Ice-Cream
My wife and I were sitting and having a coffee this past week marveling at how fast the summer has gone by when it occurred to us that we had failed to uphold an extremely important family minhag; making ice-cream. Realizing that we only had one week before September hits full force, we decided right then and there that we were going to have homemade ice-cream no matter what.
I stress the ‘home made’ part because when you live at this end of the world, Kosher ice-cream is fairly hard to come by. So, it has become a Shurack tradition that during the summer months we take out the ice-cream maker and let our taste buds delight in the creamy rich goodness of vanilla cherry and chocolate fudge.
Here’s where we ran into our first obstacle. An integral step in using the ice-cream maker is having it sit in the freezer for 8 hours. Who has 8 hours to wait when you have ice-cream on the mind? Certainly not us! The second problem is that we didn’t have any creamer to use and even a trip to the store wouldn’t help because of the 8 hour-ice-cream-maker-freezer factor. We had found ourselves in quite the pickle and our enthusiasm and excitement was quickly waning.
Ideas started coming in rapidly. What if we only froze it for 4 hours, we could surely wait that long, but would it work? What if we drove across the border to Seattle to the kosher store there. It’s only a 2 ½ hour drive each way. Wait that brings us to five hours not counting waiting at the border, we might as well just wait the 8 hours then.
We were on the brink of giving up and packing it in when Ettie remembered an old trick she had learned when she was a kid in summer camp. She said that if you take milk and put it in a bag, and put that bag in a second bag which is filled with ice and salt and shake it around it turns into ice-cream.
Come on, I thought, that’s never going to work. Salt and ice in a bag, with a bag of milk inside? How on Earth would that turn the milk into ice-cream? All we’ll have is some salty milk and a potential mess on our hands! Well, lo and behold, 5 minutes and a Google search later we had confirmation that Ettie’s idea was indeed a tried and tested method of making ice-cream. So with some trepidation we took out two giant zip-lock bags poured the milk into one and put it into the other bag with the salt and ice and began shaking it around.
Five minutes later, no ice-cream. “See, just like I said this is never going to work.” Ever the optimist, Ettie replied, “Well maybe we weren’t shaking it enough. It probably needs to be shaken non-stop for a while before it actually works.”
Ettie pressed on and continued to shake the bag for 10 minutes. You know you wouldn’t believe it, but when Ettie was finished, we had delicious tasting blueberry vanilla ice-cream. I was more than curious to find out how exactly this contraption worked and did a little research. It turns out, that the ice cools the milk and that the energy is absorbed from the milk and outside environment. The salt lowers the freezing point of the ice, so that more energy needs to be transferred from the environment for the ice to melt, making the ice colder than it was before, culminating with the milk freezing into ice-cream.
But why all the shaking? Well, getting the ice to move around increases the rate at which it lowers the freezing point causing the ice-cream to form faster. This elucidates a lesson we can learn from the ice-cream venture.
In this week’s parsha, Re’eh, Moshe Rabbeinu tells the Jewish people that he has presented before them a blessing and a curse. Sforno explains that the Jewish people can choose a life of blessing, or curse. In life, there are those individuals whom are satisfied with mediocrity, they don’t choose evil, but they also don’t endeavor to be great either.
We must not be content to trod along in life but rather must constantly shake ourselves; i.e. we must always busy ourselves with doing more. If a person did one mitzvah today, then tomorrow do two. In this fashion we are actively choosing blessing and striving to better ourselves. When you’re plans have not yet ‘solidified’ into what you had hoped for, don’t be afraid to keep on shaking and moving.
I stress the ‘home made’ part because when you live at this end of the world, Kosher ice-cream is fairly hard to come by. So, it has become a Shurack tradition that during the summer months we take out the ice-cream maker and let our taste buds delight in the creamy rich goodness of vanilla cherry and chocolate fudge.
Here’s where we ran into our first obstacle. An integral step in using the ice-cream maker is having it sit in the freezer for 8 hours. Who has 8 hours to wait when you have ice-cream on the mind? Certainly not us! The second problem is that we didn’t have any creamer to use and even a trip to the store wouldn’t help because of the 8 hour-ice-cream-maker-freezer factor. We had found ourselves in quite the pickle and our enthusiasm and excitement was quickly waning.
Ideas started coming in rapidly. What if we only froze it for 4 hours, we could surely wait that long, but would it work? What if we drove across the border to Seattle to the kosher store there. It’s only a 2 ½ hour drive each way. Wait that brings us to five hours not counting waiting at the border, we might as well just wait the 8 hours then.
We were on the brink of giving up and packing it in when Ettie remembered an old trick she had learned when she was a kid in summer camp. She said that if you take milk and put it in a bag, and put that bag in a second bag which is filled with ice and salt and shake it around it turns into ice-cream.
Come on, I thought, that’s never going to work. Salt and ice in a bag, with a bag of milk inside? How on Earth would that turn the milk into ice-cream? All we’ll have is some salty milk and a potential mess on our hands! Well, lo and behold, 5 minutes and a Google search later we had confirmation that Ettie’s idea was indeed a tried and tested method of making ice-cream. So with some trepidation we took out two giant zip-lock bags poured the milk into one and put it into the other bag with the salt and ice and began shaking it around.
Five minutes later, no ice-cream. “See, just like I said this is never going to work.” Ever the optimist, Ettie replied, “Well maybe we weren’t shaking it enough. It probably needs to be shaken non-stop for a while before it actually works.”
Ettie pressed on and continued to shake the bag for 10 minutes. You know you wouldn’t believe it, but when Ettie was finished, we had delicious tasting blueberry vanilla ice-cream. I was more than curious to find out how exactly this contraption worked and did a little research. It turns out, that the ice cools the milk and that the energy is absorbed from the milk and outside environment. The salt lowers the freezing point of the ice, so that more energy needs to be transferred from the environment for the ice to melt, making the ice colder than it was before, culminating with the milk freezing into ice-cream.
But why all the shaking? Well, getting the ice to move around increases the rate at which it lowers the freezing point causing the ice-cream to form faster. This elucidates a lesson we can learn from the ice-cream venture.
In this week’s parsha, Re’eh, Moshe Rabbeinu tells the Jewish people that he has presented before them a blessing and a curse. Sforno explains that the Jewish people can choose a life of blessing, or curse. In life, there are those individuals whom are satisfied with mediocrity, they don’t choose evil, but they also don’t endeavor to be great either.
We must not be content to trod along in life but rather must constantly shake ourselves; i.e. we must always busy ourselves with doing more. If a person did one mitzvah today, then tomorrow do two. In this fashion we are actively choosing blessing and striving to better ourselves. When you’re plans have not yet ‘solidified’ into what you had hoped for, don’t be afraid to keep on shaking and moving.
Totally Terrific Tofu
As I’m sure you know by now, much exploration and experimentation takes place in the Shurack kitchen. Over the years, we have tried a wide range of recipes with an interesting array of ingredients. One ingredient in particular stands out, as we have used it in a variety of dishes, including stir fry, cheese cake, pizza, veggie burgers, calzones, sloppy joes, smoothies, lasagna, and chocolate cake.
Can you imagine what might be found in all of these delicacies? With such a broad assortment of foods, it’s hard to think of one single ingredient that could be found in each dish. Give up? The answer is tofu. That’s right, tofu. Though it might be hard to believe, you can make any one of these dishes and more with tofu. I know what you’re thinking because I once had the same questions; what is tofu? Does anyone really know what it’s made from? Is it edible? Why eat it?
Well, according to the research I’ve done, tofu is a food made by coagulating soy milk and then pressing it into soft white blocks. If we’re going to be completely honest about it, which I’d like to be, we can admit that tofu is a bland white, squishy, smushy food with completely no taste.
Nevertheless, tofu has many positive qualities. For example, it has a variety of health benefits, including being a rich source of protein. An amazing quality of tofu is that it more or less absorbs the colour and flavour of whatever it’s cooked with. It can also assume a great variety of textures and can therefore be used in baking, frying, barbequing, roasting, and in almost any type of dish. Clearly, tofu is one of the most flexible substances that exist in the cooking arena.
On the one hand, tofu’s versatility makes it a wonderful addition to any kitchen. On the other hand, could it be that adaptability isn’t always a positive attribute? What role does tofu play in our daily lives?
The very first psalm of Tehillim begins; “Happy is the person who does not follow the advice of wicked people, and who does not go with sinners, and who does not sit with jokers.” The first part of the verse clearly makes sense, after all, why would a person want to take the advice of a wicked person? It could be that the wicked person is giving them bad advice on purpose, which would be quite plausible for a wicked person to do.
But what about the second half of the sentence, the part which refers to “going with sinners and sitting with jokers”? What’s so bad about going with sinners? Just because a person spends some time with people who sin doesn’t mean that he’s going to sin, right? And what could be so bad about sitting with jokers? Everyone likes a good laugh. So some people are acting inappropriately and making jokes that are unbecoming; just because one sits with those people and enjoys a few laughs doesn’t make him the same as the person telling the jokes.
People in many ways are likened to tofu. We have an incredible ability to absorb that which we surround ourselves with, and unless we take precautionary steps we can unfortunately find ourselves not just going with sinners, but sinning; not just sitting with jokers, but actually being one.
Thus, this is what the first Tehillim is cautioning us against. When we spend time with people who are involved in negative activities, we can G-d forbid, slowly but surely absorb their speech and actions until it becomes our own. However, when we surround ourselves with positive people, and marinate ourselves with individuals who are involved in learning Torah and doing mitzvahs, we begin to take on the same flavour. We can then utilize our talents to do acts of goodness and kindness and develop a true taste for learning Torah.
Remember, it’s not only about how we choose to flavour our tofu, but how we choose to flavour our lives.
Can you imagine what might be found in all of these delicacies? With such a broad assortment of foods, it’s hard to think of one single ingredient that could be found in each dish. Give up? The answer is tofu. That’s right, tofu. Though it might be hard to believe, you can make any one of these dishes and more with tofu. I know what you’re thinking because I once had the same questions; what is tofu? Does anyone really know what it’s made from? Is it edible? Why eat it?
Well, according to the research I’ve done, tofu is a food made by coagulating soy milk and then pressing it into soft white blocks. If we’re going to be completely honest about it, which I’d like to be, we can admit that tofu is a bland white, squishy, smushy food with completely no taste.
Nevertheless, tofu has many positive qualities. For example, it has a variety of health benefits, including being a rich source of protein. An amazing quality of tofu is that it more or less absorbs the colour and flavour of whatever it’s cooked with. It can also assume a great variety of textures and can therefore be used in baking, frying, barbequing, roasting, and in almost any type of dish. Clearly, tofu is one of the most flexible substances that exist in the cooking arena.
