Parsha Inspired Menus - Beha’alotcha

A number of years ago I taught a class that explored the idea of Truth. The first thing we did was a kind of game asking a series of questions. Some of them had obvious answers that really only could have ONE right answer, such as 2+2=? Others obviously had many answers and couldn't have one we would declare right, such as "Who is the best artist?" Then there was a 3rd category - questions with a few answers that were defendable based on the perspective of the respondent, but with some answers that were definitely not right. One of these was "when are you considered an adult?" We got some great answers from this question, but one conversation that seemed to come up every time was the strange age difference in the United States between being old enough to commit yourself to the military (18 years old) and being allowed to buy alcohol (21 years old.)

There is a similar age gap for responsibility found in this week's parsha. In the parsha there is the description of how the Levites are to be chosen and purified for their work in serving God and towards the end of these verses it says

This is the rule for the Levites. From twenty-five years of age up they shall participate in the work force in the service of the Tent of Meeting; (Bamidbar 8:24)

Levites can only begin to serve in their roles at the age of 25, BUT

Take a census of the whole Israelite company [of fighters] by the clans of its ancestral houses, listing the names, every male, head by head. You and Aaron shall record them by their groups, from the age of twenty years up, all those in Israel who are able to bear arms. (Bamidbar 1:2-3)

so the rest of the clans of Israel begin to serve in the army at age 20. I think this could lead to a very interesting Shabbat dinner table conversation about what might be the reason for this age gap. Is there something different about the kind of responsibilities each position requires? Is it

more out of practicality of needing soliders? Or what else could it be?

The menu item for this fun idea is actually going back to the US age gap in what you can do - you can make any dish with alcohol in it, but I think this Whiskey Chicken sounds fun to try.

For the second dish, we noted a relatively lengthy section of the parsha that seems to be somewhat repetitive - it's basically saying the same thing over and over and so the question is what it adds. Over the course of 8 verses the Torah tells us that the Israelites moved camps whenever God moved the cloud (see how I did that in so few words?!?) Here's how it says it in the Torah:

On the day that the Tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the Tabernacle, the Tent of the Pact; and in the evening it rested over the Tabernacle in the likeness of fire until morning.

It was always so: the cloud covered it, appearing as fire by night.

And whenever the cloud lifted from the Tent, the Israelites would set out accordingly; and at the spot where the cloud settled, there the Israelites would make camp.

At a command of יהוה the Israelites broke camp, and at a command of יהוה they made camp: they remained encamped as long as the cloud stayed over the Tabernacle.

When the cloud lingered over the Tabernacle many days, the Israelites observed יהוה’s mandate and did not journey on.

At such times as the cloud rested over the Tabernacle for but a few days, they remained encamped at a command of יהוה, and broke camp at a command of יהוה.

And at such times as the cloud stayed from evening until morning, they broke camp as soon as the cloud lifted in the morning. Day or night, whenever the cloud lifted, they would break camp.

Whether it was two days or a month or a year—however long the cloud lingered over the Tabernacle—the Israelites remained encamped and did not set out; only when it lifted did they break camp.

On a sign from יהוה they made camp and on a sign from יהוה they broke camp; they observed יהוה’s mandate at יהוה’s bidding through Moses. (Bamidbar 9:15-23)

I think the extensive description is to point out how attuned the Israelites were to God's

instructions and dependent on God. They had no set schedule and no forewarning of how long they would stay somewhere. They had to go at God's (non-verbal) command and I believe this was practice for the generation growing up in the desert to prepare them to take God's lead when conquering Israel. To symbolize the importance of this cloud I wanted something cloud-like. Our eldest suggested cotton candy, but I've done that before, so we thought of what else could be cloud like and I thought of the shape of a cauliflower head. So, I'd recommend roasting a whole cauliflower and serving it whole.

Shabbat Shalom & B'Tayavon!