during yovel demonstrate the themes of yovel and how does it relate to the land? [Ultimately, we are all servants to God, and all we have belongs to God.]

Wishing you a jubilant Shabbat,

Tammie

Parashat Emor

Let's Face It!

This week's parashah continues with the holiness code, aspects of Jewish law that help the Jewish People distinguish itself from other nations and strive to reach a level of holiness in its worship of Hashem. In addition to delineating the times on the calendar designated for festivals and holy days, the parashah also details various aspects of the tabernacle service, including which disabilities disqualify a kohen from direct service, which blemishes on an animal disqualify it as a sacrfice, and how to display the lechem hapanim, translated as show-bread (but literally, face bread), in the mishkan. The lechem hapanim will be the featured item on this week's menu. Simply speaking, the show-bread was 12 loaves that were constantly present in the mishkan, arranged prominently on the shulchan, golden table opposite the menorah. Of course, these twelve loaves generate much discussion: Were they leavened or unleavened? How did they not grow moldy if they were layered atop each other? What do they represent? Why are they called lechem hapanim? At our table we will certainly discuss some of these questions. {Answers???: Most say they were unleavened, but not matzah; They rested on a special device that separated them sufficiently as to inhibit mold from growing and/or the shape of the loaves themeselves prevented mold growth; The twelve tribes??} To represent some of these answers, we will serve twelve small pita or lafah loaves, because that is most closely what the lechem resembled. Also, we will talk about the word "panim," a word even my younger kids recognize. For starters, we will have various cut vegetables and spreads with which the kids can create pita faces. We will talk about the elements of a face and discuss how some say the vessels in mishkan were arranged in the shape of a face as explained clearly by food writer and scholar Gil Marks:

"Each of the four major objects of the Tabernacle corresponds to a specific human organ and sense of the face. The aron (Ark of the Covenant) is linked to hearing and the ears, for between its two cherubs God spoke to Moses (Exodus 25:22) panim to panim (Exodus 33:11). The menorah (candelabra), the source of light, correlates to sight and the eyes, while the golden altar of incense to smell and the nose. The shulchan corresponds to taste and the mouth. The alignment of these objects even mirrors the human face -- the altar (nose) in the center, the menorah (eyes) to the south, the table (mouth) towards the other end, and the aron (ears) behind. The aron symbolizes God’s presence, the menorah represents wisdom/Torah, the golden altar denotes enlightenment and joy, and the shulchan symbolizes sustenance and material prosperity. The golden altar was a synthesis of the two – wisdom and material endowments. The lesson of the Tabernacle is that all of our physical senses must also have a spiritual dimension, that all of the organs that we employ to function in our everyday lives must also be utilized to serve God, in the sanctification of the world."

These are beautiful and lofty ideas, symbols that will resonate for our oldest child and fun finger food that can help our younger ones understand the layout of the mishkan.

Have a shabbat shalom!

Parashat Metzora

I would like to dedicate this post in honor of a refuah shleimah for Frumet bat Brachah.

Spice up the Cooking, Not the Gossip

Tzara’at (often translated as leprosy), the physical manifestation of spiritual disease, does not make for very appetizing menu planning. Between last week’s and this week’s descriptions of the lesions afflicting the metzora (person suffering from tzara’at), it’s as if we’ve enrolled in a crash course on bizarre dermatological conditions. Nonetheless, I am back on track trying to figure out how to transform the parashah into a Shabbat meal. According to the text of the parashah, the metzora must bring an offering to the mishkan after he or she is cleansed from the condition. The offering includes animals (which type is determined by one’s economic status), scarlet wool, cedar wood and hyssop. Traditionally, tzara’at afflicts those who have spoken lashon harah. The Midrash uses this rationale to explain the various components of the offering:

[Why must the metzora bring cedar wood as part of a purification sacrifice?] Because the metzora became haughty like a cedar tree, the metzora was afflicted withtzara’at.... [And why hyssop?] Because among all the trees none is lowlier than the hyssop, and since the metzora has become lowly he or she will be cured by the use of the hyssop.