On the one hand, tofu’s versatility makes it a wonderful addition to any kitchen. On the other hand, could it be that adaptability isn’t always a positive attribute? What role does tofu play in our daily lives?
The very first psalm of Tehillim begins; “Happy is the person who does not follow the advice of wicked people, and who does not go with sinners, and who does not sit with jokers.” The first part of the verse clearly makes sense, after all, why would a person want to take the advice of a wicked person? It could be that the wicked person is giving them bad advice on purpose, which would be quite plausible for a wicked person to do.
But what about the second half of the sentence, the part which refers to “going with sinners and sitting with jokers”? What’s so bad about going with sinners? Just because a person spends some time with people who sin doesn’t mean that he’s going to sin, right? And what could be so bad about sitting with jokers? Everyone likes a good laugh. So some people are acting inappropriately and making jokes that are unbecoming; just because one sits with those people and enjoys a few laughs doesn’t make him the same as the person telling the jokes.
People in many ways are likened to tofu. We have an incredible ability to absorb that which we surround ourselves with, and unless we take precautionary steps we can unfortunately find ourselves not just going with sinners, but sinning; not just sitting with jokers, but actually being one.
Thus, this is what the first Tehillim is cautioning us against. When we spend time with people who are involved in negative activities, we can G-d forbid, slowly but surely absorb their speech and actions until it becomes our own. However, when we surround ourselves with positive people, and marinate ourselves with individuals who are involved in learning Torah and doing mitzvahs, we begin to take on the same flavour. We can then utilize our talents to do acts of goodness and kindness and develop a true taste for learning Torah.
Remember, it’s not only about how we choose to flavour our tofu, but how we choose to flavour our lives.
Garden Salad
We all know that first impressions are significant, and therefore starting off a meal on the right foot is important. It’s hard to think of a more classic side dish than the traditional salad.
Salad is so incredibly versatile and is compatible with nearly all – if not every meal. Additionally, there are so many different varieties of salads. In fact, one could argue that salad is far from being restricted to merely being a side dish and has the ability to be a main course or dessert. After all, there are cob salads, chef salads, tuna salads, chicken salads, pasta salads, potato salads, garden salads, and fruit salads, just to name a few. The possibilities are endless
What is so wonderfully tasty about salad? For some, it’s the refreshing taste of the vegetables, while for others, it’s the crispy crunch. Whatever the reason that salad is such a big hit, one can’t help but wonder what is behind the undeniable success of this dish. Is there a deeper meaning lying just beneath the surface?
Let’s focus our attention to the vegetable salad, or in fancier circles sometimes called the garden salad. While the finished product gives the impression of an easy task, on the contrary, making a salad entails a great deal of effort.
First, one has to have purchased a wide variety of vegetables. Next comes the washing, rinsing and checking for bugs, a task not to be taken lightly. Then comes the cumbersome undertaking of peeling and chopping. Finally when everything is done, the last step is to mix and toss the salad so all the vegetables are thoroughly entwined. The greater the variety of vegetables, the more impressive the salad. After all, if you only have one vegetable present, then it isn’t really a salad.
If you were asked to name just one vegetable as being the main ingredient of the garden salad, what would it be? Chances are many of you said lettuce. And guess what? You’re right! This brings us to a very interesting aspect of the salad, which is how all of the vegetables come together so cohesively. It is as if each vegetable is aware of its role and importance.
When was the last time you saw the slices of cucumber huddling in a combined effort to push some of the lettuce overboard? Why aren’t the carrots banding together to take control and be recognized? Perhaps this is because the vegetables understand that it is through the combination of their individual roles that they come to form what we know as a salad.
Just as a salad is made up of a wide variety of different types of vegetables, so too the Jewish people include an extensive assortment of Jews. There are Sephardim, Temonim, Ashkenazim, Chassidim, Litvish, Yisraelim, Leviim, Kohanim, Rabbanim, Community members, shochtim (butchers), Chazanim (cantors), Sofrim (scribe), and a dozen other roles in Judaism.
Imagine if everyone was a pulpit Rabbi. Why, there wouldn’t be anyone to sit in shul and listen to the Rabbi’s weekly sermon!
It is this vital point that Korach misunderstood. Each person has their role to play in the world and every position has a distinct and much needed function.
Let’s take a look at the word ‘your’. The word ‘your’ is a way of referring to someone in the singular sense. However, a closer glance reveals that within the word ‘your’ is another word; ‘our’. Isn’t the word ‘our’ and ‘your’ diametrically opposed? The answer, quite simply, is no. When does something become the community’s, i.e. ‘ours’? Only when you embrace ‘your’ role, ‘your’ mission, ‘your’ place in Hashem’s great plan.
So the next time someone asks you to pass the salad, realize that it’s not just a simple bowl of vegetables that you’re passing, but rather a symbol of the individual, and the community, the ‘your’ and the ‘our’, and a true fusion between personal growth and communal achievement!
Salad is so incredibly versatile and is compatible with nearly all – if not every meal. Additionally, there are so many different varieties of salads. In fact, one could argue that salad is far from being restricted to merely being a side dish and has the ability to be a main course or dessert. After all, there are cob salads, chef salads, tuna salads, chicken salads, pasta salads, potato salads, garden salads, and fruit salads, just to name a few. The possibilities are endless
What is so wonderfully tasty about salad? For some, it’s the refreshing taste of the vegetables, while for others, it’s the crispy crunch. Whatever the reason that salad is such a big hit, one can’t help but wonder what is behind the undeniable success of this dish. Is there a deeper meaning lying just beneath the surface?
Let’s focus our attention to the vegetable salad, or in fancier circles sometimes called the garden salad. While the finished product gives the impression of an easy task, on the contrary, making a salad entails a great deal of effort.
First, one has to have purchased a wide variety of vegetables. Next comes the washing, rinsing and checking for bugs, a task not to be taken lightly. Then comes the cumbersome undertaking of peeling and chopping. Finally when everything is done, the last step is to mix and toss the salad so all the vegetables are thoroughly entwined. The greater the variety of vegetables, the more impressive the salad. After all, if you only have one vegetable present, then it isn’t really a salad.
If you were asked to name just one vegetable as being the main ingredient of the garden salad, what would it be? Chances are many of you said lettuce. And guess what? You’re right! This brings us to a very interesting aspect of the salad, which is how all of the vegetables come together so cohesively. It is as if each vegetable is aware of its role and importance.
When was the last time you saw the slices of cucumber huddling in a combined effort to push some of the lettuce overboard? Why aren’t the carrots banding together to take control and be recognized? Perhaps this is because the vegetables understand that it is through the combination of their individual roles that they come to form what we know as a salad.
Just as a salad is made up of a wide variety of different types of vegetables, so too the Jewish people include an extensive assortment of Jews. There are Sephardim, Temonim, Ashkenazim, Chassidim, Litvish, Yisraelim, Leviim, Kohanim, Rabbanim, Community members, shochtim (butchers), Chazanim (cantors), Sofrim (scribe), and a dozen other roles in Judaism.
Imagine if everyone was a pulpit Rabbi. Why, there wouldn’t be anyone to sit in shul and listen to the Rabbi’s weekly sermon!
It is this vital point that Korach misunderstood. Each person has their role to play in the world and every position has a distinct and much needed function.
Let’s take a look at the word ‘your’. The word ‘your’ is a way of referring to someone in the singular sense. However, a closer glance reveals that within the word ‘your’ is another word; ‘our’. Isn’t the word ‘our’ and ‘your’ diametrically opposed? The answer, quite simply, is no. When does something become the community’s, i.e. ‘ours’? Only when you embrace ‘your’ role, ‘your’ mission, ‘your’ place in Hashem’s great plan.
So the next time someone asks you to pass the salad, realize that it’s not just a simple bowl of vegetables that you’re passing, but rather a symbol of the individual, and the community, the ‘your’ and the ‘our’, and a true fusion between personal growth and communal achievement!
Chocolate Lava Cake
It seemed like a regular Wednesday evening, nothing particularly out of the ordinary… until I got a craving. One of those cravings that you know isn't going to just go away on its own and certainly won't be satisfied by a little nibble of chocolate or a potato chip or two.
I tried to put my finger on exactly what it was that I was feeling so nudgy about. Ice cream? Nahh, too cold. Pretzels? Too salty. Liccorice? Too sweet. Then it hit me, and I realized that there was only one treat that would put my rumbling tummy at ease: chocolate lava cake!
Being that it was 11pm at night, the bakery was closed and the only kosher restaurant was a 35 minute drive away, I was left with only one plausible option, find a recipe on the internet and bake the decadent dessert myself!
Finding what seemed to be the most delicious and feasible recipe to make, my wife, Ettie, and I, quickly got to baking. Setting out all the ingredients and measuring cups on the counter, I could feel the excitement building. There's nothing like a hot and smooth chocolate lava cake; it's moist yet crispy, warm and sumptuous to the taste, and filled with liquid chocolate goodness. What's not to like?
Interestingly enough, the most important aspect of this recipe isn't necessarily the exact measurements (although that is an essential part) but rather how long the cake stays in the oven. If it's too short–the whole cake will be liquidy, too long–and there won't be any liquid at all, just a regular, albeit, soft moist chocolate cake. But just the right amount of time–leaves you with a true chocolate lava extravaganza.
After all the prep and exactly 12 minutes in the oven, we sat down at the table to enjoy a fresh cup of coffee and our individually portioned chocolate lava cake. As my fork sliced into this most exquisite treat, I knew that there had to be more to this dessert than just sheer goodness and a few hundred calories.
The truth is that chocolate lava cake isn't only a most tasty delicacy; it is a dessert which can teach us a powerful lesson in life.
Throughout our lives, we inevitably encounter difficult situations and trying times. The challenge we face can leave us feeling defeated and asking ‘why me?’ They can suddenly occur and seem as though they might never end.
Sometimes, a particular obstacle may take a considerable amount of time to overcome and can leave a person feeling dried up and over-baked. But, we have to know that every single test that we encounter has been catered to our exact needs and was specifically given to us so that we can develop our character and actualize our true potential.
At the core of every test is a creamy delicious gooey centre, an opportunity for growth and self development. The hardships in life can be compared to the outside of the lava cake. One has to push through the exterior to reach the inner sweetness. It is only with the rough exterior that we are able to truly appreciate the soft and succulent centre. Hashem would never leave our troubles baking for too long.
There is a popular saying; ‘you can’t have your cake and eat it too!’ But what sense does that make? What would be the point of labouring over a chocolate lava cake only to place it on the table and look at it longingly? Anytime I’ve tried to have a staring contest with a pastry, the pastry always seems to win.
