This week's parsha has two sections that seem kind of list-like. The first is the census of the Israelite people and the second is the set of offerings that should be offered on each of the holidays. (I always go back and forth on whether this makes it easier to learn the torah reading or harder...there's more similarity so fewer words and trope patterns, but then there's always a wrinkle in the pattern or words thrown in so you have to stay on your toes.)
The census takes an accounting of each tribe by clan, such as "Descendants of Zebulun by their clans: Of Sered, the clan of the Seredites; of Elon, the clan of the Elonites; of Jahleel, the clan of the Jahleelites. Those are the clans of the Zebulunites; men enrolled: 60,500." The purpose of this census is to divide up the land of Eretz Yisrael after it is conquered. The focus on Eretz Yisrael, the land of milk and honey, is the inspiration for the first dish of #parsahinspiredmenus this week...Honey Garlic Chicken (https://cafedelites.com/easy-honey-garlic-chicken/)
But there's a wrinkle in this division of land. A man named Zelophehad died without sons, so the traditional method of passing along a person's portion would be lost. Enter the Daughters of Zelophehad who petition Moshe saying "Let not our father’s name be lost to his clan just because he had no son! Give us a holding among our father’s kinsmen!"
The midrash Bamidbar Rabbah uses this mention of the daughters of Zelophehad to praise the women of this generation in general "In that generation the women were fencing that which the men were breaching" and points to several instances where the women behaved correctly (golden calf, spies, etc.) Wanting to make sure they had a piece in the land is another example.
I was looking for some kind of food to reference this "fencing" and came up with the idea of roasted asparagus spears, where they are plated to look like a fence. Another option that my husband suggested is how we sometimes grill our asparagus by taking two skewers and spearing the asparagus horizontally on the skewers, one right next to each other so the skewers and asparagus are perpendicular. That would look like a fence too.
Finally, for dessert, I would reference the other list in the parsha...the series of sacrifices listed for each chag. I'd suggest some of your favorite desserts from any of these holidays...it's probably not Passover, but who knows?! You might love Passover desserts. I'd lean towards Grandma Shirley's Apple Cake, because it's always a good time for that.
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