Parsha Inspired Menus - Vayikra

And so we begin another book of the Torah, the one which some (including a son of mine who will remain anonymous) think of as the most boring book....so many sacrifices, repetition, not a lot of action, but as we often say, when you look deeply you can always find something interesting. This week I have two examples of that phenomenon. The first comes courtesy of our cantor's shiur this past Saturday afternoon. We focused on the "mincha" offering, which is the offering of grain.

וְנֶ֗פֶשׁ כִּֽי־תַקְרִ֞יב קׇרְבַּ֤ן מִנְחָה֙ לַֽיהֹוָ֔ה סֹ֖לֶת יִהְיֶ֣ה קׇרְבָּנ֑וֹ וְיָצַ֤ק עָלֶ֙יהָ֙ שֶׁ֔מֶן וְנָתַ֥ן עָלֶ֖יהָ לְבֹנָֽה׃

When a person presents an offering of grain to GOD: The offering shall be of choice flour; [the offerer] shall pour oil upon it, lay frankincense on it,

וֶֽהֱבִיאָ֗הּ אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י אַהֲרֹן֮ הַכֹּהֲנִים֒ וְקָמַ֨ץ מִשָּׁ֜ם מְלֹ֣א קֻמְצ֗וֹ מִסׇּלְתָּהּ֙ וּמִשַּׁמְנָ֔הּ עַ֖ל כׇּל־לְבֹנָתָ֑הּ וְהִקְטִ֨יר הַכֹּהֵ֜ן אֶת־אַזְכָּרָתָהּ֙ הַמִּזְבֵּ֔חָה אִשֵּׁ֛ה רֵ֥יחַ נִיחֹ֖חַ לַיהֹוָֽה׃

and present it to Aaron’s sons, the priests. The priest shall scoop out of it a handful of its choice flour and oil, as well as all of its frankincense; and this token portion he shall turn into smoke on the altar, as an offering by fire, of pleasing odor to GOD.

וְהַנּוֹתֶ֙רֶת֙ מִן־הַמִּנְחָ֔ה לְאַהֲרֹ֖ן וּלְבָנָ֑יו קֹ֥דֶשׁ קׇֽדָשִׁ֖ים מֵאִשֵּׁ֥י יְהֹוָֽה׃ {ס}        

And the remainder of the grain offering shall be for Aaron and his sons, a most holy portion from GOD’s offerings by fire.

This particular offering is described as a most holy portion, which distinguishes is from some of the other offerings. The gemara notes that this offering is made by nefesh, a soul, as compared to saying a man or person and the reason for this, says the Gemara,is "The Holy One, Blessed be He, said: Whose practice is it to bring a meal offering? Is it that of a poor individual; and I will ascribe

him credit as if he offered up his soul in front of Me." So, we know there is a meal offering from those whose finances are limited. The meal offering is also given 5 different types of preparation options and Rabbi Yitzhak explains this with a parable of a human king whos friend made a festive meal for him, but the king knows that the friend is poor. The kind said to him: Make for me foods from five types of fried dishes, so that I may benefit from you.

Now, if that's not entirely clear to you on first reading - don't worry, you're in good company. Luckily, a later commentator, Ben Yehodya from Baghdad in the late 19th century, explained that fried foods are considered a poor man's food, but the king is saying that he'd rather the poor friend serve the king the best of what he has - what is truly his to share - vs. borrowing from others or the king giving money to pay for the feast. By sharing what he really has, there's an obvious genuine relationship between them. So too with God. We give the best of what we have, and even if it's not as good as someone else's, it's treasured by God. So, to honor this I wanted to make something fried...really obviously fried. I don't have a deep fryer, so I had the idea to make this one easy on myself and get something that's already fried and I just warm up - pre-made Moroccan Cigars.

For the second item, I was drawn in by the strength of the language around salt.

וְכׇל־קׇרְבַּ֣ן מִנְחָתְךָ֮ בַּמֶּ֣לַח תִּמְלָח֒ וְלֹ֣א תַשְׁבִּ֗ית מֶ֚לַח בְּרִ֣ית אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ מֵעַ֖ל מִנְחָתֶ֑ךָ עַ֥ל כׇּל־קׇרְבָּנְךָ֖ תַּקְרִ֥יב מֶֽלַח׃ {ס}        

You shall season your every offering of grain with salt; you shall not omit from your grain offering the salt of your covenant with God; with all your offerings you must offer salt.

Why was salt so important that it had to be part of every offering. One answer could relate to salt's precious value. As a preservative, it was widely needed and valued, so giving it to God shows the value you ascribe to the offerings. Another idea comes from a midrash quoted in the Stone Chumash.

During the second day of creation. God created a division between the heavenly waters above the firmament and the earthly waters below. The Midrash records that the earthly waters protested that they, too, wished to be close to God. To comfort them, God made a covenant that the water would have a share in the Temple service, for salt, which comes from the sea, would be placed on sacrificial parts that go on the Altar."

Even water gets to rise to heaven in the form of condensation, but salt gets left behind, so God gave this element of creation the honor of being part of the sacrifice. While I don't believe in the reality of salt and water protesting, I love this midrash. I love the idea of something yearning to be close to God and God finding a way to make it be ingrained in the culture and practice. Would we

all yearn for that closeness.

So, I wanted to highlight salt while still making a dish we would actually like to eat and came up with a dessert that uses a few salt flakes on top to highlight the sweetness of the dish. I just ordered myself some Maldon salt and found this easy to make dessert option - Dark Chocolate Bark. It will allow the salt to shine, while still being subtle and is a good chance to use up some items (dried fruits, nuts, etc) that are in my pantry before I clean out for Pesach.

Shabbat Shalom & B'Tayavon!