The laws around the red heifer are not inherently logical. Why would the ashes of a dead animal be used to purify someone from having been in contact with the dead?
And yet, it makes it all the or fitting that this parsha is called Chukat. The rabbis consider there to be two categories of laws in the Torah - chukkim, laws where the rationale is not evident such as the red heifer, and mishpatim, laws where it's obvious why this is being done, such as not to murder or steal. For me, faith is about understanding that not all laws have to make perfect sense to my 2024 human mind, but to do them anyway.
I just kept thinking about the red heifer, which made me think about red cows and while all cow meat is red meat, I wanted a dish that would look more red than the brown color of cooked meat. A favorite in our house of beef that looks read is Meatballs and Sauce. I'll share our recipe for this below. (This was given to me by my mom in that classic family recipe style where some things are just not so clear...like there was a quantity for the sauce ingredients but then it just said "meat" - lol. I've played with it and while it's still not exact, hopefully it gets the point across.)
Following right on the laws of the red heifer the Torah tells of the Israelites arrival in the wilderness of Zin and the death of Miriam. Immediately following Miriam's death we are told that the Israelite community is without water. The placement of these verses right next to each other leads to the midrash that due to the merit of Miriam, there was always a well or a spring that provided the Israelites with water and without her, there is no water and the community is thirsty. Though this is about being "dry" I didn't really want to make dry food. I mean, who wants dry chicken or meat?!?! But then I thought of a dried food that's very tasty - dried fruit. Check out this Easy Fruit Loaf where dried fruit is the star as dessert for this week's Shabbat dinner.
Shabbat Shalom & B'Tayavon!
Meatballs Recipe
Mix together 1 lg pkg chopped meat (~2lbs), a couple of tablespoons of ketchup, about one tablespoon soy sauce, about half a cup of bread crumbs, an egg or two (to hold together) and salt and pepper. It’s easiest if you mix this with your hands. Form into medium sized balls.
For sauce:
Chop an onion and sauté in oil in a large pot Mix together with 1 large can crushed tomatoes, 1 small can tomato paste, 1 paste sized can of water, 2 tsp garlic powder or minced fresh garlic cloves (2-3), ¼ tsp black pepper, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar, some oregano, basil, red wine
Drop meatballs into the sauce and cook for 45 minutes to an hour. Make sure all meatballs are submerged or else stir every so often.
Serve over pasta.
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