So how is it that a person can have their dessert, and be free to eat and enjoy it as well? By having the right perspective and knowing that individual ingredients are part of a greater whole. Imagine a cake that was just lava. Why, it wouldn't be a cake at all, it would be pudding! So too, a life without opportunity for growth isn't really much of a life.
It is true that one particular difficulty might seem out of place or too much for us to handle, but when it is mixed with all the other aspects of our life, we are left with a delectable final product; self actualization.
The next time you find yourself smack in the middle of a difficult situation, remember, that in the middle of it all is a warm chocolaty liquid centre.
I tried to put my finger on exactly what it was that I was feeling so nudgy about. Ice cream? Nahh, too cold. Pretzels? Too salty. Liccorice? Too sweet. Then it hit me, and I realized that there was only one treat that would put my rumbling tummy at ease: chocolate lava cake!
Being that it was 11pm at night, the bakery was closed and the only kosher restaurant was a 35 minute drive away, I was left with only one plausible option, find a recipe on the internet and bake the decadent dessert myself!
Finding what seemed to be the most delicious and feasible recipe to make, my wife, Ettie, and I, quickly got to baking. Setting out all the ingredients and measuring cups on the counter, I could feel the excitement building. There's nothing like a hot and smooth chocolate lava cake; it's moist yet crispy, warm and sumptuous to the taste, and filled with liquid chocolate goodness. What's not to like?
Interestingly enough, the most important aspect of this recipe isn't necessarily the exact measurements (although that is an essential part) but rather how long the cake stays in the oven. If it's too short–the whole cake will be liquidy, too long–and there won't be any liquid at all, just a regular, albeit, soft moist chocolate cake. But just the right amount of time–leaves you with a true chocolate lava extravaganza.
After all the prep and exactly 12 minutes in the oven, we sat down at the table to enjoy a fresh cup of coffee and our individually portioned chocolate lava cake. As my fork sliced into this most exquisite treat, I knew that there had to be more to this dessert than just sheer goodness and a few hundred calories.
The truth is that chocolate lava cake isn't only a most tasty delicacy; it is a dessert which can teach us a powerful lesson in life.
Throughout our lives, we inevitably encounter difficult situations and trying times. The challenge we face can leave us feeling defeated and asking ‘why me?’ They can suddenly occur and seem as though they might never end.
Sometimes, a particular obstacle may take a considerable amount of time to overcome and can leave a person feeling dried up and over-baked. But, we have to know that every single test that we encounter has been catered to our exact needs and was specifically given to us so that we can develop our character and actualize our true potential.
At the core of every test is a creamy delicious gooey centre, an opportunity for growth and self development. The hardships in life can be compared to the outside of the lava cake. One has to push through the exterior to reach the inner sweetness. It is only with the rough exterior that we are able to truly appreciate the soft and succulent centre. Hashem would never leave our troubles baking for too long.
There is a popular saying; ‘you can’t have your cake and eat it too!’ But what sense does that make? What would be the point of labouring over a chocolate lava cake only to place it on the table and look at it longingly? Anytime I’ve tried to have a staring contest with a pastry, the pastry always seems to win.
So how is it that a person can have their dessert, and be free to eat and enjoy it as well? By having the right perspective and knowing that individual ingredients are part of a greater whole. Imagine a cake that was just lava. Why, it wouldn't be a cake at all, it would be pudding! So too, a life without opportunity for growth isn't really much of a life.
It is true that one particular difficulty might seem out of place or too much for us to handle, but when it is mixed with all the other aspects of our life, we are left with a delectable final product; self actualization.
The next time you find yourself smack in the middle of a difficult situation, remember, that in the middle of it all is a warm chocolaty liquid centre.
Challah
I know what you’re thinking as you begin reading this article, and I can tell you right now that you’re 100% right. What on Earth do I know about the fine art of making challah? After all, I have never baked challah, and it’s a special women’s mitzvah.
I may not know the correct proportions or even the exact ingredients (I have just consulted with my wife, Challah Maker par excellence, who advised me that challah’s 7 essential ingredients are: flour, yeast, eggs, water, oil, salt, and sugar) but I can say that I know good challah when I taste it, or even smell it.
I know that when my wife bakes challah, the entire house smells like a bakery. I know that there’s nothing like eating challah fresh out of the oven and that challah a few days old makes unbelievable French toast. More importantly, I know that from everything we can learn a lesson that we can apply to our everyday life.
There are many different customs surrounding challah. On Rosh Hashanah, many people make round challahs and put raisins in them. The Shabbos after Pesach, there is the tradition of making a shlissel challah; a challah that is baked with a key inside of it. The idea being that by turning the key out of the challah, we are asking Hashem to open up all the doors in our lives and to give us the key to successful opportunities.
There’s sweet challah, egg challah, salted challah, poppy seed challah. And the shapes are endless as well: a 3-4-6 braided challah, rolls, twists, spirals, and more! The variety of challah is nearly endless.
Despite the many different types of challah, there is a reoccurring similarity between them all. Even when a person uses the same recipe week after week, each time the challah emerges from the oven it comes out a little bit different. Though it may look nearly the same as the week before, there is uniqueness to every single batch. Whether it was let to rise for a few extra minutes, or was kneaded in a slightly different way, each challah has its own distinct quality which no other challah has.
People often share similar interests, characteristics, and qualities with their family, friends, and community members. Sometimes we meet someone and we can’t believe how much we have in common. While this can be very nice and comforting, it can also be somewhat daunting. A person can begin to feel that they are not worth as much because there is someone else who can do what they do, maybe even better than them, and therefore they believe that they are unable to contribute as much to the world.
We can learn from the challah that this line of thinking is completely and utterly false. Every single person has their own flavour, their own distinct personality, their own unique strengths and their own individual way in which they affect and influence their friends, family, communities, and the world at large. Each person has a mission which only they can fulfill. If it were not for their existence, the world would not be whole.
Like challah, our similarities keep us united as we all follow one Torah and strive towards one goal; bringing heaven down to earth through uplifting the physical and fusing it with the spiritual. However, each of us has our own role to play.
If you walk into a bakery you will see many different people doing different jobs. One person is taking orders; another is rolling out the dough; while another slices a cake. Even when two people are doing the same job, the way that they perform their duties varies. Imagine if instead of having each person do something different, everyone was putting the challah in the oven. After a few minutes, there wouldn’t be anything to put in the oven!
While our commonalities unite us, we must embrace and celebrate our differences as well. Each of us completes the other. On a grand scale, each of us is a puzzle piece and although many of the pieces look similar there is only one of each and we must all be present to complete the puzzle.
This Shabbos, as you enjoy the challah make sure you celebrate your uniqueness. And remember, without you, the puzzle can’t be completed!
I may not know the correct proportions or even the exact ingredients (I have just consulted with my wife, Challah Maker par excellence, who advised me that challah’s 7 essential ingredients are: flour, yeast, eggs, water, oil, salt, and sugar) but I can say that I know good challah when I taste it, or even smell it.
I know that when my wife bakes challah, the entire house smells like a bakery. I know that there’s nothing like eating challah fresh out of the oven and that challah a few days old makes unbelievable French toast. More importantly, I know that from everything we can learn a lesson that we can apply to our everyday life.
There are many different customs surrounding challah. On Rosh Hashanah, many people make round challahs and put raisins in them. The Shabbos after Pesach, there is the tradition of making a shlissel challah; a challah that is baked with a key inside of it. The idea being that by turning the key out of the challah, we are asking Hashem to open up all the doors in our lives and to give us the key to successful opportunities.
There’s sweet challah, egg challah, salted challah, poppy seed challah. And the shapes are endless as well: a 3-4-6 braided challah, rolls, twists, spirals, and more! The variety of challah is nearly endless.
Despite the many different types of challah, there is a reoccurring similarity between them all. Even when a person uses the same recipe week after week, each time the challah emerges from the oven it comes out a little bit different. Though it may look nearly the same as the week before, there is uniqueness to every single batch. Whether it was let to rise for a few extra minutes, or was kneaded in a slightly different way, each challah has its own distinct quality which no other challah has.
People often share similar interests, characteristics, and qualities with their family, friends, and community members. Sometimes we meet someone and we can’t believe how much we have in common. While this can be very nice and comforting, it can also be somewhat daunting. A person can begin to feel that they are not worth as much because there is someone else who can do what they do, maybe even better than them, and therefore they believe that they are unable to contribute as much to the world.
We can learn from the challah that this line of thinking is completely and utterly false. Every single person has their own flavour, their own distinct personality, their own unique strengths and their own individual way in which they affect and influence their friends, family, communities, and the world at large. Each person has a mission which only they can fulfill. If it were not for their existence, the world would not be whole.
Like challah, our similarities keep us united as we all follow one Torah and strive towards one goal; bringing heaven down to earth through uplifting the physical and fusing it with the spiritual. However, each of us has our own role to play.
If you walk into a bakery you will see many different people doing different jobs. One person is taking orders; another is rolling out the dough; while another slices a cake. Even when two people are doing the same job, the way that they perform their duties varies. Imagine if instead of having each person do something different, everyone was putting the challah in the oven. After a few minutes, there wouldn’t be anything to put in the oven!
While our commonalities unite us, we must embrace and celebrate our differences as well. Each of us completes the other. On a grand scale, each of us is a puzzle piece and although many of the pieces look similar there is only one of each and we must all be present to complete the puzzle.
This Shabbos, as you enjoy the challah make sure you celebrate your uniqueness. And remember, without you, the puzzle can’t be completed!
Pancakes
Mmm....Pancakes. I think it's safe to say that pancakes are delicious anytime and anywhere. However, they are a most wonderful treat when your wife and daughter make them for you as a surprise birthday breakfast when you come home from Sunday morning minyan!
Besides being scrumptious, pancakes are one of the most difficult and allusive breakfast delicacies to perfect. How to make them? Heavy or light, fluffy or dense, extra thin or extra thick? Stacked 10 pancakes high or one big one the size of the frying pan?
If you check various cookbooks, you will find that there are several key ingredients that are necessary to make pancakes. These are; flour, eggs, sugar, a liquid, baking powder, and salt. While these ingredients are universally found, the exact proportions and order in which they are added differ from recipe to recipe.
Then comes the toppings. The toppings on pancakes are only restricted to the creativity belonging to the people that eat them. There's maple syrup, ice-cream, jelly, peanut butter, whip cream, butter, chocolate sauce, and a million others.
