Parsha Inspired Menus - Pekudei

Today's post is alternately titled "God loves Jewish bloggers" as a quote directly from our 14 year old that made me laugh pretty hard. We were discussing one option for #parshainspiredmenus that was a bit out of line and then he said we'd be forgiven as long as it was in service to a cool blog post because..."GOD LOVES JEWISH BLOGGERS." So, there you go!

In the end, we've settled into fun and totally appropriate Shabbat menu suggestions. This week's suggestions has a bit of the feel of Iron Chef. Let me explain - the part of the parsha that caught

my imagination this week is the phrase כֵּ֥ן עָשֽׂוּ "so they did." This phrase is used in the pasukim to put some emphasis on the work done, such as "Thus was completed all the work of the Tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting. The Israelites did so; just as יהוה had commanded Moses, so they did." (Shemot 39:32), meaning it's not telling the facts of the story, since the words just before it already said that the Israelites did what was asked of them in the building project; rather it is creating a dramatic literary emphasis. This phrase is used in this way THREE times in this chapter.

The Or HaChaim comments "The apparent redundancy may allude to three elements of the sin of the Golden Calf, for which the Jews atoned by making the Tabernacle. They expressed their denial of the Torah in deed [by worshipping the calf]; in speech [by calling it a god]; and in thought [by believing it to have divine power]. In performing their duty to make the Tabernacle, they showed their loyalty in thought, by dedicating their intelligence to the task; and in speech by declaring throughout the work that they were doing it for the sake of heaven" [assumption that the building of the Tabernacle itself is the dedication to deed.]

Rather than focused on something with 3 layers or 3 ingredients, our youngest had the idea to use one ingredient 3 different times and I added to do them all in different dishes to show how one idea can course through courses (pun intended!) If you were watching TV in the mid 90's this probably made you think of Iron Chef with their one ingredient that had to be used in each course. So, what ingredient to use here? We decided on carrots. I'd recommend Carrot Soup as the appetizer, Carrot Salad as a side dish of the meal, and Carrot Cake for dessert.

Shabbat Shalom & B'Tayavon!