Parsha Inspired Menus - Vaetchanan

Much of Dvarim is spent with Moshe telling the people about how or why to stay close to God. In Vaetchanan there's one of these mentioned, but what caught our attention was the paraenthetical description given to Egypt in this particular section. It is the only time this phrase is used for Egypt in the Five books of Moses. It says

"And when you look up to the sky and behold the sun and the moon and the stars, the whole heavenly host, you must not be lured into bowing down to them or serving them. These the ETERNAL your God allotted to other peoples everywhere under heaven—

whereas you were taken and brought out of Egypt, that iron blast furnace, to be GOD’s very own people, as is now the case."

What is the reason for including this description at this point in the narrative? We've left Egypt 40 years ago, the main focus now is how to live going forward.

Rashi explains this image by stating that a blast furnace is used to purify gold.  The sages understand this as a spiritual refinement, which occured through intense heat, pressure, and adversity of life in Egypt. While it is emotionally challenging to consider that God intentionally put the Israelites through the challenges and hardship of slavery to "refine" them, in my experience it has often been the challenging parts of life that give me a new understanding, resilience, and resolve to move forward. It doesn't work for everyone or every situation, but sometimes hard times yield benefits.

The dish I'd like to do to represent this pressure is my favorite way of making

tofu. This preparation method starts with pressing the tofu to remove excess liquid and make it firmer so it holds its shape better in the final dish. I use a tofu press, but it can also be done with anything heavy, like pots or books. (Funny side note: the press I have is this one to the left, a brand called Tofuture, but the first time I looked at it I somehow saw it as "Tofu Torture" which actually seemed about right!)

The recipe I use most often yields a tofu that can be added to a whole host of dishes, but my go-to is a mixing it with a Thai peanut sauce, then adding in veggies (like steamed green beans or roasted broccoli) and noodles. The marinade I use is from Jessica Levinson's blog. The recipe here is for a full Buddha Bowl, but you can also use the marinade on its own.

Also in this parsha is the V'ahavta paragraph of the Shema. I recently heard a great drash on this that just makes so much sense. We are told:

You shall love the ETERNAL your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

Take to heart these instructions with which I charge you this day. Teach them to your children. Recite them when you stay at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up. Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them serve as a symbol on your forehead; inscribe them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

When we are told to teach the children, we are then told how to teach them, by doing actions so that they will see and learn. As we've all heard, actions speak louder than words, so DO the teachings, LIVE the teachings...when you are at home and out of the house, all day (when you lie down and rise up), and physically have them seen on you...it's not just in your mind or in your words, but on your body.

To highlight this learning of "action" I suggest making a dessert that reflects the "when you lie down and when you get up" section...two different kinds of tea-flavored cookies. Chamomile cookies (lie down) and Earl Grey cookies (rise up) (sub plant butter in each for pareve.)

Shabbat Shalom & B'Tayavon!