In this week’s parsha, Hashem tells Moshe to speak to the Jewish people and inform them of the various ordinances that the people must keep. Many rules and regulations are listed which apply to all Jewish people regardless of their tribe, whether they are Ashkenzi or Sephardi, Chassidish or Litvish, male or female.
At the same time, built into Judaism is an element of diversity and creativity. Yes, we all have to make sure that we include the same ingredients in our Judaism, but we can also add our own individualized toppings. Whether it's a black hat or shtreimel, knitted or velvet kippah, sheital or hat, suit or kappota, Judaism can be enjoyed in a variety of flavours.
Besides being scrumptious, pancakes are one of the most difficult and allusive breakfast delicacies to perfect. How to make them? Heavy or light, fluffy or dense, extra thin or extra thick? Stacked 10 pancakes high or one big one the size of the frying pan?
If you check various cookbooks, you will find that there are several key ingredients that are necessary to make pancakes. These are; flour, eggs, sugar, a liquid, baking powder, and salt. While these ingredients are universally found, the exact proportions and order in which they are added differ from recipe to recipe.
Then comes the toppings. The toppings on pancakes are only restricted to the creativity belonging to the people that eat them. There's maple syrup, ice-cream, jelly, peanut butter, whip cream, butter, chocolate sauce, and a million others.
In this week’s parsha, Hashem tells Moshe to speak to the Jewish people and inform them of the various ordinances that the people must keep. Many rules and regulations are listed which apply to all Jewish people regardless of their tribe, whether they are Ashkenzi or Sephardi, Chassidish or Litvish, male or female.
At the same time, built into Judaism is an element of diversity and creativity. Yes, we all have to make sure that we include the same ingredients in our Judaism, but we can also add our own individualized toppings. Whether it's a black hat or shtreimel, knitted or velvet kippah, sheital or hat, suit or kappota, Judaism can be enjoyed in a variety of flavours.
Wasabi Covered Peas
There’s something uniquely special about visiting my mother. After the initial hello, hugs and unpacking, I was seriously in need of a rest. Following a much needed nap and a strong cup of coffee I was pleasantly surprised to come downstairs to a table full of food and all the seats filled by my family. The main dish: spaghetti and meatballs. Refreshments: grape juice, apple juice, and seltzer.
Hmmm… What’s this on the table. Some sort of interesting side dish. I had never seen this particular snack before and so I was quite intrigued and excited to try something new. As soon as I reached for the bowl I was told, “Be careful, that’s really spicy.” “Yeah,” chimed in someone else, “don’t eat that unless you want your mouth to go on fire!” “Come on,” I replied, “You know I enjoy spicy food. A little spiciness doesn’t scare me.” “No really, be careful, they’re seriously hot.”
Well, that sounded like a dare to me and not one to shy away from a challenge, I quickly grabbed a handful, said a bracha and popped them in my mouth. Wow I thought to myself those ARE really spicy. Okay, keep a straight face; you don’t want to let on that they’re too hot for you to handle, though the beads of sweat forming on my forehead might well give it away. What are those little balls of zest anyway I wondered? After inquiring, I learned that they were dried peas covered with a thick coating of wasabi. Definitely not for the mild at heart!
We can learn a great lesson from the wasabi covered pea. Peas are a fun vegetable to eat but they don’t really have much of a taste and are kind of soft and smushy. However, when they are added to other dishes, they give a nice colour and spruce up the platter. Wasabi, on the other hand, adds a whole lot of gusto to any and every food.
This rare delicacy is like life itself. Often, there are those tasks or experiences which are easy, soft, and add to the overall flavour of our lives. Then there are those duties, responsibilities, and incidents which we think are simply too much to bear. We begin to sweat and fear losing our cool as we become overwhelmed and pushed to our limit. But then, something amazing happens. We reach down inside of ourselves, harness our inner strength and summon every ounce of energy and overcome. Once the experience has passed we can see how we have grown from the challenge. These difficult times in a way add zest and gusto to our lives.
Peas by themselves are quite bland, while wasabi on its own, rather than adding spice, burns your palate. The only way to face challenges successfully is for them to be tempered by a solid foundation of faith and trust in G-d. Ever notice that it is the people who are most organized that can handle last minute surprises? While we don’t ask for challenges, we recognize that they are an opportunity to tap into our hidden resources and develop our taste for reaching our potential.
So the next time someone serves you a spicy dish feel free to dig in. But take my advice, if there’s wasabi covered peas, eat them one at a time!
Hmmm… What’s this on the table. Some sort of interesting side dish. I had never seen this particular snack before and so I was quite intrigued and excited to try something new. As soon as I reached for the bowl I was told, “Be careful, that’s really spicy.” “Yeah,” chimed in someone else, “don’t eat that unless you want your mouth to go on fire!” “Come on,” I replied, “You know I enjoy spicy food. A little spiciness doesn’t scare me.” “No really, be careful, they’re seriously hot.”
Well, that sounded like a dare to me and not one to shy away from a challenge, I quickly grabbed a handful, said a bracha and popped them in my mouth. Wow I thought to myself those ARE really spicy. Okay, keep a straight face; you don’t want to let on that they’re too hot for you to handle, though the beads of sweat forming on my forehead might well give it away. What are those little balls of zest anyway I wondered? After inquiring, I learned that they were dried peas covered with a thick coating of wasabi. Definitely not for the mild at heart!
We can learn a great lesson from the wasabi covered pea. Peas are a fun vegetable to eat but they don’t really have much of a taste and are kind of soft and smushy. However, when they are added to other dishes, they give a nice colour and spruce up the platter. Wasabi, on the other hand, adds a whole lot of gusto to any and every food.
This rare delicacy is like life itself. Often, there are those tasks or experiences which are easy, soft, and add to the overall flavour of our lives. Then there are those duties, responsibilities, and incidents which we think are simply too much to bear. We begin to sweat and fear losing our cool as we become overwhelmed and pushed to our limit. But then, something amazing happens. We reach down inside of ourselves, harness our inner strength and summon every ounce of energy and overcome. Once the experience has passed we can see how we have grown from the challenge. These difficult times in a way add zest and gusto to our lives.
Peas by themselves are quite bland, while wasabi on its own, rather than adding spice, burns your palate. The only way to face challenges successfully is for them to be tempered by a solid foundation of faith and trust in G-d. Ever notice that it is the people who are most organized that can handle last minute surprises? While we don’t ask for challenges, we recognize that they are an opportunity to tap into our hidden resources and develop our taste for reaching our potential.
So the next time someone serves you a spicy dish feel free to dig in. But take my advice, if there’s wasabi covered peas, eat them one at a time!
Banana Bread
Like most people, I enjoy a good deal and find it hard to resist a bargain when I see one. So when I found myself at Super-store and bananas were on sale for $0.57/lb, I knew I had to buy two bunches. Bananas go quick in our home, and at that price how could I pass by such an opportunity?
On the way home, I stopped at the local produce market to pick up some fruit and what do I see? The daily special: bananas $0.33/lb. “Hmmmm,” I thought to my-self, “we have 1 bunch of bananas at home already, and I just bought two at Superstore. But $0.33/lb for bananas is unheard of. I'll just buy a few more so I don't miss this great deal.”
Arriving home quite pleased with myself for finding such great deals and saving so much money, I started to unpack the grocery bags. When everything was unpacked and laid out on the table, that's when it hit me. What on earth are we going to do with 6 bunches of bananas? That's virtually 35 bananas. After all, man cannot live on bananas alone!
Each day it seemed that no matter how many bananas we ate, there were still tons left. Before we knew it, we were left with a whole lot of smushy bananas that if not eaten were going to have to be thrown out. What to do! No one likes to eat smushy brown bananas. Was there a way we could utilize the bananas despite their smushy state?
A few days earlier, I had been leafing through one of our cookbooks and saw a recipe for banana bread and I thought I remembered the recipe saying that it's best to use very ripe bananas. A quick check revealed that I was right, so banana bread it was. Flour, eggs, brown sugar, smushy bananas, some margarine and an hour in the oven and there we were with a sweet smelling delicious tasting loaf of banana bread. You see, on the surface smushy bananas seem to be something that no one wants and that need to be discarded, thrown out, and gotten rid of. However, we were able to transform smushy bananas into a tasty treat.
Life is similar to this. Often, we are presented with a challenge. A great opportunity comes our way, however attached with it is a most undesirable assignment. Do we jump into it and face the accompanying daunting tasks head-on? Or do we pass the opportunity by because the difficult aspect of the project seems too tough? Or maybe we convince ourselves that if we ignore the struggle, it will go away on its own.
The fact is, there are many things in life which if not taken care of turn smushy. An unpaid bill results in a penalty, being late to a lecture leaves you somewhat confused during the entire presentation, and forget-ting a friend’s birthday means letting a loved one down. However, it is only from these situations that we can learn and grow. It is often when things turn smushy that we are able to extract their inherent sweetness. We have a choice: be content to wallow in our smushiness or make ourselves and our situation sweeter.
Instead of throwing out the opportunity, ignoring what needs to be done, or persuading oneself to believe that one is not equipped or such a challenge, seize the chance to transform your situation from 'smushy' to 'tasty treat'. After all, smushy bananas may be rubbish to some, but to the seasoned banana bread maker, they are a prime ingredient.
On the way home, I stopped at the local produce market to pick up some fruit and what do I see? The daily special: bananas $0.33/lb. “Hmmmm,” I thought to my-self, “we have 1 bunch of bananas at home already, and I just bought two at Superstore. But $0.33/lb for bananas is unheard of. I'll just buy a few more so I don't miss this great deal.”
Arriving home quite pleased with myself for finding such great deals and saving so much money, I started to unpack the grocery bags. When everything was unpacked and laid out on the table, that's when it hit me. What on earth are we going to do with 6 bunches of bananas? That's virtually 35 bananas. After all, man cannot live on bananas alone!
Each day it seemed that no matter how many bananas we ate, there were still tons left. Before we knew it, we were left with a whole lot of smushy bananas that if not eaten were going to have to be thrown out. What to do! No one likes to eat smushy brown bananas. Was there a way we could utilize the bananas despite their smushy state?
A few days earlier, I had been leafing through one of our cookbooks and saw a recipe for banana bread and I thought I remembered the recipe saying that it's best to use very ripe bananas. A quick check revealed that I was right, so banana bread it was. Flour, eggs, brown sugar, smushy bananas, some margarine and an hour in the oven and there we were with a sweet smelling delicious tasting loaf of banana bread. You see, on the surface smushy bananas seem to be something that no one wants and that need to be discarded, thrown out, and gotten rid of. However, we were able to transform smushy bananas into a tasty treat.
