The Edible Torah

The portion with the title Chayay Sarah – “The Life of Sarah” begins, somewhat inexplicably, with Sarah’s death. If you are reading Torah as a novel (which is possible in Bereshit), Sarah’s demise is as sudden and unexpected as it is tragic. Up until now, our heroes have gone from success to success – blazing trails, speaking to God on mountains, fighting the armies of 5 almost single-handedly, staging daring rescues and cunning deceits. They appear to be able to do no wrong.

It is after perhaps the most incredible adventure of them all – where Isaac escapes sacrifice at his father’s hand mere seconds before the blade falls – that we “discover” Sarah’s passing.

The key, perhaps, is what Sarah’s absence forces Abraham to do: settle down. No more armies or rescues, no more wandering, and in fact, no more speaking with God, either.

In a beautiful bit of insight published in The Women’s Torah Commentary, Rabbi Rona Shapiro notes:

“Perhaps, then, this parashah is called Chaye Sarah, “the life of Sarah,” because with Sarah’s death, Abraham finally learns to live her life; he comes down from the mountain and becomes a man of the heart, a man who cares for his family members and lives out his life on a human plane. He learns to find truth and meaning within the context of his family, in marrying off his son, in raising children, in the small acts of daily kindness that make life holy. Abraham learns that God is not enthroned in heaven, but that God sits wherever human beings let God into their lives…”

SO… limited only by your creativity and the category of food assigned, please bring feminine (or perhaps feminist) food.

Not sure what this Torah portion is about? You can find a brief summary in The Edible Torah’s “Condensed Guide to the Weekly Torah Readings”. For more information on what The Edible Torah is all about, along with insight on how to set up a pot-luck Shabbat experience, check out “The Edible Torah”.

The tale of Noah, like all truly great stories, is simple and also deceptively complex. Along with the many layers of the story, there is – I discovered this year – actually TWO versions competing for your attention.

In one version, the world had become corrupt, but Noah “seemed good in God’s eyes”. Noah takes seven pairs of animals onto a boat of undetermined size or dimension, and it rains for 40 days and nights. At the end of that time, Noah sends out a dove 3 times to test for dry ground. Once on land, Noah makes a sacrifice to God.

In the other version Noah is righteous in his age and is said to have walked with God. Noah builds his ark to exact specifications, and brings just one pair of each kind of animal onto it with him and his family. The flood comes and lasts 150 days, until God remembers Noah. The waters recede and the ark lands on Mt. Ararat. Noah sends out a raven, which flew until the waters dried on the land.

These stories are far from separate as they appear in Torah however. Almost line by line they go back and forth in a kind of biblical tug of war; or perhaps they are meant to wash over us like waves coming in from two directions, bathing us in meaning and possibility.

SO… limited only by your creativity, please bring “interwoven foods”.

Not sure what this Torah portion is about? You can find a brief summary in The Edible Torah’s “Condensed Guide to the Weekly Torah Readings”. For more information on what The Edible Torah is all about, along with insight on how to set up a pot-luck Shabbat experience, check out “The Edible Torah”.

“Turn it, and turn it over again, for everything is in it, and contemplate it, and wax gray and old over it, and stir not from it, for thou canst have no better rule than this.” – Rabbi Ben Bag Bag

“You do the hokey pokey and you turn the scroll around…” – Rachel Barenblat

It’s one of those few portions that needs no introduction, since it IS the introduction. Take a moment to dive into Torah, read the portion

Limited only by your creativity and the category of food assigned, bring something that represents, reflects or references one of the days of creation.

ited only by your creativity and the category of food assigned, please bring something that is for – or like – one of the Ushpizin.

Not sure what this Torah portion is about? You can find a brief summary in The Edible Torah’s “Condensed Guide to the Weekly Torah Readings”. For more information on what The Edible Torah is all about, along with insight on how to set up a pot-luck Shabbat experience, check out “The Edible Torah”.

This coming Friday we will celebrate Sukkot along with Shabbat. One of the traditions is to welcome a member of the “Ushpizin”, or honored guests, into your sukkah – one for each night of sukkot.

The honored guests are traditionally Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; Moses and Aaron; and Joseph and David.

More recently noteable Jewish women have been added – women who either compliment their male counterparts or stand on their own – Sarah, Rebeccah, Leah and Rachel; Miriam; Abigail and Esther.

Each of these honored and esteemed guests have traits and virtues that the family hopes will visit their house along with the guest.

Tradition tells us that each of the seven overcame an obstacle and maintained their faith: Abraham left all that he knew and settled in a foreign land; Isaac overcame famine and forged alliances; Jacob escaped his brother’s anger and fathered the 12 tribes; Joseph turned adversity (being sold into slavery) into the very thing that saved his people (avoiding starvation); Moses led the Israelites out of slavery and through the desert for 40 years; Aaron was the first high priest and beloved of the people; and David survived war and court intrigue to usher an era of relative peace so that the Temple could be built.

SO… limited only by your creativity and the category of food assigned, please bring something that is for – or like – one of the Ushpizin.

Courtesy of Julie Seltzer and MyJewishLearning.com

In the portion this week, Moses teaches the song (or poem, depending on how you interpret it) to the Israelites, the one that describes what is going to happen to them (entering the land, turning away from God, getting clobbered with curses, returning to God generations later).

This song is intended to be a lifeline to that future generation, the instruction that will tell them – when they are ready – that they can return to God and how exactly to do that.

It’s powerful stuff, and the words are moving even in translation:

Give ear, O heavens, let me speak;
Let the earth hear the words I utter!
May my discourse come down as the rain,
My speech distill as the dew,
Like showers on young growth,
Like droplets on the grass.
For the name of the Lord I proclaim;
Give glory to our God!

But in order for the future generation to have these words as an instruction, Moses must first give it to the current generation and teach it until they commit it to memory. Only then can he be sure that the echo of his memory will still be heard years later.

SO… limited only by your creativity and the category of food we will assign (when you let us know if you can make it), please bring a food of the heart – something you know by heart, something hearty, something near and dear to your heart… or any other heartfelt interpretation!