Vayishlach
Musings On the Matter of Red Strings
There are some themes in this parsha that seem very prominent. There’s the reunion of Jacob and Esau. Then there’s Jacob’s mystical encounters with an angel, both in his going and in his returning. And the abduction of Dina.
But I got thinking about the death of Rachel, and because of the meandering nature of my thought processes, I got to thinking about the red string craze.
“So Rachel died, and she was buried on the road to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem. And Jacob erected a monument on her grave; that is the tombstone of Rachel until this day.”
Why did Jacob not bury his beloved Rachel in the family tomb in the cave of Machpelah?
The cave wasn’t so far away as to be impractical to bring her remains there.
Jacob claims that it’s because he was given a Divine command to bury her on the road.
The reason is explained by Jeremiah:
When Nebuzaradan takes the children of Israel captive and they are exiled, as they pass by her grave, Rachel will emerge and she will weep and beg mercy for them, as it is written: ‘A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping: Rachel is weeping for her children and refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are away. And G‑d will answer her: Restrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears; for your work will be rewarded, says G‑d, and they will return from the land of the enemy. There is hope for your future ... that your children will return to their own borders.’”
And throughout the ages, pilgrims have traveled to pray at Rachel’s grave. But…
Nowadays, one doesn’t need to come to Rachel’s grave to receive her blessing, because…
Step right up, ladies and gentlemen! All you need is this here red string, direct from the tomb of Rachel Imotainu, which I will sell to you for the small price of $34.95 plus tax. Just tie it on your wrist and you’ll be protected from all possible calamities for all of your days going forward…
Now, I firmly believe, in fact I’ve had empirical evidence, that an object can absorb energy from another object and then pass it on to a third object. But when it comes down to the nitty gritty, you’ll have to check me off in the “no” column. I do not believe that tying a string on my wrist, even one that was wrapped around Rachel’s tomb, will automatically, miraculously change my life.
But with all that said, there are plenty of stories of women who wore a red string that amazingly fell off the day they met their soulmate, and others of women who struggled to conceive and became pregnant after donning a red string bracelet. Among rabbis, both orthodox and modern, some hold that there’s merit in the concept of wearing the red string for blessings and protection, while others shun it as idolatry.
And where else have we heard about the tying on of a red string?
During the Yom Kippur ritual at the holy temple in Jerusalem, one goat is slaughtered as a sacrifice. A second, identical goat gets a red string tied around its horns and is sent off into the wilderness for Azazel, as a scapegoat.
There’s some discussion of whether the goat is simply sent off or if it’s pushed off a cliff, but there is agreement that once the sins of the nation have been absolved, the string will turn white. Which leaves me to ask, if the goat has been sent off, how will anyone know if the string has turned white? Or, if a tree falls in a forest and there’s no one to hear it…
But I digress…
And I have to ask, why a red string? Why not a blue string or a gold chain or a diamond tennis bracelet?
As far as the Yom Kippur ritual goes, Isaiah explains, red is the color of sin and white is the color of purity. He says, “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow.”
According to chabad.com, Rabbi Chaim Elazar Spira of Munkács, known as the Minchat Elazar (b. 1868), explains that different colors represent different Divine attributes, and red represents gevurah (stringency and judgment), which is sometimes linked with negative spiritual energy. Thus, by having (a) red item, one can overcome an ayin hara (evil eye), beating evil at its own game. However, he also says that the actual wearing of a red string is a pagan practice and therefore forbidden.
But that’s not the end of the red string. When Tamar gives birth to twins in next week’s parasha, the midwife ties a red string around the wrist of the one whose hand emerged first. We’re told that both twins are righteous, so the theory of red string = sin doesn’t work here.
And, when the children of Israel are ready to cross the Jordan into The Land, the two men who were rescued by Rahab instruct her to hang a red string in her window so that the conquering Israelites will spare her and her family. Again, this appears to be positive, a reward for her kindness.
The color red has long been associated with illicit sexual behavior, specifically prostitution. Consider the red light district. And both Tamar and Rahab are basically righteous women who at one time prostitute themselves.
But the color red is also associated with wealth and high status. In Proverbs, one of the praises offered to an ideal Jewish wife, an eshet chayil, is that “her entire household is clothed in scarlet.” And a red thread is often used for protection in ancient Near East rituals, both Jewish and otherwise. One outstanding example is the red blood of the sacrifice painted on the lintel of the Israelites’ homes to protect them from the plague of the death of the firstborn as the prelude to the Exodus.
So I have to conclude that the color red is associated with both sin and righteousness. I suppose that these are actually the two sides of the same coin. We all have the potential to be either. Or both. I think for most of us, that coin gets flipped back and forth more than once during the course of a lifetime.
I’ll leave your choice of jewelry up to you. Since intent and focus have so much to do with the mystery of how life works, it’s entirely possible that if you believe that a thing will have a particular effect, it will.
The idea that different colors have different energies is not a new one. Those who read auras say that the color of someone’s aura has a lot to say about their health, physical and otherwise. There’s so much exploration we could undertake on this topic, but our real goal here is to put together our Shabbat dinner.
So, what shall we eat?
Red strings…red strings…red strings…
Come on, this one’s easy!
It’s spaghetti night! Spaghetti and red sauce, to be precise. Just be sure to cook your spaghetti in a large pot of well-salted water (it should taste like the sea), and don’t over-cook it. Also (I’m hoping I don’t have to say this) don’t break your spaghetti up into pieces. Put it into the boiling water whole, and stir it. As the strands soften, they’ll all go in. Stir it every few minutes while it’s cooking. Once it’s done, drain it and sauce it lightly. Don’t rinse it.
Tip: you can make it a little bit in advance. When it’s done, dress it with a little olive oil to keep it from sticking. When you’re ready to serve it, add it into the hot sauce and it will be perfect.
And to go with? One of my absolute favorite things to eat across all culinary cultures…
Eggplant Parmesan. The sauce for the eggplant, that you’ll find with the recipe, will be shared with the spaghetti.
We’ll add a salad…an Italian tri-color salad. The crisp Belgian endive, slightly bitter radicchio, and crunchy romaine hearts add a nice balance to the sweetness of the eggplant.
And we’ll start with Stracciatella—a garlicy soup with escarole and eggdrop.
And it’s Shabbat, so of course there will be challah. I’ll add some chopped, sautéed garlic to the dough and some crushed garlic to the egg wash to give it that garlic bread essence. Click below for the basic recipe
As I said, I adore eggplant in any way, and especially in eggplant parmesan.
Good eggplant parmesan.
And I’m sad to say, there’s a lot of sub par eggplant parm out there.
So what makes a great eggplant parm?
The eggplant slices must be thin and crispy. That means dipped in egg, then in seasoned breadcrumbs, and then fried in oil. Not baked, and not naked.
The sauce must be made from good tomatoes. Use the right tomatoes and you won’t have to add things like sugar or baking soda to reduce the acid.
The sauce is supposed to dress the eggplant, not drown it. And, the cheese is there to enhance the eggplant, not to bury it under mounds of melted gooeyness. Americans often use way too much cheese in Italian parmigiana dishes. Use a light hand and your eggplant will still be crispy round the edges when it comes to the table.
As for the soup, this is serious comfort food and, if you’ve got chicken stock or a good vegetable stock on hand, it takes very little time to throw together.
For dessert, I decided to make some Chocolate Crinkle Cookies and a fresh fruit plate, because that’s what I’m in the mood for.
And that’s dinner!