Food Tourah – Bo

January 29, 2025 in Food Tourah

Because life so often happens around food, we’re spending the year exploring the weekly parshiot and finding connections to each week’s Shabbat menu.  Sarah, a seasoned Jewish educator, brings a wealth of knowledge to our discussions, while Alison, who loves creating

dishes that bring people together, is excited to explore the weekly portions in greater depth. Each week we will give a brief overview of the parsha and then suggest ways to incorporate its themes into your Shabbat menu. This is our version of Julie and Julia – the charming movie in which a blogger challenges herself to make all 524 recipes from Julia Child’s 1961 classic Mastering the Art of French Cooking in just one year.  Lucky for us, we only have to cover 54 parshiot –  39 more to go

Parshat Bo recounts the final three plagues that G-d brings upon the Egyptians culminating in the death of the firstborn. After 430 years of slavery, Pharoah and the Egyptians demand that the Israelites leave. This parsha introduces the commandment to eat unleavened bread and outlines other practices, such as hanging mezuzot on our doorposts and wrapping tefillin – both continuing reminders that G-d freed the Jewish people from Egypt.

The final plague was the last straw for Pharaoh and the Egyptians, so it feels fitting to suggest these Puff Pastry Cheese Straws. With gruyere and parmesan in these tasty twists, perhaps this is the week to have salmon as your entrée.  In Parshat Bo, we celebrate the Israelites finally gaining their freedom, and this week our community is also celebrating another joyous occasion. A heartfelt Mazel Tov to Rabbi Harris and my parsha partner, Sarah Roark, on their upcoming wedding! To honor this simcha, I’ve taken some poetic license to include these  delightful Wedding Cookies with Sprinkles – what better way to celebrate love than with a little sprinkly joy? And because you can never have enough dessert, I’ll conclude with a nod to the mezuzot in this parsha and share these delicious Fortune Cookies. Like a mezuzah, each contains a meaningful message tucked inside.

 

B’tayavon and Shabbat Shalom,

Alison (Baraf)

(Sarah is understandably off this week!)


To read past installments of Food Tourah – Click Here.

For a more in-depth look at this week’s parsha, visit Sefaria.com.