This week we have the double parsha of Hukkat and Balak. Balak happens to be one of our boys' favorite parshiot. They're pretty big fans of the talking donkey (and who can blame them?!) So, as I started to think about what I'd want to make for Shabbat this week, I first went to Balak. In addition to the talking donkey, this parsha also has the well-known verse that becomes part of our daily tefillot - "Mah Tovu Ohalecha Yaakov...How Good Are Your Tents, Jacob." I always love when we get to a portion of Torah that we find directly in tefillot. While much of tefillot is meaningful and/or beautifully written and inspired, I feel a strong connection when I know that the prayer is directly from the Torah.
The menu reference for Balak will be dessert, both because it's the second parsha of the double parsha this week so it makes sense to have it second AND because I thought of dessert options first :)
Two options:
1) make a tent using graham crackers and chocolate or fluff to hold them together (or both - a mixture we lovingly call fluffatella, from Fluff and Nutella - also useful for graham cracker sukkot)
2) Bake brownies and then cut them into triangles (instead of squares) and add tent details with icing.
For the main meal and the references to Hukkat, what got my attention this week was the deaths of both Miriam and Aaron. That's a lot of loss for the people in one parsha. One of the traditional signs of mourning are whole boiled eggs - representing the circle of life. For Shabbat dinner, to allude to this without making it too much, I would have a side dish of deviled eggs.
Second, right after the verse telling of Miriam's death, the Torah tells us that the children of Israel had no water. As Rashi says "Since this statement follows immediately after the mention of Miriam’s death, we may learn from it that during the entire forty years they had the “well” through Miriam’s merit." This miraculous traveling well is one of the very special things about Miriam. To call attention to her, the dinner would be salt encrusted chicken. Adapting from (https://cookingontheweekends.com/salt-roasted-chicken-recipe/).
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