Life is similar to this. Often, we are presented with a challenge. A great opportunity comes our way, however attached with it is a most undesirable assignment. Do we jump into it and face the accompanying daunting tasks head-on? Or do we pass the opportunity by because the difficult aspect of the project seems too tough? Or maybe we convince ourselves that if we ignore the struggle, it will go away on its own.
The fact is, there are many things in life which if not taken care of turn smushy. An unpaid bill results in a penalty, being late to a lecture leaves you somewhat confused during the entire presentation, and forget-ting a friend’s birthday means letting a loved one down. However, it is only from these situations that we can learn and grow. It is often when things turn smushy that we are able to extract their inherent sweetness. We have a choice: be content to wallow in our smushiness or make ourselves and our situation sweeter.
Instead of throwing out the opportunity, ignoring what needs to be done, or persuading oneself to believe that one is not equipped or such a challenge, seize the chance to transform your situation from 'smushy' to 'tasty treat'. After all, smushy bananas may be rubbish to some, but to the seasoned banana bread maker, they are a prime ingredient.
Jelly Donuts
Many thoughts come to mind when I think of Chanukah. The holy Maccabees and their victory against the Greeks, the miracle of the oil lasting 8 days, Yehudit and her bravery, and Chana and her seven sons. Of course every Jewish holiday has the foods that go along with it and I would be remiss if I didn’t mention latkes (potato pancakes), dairy dishes, and sufganiot (donuts).
I find donuts to be an interesting dessert. It’s almost as if there are laws that surround donuts and their being. For example, it is a proven fact that no matter how hard you try you will end up with confectioners‟ sugar on your face, hands, and pants. If you have a beard it will become completely lodged in it and even when you think you got it all out, there will be some left.
Then there’s the jelly. The following is a hard and fast rule. When eating a donut the jelly will inevitably fall out of the donut and onto your shirt, especially if it’s a white one, get stuck in your beard, and quite frequently end up all over your hands. This only happens when you are in public. Ever try eating a donut alone where no one can see you, no problem at all!
Then there is the aftermath. Donuts produce a stickiness unparalleled by any other food. The confectioners’ sugar mixed with the jelly and the dough leave your hands thoroughly “stickified‟. At first glance there doesn’t seem to be anything positive about being sticky. It can easily spread from ones hands to furniture and other items possibly ruining them. If someone attempts to shake your hand before you’ve had a chance to wipe it, you will pass the stickiness on to them. And hence the stickiness spreads and multiplies like the domino effect.
So you may be thinking that confectioners’ sugar and jelly cause more trouble than they’re worth, and what could possibly be the connection between these two items and Judaism? Well, for starters these two ingredients are essential components in donuts and what would Chanukah be without do-nuts? On a deeper level, confectioners’ sugar and jelly represent important ideals and concepts that we can integrate into our daily lives.
Confectioners’ sugar very easily spreads, and if you put some on a spoon and blow on it, it will fly every direction. Our approach to sharing what we know with others should be the same way. The Lubavitcher Rebbe taught that it is our responsibility to share our knowledge with others. Even if you think that you don’t know that much, the Rebbe teaches that you have valuable knowledge that you can share with someone who knows less. However, the sharing of knowledge of Torah and mitzvot cannot only be at set designated times, rather like confectioners’ sugar we have to spread our knowledge out wherever and whenever possible. After all, Torah sweetens the mind and the soul.
Jelly and stickiness go hand in hand and this is an indispensable ingredient in Judaism. Ahavas Yisrael (loving your fellow man) is such an important mitzvot that Hillel summed up the entire Torah in one sentence saying, "What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow: this is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation" (Tractate Shabbos 31a). It is hard to think of some-thing more important than Jewish unity. The Jewish people, like jelly, have to stick together. It is only through our unity and solidarity that we can overcome all obstacles and challenges that come our way.
So while the donut may have its hang ups; powdered pants, and jelly-stained shirts, it represents something much greater than itself; the sweetness of spreading Torah and mitzvot, and the greatness of Jewish unity and Ahavas Yisrael. With that in mind, worry about the diet later, and have another donut. In fact, have one with a friend, and tell him what you’ve learned about Chanukah.
I find donuts to be an interesting dessert. It’s almost as if there are laws that surround donuts and their being. For example, it is a proven fact that no matter how hard you try you will end up with confectioners‟ sugar on your face, hands, and pants. If you have a beard it will become completely lodged in it and even when you think you got it all out, there will be some left.
Then there’s the jelly. The following is a hard and fast rule. When eating a donut the jelly will inevitably fall out of the donut and onto your shirt, especially if it’s a white one, get stuck in your beard, and quite frequently end up all over your hands. This only happens when you are in public. Ever try eating a donut alone where no one can see you, no problem at all!
Then there is the aftermath. Donuts produce a stickiness unparalleled by any other food. The confectioners’ sugar mixed with the jelly and the dough leave your hands thoroughly “stickified‟. At first glance there doesn’t seem to be anything positive about being sticky. It can easily spread from ones hands to furniture and other items possibly ruining them. If someone attempts to shake your hand before you’ve had a chance to wipe it, you will pass the stickiness on to them. And hence the stickiness spreads and multiplies like the domino effect.
So you may be thinking that confectioners’ sugar and jelly cause more trouble than they’re worth, and what could possibly be the connection between these two items and Judaism? Well, for starters these two ingredients are essential components in donuts and what would Chanukah be without do-nuts? On a deeper level, confectioners’ sugar and jelly represent important ideals and concepts that we can integrate into our daily lives.
Confectioners’ sugar very easily spreads, and if you put some on a spoon and blow on it, it will fly every direction. Our approach to sharing what we know with others should be the same way. The Lubavitcher Rebbe taught that it is our responsibility to share our knowledge with others. Even if you think that you don’t know that much, the Rebbe teaches that you have valuable knowledge that you can share with someone who knows less. However, the sharing of knowledge of Torah and mitzvot cannot only be at set designated times, rather like confectioners’ sugar we have to spread our knowledge out wherever and whenever possible. After all, Torah sweetens the mind and the soul.
Jelly and stickiness go hand in hand and this is an indispensable ingredient in Judaism. Ahavas Yisrael (loving your fellow man) is such an important mitzvot that Hillel summed up the entire Torah in one sentence saying, "What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow: this is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation" (Tractate Shabbos 31a). It is hard to think of some-thing more important than Jewish unity. The Jewish people, like jelly, have to stick together. It is only through our unity and solidarity that we can overcome all obstacles and challenges that come our way.
So while the donut may have its hang ups; powdered pants, and jelly-stained shirts, it represents something much greater than itself; the sweetness of spreading Torah and mitzvot, and the greatness of Jewish unity and Ahavas Yisrael. With that in mind, worry about the diet later, and have another donut. In fact, have one with a friend, and tell him what you’ve learned about Chanukah.
Cabbage Salad
We were having some guests for dinner this week and we started planning the menu. Soup: Creamy tomato. Main Course: Chicken in a wine sauce. Dessert: homemade chocolate cake. Then there are the side dishes. What I find ironic about side dishes is that inherent in their very name is the fact that they are a “side” dish, thus meaning that not so much attention really needs to given to it. They are secondary in nature to the rest of the meal.
The truth is that I would even say that they should be considered third in line because the soup is what everyone sees first and of course everyone is interested in the main dish, and then it goes without saying that everyone leaves room for dessert. So scratch the business about it being third, actually they’re really fourth in the line of importance in the meal.
And yet, having the wrong side dishes could potentially ruin the meal. It could be a catastrophe. Okay catastrophe is probably a little too strong of a word, but you get the idea. I mean have you ever see someone’s face when they just finished their soup and they glance at the table to realize that the only side dish is pickled tongue with onions? They’re not coming back again!
Needless to say that though the name “side dish” may seem to allude to their being insignificant, in reality they are of great importance. I find that everyone has those side dishes which they nearly always serve in their house. For us, that side dish is a cabbage salad. We usually make an oriental cabbage salad with soy sauce and garlic, but there is a wide variety of salads one could make with cabbage.
An interesting point about cabbage is that it has many layers. This is similar to the To-rah which can teach us several points on multiple levels. There are actually four approaches to learning Torah. There is: Pshat, simple understanding, Remez, the deeper meaning beyond the literal sense, Derash, a comparative meaning, and Sod, the mystical meaning. Then within those four levels there are an endless array of explanations, thoughts, concepts, and ideas.
Cabbage is wound extremely tight and you have to literally peel off each leaf from the next one. The Jewish people, Am Yisrael, are unified no matter where they live and no matter what their practice. One Jew has to feel another Jew’s simcha, and he also has to empathize with another Jew’s pain.
Additionally, all the leaves in a cabbage are actually bound together at the bottom by the stem. For the Jewish people, the Torah and Mitzvahs are our stem, thus binding us together. Mitzvahs are universal, and one can be anywhere in the world or speak any language, and still be bound to the Torah.
Whether sautéed, fried, baked, or topped with mayo, cabbage makes an excellent side dish. So too, prayer, Tehillim, charity, or visiting the sick are a great addition to each day.
The truth is that I would even say that they should be considered third in line because the soup is what everyone sees first and of course everyone is interested in the main dish, and then it goes without saying that everyone leaves room for dessert. So scratch the business about it being third, actually they’re really fourth in the line of importance in the meal.
And yet, having the wrong side dishes could potentially ruin the meal. It could be a catastrophe. Okay catastrophe is probably a little too strong of a word, but you get the idea. I mean have you ever see someone’s face when they just finished their soup and they glance at the table to realize that the only side dish is pickled tongue with onions? They’re not coming back again!
Needless to say that though the name “side dish” may seem to allude to their being insignificant, in reality they are of great importance. I find that everyone has those side dishes which they nearly always serve in their house. For us, that side dish is a cabbage salad. We usually make an oriental cabbage salad with soy sauce and garlic, but there is a wide variety of salads one could make with cabbage.
An interesting point about cabbage is that it has many layers. This is similar to the To-rah which can teach us several points on multiple levels. There are actually four approaches to learning Torah. There is: Pshat, simple understanding, Remez, the deeper meaning beyond the literal sense, Derash, a comparative meaning, and Sod, the mystical meaning. Then within those four levels there are an endless array of explanations, thoughts, concepts, and ideas.
Cabbage is wound extremely tight and you have to literally peel off each leaf from the next one. The Jewish people, Am Yisrael, are unified no matter where they live and no matter what their practice. One Jew has to feel another Jew’s simcha, and he also has to empathize with another Jew’s pain.
Additionally, all the leaves in a cabbage are actually bound together at the bottom by the stem. For the Jewish people, the Torah and Mitzvahs are our stem, thus binding us together. Mitzvahs are universal, and one can be anywhere in the world or speak any language, and still be bound to the Torah.
