This week some of the ingredients are mixing together from different parts of the parsha, so rather than share the idea and then the recipe, I'm going to put all the ideas "on the table" first and then the recipes. Much of this parsha will feel familiar if you have been to a Passover seder.
Parshat Bo is the parsha with the last 3 plagues (locusts, darkness, & death of the first born) , the dramatic exodus from Eygpt, and the instructions for how to eat the Passover sacrifice.
For the last plague, the death of the first born, the Israelites are instructed to slaughter a lamb and "They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they are to eat it."
There is an interesting question as to why the Israelites had to take this action. Could it possibly be that God needed the visual signal to know which houses were the Israelites? In the previous plagues, there was no action needed to keep the Israelites' cattle safe, or keep them in the light. I've heard it suggested that this was required of the Israelites to show their faith in God's power.
The lamb is to be roasted and eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Also, God tells how the Israelites will remember this event including "Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread; on the very first day you shall remove leaven from your houses, for whoever eats leavened bread from the first day to the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel." After further explanations, the parsha ends with an interesting last line that ties into tefillin:
וְהָיָ֤ה לְאוֹת֙ עַל־יָ֣דְכָ֔ה וּלְטוֹטָפֹ֖ת בֵּ֣ין עֵינֶ֑יךָ כִּ֚י בְּחֹ֣זֶק יָ֔ד הוֹצִיאָ֥נוּ יְהֹוָ֖ה מִמִּצְרָֽיִם׃ {ס}
“And so it shall be as a sign upon your hand and as a symbol between your eyes that with a mighty hand יהוה freed us from Egypt.”
So, for the menu we have a few items that call to mind the events of the parsha:
Greens salad made with a base of romaine lettuce and endive (both options that can be use for maror - bitter herbs, according to the Mishnah.) The Mishnah actually lists 5 things that can be used for maror and while the translations are in question, it's generally accepted that romaine, endive, and horseradish are included. For our salad, the dressing can be a horseradish vinagrette. Finally, you can include includes either in the salad or as a side because in Hebrew the word for pickles (Chamutzim) is the same root as Chametz (leavened).
There’s a two things in the parsha that you can connect to eyes/sight: 1) the plague of darkness where the Egyptians couldn’t see and 2) the mention of “a sign upon your hand and as a symbol between your eyes” So, focusing on eyes, I want to make something with black eyed peas. I am also going to tie in lentils. Why? Because lentils sounds like lintels, which I only ever think of in relation to Passover and mezzuzot.
Finally, I feel like I have to acknowledge the requirement to eat unleavened bread in the menu. Some people are fans of matza and eat it all year long. That's less true for me, though there is an exception. We eat matza balls all year round. We love them. Still, for this week I thought I'd go with something different. A bubelah. At least, that's what we called it in my house. It's also known as a chremslach or matza meal pancake. We always made it with a pretty plain flavor so it's a versatile base. For Shabbat I recommend adding toppings or mix-ins, like fried onions, mushrooms, scallions, herbs. Recipe for bubelah: https://www.food.com/recipe/bubelah-110964
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