Bereshit spends a noticeable amount of time talking about names and why someone given a particular name, such as in our parsha when each of Jacob's 12 sons are born and the name is given with an explanation like "She [Leah] conceived again and bore a son, and declared:
וַתַּ֣הַר עוֹד֮ וַתֵּ֣לֶד בֵּן֒ וַתֹּ֗אמֶר כִּֽי־שָׁמַ֤ע יְהֹוָה֙ כִּֽי־שְׂנוּאָ֣ה אָנֹ֔כִי וַיִּתֶּן־לִ֖י גַּם־אֶת־זֶ֑ה וַתִּקְרָ֥א שְׁמ֖וֹ שִׁמְעֽוֹן׃
This is because יהוה heard that I was unloved and has given me this one also”; so she named him Simeon
which connects Simeon (Shimon) with being heard (Shama), or when Rachel says
וַתֹּ֤אמֶר רָחֵל֙ דָּנַ֣נִּי אֱלֹהִ֔ים וְגַם֙ שָׁמַ֣ע בְּקֹלִ֔י וַיִּתֶּן־לִ֖י בֵּ֑ן עַל־כֵּ֛ן קָרְאָ֥ה שְׁמ֖וֹ דָּֽן׃
And Rachel said, “God has vindicated me; indeed, [God] has heeded my plea and given me a son.” Therefore she named him Dan.
which connects Dan with vindication/judging (Danani)
Of course, not all of the characters are given explanations for their names, but one caught my attention this year - Lavan, Rebecca's brother/Leah & Rachel's father. As I read about Lavan's trickery in Vayeitzei (switching out the daughters for marriage, changing Jacob's wages, etc) I noted that his name, Lavan, is also the Hebrew word for white. Since white is often a color associated with purity, it feels surprising for it to also be connected to Lavan. I found an interpretation for this color/name connection in a piece on Lavan by Mordechai Beck:
"Though this name means white – the behavior with which he is most identified is of the darkest hue. It is, moreover, the peculiar blackness with which the wicked are often capable of – disguising their evil in a cover of righteousness and legality....
It is fanciful, though not probable, to think that our expression “a white lie” originates with this
Biblical figure, for there is something of the subtle, serpentine liar in Laban – someone who is unskilled in telling the truth and yet who wishes to project an image of [purity]"
So, after all this explanation, what's the food suggestion? Well, really anything you think of as a white food would work - mashed potatoes, whipped cream, or maybe a white bean soup like this Creamy White Bean Soup (vegan).
Speaking of trickery, there's a whole episode with the goats. Jacob wants to leave Lavan and
suggests that his wages will be to take only the speckled and spotted goats and dark sheep. Lavan agrees and then takes the part of the flock that were speckled and spotted and removed them from the rest of the flock, presumably so they wouldn't breed with the rest of Lavan's flock and produce more speckled or spotted livestock. (trickery again!) However, Jacob has a plan...
"Jacob then got fresh shoots of poplar, and of almond and plane, and peeled white stripes in them, laying bare the white of the shoots. The rods that he had peeled he set up in front of the goats in the troughs, the water receptacles, that the goats came to drink from. Their mating occurred when they came to drink, and since the goats mated by the rods, the goats brought forth streaked, speckled, and spotted young."
Most commentators see this as a divine helping hand to reward Jacob, as evidenced that later Jacob reveals that he had a dream where an angel pointed out that the he-goats that were mating were all speckled and spotted for God had seen all that Lavan did to him. There is a modern article that goes into how genetics and specific herbs could get into play to produce these results too. It's too long to go into here, but feel free to check it out, if you're interested.
As a nod to this episode, I wanted a dish that was very "almond forward" where the almonds were the main flavor, so I found this Almond Cake that is also gluten-free.
Shabbat Shalom & B'Tayavon!
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