Whether sautéed, fried, baked, or topped with mayo, cabbage makes an excellent side dish. So too, prayer, Tehillim, charity, or visiting the sick are a great addition to each day.
Cinnamon Buns
We were having a guest come in the afternoon and wanted to make something to serve since we had invited them over for coffee. Everyone knows that you can't serve coffee by itself. And, so began an inner struggle.
The idea of serving fruit came up which on the one hand was a pretty good idea since I'm trying to get back into shape and eat a healthier diet. But then I thought to myself, should my guest suffer because I'm trying to stay away from cake? I guess I could eat fruit and my guest could eat cake. But then if the guest sees that I'm not eating the cake they'll probably figure that I don't really want them to eat it either and then there will be an awkward moment and everyone dislikes awkward moments. Okay, fine I'll eat the cake as well as a favour to the guest, but they'll owe me one. With that figured out and done with, now it was time to decide what type of cake to make and serve.
Chocolate cake? Hmmm I'm not really in the mood for chocolate cake and since I'm the one doing the favour I think I should have a pretty influential vote on what we make. Jelly swirl cake? We recently had that as a treat for Shabbos. Eureka! I know exactly what we should serve….Cinnamon buns! Are they are lot of work? Yes. Have we ever made them before? No. Will it take all day and we may not even have it ready to serve when the guests arrives. Most definitely. Is it worth it and should do it anyway? Oh yeah!
So we stopped what we were doing found a recipe from the internet and began our cinnamon bun baking extravaganza. Have you ever made cinnamon buns? You know how some things look really difficult, complicated and time consuming to make but actually only take a half hour and everyone is always so amazed at how easy it is? Well this is NOT one of those things. It really does take a while to make.
First you have to make the dough, then you have to let it sit. While it's sitting you have to make the filling. You have to cook the butter in a pan and then set it aside for later. In another pan you have to cook butter to use right away. The recipe calls for pecans. Who keeps pecans readily accessible in their kitchen cabinets? Okay no reason to freak out we just won't use pecans. Finally you roll all the ingredients together and cut it into the actual cinnamon buns. Then you have to let them sit for another hour and then you can finally cook them.
Five hours later and well after our guest had left we took the cinnamon buns out of the oven and basked in the glory of a job well done (don't worry we didn't let her go hungry, we served chocolate cake which we had pulled out of the freezer 20 minutes before she came, homemade of course)!
So, there we were looking at the cinnamon buns. Such an intricate item. Surely the cinnamon bun must have a higher meaning besides being the perfect pastry with a hot cup of coffee! And then it hit me. The cinnamon bun is indeed representative of both a Jew and life. How so you might be thinking? Is there really a connection between a dessert and one of G-d's chosen people? The answer, is absolutely and unequivocally, yes.
Life is like a cinnamon bun in that life is a spiral. We sometimes find ourselves in a similar situation to one we have experienced in the past. We wonder why am I being presented with such a challenge, I went through this already! The truth is that while the situation may seem the same, in actually it is different in that you yourself are in a different place in life and therefore the challenge is taking place on a different level. This opportunity for growth is being presented to you because you are ready for it.
A Jew like the cinnamon bun is multi-layered and their personality, intellect, emotions, and experiences are all tightly wound together. One will find that when shaking cinnamon on the buns it is impossible to have it spread out evenly. Similarly, some people are sweeter on the outside while some are more tart and rough around the edges.
There is however, a common thread which is found in every single cinnamon bun and Jew, and that is the sweet inside found at the center. In a cinnamon bun this known as the "gooey inside‟ while in a Jew, it is known as the "pintele yid‟. It's our quintessential core that keeps us going even when we feel overwhelmed and overworked. That part of us which is full of Jewish flavour and oozes with Jewish pride. This is our essence, and it is the best part of us. Though sometimes it seems covered and it may be that we pretend to be all sunshine and smiles on the outside like the powdered sugar, if we look to the middle we find that inside we are even sweeter than we had ever expected.
So the next time you find yourself in a bakery getting ready to order a cinnamon bun, remember; it's not just a pastry, it's a slice of life and a representation of you at your best. So take a bite, and let your inner sweetness shine!
The idea of serving fruit came up which on the one hand was a pretty good idea since I'm trying to get back into shape and eat a healthier diet. But then I thought to myself, should my guest suffer because I'm trying to stay away from cake? I guess I could eat fruit and my guest could eat cake. But then if the guest sees that I'm not eating the cake they'll probably figure that I don't really want them to eat it either and then there will be an awkward moment and everyone dislikes awkward moments. Okay, fine I'll eat the cake as well as a favour to the guest, but they'll owe me one. With that figured out and done with, now it was time to decide what type of cake to make and serve.
Chocolate cake? Hmmm I'm not really in the mood for chocolate cake and since I'm the one doing the favour I think I should have a pretty influential vote on what we make. Jelly swirl cake? We recently had that as a treat for Shabbos. Eureka! I know exactly what we should serve….Cinnamon buns! Are they are lot of work? Yes. Have we ever made them before? No. Will it take all day and we may not even have it ready to serve when the guests arrives. Most definitely. Is it worth it and should do it anyway? Oh yeah!
So we stopped what we were doing found a recipe from the internet and began our cinnamon bun baking extravaganza. Have you ever made cinnamon buns? You know how some things look really difficult, complicated and time consuming to make but actually only take a half hour and everyone is always so amazed at how easy it is? Well this is NOT one of those things. It really does take a while to make.
First you have to make the dough, then you have to let it sit. While it's sitting you have to make the filling. You have to cook the butter in a pan and then set it aside for later. In another pan you have to cook butter to use right away. The recipe calls for pecans. Who keeps pecans readily accessible in their kitchen cabinets? Okay no reason to freak out we just won't use pecans. Finally you roll all the ingredients together and cut it into the actual cinnamon buns. Then you have to let them sit for another hour and then you can finally cook them.
Five hours later and well after our guest had left we took the cinnamon buns out of the oven and basked in the glory of a job well done (don't worry we didn't let her go hungry, we served chocolate cake which we had pulled out of the freezer 20 minutes before she came, homemade of course)!
So, there we were looking at the cinnamon buns. Such an intricate item. Surely the cinnamon bun must have a higher meaning besides being the perfect pastry with a hot cup of coffee! And then it hit me. The cinnamon bun is indeed representative of both a Jew and life. How so you might be thinking? Is there really a connection between a dessert and one of G-d's chosen people? The answer, is absolutely and unequivocally, yes.
Life is like a cinnamon bun in that life is a spiral. We sometimes find ourselves in a similar situation to one we have experienced in the past. We wonder why am I being presented with such a challenge, I went through this already! The truth is that while the situation may seem the same, in actually it is different in that you yourself are in a different place in life and therefore the challenge is taking place on a different level. This opportunity for growth is being presented to you because you are ready for it.
A Jew like the cinnamon bun is multi-layered and their personality, intellect, emotions, and experiences are all tightly wound together. One will find that when shaking cinnamon on the buns it is impossible to have it spread out evenly. Similarly, some people are sweeter on the outside while some are more tart and rough around the edges.
There is however, a common thread which is found in every single cinnamon bun and Jew, and that is the sweet inside found at the center. In a cinnamon bun this known as the "gooey inside‟ while in a Jew, it is known as the "pintele yid‟. It's our quintessential core that keeps us going even when we feel overwhelmed and overworked. That part of us which is full of Jewish flavour and oozes with Jewish pride. This is our essence, and it is the best part of us. Though sometimes it seems covered and it may be that we pretend to be all sunshine and smiles on the outside like the powdered sugar, if we look to the middle we find that inside we are even sweeter than we had ever expected.
So the next time you find yourself in a bakery getting ready to order a cinnamon bun, remember; it's not just a pastry, it's a slice of life and a representation of you at your best. So take a bite, and let your inner sweetness shine!
Hamantashen (Purim Edition)
As you probably know by now, I have quite the soft spot (no pun intended) for desserts, in particular pastries, cookies, cakes, and the like. So I am especially excited when a Jewish holiday has a cookie associated with it. In most cases Jewish holidays are connected with food; after all, there was a war, they tried to kill us, we one, lets eat!
With Purim only days away, we decided it would be a nice touch to include some homemade hamantashen in our misloach manos baskets this year. Bayla was super psyched about making them and even Shmuel Abba seemed to be cooing extra loudly when we announced that we would be making four dozen of the delectable treats on Thursday night. I was in charge of organizing the filling, Ettie gathered the supplies and was the director, Bayla was the official ingredients pourer, and Shmuel Abba was the mascot. The first few ingredients went in no problem and things were moving along rather smoothly. Nothing like baking as a team to bring a family closer together.
After all the ingredients were in, Ettie began to stir the concoction and I was ready to start kneading when we both simultaneously noticed that the dough was much too crumbly. Hmmm… there seemed to be a whole lot of flour in the bowl. We looked at Bayla and she had a smile on her face and her hands (as well as pretty much everything else in the surrounding vicinity) were covered in flour. Did she put in an extra cup of flour while no one was looking? We had only turned our heads for a second or two (which is a pretty long time in kid time). We thought best to give her the benefit of the doubt and ask her straight out. “Bayla sweety, did you put an extra cup of flour in the bowl?” No response other than a cute smile. Let’s try this again. “Bayla, little darling, did you put an extra cup of flour in the bowl, yes or no?” Bayla, “No.” Hmmmm… “Bayla, ziskeit, did you put an extra cup of flour in the bowl, no or yes?” Bayla, “Yes.” Okay, there was a pattern here and we were getting nowhere quick, so Ettie made an executive decision and added some additional ingredients to compensate for the extra flour and off we were.
Then came the kneading, rolling, dough tossing, and general apprehension as flour flew freely in the air and the realization that Pesach was only a month away. Several fillings were lined up on the counter: grape jelly, orange marmalade, peanut butter, and chocolate chips. We had a circle cookie cutter 3 inches in diameter exactly as the cookbook required and our baking pans were lined with parchment paper. Now came the fun part: filling and shaping the hamantashen. The recipe strongly recommended not overfilling the cookie so that it would close easily. Even though it made me slightly uncomfortable to follow the directions, we used a ½ teaspoon measuring spoon to ensure that cookies wouldn’t burst open from being overfilled. We made some jelly ones, some peanut butter ones, some peanut butter and jelly ones, some chocolate chip ones, some peanut butter and chocolate chip ones. When all the cookies had an exact ½ teaspoon of filling, it was time to close them up.
