Beha’alotcha
parasha Beha’alotcha, numbers chapters 8—12
menu
and thoughts…
Beha’alotcha
Step Up
Of Friendship, Trust, Fire, Clouds, and Quail
Behaalotecha…say that 3X fast…or once, even…
Is anything ever enough?
Give me a daisy, I cry for a rose
Give me a home, I cry for a palace
Give me manna, I cry for meat.
Moshe finally loses it.
The Israelites have seen wondrous miracles. They receive water from a magical well. A strange but tasty food just falls out of the sky. They only need to go out in the morning and gather it.
And still they complain.
They’re tired of manna. They want meat.
For Moshe, it’s the last straw. He turns to TheName and says, “If you love me, kill me, and put me out of my misery! I can’t carry this entire people alone; it’s too hard for me!”
HaShem has another solution, even better than propheticide (new word). HaShem tells him to assemble 70 elders—the guys who were the Israelites’ overseers when they were slaves in Egypt, the guys who bore the brunt of punishment, who took beatings for their charges.
These are guys they know and trust, to whom they may be more inclined to listen, rather than to this old, aloof stranger, Moshe.
HaShem causes some of the Divine Spirit that’s on Moshe to be transferred to those 70 leaders. Now, Moshe doesn’t have to go it alone.
I can’t count the number of times I’ve stood at my door, juggling my purse, a small child or two, and five bags of groceries while digging for my keys so I can get into the house and put this stuff down before my arms fall off.
How many times have I thought that God should have given us three arms, three hands.
So far, I haven’t sprouted a third arm—I’m not even sure of where it should sprout from—I supposed I haven’t really thought this one through…
We all have burdens, both physical and non-physical. And none of us are meant to go it alone. We’re meant to create our personal communities of friends and family members, people we trust with our inner thoughts and emotions, people we can count on to come through when we need them, people to whom we can give the same in return.
They’re our third arm.
I’ve often wondered about the cry for meat. These people had flocks of animals! There was no lack of a source for meat. Maybe they were so spoiled by all those things given to them freely by God that they thought they were entitled to free meat, too, rather than be forced to use their own resources.
Rabbi Menachem Feldman says that it wasn’t about the meat. What was their “beef?”—The people complained that, in Egypt, they were given fish, cucumbers, watermelons, leeks, onions, and garlic, all for free.
At first look, that makes no sense. In Egypt, they didn’t even get the straw they needed to make the bricks they needed in order to do the building they were forced to do, for free.
So what were they implying?
In Egypt, before being burdened by the commandments in the Torah, they ate freely, without restrictions on what and how they could eat.
They had been enthusiastic about receiving Torah, but now that they have to live Torah, they’re less enthusiastic.
And as for the meat, Hashem answers their cry.
HaShem sends them quail. Lots of quail. Practically a plague of quail.
They’re overrun with quail.
They should only eat quail until biz zey breyen (until they barf) from it!
Stepping Up
Life was pretty well spelled out for the Israelites in the wilderness. They were simple, like children. There were no decisions, no choices to be made. There were no outside influences offering conflicting information, conflicting advice, or conflicting responsibilities. When the Mishkan was covered by the cloud, they stayed put. When the cloud lifted, they traveled. Sometimes the cloud hung around for a long time, causing them to remain in the same camp for weeks, months, a year; other times they’d set up camp for a day and pull up stakes the next. And each person knew exactly what they needed to do, the nature of their particular job, each and every time.
For me, it’s not so simple. I’m given no clear messages. When dark clouds gather above me and block the light, it’s hard to know when to stay where I am and when to journey, when to step up, and when to sit down.
And if tonight when I’m sleeping a cosmic plow comes by, a cloud-plow of stardust that pushes that darkness off to the side of the road, If I wake to find that a path has been cut, even just a tiny illuminated path, will I be able to step up and on to it? Will I know where to go, know what it is that I’m supposed to carry, what it is that I should leave behind?
I suppose I’ll have to rely upon my own resources, to trust the gifts I’ve already been freely given to discover those answers.
When the time comes that I need to know, I have to trust that I will know.
So, what shall we eat?
Why…
Clouds and Fire, Quail and Fish (substitute vegetarian choices), Cucumbers, Watermelons, Leeks, Onions, and Garlic.
Obviously!
While it may seem like this is an elaborate menu, most of it can be prepped one or two days ahead of time, and quickly finished on Friday afternoon.
A bright red watermelon salad that’s delightfully cool as a cucumber.
Fish. As in gefilte; cheater’s style, served with Jammy Quail Eggs. To make the eggs, start with them at room temperature. Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. Gently lower the quail eggs into the water with a large slotted spoon. Work quickly so that they all cook for the same amount of time. Set a timer for 2 minutes 30 seconds. Fill a small bowl with cold water and ice cubes. As soon as the timer goes off, use the same spoon to quickly scoop out the eggs and immediately plunge them into the ice bath to stop the cooking. When they’re cool enough to handle, peel the shells from the eggs. Cut each one lengthwise, sprinkle them with salt, pepper, and finely minced fresh dill, and serve two halves each, alongside the fish….or on their own for those who don’t eat fish.
The Soup. This Roasted Cauliflower and Almond Soup is satisfying yet light, smooth and creamy without dairy, and loaded with protein, which is especially good if you’re making the vegetarian version of this meal.
Roasted Quail, or Cornish Hens if you can’t find quail, with a Savory Raspberry Sauce, on a nest of Leeks, Onions, and Garlic. My first choice is to use quail, because it’s all about the quail, after all. But they’re not always available, depending upon where you live, so I’m posting the recipe for Cornish Hens, which are pretty much always available. If you’re using quail, use the same marinade, sauce, and method. Just reduce the roasting time to 15—20 minutes. Serve 2 quail per person.
As for the hens, serve either a whole or a half per person, depending upon their size. By “their size,” I mean both the size of the birds and the size of the diners… (a six year old will not eat an entire Cornish Hen.)
Or, for vegetarians, Rafts of Crispy Hearts of Palm with the same Raspberry Sauce as above.
Melting Leeks with Caramelized Onion and Garlic
A Dairy-Free Gratin of Potato Clouds.
A compass (So we know which way to go) of Asparagus Spears, Roasted with Orange Gremolata. Just arrange the spears on a round serving dish, laid out in a compass shape, spears jutting outward from a center point.
Chocolate Lava Cakes for the Grand Finale.
Done!