Parsha Inspired Menus - Chukat

When Miriam passes away and there's no water, we get more complaining by the people.

Why have you brought GOD’s congregation into this wilderness for us and our livestock to die there? Why did you make us leave Egypt to bring us to this wretched place, a place with no grain or figs or vines or pomegranates? There is not even water to drink!”

This is a strange complaint for 2 reasons. One - if the main concern is lack of fresh water due to the disappearance of Miriam's well, why mention the grain, fig, and pomegrantes? Two - last time the people's complaint about food they missed from Egypt was a different list - fish, cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic. It seems that the further away they get from Egypt the more "good" they assign to it. Even the language "why did you make us leave Egypt..." Would they have preferred to stay enslaved?!?!? They have a skewed version of reality and it may be caused by no

longer having the goal of entering the land as a focus for the future There is something crucial to the mindset to have anticipation of something pleasant ahead. Instead, they misplace their frustration (from water to figs and pomegrantes, from something required to a luxury) and live in a space of very rose tinted glasses for the past. All this talk about these mysterious past figs...try this Sheet-Pan Chicken With Figs & Bread Arugula Salad

Given that God has provided the Israelites with manna and with water through Miriam's well, you might have thought that the Israelites would hope/assume/guess that God would find another way to get them the nourishment they need. That also happens in this parsha:

וּמִשָּׁ֖ם בְּאֵ֑רָה הִ֣וא הַבְּאֵ֗ר אֲשֶׁ֨ר אָמַ֤ר יְהֹוָה֙ לְמֹשֶׁ֔ה אֱסֹף֙ אֶת־הָעָ֔ם וְאֶתְּנָ֥ה לָהֶ֖ם מָֽיִם׃ {ס}        

And from there to Beer, which is the well where GOD said to Moses, “Assemble the people that I may give them water.”

אָ֚ז יָשִׁ֣יר יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אֶת־הַשִּׁירָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את עֲלִ֥י בְאֵ֖ר עֱנוּ־לָֽהּ׃

Then Israel sang this song: Spring up, O well—sing to it—

בְּאֵ֞ר חֲפָר֣וּהָ שָׂרִ֗ים כָּר֙וּהָ֙ נְדִיבֵ֣י הָעָ֔ם בִּמְחֹקֵ֖ק בְּמִשְׁעֲנֹתָ֑ם וּמִמִּדְבָּ֖ר מַתָּנָֽה׃

The well that the chieftains dug, That the nobles of the people started, With maces, with their own staffs. And from Midbar to Mattanah,

God gives another well. In song, though, the Israelites seem to give credit to the the chieftains.

This group really has an issue with having faith in God's protection and giving credit where credit is due. It's a little bit of a stretch, but it's a heteronym (words that share the same spelling but have different pronunciations and meanings) - the location where the well is (and the word for well) is בְּאֵ֗ר, or Beer as transliterated above. I might have spelled it Be'er, but it's Beer for well and beer for the hoppy beverage is a heteronym and I'm going with it. Try this Mushroom and Sweet Potato Pot Pie where beer is a key ingredient.

Shabbat Shalom & B'Tayavon!