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.

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/

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!!!

From the Sources

Eliezer comes to Betuel’s house and Betuel offers him food. Eliezer says that he won’t eat until he has explained the whole story of why he is there. This is lucky because the Midrash notices that after Eliezer speaks we do not hear from Betuel again. It therefore concludes that he must have died. It says that even though he said that he agreed to the match, Betuel really did not want Rivkah to marry Yitzchak, so he tried to prevent it by killing Eliezer by putting poison in his food. Whilst Eliezer was speaking, a Malach came and swapped the plates over. So Betuel ate his own poison and he died.

How to eat it

DO NOT POISON YOUR GUESTS!!!!!!! However, my kids made a pun and suggested we use “poison-berries” (boysenberries).

 

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.

From the sources

Avraham bought the Marat HaMachpelah (Cave of Machpelah) for 400 shekels. These were special coins that had international currency, which means that they could be used anywhere in the world.

How to eat it

Chocolate coins would be a great idea here. Although I DO NOT recommend giving your kids 400 coins to eat!

From the Sources

At the end of the parsha, Yitzchak marries Rivkah and Avraham marries Keturah and has six more sons. The Midrash says that Keturah is really Hagar. Hagar has done teshuva so she “smells nice”, hence her name change to “Keturah” which comes from “ketoret” meaning sweet smelling spices.

How to eat it

Well, if you were really up to it, you could make a wedding cake, or two, to symbolise the two weddings.  Traditional wedding fruit cakes even include sweet spices which can be a reminder of Hagar’s name change to Keturah.

Or you could make a nice fruit compote with cinnamon sticks and other spices.