Lets catch up on our Yachad program.
This is me holding a bowl of chopped figs that I steeped in warm orange juice. Why? We'll get there. For our first time readers, let's recap a bit. Here's a little reprint from my blog post of January 18:
Yachad (the word means "together") is a group of special needs young adults and high school volunteers who meet once a week for Jewish themed activities.
It's a National organization with local chapters, and Sarah Taub has been this chapter's director for 25 years. Once a month, for the past 12 years, Sarah has brought the group here for inter-generational programming.
Our theme for this year is "Food for Thought," where we discuss the upcoming Torah portion for the next time they will be here, and create a "recipe" based on that portion. The recipe is more like a list of ingredients, and those ingredients are not necessarily based on any foods literally mentioned in the portion. They are based on a theme or an idea found in the portion.
So, here I am blending up some ingredients for a smoothie. Not just any smoothie, but a "Manna in a Jar" smoothie. January's Torah portion was the one where G-d sends manna down to the wandering Jews so they'll have what to eat in the dessert. Aaron saves some of the manna in a jar as a testament for future generations. Also, G-d turns the bitter waters sweet.
So, we came up with a list of ingredients that one might find in that region of the world. The list included oranges, bananas, figs, dates,pomegranates and...avocados. Yes, avocados.
(Avocados, of course, grow in that region, but here's the culinary explanation for avocados in a smoothie: they're creamy. And they have a pretty neutral flavor. Since we need to create foods that are parve - neither diary or meat - we stuck them in to add a richness and creaminess. It worked. It was delicious.)
So, we came up with a list of ingredients that one might find in that region of the world. The list included oranges, bananas, figs, dates,pomegranates and...avocados. Yes, avocados.
(Avocados, of course, grow in that region, but here's the culinary explanation for avocados in a smoothie: they're creamy. And they have a pretty neutral flavor. Since we need to create foods that are parve - neither diary or meat - we stuck them in to add a richness and creaminess. It worked. It was delicious.)
The figs and dates were tough and chewy, so I chopped them up, covered them with a little OJ, and put them into the microwave for about 30 seconds. They sat for a while in the warm liquid and were perfect for blending by the time we got there.
Everyone loved it. Even Gila.
Last month we discussed the portion where G-d explains to Moses how to construct the Holy Ark and what kinds of materials to use. Moses appeals to the people to donate their goods and talents. Essentially, it was the first Jewish fund-raising drive.
We took some of those items - precious metals, dyed yarns and fabrics, gems, etc. - and equated a fruit with each one. Mangoes represented gold, Honeydew, for its silvery rind, was for silver, acacia wood was represented by pineapple because of its woody exterior, and the part of goat hair was played by kiwi.
The Jewish people had to put all of these smaller, precious items together to create one large item, even more valuable than the sum of its parts. Sort of like a fruit salad. Which is what we created: Sinai Salad.
Next month, we'll be creating "Moshe's Supreme Sacrificial Dessert Pizza."
More on that next time.
And, it just wouldn't be a blog about Yachad without a picture of Breezy, the best therapy dog I know.
(However, she did eat a cookie off of a plate while she thought I wasn't looking. Breezy, you're my kind of people.)
I'd like to give a shout out to my friend Leon Adato who, along with my cousin Naomi Chase and a group of other fine people, created the spark for this idea many years ago. I've had the good fortune to share many Shabbat dinners and Torah discussions at Naomi and Leon's homes where we all had to bring a food based on the Torah portion. Leon now helms a website dedicated to this called Edible Torah. You can find it here: http://www.edibletorah.com/
Todah Rabbah!
