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Parshas Lech L'Cha - Kosher Cuisine                    6 Cheshvan 5778

10/26/2017 05:23:18 PM

Oct26

This Dvar Torah is L’Ilui Nishmat Mr. Al Adatto, Reb Avraham Ben Yitzchak and Luna Adatto Z”L on his 11th Yahrzeit, the 6th of Cheshvan.

Food is perhaps the only universal thing that really has the power to bring everyone together. No matter what the culture, people everywhere around the world get together to eat. I can’t speak for other religions or people, but this truism surely applies to Jews. The Jewish menu not only fuels our stomachs, it directly impacts the time of year we eat certain foods and the regions of the world from which our ancestors emigrated. Every week we look forward to eating specific foods that grace our Shabbos table. I think Jews are different than any other religion or people because throughout our history despite our centuries of exile, escaping from one country, seeking refuge in another, each region differing culturally and gastronomically, our adherence to the Mitzvos, whether Ashkenaz or Sephard, remains the same. The fact that Jewish customs and practices bear the histories of these various regions, cultures and languages of our dispersion, reflected clearly in an enormously rich collection of treasured recipes complemented by our ever-expanding taste buds sets up a clear analogy to observance of the Mitzvos. While we all customarily eat the same kinds of foods –wine, challah, meat, fish, and so on - these foods are prepared differently, depending upon the regions of the world from which our ancestors once resided.

The Shabbos table is decked with many foods that have reason to be eaten on Shabbos. The eating of fish and meat is something people try to eat at all three Shabbos meals. Wine is a staple - we make Kiddush for the meals. Usually, people will have a soup on Friday night and a cholent for Shabbos lunch. Culturally, we may be different, but the source of the kinds of foods is traditional. Ashkenazim eat gefilte fish while Sepharadim prefer other kinds of fish such as a spicy salmon. Chicken soup may be a staple for me – it is, by the way, the soup of choice among Ashkenazim - it also happens to be a favorite soup of virtually every region of the world - while others will have soups more reflective of other regions of the world. For example, Jews of Italian origin might enjoy hardy minestrone, descendants of Jews who fled Spain might enjoy a gazpacho in the summer or in the winter a hearty cozido, the Spanish version of cholent, Jews of German descent might, in addition to the traditional chicken soup, also love a potato soup, and so on. As far as cholent or Chamin or cozido goes we all know there are many different recipes and styles of cholent. (We will experience in in two weeks from now during the cholent cook-off contest). Most of the foods we eat on Shabbos have a reason attached to why we eat them. There is, however, only one food item that is directly associated with Mitzva: Challah.

The term ‘Challah’ comes from the Biblical commandment of “hafrashas challah”, which involves separating a piece of dough, and in Temple times was given to a Kohen to bake and eat himself. Now, during post-Temple times, a small piece of the challah dough is burned. We need to burn this little piece into nothingness, so that no non-Kohen will come to eat it. For the past two millennia the word challah referred only to this little piece of dough which was burned. It was only many centuries later that the loaves that were not burned took on the name “challah” amongst Ashkenazi Jews.

Rav Avraham David Wahrman, in his commentary Eishel Avraham on Shulchan Aruch in siman #260, writes that the reason we call the loaves ‘challah’ is to remind us of the mitzva to take off challah. It is noted in the sefer Hilchasa Rabsa L’Shabsa that challahs originally were called ‘burekas’ because when a woman took and separated a piece of ‘challah’ from the dough, she prayed for a blessing through the bread from an angel named ‘burekas’. The reality is that the separation of dough known as hafrashas challah is not exclusive to the dough that we make into the challah we have today. Rather, the mitzva to separate and take off a piece of dough applies to any dough one makes any day, any time, and any place. Nevertheless, the Rabbis encouraged women to specifically bake bread for the Shabbos meals thereby forcing one to fulfill a Mitzva in honor of Shabbos and the Shabbos table.

Although the mitzva of separating a piece of dough applies to both men and women, it nevertheless became a Mitzva associated with women more so than men. One might think the reason is because women do more cooking and baking so it is natural that they would do this mitzva. If I would say this was the reason, I would be attacked for stereotyping roles of women and being politically incorrect. Now, even though there are times that I don’t mind being politically incorrect, this is not a case as such. The Torah itself, with an explanation of Rashi, gives us insight as to how this all began and for whom it was begun. In Bereishis 25:67 the Torah states: “VaYivieha Yitzchok HaOhela Sarah Immo, Vayikach Es Rivka Vatehi Lo L’Isha Vaye’ehaveha, Vayinacheim Yitzchok Acharei Immo”. “And Yitzchok brought Rivka into his mother’s tent, and she became a wife to him, and Yitzchok was comforted after his mother”. Rashi quotes the famous Midrash Rabba 60:16 that miracles occurred in Sarah’s tent which dissipated when she died and returned when Rivka came along and assumed the role of matriarch for the Jewish people. The Midrash describes that as long as Sarah was alive a blessing was sent into her bread; when she died the blessing stopped. As Rivka entered Yitzchok’s life, the blessing in the bread returned. Although the focus in that context is the greatness of Rivka, we need to step back and realize that is was Sarah’s greatness to begin with which brought bracha/blessing to the dough.

Like many great women, roles of leadership and influence are camouflaged within the story, primarily to send a message of tznius/modesty, but that does not mean they didn’t influence or weren’t great in their own way. The greatness of Sarah Immeinu is highlighted in Bereishis 12:5 “Avram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all their belongings, as well as the people they had gathered”. On the words ‘V’es Hanefesh Asher Asu B’Charan’ ‘the people they had made or gathered’ Rashi explains it was the souls they had made: Avram converting the men and Sarai converting the women to believe in the one God, Hashem. Sarah is equal to Avraham and an equal partner in their forming the Jewish people. Due to the greatness of Sarah, miraculous things happened to her such as her dough being a source of blessing. A declaration of how great Sarah was is found in the Midrash Rabbah Esther 7:11: Haman’s lottery first picked a day of the month and then he tried to select a month in which it should take place. He went through every month. Each one had a reason he couldn’t do it that month until he reached the last month of Adar. The month of Cheshvan was passed over in the merit of the great Tzadeikes Sarah Immeinu passing away. Perhaps this is another reason the Challah Bake takes place during this month of Cheshvan. All of our dough should be blessed in the merit of Sarah.

Ah Gut Shabbos Rabbi Avraham Bogopulsky

Rabbi Bogopulsky’s book “Developing A Torah Personality” is available for purchase directly from him or Amazon

Fri, March 29 2024 19 Adar II 5784