Parsha Inspired Menus - Va'era

About 8 years ago I added some fun to our seder to entertain our boys and our guests by having an edible representation of each one of the 10 plagues...red jello in a wavy dish for the Nile turning to blood, gummy frogs, non-pareils for boils, and so on. You could definitely do something like that for this week's Parsha Inspired Menus, since we get the story of the first 5 plagues in this week's parsha. However, I wanted to focus on two interesting details that took me a different direction.

The first detail is before Moshe goes to Pharoah at all. When he gets back to Eygpt the first thing he does, based on what God tells him to do, is to go to the Israelites and tell them they will be free, God will rescue them, and God will bring them to the land promised to their ancestors. However, the reaction is not as hoped..."But when Moses told this to the Israelites, they would not listen to Moses, their spirits crushed by cruel bondage." Rather than being excited or hopeful, they tune

him out because their "spirits" are crushed. This actually feels very believeable to me. I like the way Sforno puts it "it did not appear believable to their present state of mind, so that their heart could not assimilate such a promise." They were just too downtrodden to picture themselves in this redemption. Whatever little hope they got when Moshe first arrived was crushed by the added harshness to the labor that Pharoah imposed as a punishment. Having their spirits crushed is very reasonable, but perhaps also a foreshadowing of their doubt in God in many instances throughout the next parts of the story. To highlight these "spirits" try cooking with some spirits (alcohol.) This Drunken One Pot Italian Chicken uses wine and 2 kinds of spirits (just leave out the prosciutto)

The other detail that caught my attention is in the 2nd plague. Frogs are everywhere and Pharoah ask Moshe to ask God to get rid of them. "Moshe said to Pharaoh, “Glorify [Request might for] yourself at my expense. [Exactly for] when shall I [Give me a time when I shall] pray for you, and for your servants and for your people, that the frogs be destroyed from you and from your houses, remaining only in the river.”

This phrase "request might for yourself is challenging, as is the idea that Moshe asks Pharoah when to remove the frogs. Looking at a less exact, but easier to understand version of the translation helps:

Moshe replied to Pharoah, "Try and show off at my expense [by daring me to do something you don't think I can do; have God remove the frogs at a specific time.] At what time should I pray for you..."

With this understanding, Moshe is allowing Pharoah a chance to try and set up Moshe for failure, .but Moshe knows it will only increase the miracle if the change happens at a specific pre-designated time. In the end, Moshe's ability to accomplish this extra challenge adds to God's glory. In honor of this extra challenge with frogs, try this Lily Pad Soup.

Shabbat Shalom & B'Tayavon!