Parsha-Menu Inspired Menus - Tetzaveh & Ki Tissa

I hadn't planned to post any parsha-inspired menus for a few weeks because I wasn't making Shabbat dinner at home due to some special community dinners at our synagogue. And then a friend asked me what I would have made last week and our youngest son asked me what I would have chosen to make this coming week. So, even though I'm not making these for Shabbat, here are two weeks of Parsha-inspired menus.

For Tetzaveh what first caught my attention (probably because it's the very first line of the parsha) was the mention of olive oil. The olive oil is being used to kindle the lights outside of the Tent of Meeting and the hebrew phrase is "ner tamid." The Ner Tamid in sanctuaries of today is one of the architectural focal points and when I see the ner tamid in front of the ark, it's a visual reminder of God's constant presence.

While I know God is there either way, the visual reminder is helpful for me. So for this parsha I chose an Olive Chicken (from the Kosher by Design cookbook). The second item I would have made is a incorporating pomegranates. This is in reference to the special clothing for the Kohen Gadol (high priests) whose robes had a hem with blue, purple, and crismon yarn pomegranates alternating with golden bells. In honor of this fashion detail I would put pomegranate seeds into my green salad and making a dressing using pomegranate juice in the dressing. (this one looked good: https://joyfoodsunshine.com/pomegranate-vinaigrette/)

Ki Tissa continues the instructions about how to set up for worshipping God and gives a detailed description of the anointing oil, which included myrrh, aromatic cane, cassia, oil and cinnamon. I don't have a lot of recipes with most of these spices, but I have an oldie-but-a-goodie where cinnamon is the star. It's the recipe I made A LOT the first year I lived in Israel. I had bought an English language cookbook and it was the first recipe in the Poultry section - "Winning Ways with Roast Chicken." It includes a spice rub with a lot of cinnamon. It is delicious and reminds me of that year in Israel.

Also, during our shiur (learning session) at Shabbat mincha this past week our cantor led a very interesting discussion about the "horns of light" (as it is often translated) that emanated from Moshe when he came from Mt Sinai. There is a lot of question as to whether the translation of "horn" is accurate in this context, as it might as accurately been translated as "the skin of his face was radiant," yet horns is what caught the imagination and has been misunderstood for centuries. And yes, artwork didn't help us with this one.

But I'm going to "lean in" to the horns and make a horn shaped cookie that was a specialty of my husband's Grandma Shirley. It's a light, not overly sweet cookie that goes great with some tea, coffee, and fruit at the end of a meal.