We took turns forming the sides of the cookie into the shape of a triangle and pinching the corners so that the cookie would stay in place. I dare say that it almost became a competition as to whose cookies looked more professional and symmetrical. With all the cookies on the tray and a satisfied smile on our faces, we popped them in the oven and sat down to enjoy a nice cup of iced tea as we waited for the buzzer to ring. Twenty minutes passed unusually quickly and we were excited to take our Purim treats out of the oven. We would throw in a handful of hamantashen wrapped beautifully with cellophane and tied with a ribbon into each mishloach manos and sit around the table together enjoying a few fresh ones straight out of the oven while they were still warm. Did life get any better than this?
I opened the oven door and as my eyes met the cookie tray, a lone tear formed in the corner of my eye. All of the cookies had opened up and looked more like the bottom half of a Linzer Tart than a cute little hamantashen. It turns out we had neglected to pinch the corners tight enough. Questions began racing through my mind. How could this have happened when we were so meticulous? Why did the corners open up? How could we give these pastry disasters out on Purim? Was there a life lesson that could be learned from our hamantashen fiasco?
Regarding the hamantashen's filling, the cookbook had warned about the importance of not over-filling the pastries, as doing so meant risking the filling pouring out over the sides, creating a sticky mess. In our own life, we have to be careful not to take on too much. With regards to taking on new mitzvahs or volunteering to help a friend, it is important to do so without over extending yourself to the point where you are unable to fulfill what you had hoped or committed to. It is important to be growing, but with steady footing and healthy moderation.
With regards to their shape, pinching the hamantashen's corners tightly is an extremely important step. Just as important as not taking on too much, is ensuring that the items that we are doing are done with great zest and a clear understanding of the task. When we engage in a mitzvah haphazardly, it is as if our corners are not pinched properly and instead of feeling accomplished, composed, and collected, we feel as though we are spilling out over the top. We have to be detail oriented and meticulous in making sure that we cover our bases (or our corners).
Don’t worry, we acted fast and baked for our friends a tasty treat, only instead of hamantashen they will get gragger shaped cookies. As for the hamantashen, they may not go out in the baskets, and my afternoon snacks might be a little messy, but I’ll take one for the team!
With Purim only days away, we decided it would be a nice touch to include some homemade hamantashen in our misloach manos baskets this year. Bayla was super psyched about making them and even Shmuel Abba seemed to be cooing extra loudly when we announced that we would be making four dozen of the delectable treats on Thursday night. I was in charge of organizing the filling, Ettie gathered the supplies and was the director, Bayla was the official ingredients pourer, and Shmuel Abba was the mascot. The first few ingredients went in no problem and things were moving along rather smoothly. Nothing like baking as a team to bring a family closer together.
After all the ingredients were in, Ettie began to stir the concoction and I was ready to start kneading when we both simultaneously noticed that the dough was much too crumbly. Hmmm… there seemed to be a whole lot of flour in the bowl. We looked at Bayla and she had a smile on her face and her hands (as well as pretty much everything else in the surrounding vicinity) were covered in flour. Did she put in an extra cup of flour while no one was looking? We had only turned our heads for a second or two (which is a pretty long time in kid time). We thought best to give her the benefit of the doubt and ask her straight out. “Bayla sweety, did you put an extra cup of flour in the bowl?” No response other than a cute smile. Let’s try this again. “Bayla, little darling, did you put an extra cup of flour in the bowl, yes or no?” Bayla, “No.” Hmmmm… “Bayla, ziskeit, did you put an extra cup of flour in the bowl, no or yes?” Bayla, “Yes.” Okay, there was a pattern here and we were getting nowhere quick, so Ettie made an executive decision and added some additional ingredients to compensate for the extra flour and off we were.
Then came the kneading, rolling, dough tossing, and general apprehension as flour flew freely in the air and the realization that Pesach was only a month away. Several fillings were lined up on the counter: grape jelly, orange marmalade, peanut butter, and chocolate chips. We had a circle cookie cutter 3 inches in diameter exactly as the cookbook required and our baking pans were lined with parchment paper. Now came the fun part: filling and shaping the hamantashen. The recipe strongly recommended not overfilling the cookie so that it would close easily. Even though it made me slightly uncomfortable to follow the directions, we used a ½ teaspoon measuring spoon to ensure that cookies wouldn’t burst open from being overfilled. We made some jelly ones, some peanut butter ones, some peanut butter and jelly ones, some chocolate chip ones, some peanut butter and chocolate chip ones. When all the cookies had an exact ½ teaspoon of filling, it was time to close them up.
We took turns forming the sides of the cookie into the shape of a triangle and pinching the corners so that the cookie would stay in place. I dare say that it almost became a competition as to whose cookies looked more professional and symmetrical. With all the cookies on the tray and a satisfied smile on our faces, we popped them in the oven and sat down to enjoy a nice cup of iced tea as we waited for the buzzer to ring. Twenty minutes passed unusually quickly and we were excited to take our Purim treats out of the oven. We would throw in a handful of hamantashen wrapped beautifully with cellophane and tied with a ribbon into each mishloach manos and sit around the table together enjoying a few fresh ones straight out of the oven while they were still warm. Did life get any better than this?
I opened the oven door and as my eyes met the cookie tray, a lone tear formed in the corner of my eye. All of the cookies had opened up and looked more like the bottom half of a Linzer Tart than a cute little hamantashen. It turns out we had neglected to pinch the corners tight enough. Questions began racing through my mind. How could this have happened when we were so meticulous? Why did the corners open up? How could we give these pastry disasters out on Purim? Was there a life lesson that could be learned from our hamantashen fiasco?
Regarding the hamantashen's filling, the cookbook had warned about the importance of not over-filling the pastries, as doing so meant risking the filling pouring out over the sides, creating a sticky mess. In our own life, we have to be careful not to take on too much. With regards to taking on new mitzvahs or volunteering to help a friend, it is important to do so without over extending yourself to the point where you are unable to fulfill what you had hoped or committed to. It is important to be growing, but with steady footing and healthy moderation.
With regards to their shape, pinching the hamantashen's corners tightly is an extremely important step. Just as important as not taking on too much, is ensuring that the items that we are doing are done with great zest and a clear understanding of the task. When we engage in a mitzvah haphazardly, it is as if our corners are not pinched properly and instead of feeling accomplished, composed, and collected, we feel as though we are spilling out over the top. We have to be detail oriented and meticulous in making sure that we cover our bases (or our corners).
Don’t worry, we acted fast and baked for our friends a tasty treat, only instead of hamantashen they will get gragger shaped cookies. As for the hamantashen, they may not go out in the baskets, and my afternoon snacks might be a little messy, but I’ll take one for the team!
Zebra Cookies (Parshas Bo)
I love cookies. There, I said it, and I feel better
already. Why do I like cookies so
much? Well, for one thing, cookies are extremely
versatile. They can be part of
breakfast, an afternoon snack, dessert, or with a nightcap right before
bedtime. Of course the variety of
cookies are nearly endless. Chocolate
chip, black and white, sugar, marzipan, fudge supreme, peanut butter, and pecan
sandies are just a few of the hundreds
of different types. Would you believe we have an entire cookbook dedicated to cookies?
One of my all-time personal favourites: the zebra cookie. Known as a zebra cookie due to its chocolate black body and white frosted sugar stripes (or white frosted body with chocolate black stripes, depending on who you ask) it truly is a most delectable treat. So, when on a whim, my wife Ettie suggested that we make a batch for Shabbos late Thursday evening, I was all hands on deck and ready for the challenge. While many recipes call for intricate ingredients, zebra cookies require common items we always seem to have in our pantry, which means making them at 2:00am is no problem at all (besides the absurd hour of course). With cookbook in hand and the ingredients spread out on the table we began. A little bit of cocoa, some flour, a dash of almond extract, 4 eggs, sugar, oil, a little baking powder, and some confectioner’s sugar all in a bowl. Then mix, mix, mix and roll, roll, roll and dip, dip, dip.
You see this is actually a fairly easy cookie to make; and one that we have done countless times before. This time, however, when Ettie started to take a tablespoon’s worth and roll it into a ball, it stuck to her hand a little bit. Each ball that she rolled stuck a little more until her hands were covered in fudge. As delicious as it sounds, it makes it nearly impossible to roll! Hmmm, I don’t remember this happening before. Did we put in all the right measurements? Well, we were too far along to turn back so I jumped in and began rolling chocolate balls as well. Once we had them all rolled and dipped into the confectioners’ sugar, we popped them in the oven and sat back and anxiously waited to see how they would turn out. We were both concerned that the sticky consistency would hinder their soft texture and that the taste would be altered.
The next 12 minutes were the longest 12 minutes of my life. I know what you’re thinking, either I’m being over dramatic or my priorities are way out of whack on this one. But let’s just say, I was seriously curious as to whether the cookies were going to be as good as I had hoped, and that at 2:45am one’s sense of what is important does tend to become somewhat skewed. When the buzzer sounded, I jumped to my feet, grabbed the oven mitts and took the cookies out of the oven. The smell was amazing and my taste buds had a field day when I bit into that gooey chocolatey goodness. Quite simply they were the best batch of zebra cookies we had ever made.
In this week’s parsha, Bo, the tide turns for the Jewish people. When Yosef was viceroy of Egypt the Jewish people lived in peace and life was generally pretty sweet. Then Pharaoh had a change of heart and decided to conveniently forget about all the good things that Yosef did for him. New decrees were enacted and life became extremely sticky for the Jews, in fact much stickier than ever before. But in this week’s parsha, Moshe Rabbeinu leads the people out of Egypt. Why the descent down to Egypt and many years of slavery and difficult times? Why have a pit stop in Egypt rather than going directly to Israel?
One explanation is that by experiencing hardship and difficulty one comes to truly appreciate success and growth. The difficult times enable us to develop an acute sensitivity for real joy and revealed goodness. If life is about maximizing our potential, then every challenge is an opportunity to refine our character and strengthen our resolve to make the world a better place. Often it is when things seem to be more difficult than usual, or when things go differently than we had planned or imagined that things also turn out better than we could have possibly dreamed.
The zebra cookie is more than just a fancy partner to your everyday cup of Joe; it is a way of looking at life. Because in life, more often than not, the sweetest success comes through the stickiest mess!
One of my all-time personal favourites: the zebra cookie. Known as a zebra cookie due to its chocolate black body and white frosted sugar stripes (or white frosted body with chocolate black stripes, depending on who you ask) it truly is a most delectable treat. So, when on a whim, my wife Ettie suggested that we make a batch for Shabbos late Thursday evening, I was all hands on deck and ready for the challenge. While many recipes call for intricate ingredients, zebra cookies require common items we always seem to have in our pantry, which means making them at 2:00am is no problem at all (besides the absurd hour of course). With cookbook in hand and the ingredients spread out on the table we began. A little bit of cocoa, some flour, a dash of almond extract, 4 eggs, sugar, oil, a little baking powder, and some confectioner’s sugar all in a bowl. Then mix, mix, mix and roll, roll, roll and dip, dip, dip.
