Parsha Inspired Menus - Korach

It's hard to think of Parshat Korach and not think of the dramatic, made-for-movies events of the earth opening up and swallowing the wrong-doers. While looking for inspiration this year for #parshainspiredmenus I wanted to look for something a little more subtle to grab onto and highlight. There are two pasukim in the parsha that are nearly identical

הִבָּ֣דְל֔וּ מִתּ֖וֹךְ הָעֵדָ֣ה הַזֹּ֑את וַאֲכַלֶּ֥ה אֹתָ֖ם כְּרָֽגַע׃

Separate yourselves from the midst of this community, that I may finish them off in an instant! (Bamidbar 16:21)

and

הֵרֹ֗מּוּ מִתּוֹךְ֙ הָעֵדָ֣ה הַזֹּ֔את וַאֲכַלֶּ֥ה אֹתָ֖ם כְּרָ֑גַע ...

Remove yourselves from the midst of this community, that I may annihilate them in an instant.... (Bamidbar 17:10)

In both cases, God is ready to punish the people over their actions and interestingly in both cases the trigger is the people rising up against Moshe and Aaron as the leaders, calling them out as not being the right leaders and for having brought bad things on the people. I could see this from two

angles. The first feels like a more traditional take - that God put them in charge so questioning their leadership is also questioning God. The second idea feels like something that reminds me of human emotions I've seen and had myself. Perhaps God is feeling protective of Moshe and Aaron, who have given so much to be the leaders and the complaints are so hurtful and personal. Maybe the reason it's said twice with just the one word difference (הִבָּ֣דְל֔וּ - separate and הֵרֹ֗מּוּ - remove) is to cover more than one explanation. Picking up on the importance of separating, the menu item for this interpretation uses separated eggs - Italian Walnut Cake.

It's also worth noting that the Korach story is not the entirety of the parsha. God then makes it clear that Aaron and his sons will be in charge of the sacrifices and they will have no land in Eretz Yisrael. Instead they will eat and live off of the sacrifices other tribes bring. Similarly, the tribe of Levi will not have land and will live off of the tithes. It is their payment for their service to God. However, God also commands the Levites to take a one-tenth tithe off of the tithes they receive and give that as a gift to God.

This shall be accounted to you as your gift. As with the new grain from the threshing floor or the flow from the vat, so shall you on your part set aside a gift for יהוה from all the tithes that you receive from the Israelites; and from them you shall bring the gift for יהוה to Aaron the priest.

In this way, they follow similar rules to the rest of the tribes who have to set aside some of their

bounty "from the threshing floor or the flow from the vat." I think this is a good way for the Levites to remember that all of their food also comes from God's blessing and keeps them connected to the mindset of the people - to know how valuable it is to give away food that you could otherwise use to feed your family. So, let's make something with grain (threshing floor) and wine (vat). I found this Savory Mushroom Farro to try.

Shabbat Shalom & B'Tayavon!