Terumah is the Parshah that is the first to talk about the construction of the Mishkan – the temporary Temple. The Mishkan is full of wonderful things, whose purpose is not apparent. For this Shabbat, I have decided to make a couple of things that could remind us of the foods connected to the Mishkan and…
Tag: Shabbat
Parshat Vayera
This week, for Parshat Vayera, again, I am bringing you some great d’var Torah from the teachers that I like to listen to myself. Rabbi Joe Wolfson is always able to bring out some unusual points on the Parshah. His lectures are published on YUTorah, the site of Yeshiva University. Another piece is from the Partners-in-Torah…
Vayishlach וישלח
This Shabbat, again, I am bringing you two of the commentaries that I enjoy: “Jacob set up a monument over her grave; it is the monument of Rachel’s grave until today.” (Genesis 35:20) Parashat Vayishlach describes Jacob’s return home to Canaan and his encounter with his estranged brother, Esau, twenty years after their falling out. There’s…
Back to Baking
I haven’t been writing about food, lately. With the holidays approaching, however, I have to pick up some speed, I think. It is my mother’s 85th birthday tomorrow! Of course, I am baking my lekach for her, as she likes it a lot. My mother is like our family lekach – strong and not pretentious…
Meeting the Giants – Taste of Limmud NY
I know I must be nuts. I work in the city, live in Brooklyn and pay money to go to learn until 10pm on a weeknight. But, how could I miss The taste of Limmud? So, here I was, sitting in the chapel of the Hebrew Union College, an institution which religious outlook is super…
Weirdly Healthy Shabbat Cake
A while ago I saw a recipe somewhere that caught my eye. It was a date cake with very little flour and no sugar at all. I decided to give it a try with my own little twist, of course. I love dates! What could be better for a Shabbat than your ancestral food? Plus,…
A Small Anniversary
Today marks an interesting anniversary for me – it has been three years since I have started this blog sharing first recipes, then a few verses, and finally some of my own thoughts on Torah with you, my readers. I remember after my first week my amazement at the fact that people who don’t know…
Just One Verse in the Dread of New York Summer
Over Shabbat I was trying to walk. All I could master was a few blocks to Ocean Parkway, where I found no relief and the same few blocks back home. All I could think of was my walk to the Grand Synagogue of Jerusalem two summers ago. The heat was much worse. The air was…
Parshat ha Shavuah Verses Deuteronomy / דְּבָרִים
This past Shabbat we have said “Be Strong, Be Strong, Let Us Be Strengthened – חזק, חזק,להתחזק for the Book of בְּמִדְבַּר – Numbers. This week, we are starting to read the last cycle of the year – the book of Deuteronomy – דְּבָרִים. For me, this is a momentous Shabbat. My younger daughter is leaving to…
Parshat ha Shavuah Verses – Emor / פרשת אמור
These are such loaded Parshiot! So many things to discuss, it’s hard to pick. Books can be written in modern politically correct world about the lines devotes to who is allowed to come close to the “congregation of GD” Books can be also written on the question of a blemished sacrifice and why it is…
Poppy Seeds?
There are some foods that divide the population into two parts. The fiercest division that I found so far is related to two foods that I love, but many people cannot stand: cilantro and poppy seeds. I use both all the time. I put cilantro, practically, everywhere – in salads, meats, roasted vegetables, etc. Some people say it…
Parshat ha Shavuah Verses – Achrei Mot-Kedoshim – אחרי מות־קדשים
So, this is it. Two parashiot that are read this Shabbat in Diaspora mark the end of the year since my father’s passing. I don’t have the words to talk about this, so I am going to talk about the words in the text that resonate with me, and with this event – a turning point of sorts…
Noshing Across the Nation 