MIDRASH TANHUMA METZORA 3

Luckily, cedar and hyssop provide some culinary opportunities as well as discussion possibilities. I will get cedar chips and do some grilling for Shabbat. As for the hyssop, much of our menu will be seasoned with Za’atar, made of hyssop. We like Za’atar sprinkled on chummus, baked into foccacia (I may just do a “garlic bread” with za’atar—no baking as it is erev Pesach), and on our chicken. I will set the table with pictures of cedar and hyssop and ask the kids what the differences are between the two. Hoepfully, the visuals will help get us into a discussion that leads into the above-cited Midrash. We will also talk about lashon harah and brainstorm great discussion topics that steer away from gossip and negative speech.

Shabbat Shalom!

Parashat Vayikra

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

After reading this week's parahsah, I was concerned about what I would present at our table. Other than creating a meat fest with various sources of animal protein, I was stumped. Thankfully, when our nephew was serving in the IDF several years ago, he sent an email update including a d'var torah on Parashat Vayikra that I held onto for inspiration. He wrote about the sacrifice offered as an 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. For shabbat 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: thank you signs in all different languages!

Have a Shabbat Shalom!

Parashat Pikudei

Cloudy with a Chance of Pomegranates

This week's parashah details the extraordinary amounts of gold, silver, and precious resources that Bnei Yisrael donated to the construction of the mishkan. It then offers painstaking instructions about the creation of the bigdei kehunah, priestly garments (that were first described in Parashat Tetzaveh), even explaining how the artisans were able to hammer gold so thinly that it could be spun into thread and woven together with the other dyed yarns. From the bigdei kehunah, the parashah highlights the adornment at the bottom of the robe/tunic. the hemline was fringed with small bells and pomegranate shaped ornaments. In celebration of this sacred fashion, we will be having a meal full of bells and pomegranates. The bells will be served in two forms: stuffed bell peppers and bell-shaped pasta (campanelle). The pomegranate will glaze our chicken, be featured in our beverages, and make a guest appearance in a green salad.

The end of the parashah introduces another evocative image: the cloud that rested over the mishkan symbolizing Hashem's presence in the mishkan. My daughters are creating a large paper cloud that we will suspend from the light fixture over the shabbat table. I'm also making meringue clouds that will rest over berry compote for dessert. I also hope we have a chance to discuss the image of the cloud and why Hashem might have chosen that way to represent the Shechinah. I also loved a short question that I found somewhere in the blogoshpere about the cloud: What is the relationship between the cloud that rested over Sarah's tent and the cloud over the mishkan? The blogger suggested that every Jewish home should be a mini-mishkan imbued with Hashem's presence. How to do so will be a great conversation starter.

Shabbat Shalom!

Parashat Vayakhel

Cholent Throwdown

This week's parashah includes the verse that is often cited as the distinguishing factor between people who observe only the written Torah (such as the Karaites) and those who embrace rabbinic Judaism that encompasses both the written and oral law. The verse, "You shall not kindle fire in any of your dwelling places on the Sabbath day " (Shemot 35:3), suggests in the literal sense that Jews must sit in the dark eating cold food all shabbat long. This contradicts tradition, however. Rabbinic law allows and encourages us to make use of light and fire to illuminate our homes and to warm our food as long as we did not ignite the fires on shabbat and follow the prescribed rules for using the light. To highlight the custom to eat warm food on shabbat, we will be having a cholent/chamin/adafina throwdown this shabbat lunch, a meal celebrating the various traditions that have developed in Jewish communities around the world for a Shabbat stew that cooks from erev shabbat on through lunchtime. (That means that I will have to find a few crock pots from willing neighbors and/or try to make some mini-dishes in the oven the old fashioned way.) There is no shortage of recipes for these shabbat delicacies (if one can call cholent delicate or a delicacy), and I have been making the Ashkenazi version for some time now. However, I offer two intriguing versions, one Italian and one Iraqi, that I found on a "The Jew and the Carrot" post:

Italian Sabbath Stew (Hamin)
--from “The Encyclopedia of Jewish Food” by Gil Marks

