Author: tasteoftheparsha

Two Nations in Her Womb

From the Sources

“וַיִּתְרֹֽצֲצ֤וּ הַבָּנִים֙ בְּקִרְבָּ֔הּ” (Bereishit כה:כב)

“But the children struggled in her womb” (Bereishit 25:22)

Rivka and Yitzchak both davened to Hashem and she became pregnant.  The pregancy was very difficult and Rivka went to consult with Hashem, which the midrash says meant that she went to the Yeshiva of Shem and Aiver, where she was told that she was expecting twins.

Yaakov the tzaddik and Eisav the Rasha were fighting inside Rivka’s womb.  One explanation that is given is that Aisav’s hairiness was bothering Yaakov and that is why there was a lot of movement.

“וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהוָ֜ה לָ֗הּ שְׁנֵ֤י גיים [גוֹיִם֙] בְּבִטְנֵ֔ךְ וּשְׁנֵ֣י לְאֻמִּ֔ים מִמֵּעַ֖יִךְ יִפָּרֵ֑דוּ” (Bereishit כה:כג)

“and HaShem answered her, “Two nations are in your womb, Two separate peoples shall issue from your body”” (Bereishit 25:23)

Rashi comments on the spelling of גיים (nations) that it refers to exalted or noble people.  Citing Avoda Zara 11a he says that this refers to the wealthy people Antoninus who came from Aisav and Rebbi (Rav Yehuda HaNassi) who came from Yaakov.  Both of these people were so rich that they always had lettuces and raddishes at their table, even when they were out of season.

How to eat it

So pretty obvious how to eat this one: serve lettuce and raddish.

A quick google found me a Butter Lettuce, Radish & Avocado salad.

Or, serve a fruit or vegetable that is davka out of season at this time of the year.  If you are in the Northern Hemisphere serve fruit from the beginning of the summer, such as peaches or cherries.  If you are in the southern hemisphere serve out of season winter food such as chestnuts.

Another good option here is to serve something with apple or carrots, as they are foods that are these days easily availble all year round.

 

Wake Up and Eat Hamantashen!!!

From the Sources

In the beginning of the parsha, we learn that Sarah died at the age of 127 years. At Purim, we learn in the beginning of Megillat Esther that King Achashveirosh ruled over 127 provinces. Which means that when Esther became queen, she was also the ruler over 127 provinces.

There is a Midrash (Bereishit Rabbah 58:3) which tells of a time when Rabbi Akiva’s students were falling asleep.  To wake them up, he made the connection between these two numbers and said that Esther merited to be a ruler over 127 provinces BECAUSE she was descended from Sarah Imeinu.

How to eat it

Wake up, smell the coffee, and serve Hamantashen for breakfast this Shabbat morning. Ok, it’s nowhere near Purim. But it will add a bit of unusual excitement to the day. And everyone will remember how long Sarah lived, and how many provinces Achashveirosh and Esther ruled over.

Blessed Dough

From the Sources

When Sarah was alive, she merited 3 special blessings:

  1. The holy cloud always over her tent
  2. Her candles burn from one Shabbat till the next
  3. The dough she used to make bread was very special and you only needed a little bit to be satisfied

At the end of this week’s parsha, when Rivka marries Yitzchak, her dough is similarly blessed.

How to eat it

If you don’t normally make your own Challah, this could be a good week to give it a go. And if you DO normally make your own Challah, this could be a week to make a different recipe. Instead of the normal “white bread” challah that we make all the time, it might be interesting to try something more nourishing.  Perhaps a new recipe which calls for wholemeal flour (for fibre) or more eggs than usual (for protein).

Here is a recipe I googled for “sprouted wheat” challah and might try this week.  Sprouted bread is very filling.

http://eatnourishing.com/recipe/sprouted-wheat-challah/

Nose and Hand Rings

From the sources

Eliezer gave Rivkah many gifts, including a gold nose ring and two bracelets.

How to eat it

I really thought that a round pretzel would make the perfect nose ring. One of my children saw that I was buying dried apples at the supermarket and thought that they would be good for rings as well.

But neither of these is really big enough for arm bracelets. Well, we thought for a bit. And, as we are really trying to get jelly snakes into EVERY parsha, I decided that we could tie up the ends of jelly snakes to make lovely long bracelets that Eliezer gave to Rivka!!!