You see this is actually a fairly easy cookie to make; and one that we have done countless times before. This time, however, when Ettie started to take a tablespoon’s worth and roll it into a ball, it stuck to her hand a little bit. Each ball that she rolled stuck a little more until her hands were covered in fudge. As delicious as it sounds, it makes it nearly impossible to roll! Hmmm, I don’t remember this happening before. Did we put in all the right measurements? Well, we were too far along to turn back so I jumped in and began rolling chocolate balls as well. Once we had them all rolled and dipped into the confectioners’ sugar, we popped them in the oven and sat back and anxiously waited to see how they would turn out. We were both concerned that the sticky consistency would hinder their soft texture and that the taste would be altered.
The next 12 minutes were the longest 12 minutes of my life. I know what you’re thinking, either I’m being over dramatic or my priorities are way out of whack on this one. But let’s just say, I was seriously curious as to whether the cookies were going to be as good as I had hoped, and that at 2:45am one’s sense of what is important does tend to become somewhat skewed. When the buzzer sounded, I jumped to my feet, grabbed the oven mitts and took the cookies out of the oven. The smell was amazing and my taste buds had a field day when I bit into that gooey chocolatey goodness. Quite simply they were the best batch of zebra cookies we had ever made.
In this week’s parsha, Bo, the tide turns for the Jewish people. When Yosef was viceroy of Egypt the Jewish people lived in peace and life was generally pretty sweet. Then Pharaoh had a change of heart and decided to conveniently forget about all the good things that Yosef did for him. New decrees were enacted and life became extremely sticky for the Jews, in fact much stickier than ever before. But in this week’s parsha, Moshe Rabbeinu leads the people out of Egypt. Why the descent down to Egypt and many years of slavery and difficult times? Why have a pit stop in Egypt rather than going directly to Israel?
One explanation is that by experiencing hardship and difficulty one comes to truly appreciate success and growth. The difficult times enable us to develop an acute sensitivity for real joy and revealed goodness. If life is about maximizing our potential, then every challenge is an opportunity to refine our character and strengthen our resolve to make the world a better place. Often it is when things seem to be more difficult than usual, or when things go differently than we had planned or imagined that things also turn out better than we could have possibly dreamed.
The zebra cookie is more than just a fancy partner to your everyday cup of Joe; it is a way of looking at life. Because in life, more often than not, the sweetest success comes through the stickiest mess!
Deli Sandwiches (Parshas Vayishlach)
Ahhhh, sandwiches! So unassuming and yet so alluring. So simple and yet so diverse and complex. And, above all, so delicious. You could say my love for sandwiches runs pretty deep, so I was pretty excited that the holiday luncheon we had at work this past week was catered by the local Kosher deli. There was a great choice of breads; bagels, rolls, rye bread, and whole wheat. The selection of cold cuts was fantastic. There was salami, turkey, pastrami, roast beef, corned beef, and of course one of my favourites: smoked meat. Actually, cold cuts are just one way of referring to this wonderful treat. They are also known as: lunch meats, luncheon meats, sandwich meats, cooked meats, sliced meats, cold meats and deli meats. So many names for one item!
What type of sandwich to make was quite the dilemma! Should I mix them all together by taking one piece of each, or would the taste of each one nullify the next leaving me with a bland tasteless sandwich? Should I have a roast beef sandwich with a little bit of corned beef; or a corned beef sandwich with a little bit of roast beef? At exactly what point does the ratio of roast beef to corn beef tip the scale and roast beef sandwich with corned beef become a corned beef sand which with roast beef? I settled on rye bread, deli mustard, lettuce, tomato, hot peppers, roast beef and pastrami.
Everything was going fine until my coworker asked me what kind of sandwich I had made. An inner turmoil was unleashed inside me as I struggled to define the delicacy I had just made. “What is it,” I thought to myself. I remained silent as I debated and considered how much of each meat I had put on the sandwich. Do the condiments make difference? If I had used mayonnaise instead of mustard would that influence the classification of the sandwich? Do hot peppers instead of sweet peppers make a difference? If I started off with more roast beef than pastrami but then after taking several bites what remained was more pastrami than roast beef could the type of sandwich change half way through? What is in a name of sandwich? Why was this so difficult? Would I be judged by the sandwich I had made?
With sweat pouring down my forehead and my ‘hip’ a little sore (from eating while standing as all the seats were taken), I finally decided that I wasn’t going to let my sandwich define who I was. So after ‘wrestling’ back and forth for what seemed like forever, and my coworker starting to think that either he had better stay away from the hot peppers or his question had touched a ‘nerve’, I blurted out, “it was a pastrami sandwich at first but it overcame the mustard and became a roast beef club.” Seeing the confusion and worry on his face, I quickly excused myself and went to my office to contemplate what the sandwich dilemma meant in the greater scheme of life.
You see, every person can be compared to a cold cut sandwich. There is the basis of who we are; the bread. Our finer attributes and characteristics; the cold cuts. And our unique strengths and weaknesses: the condiments. We begin our life as one type of person. Then as we take a bite out of life, we develop our strengths, face challenges and opportunities for growth, gain in knowledge, let go of presumptions and false assumptions, and strive to perfect our character. We slowly become a different, more cultivated and fine-tuned individual. We conquer the box that contains us and break free from our own self-induced chains. At that point, in some ways it is as if we assume a new, rejuvenated identity. In essence, we develop a new name for ourselves. In fact, when this occurs you will often hear someone say “wow, look at him, he’s a new man,” or “ever since she faced that challenge, she has a new outlook on life.”
This week’s parsha tells the story of Yaakov wrestling with an angel across the Jabbok River. Another explanation is that Yaakov spent the night wrestling with himself. Yaakov was wrestling with the idea of who he was and what he represented. He had become an extremely wealthy man and pondered what this meant. Had he become like Eisav or was he still the wholesome Torah dedicated individual he had always been? Had living with Lavan influenced his character at all? After an entire night of back and forth, just as dawn broke he prevailed stronger and more defined in who he was and what he strived to accomplish. I found myself wondering, why was the turn around at dawn? Because every day is a new beginning.
When we wake up in the morning the first thing we do is say Modeh Ani where we thank G-d for giving us life. Whatever happened the day before is over and a fresh start awaits us. Life is a struggle, an endless battle between our wants, needs, and the hope that we achieve that which we were specifically created for. However, once we overcome our doubts, feelings of inadequacy, and inhibitions we can transform ourselves into a new person. We become the person we were meant to be. Thus, Yaakov struggled with the Divine and overcame; he became Yisrael.
You too can overcome all obstacles in your life. Don’t be overwhelmed by the various toppings and choices that life throws your way. Because any way you slice it the bigger bite you take out of life, the better life will taste.
What type of sandwich to make was quite the dilemma! Should I mix them all together by taking one piece of each, or would the taste of each one nullify the next leaving me with a bland tasteless sandwich? Should I have a roast beef sandwich with a little bit of corned beef; or a corned beef sandwich with a little bit of roast beef? At exactly what point does the ratio of roast beef to corn beef tip the scale and roast beef sandwich with corned beef become a corned beef sand which with roast beef? I settled on rye bread, deli mustard, lettuce, tomato, hot peppers, roast beef and pastrami.
Everything was going fine until my coworker asked me what kind of sandwich I had made. An inner turmoil was unleashed inside me as I struggled to define the delicacy I had just made. “What is it,” I thought to myself. I remained silent as I debated and considered how much of each meat I had put on the sandwich. Do the condiments make difference? If I had used mayonnaise instead of mustard would that influence the classification of the sandwich? Do hot peppers instead of sweet peppers make a difference? If I started off with more roast beef than pastrami but then after taking several bites what remained was more pastrami than roast beef could the type of sandwich change half way through? What is in a name of sandwich? Why was this so difficult? Would I be judged by the sandwich I had made?
With sweat pouring down my forehead and my ‘hip’ a little sore (from eating while standing as all the seats were taken), I finally decided that I wasn’t going to let my sandwich define who I was. So after ‘wrestling’ back and forth for what seemed like forever, and my coworker starting to think that either he had better stay away from the hot peppers or his question had touched a ‘nerve’, I blurted out, “it was a pastrami sandwich at first but it overcame the mustard and became a roast beef club.” Seeing the confusion and worry on his face, I quickly excused myself and went to my office to contemplate what the sandwich dilemma meant in the greater scheme of life.
You see, every person can be compared to a cold cut sandwich. There is the basis of who we are; the bread. Our finer attributes and characteristics; the cold cuts. And our unique strengths and weaknesses: the condiments. We begin our life as one type of person. Then as we take a bite out of life, we develop our strengths, face challenges and opportunities for growth, gain in knowledge, let go of presumptions and false assumptions, and strive to perfect our character. We slowly become a different, more cultivated and fine-tuned individual. We conquer the box that contains us and break free from our own self-induced chains. At that point, in some ways it is as if we assume a new, rejuvenated identity. In essence, we develop a new name for ourselves. In fact, when this occurs you will often hear someone say “wow, look at him, he’s a new man,” or “ever since she faced that challenge, she has a new outlook on life.”
This week’s parsha tells the story of Yaakov wrestling with an angel across the Jabbok River. Another explanation is that Yaakov spent the night wrestling with himself. Yaakov was wrestling with the idea of who he was and what he represented. He had become an extremely wealthy man and pondered what this meant. Had he become like Eisav or was he still the wholesome Torah dedicated individual he had always been? Had living with Lavan influenced his character at all? After an entire night of back and forth, just as dawn broke he prevailed stronger and more defined in who he was and what he strived to accomplish. I found myself wondering, why was the turn around at dawn? Because every day is a new beginning.
When we wake up in the morning the first thing we do is say Modeh Ani where we thank G-d for giving us life. Whatever happened the day before is over and a fresh start awaits us. Life is a struggle, an endless battle between our wants, needs, and the hope that we achieve that which we were specifically created for. However, once we overcome our doubts, feelings of inadequacy, and inhibitions we can transform ourselves into a new person. We become the person we were meant to be. Thus, Yaakov struggled with the Divine and overcame; he became Yisrael.
You too can overcome all obstacles in your life. Don’t be overwhelmed by the various toppings and choices that life throws your way. Because any way you slice it the bigger bite you take out of life, the better life will taste.