Parsha Inspired Menus - Ki Tavo

In our parsha, there's discussion of some of the major agricultural harvesting and sharing - the bringing of first fruits, with the spoken formula that starts with "My father was a wandering Aramean," which may sound familiar from Passover, and the tithing of the 10% of the harvest yield in the 3rd year to give to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and widow. In both cases, by putting rules and limitations around what we can eat from the harvest, it compels the Israelites to think about God's hand in the bounty. I was particularly interested in the declarations made with

the 10% tithe, though "I have cleared out the consecrated portion from the house; and I have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, just as You commanded me; I have neither transgressed nor neglected any of Your commandments:I have not eaten of it while in mourning, I have not cleared out any of it while I was impure, and I have not deposited any of it with the dead. I have obeyed the ETERNAL my God; I have done just as You commanded me." It's the "not in mourning, while impure, deposit with the dead" that wasn't what I expected. Upon further thought and research, I understand that these lines are addressing potential issues that were at least in the realm of likely. If you are not supposed to have eaten of pure foods while in mourning or while impure, both of which are easy to conceal states, you have to declare that you didn't do this. The "deposit with the dead" one is more about what's going on around you. Jeffrey Tigay (JPS Torah Commentary) explains that ancient peoples gave offerings of food to their ancestors’ spirits. This is not what God wants us to do with these tithes. Not only does that dable with worshipping another God,but also it takes away the food intended for those who truly need it to fill their bellies. In honor of these tithes, I think it would be fun to make 10 individual servings so each person can take 1/10th. Try this Cherry Tart with Puff Pastry dessert option - a great opportunity to enjoy summer cherries!

A big chunk of Ki Tavo is the section of blessings and curses. Truth be told, there are more verses

of curses (14 blessings vs. 54 curses) so we really spend a lot of time focused on the bad stuff. While these curses are pretty graphic in the terrible picture they paint of what the future could be, I just keep hearing the line from the Indigo Girls - "Well, the curse and the blessing, they're one and the same." I think this speaks to me because sometimes the question of which way a situation will do hangs much more in a precarious balance than it might seem. A situation with a minor change could go from good to bad. A perspective change could make something that seems bad be viewed entirely differently. Sometimes we don't even know if we're in the curse or the blessing, we have to get through the moment to know. This uncertainty and similarity can really only be represented by one food - the Shishito pepper. There is no other food that has the same "surprise flavor roulette" with their unpredictable mix of mild and spicy pods.

Shabbat shalom & B'Tayavon!