Camel Riding and Pitchers of Water

From the sources

Three years after the Akeidah and the death of Sarah, Avraham sent his servant Eliezer to look for a wife for his son Yitzchak. Eliezer took 10 camels and went out to look for a wife from Avraham’s family. When he gets to the well, Rivkah offers to get water for him and for all his camels. Then she says he can spend the night at the home of her father Betuel, and he agrees.

How to eat it

A way to recognise how much effort Rivkah needed to water the camels, mimic this, at least for a few minutes, at the Shabbat table. Instead of putting your normal bottle of water on the table for people to serve themselves, you could have a large jug or flask in the kitchen. Every time someone wants a glass of water with their meal, they have to go into the kitchen to get the heavy jug. Bring water to the table when everyone has learned the message or is started to get cranky with the arrangements.

Avraham rushed to the Angels

From the sources

Avraham rushed to the angels to serve them. He offered them bread, but instead served them a lavish meal. His wife Sarah and son Yishmael were both involved in cooking and serving the food.

How to eat it

This is a terrific week in general to invite guests, and to involve the whole family in getting involved in the mitzvah of hachnasat orchim (welcoming guests). And you could do as Avraham did, invite them for “a bite to eat”, and then serve a gourmet dinner.

Set Table

Avraham served tongue and mustard

From the sources

Bereishit 18:7 says that Avraham took a “calf, tender and good” and prepared it for the angels. Rashi reads each word “calf”, “tender” and “good” separately and says that it means that Avraham slaughtered 3 head of cattle in order to give each of the angels a tongue cooked with mustard.

This really emphasises how generous Avraham was. A tongue each is already an enormous amount of food. Not to mention the rest of the animal, which could not be refrigerated, but would have needed to be salted in order to be preserved in those days. Or maybe Avraham give that away as well, I am not aware of a source.

How to eat it

Serve tongue with mustard. This is what I did last year. But I only made 2 tongues, and it easily served 9 people. I was also struck by the fact that I could go into the kosher section of the supermarket and buy the tongue all ready to cook in a plastic bag. Avraham, on the other hand, needed to catch the calf, shecht it, salt it, cut it up, and then cook it.

This really gives you some idea of how generous Avraham was. The main idea is to serve lots of yummy food to lots of people this week. And I would add that many people cannot stomach even the idea of eating tongue, so it would be a good idea to have other things available as well.

Rabbi Rosenberg in his MP3 series Chumash and Rashi Explained offers a wonderful insight into how generous a person should be as a host. He says that every guest has a problem when they are being served. If they eat every morsel on their plate, it might look like the host did not serve them enough. But if they leave some of the food, it may appear to the host that they do not like the food. Rabbi Rosenberg says that we learn from Avraham how to solve this problem. A host should give SO MUCH FOOD that it is OBVIOUS to the guest that they are not supposed to eat it all. This is what Avraham did when he served his guests.

My dear husband added that as this week’s Parsha is the main one to feature Avraham’s nephew Lot, this would be a good week to have Lots of food!

Did Avraham serve meat and milk together?

From the sources

Bereishit 18:7-8 describes how Avraham takes a calf and milk and serves it to the angels. It is unclear from the posukim whether Avraham served the meat first, or the milk first, and many explanations are given as to how/why this happened. But the Malbim (1809-1879), says something very interesting. Bereishit 18:8 says that Avraham took the calf “which he had made”. The Malbim says that this means that Avraham took the Sefer HaYezirah and found out how to CREATE the calves. Because they were created beings, they did not have the din of basar, they were not halachically regarded as meat. It was therefore not a problem to serve them with milk and cream.

How to eat it

So it seems from the Malbim that Avraham made the first ever pareve meat. Here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_vitro_meat is an article about how people are trying to grow meat without an actual animal, in a dish in a laboratory.

We don’t normally pasken from the Malbim (!?!), and I am obviously no Rabbi, but I wonder if they ever start grown meat without an animal, whether, based on this sort of idea, it would be considered pareve?

As “grown meat” is not available yet, I think the best way to “eat the Malbim’s opinion” is to serve tofu. You could serve cream and milk together with tofu or textured vegetable protein. As this does sound like a bit of a crazy idea, I Googled a recipe:

  • Firm Tofu
  • 150g button mushrooms
  • Butter or margarine
  • 3 Tsp cream
  • Pepper and spices to taste
  1. Fry thin slices of tofu in olive or nut oil
  2. Serve with a sauce made by frying the mushrooms in a small amount of butter until tender then adding cream and spices and simmering lightly for 2-3 minutes.

Serve with mustard, just as Avraham did.

Again I would add that a lot of people don’t like tofu, so it would be a good idea to have other food available as well.