6 to 8 servings

Meatballs:
1 pound ground chicken breast
½ cup fresh bread crumbs or matzah meal
1 large egg
About ¾ teaspoon salt
About ½ teaspoon ground white or black pepper
1 clove garlic, mashed, or pinch of ground nutmeg (optional)

Greens:
2 pounds fresh chard or spinach
3 tbsp olive or vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced

Hamin:
3 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
3 medium yellow onions, sliced
4 fresh sage leaves or 1 teaspoon dried sage
1 ½ pounds beef or veal marrow or neck bones
2 to 3 pounds beef chuck, whole or cut into 2-inch cubes
2 cups dried white beans
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
About 3 teaspoons table salt or 4 teaspoons kosher salt
About ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
About 2 quarts water

1) To make the meatballs: combine all the meatball ingredients and form into ½ inch balls.

2) To make the greens, separate the chard leaves from the stems. Cut the tender stems into 1 inch pieces. In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the chard and sauté until wilted. Top with the meatballs, cover, reduce heat to low and sauté until the chard is tender and the meatballs are cooked, about 20 minutes. Let cool, then refrigerate until shortly before using.

3) To make the hamin: In a large heavy pot heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and sage and sauté until golden, about 15 minutes. In the order given, add the bones, beef, beans, salt and pepper, and enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer over medium low heat or bake in a 375 degree oven until the beans are nearly soft, about 1 ½ hours.

4) Add more water if necessary. Cover the pot tightly. Put on a blech (metal tray) over low heat or in a 200 degree oven and cook for at least 6 hours or overnight.

5) Shortly before serving, stir the meatballs and the greens into the hamin and let sit until heated through.

Chicken Stuffed with Meat
--from “Mama Nezima’s Jewish- Iraqi Cuisine” by Rivka Goldman

10 servings

1 3-pound chicken, skin removed

Stuffing:
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
¼ teaspoon ground hot paprika
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 small onion, chopped
½ pound lean ground beef or ground chicken breast
1 cup cooked rice
1 large tomato, chopped

Sauce:
1 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon garlic powder
Juice of 1 large lemon
1 ½ cups rice

1) Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Combine the salt, cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon, black pepper, white pepper and paprika in a bowl.

2) Heat the vegetable oil in a pan over high heat, add the onion. Reduce heat to medium. Stir in the meat and half the spices, and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the rice and tomato, for 1 minute, and remove from heat.

3) Stuff the chicken with the meat mixture. Sprinkle the remaining half of the spices over the chicken, and place the stuffed chicken in a roasting pan.

4) Heat the vegetable oil in a pot over high heat and add the onion. Reduce heat to medium and stir in the tomato sauce and 4 cups of water. Add the salt, garlic powder, lemon juice, and rice ad remove from heat.

5) Pout the rice mixture around the chicken. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 8 hours or overnight at 200 degrees.

So that basically takes care of lunch. For dinner I would like to use a little parashah decor on the table. The parashah elaborates on the artistry of the vessels in the mishkan. One commentary I read mentioned how there had been no Jewish artisans in Egypt as they had been so consumed by manual labor that they had never developed their talents, an idea that I had never considered previously. Nonetheless, the innately talented weavers, embroiderers, goldsmiths, etc. offered their raw creativity and passion to the project of building the tabernacle. This Thursday night I plan to let my kids have a go at making replicas of some of the vessels using whatever art materials we have on hand. We will also work on creating an edible golden menorah, complete with the flower shaped candle holders (thanks to flower shaped muffin tins), out of carrot muffin/kugel. Finally, I plan to use pieces of mirror I bought at a craft store to use as place cards. the mirrors represent those used to fashion the kiyor, sink/laver, in the mishkan. According to midrash, these were the very same mirrors used by the women to beautify themselves in Egypt in an attempt to ensure Jewish continuity when their enslaved husbands would return from grueling days at Pitom and Ramses. While I still have to think of an age appropriate way to explain that to our kids ;-), I love the idea that echoes last week's theme: an object or material can be elevated to higher purposes if one uses it appropriately. Mirrors, a symbol of vanity, were used in the construction of the mishkan because they had been used for Divine purposes.

Have a warm and wonderful shabbat!