top of page

Parsha Inspired Menus - Shemot

tagoodquestions

The sources for this week's #parshainspiredmenus are both inspired by brief sections (two pasukim) in this very packed parsha and credit goes to Dan, a fellow mincha-minyan goer, for inspiring these choices. The first one is when Moshe is a prince of the Eygptian Palace. Yet, he knows that he is one of the Hebrews, as stated in the text. This must be a very

strange position to be in. He lives in luxury in the palace and is seemingly protected by his status and adoptive mother, but he also carries this identity that is a hated people in the Eygptian court. Pharoah's daughter knew he was a Hebrew. I wonder if Pharoah knew too and turned a blind eye or if he was kept in the dark.


We come to this incident in the parsha:

Some time after that, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his kinsfolk and witnessed their labors. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his kinsmen.

He turned this way and that and, seeing no one about, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. (Shemot 2:11-12)


Moshe's behavior before and after killing the Eygptian are telling. He checks for witnesses and hides the evidence. If Moshe felt confident in his protected status, perhaps he wouldn't have done either of these actions. As a true Prince of Egypt could he have gotten away with killing a lower-class Egyptian? The text tells us

When Pharaoh learned of the matter, he sought to kill Moses; but Moses fled from Pharaoh. (Shemot 2:15)

Perhaps what Pharaoh learned is not just what Moshe did, but who Moshe was.


It was Dan's idea to do something with Moshe buring the Eygptian under the sand and what came

to mind for a food for me is meatloaf covered in mashed potatoes (one of my favorite meals as a kid. It's a one-pan meal, well, minus the veggies, but as a kid that was fine for me!)

Just make your favorite meatloaf recipe, put it in a pan and bake for 30 minutes. Meanwhile make mashed potatoes. Take out the partially baked meatloaf, drain grease (carefully) then add the mashed potatoes on top of the partially baked meatloaf for another 15-20 mintues.


For the second menu item, I was drawn into this somewhat bizarre incident:

וַתִּקַּ֨ח צִפֹּרָ֜ה צֹ֗ר וַתִּכְרֹת֙ אֶת־עׇרְלַ֣ת בְּנָ֔הּ וַתַּגַּ֖ע לְרַגְלָ֑יו וַתֹּ֕אמֶר כִּ֧י חֲתַן־דָּמִ֛ים אַתָּ֖ה לִֽי׃

וַיִּ֖רֶף מִמֶּ֑נּוּ אָ֚ז אָֽמְרָ֔ה חֲתַ֥ן דָּמִ֖ים לַמּוּלֹֽת׃ 


At a night encampment on the way, יהוה encountered him and sought to kill him.

So Tzipporah took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin, and touched his legs with it, saying, “You are truly a bridegroom of blood to me!”


Most of the translations/commentaries assume the "he/him" in this story to be Moshe, but there are differences of opinion. In any case, the focus here is the fact that Moshe and Tzipporah's son is not circumcised. Why wouldn't he be? There's a few ideas: 1) there's a midrash that Moshe was born circumcised. If that's the case and he grew up in the Palace he might not know of this practice as requiring an action. 2) He was living in Midian and it may not have been the custom of the place and he was adhering to that custom. 3) He was distracted by his mission and didn't pay as much attention to his individual family.


It's noteworthy that it is Tzipporah who fulfills this duty, both because she is a Midianite and she is female. She doesn't have a personal connection to this from either parts of those identities. In a commentary on this pasuk, Rashi brings a midrash that is FANTASTIC (and fantastical):


In Nedarim — The angel became a kind of serpent and swallowed him from his head to his thigh, spued him forth, and then again swallowed him from his legs to 'that place'. Tzipporah thus understood that this had happened on account of the circumcision (Nedarim 32a; cf. Exodus Rabbah 5:8).


In this version, it's not just Adonai who encourntered him, but an angel that transform into a SERPENT. Later we will see a snake show God's power to the Egyptians when Moshe turns his staff into a snake. Perhaps, here, a snake was showing God's power to Moshe.


To call to mind this second incident, I suggest food that looks like a snake. Here are two fruit-based options that could be part of an appetizer course or dessert. No recipe necessary. Just find what works for you!


Shabbat Shalom & B'Tayavon!





21 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


© 2025 by Tamar Arnowitz

bottom of page