lech lecha
parashat lech lecha, genesis chapter 12—17
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Go take a walk for yourself
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Lech Lecha
HaShem called to Avram and said, “Lech Lecha.”
Go take a walk for yourself.
Leave your land, your birthplace, your father’s house, and go to the land I will show you.
I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you.
And so, the text tells us that Avram took his wife, Sarai, and his orphaned nephew, Lot, and all the people they had converted to the worship of the One unseen God. He put his fate in God’s hands and set off to go to wherever God would lead him, and these others chose to follow.
Brit Bein HaBetarim
The Covenant of the Pieces
After Avram’s victory over the war of the four kings, he was worried that his victory might have used up the good fortune he’d earned through his merits. God reaffirms the promise that his descendants will be as numberless as the stars in the sky.
Avram asks for a sign by which he can know that this is true.
God’s response is to tell him to cut a bunch of animals in half.
Okayyyy …
What could be the significance of this?
In the ancient world, when two parties made a pact they would cut up an animal and pass together through the parts to seal the deal. So, this would have made sense to Avram. But why these particular animals? And why does he need three of each? Then there are two birds, both of which are left whole.
As always, there are many interpretations. Here’s one that resonates with me:
The Animals:
The incident of the golden calf has had repercussions throughout our history. It’s at the root of every calamity that has befallen us over the ages.
The ram represents the ram that appeared in the thicket when the angel stopped Avram from sacrificing Isaac.
Why the goat? It represents the goat skin that Jacob covered his arms with in order to trick the aged and blind Isaac into believing that he was his brother, Essav.
Each of these three events were pivotal in the foundation of the Jewish people—without any one of them we would not be who we are.
The Number Three:
The number three is very powerful. One is unity, the absolute, God. Two is conflict, dichotomy, Creation. Three is the moderator, the harmonizer, Torah.
The triangle is the strongest, most stable shape in nature.
There are three patriarchs, three festivals, three groups of four tribes around the tabernacle.
We can talk about four another time.
The two birds, the turtle dove, and the young dove, were not divided. Why?
Maybe it’s a prophesy.
These types of birds are often attacked by predators. The Israelites, too will be set upon by predators again and again, but through it all we will persevere and remain whole.
Why two birds? The two birds represent the two kingdoms of Israel, to be reunited in the messianic era to come.
There’s a lot of stuff going on in this parsha that can be studied and analyzed. My question is, what is this reading saying to me, right now?
It’s time I took a walk for myself.
Figuratively, more than literally—I’m not leaving town.
When we’re children, the values, opinions, and life habits of our elders become ingrained in us and shape our reality throughout our lives. It’s the stuff that affects the way we think, even more than what we think. Even more than the things that they actively teach us, the stuff that we absorb from them on a daily basis affects the way we relate to the world, and ultimately, it’s the stuff that affects every choice, big and small, that we make every day.
But sometimes, what seems so fundamentally obvious that we don’t even pay it any mind is exactly what we need to let go of.
I need to walk away from those things that are holding me back and be brave enough to step into the unknown—to listen and to hear God’s voice within and to trust that I’m travelling towards the land that God will show me.
Perhaps we all need to do this, wherever we are in our lives, in order to move forward.
Maybe each of us is being told to take a walk for ourselves, to pass between the broken pieces—we all have broken pieces— toward our promised home. And as we walk on, we’re journeying towards the bird, unbroken, that lies ahead at the end of the path. The bird, the creature that flies, represents our higher soul, soaring ever higher.
So, what shall we eat?
If we’re going to be journeying, we’re going to need a way to carry our belongings. Every hobo needs a bindle.
Hmmmm…..
I could make our bindles out of pasta…Maybe I’ll pick up some fresh lasagna sheets at the supermarket, rather than make my own from scratch… (I don’t have time to make everything from scratch!)
Feel free to make and roll your own pasta sheets if you’d like, but if you start with store bought, these are actually very simple to make. I’ll cut the pasta into squares or circles, put a little filling in the center, and then pull the sides up and together to make the little satchels. (I like to make squares so that there’s no waste.)
Having been born and raised in the Northeastern United States, autumn in Central Florida always makes me feel a bit off balance. The days are getting shorter, but it’s still pretty warm outside, and there’s nary a trace of color change in the landscape. It’s a little disconcerting.
It occurred to me that if I brought fall to my table, I just might feel a bit more grounded.
And what better way to bring autumn to the table than with fall fruits, pumpkin and warm spices? I’m going to fill those satchels with creamy ricotta, creamy gorgonzola dulce, and sweet autumn pears (an Italian classic), and dress them with a creamy pumpkin tomato sauce. The official name for these little satchels is sacchetti, and they can be assembled a day in advance and cooked on Friday afternoon. Side note: If you’re not a fan of bleu cheese, you can make them with mascarpone instead.
A few years ago, I came across a jar of pumpkin chipotle pasta sauce at Aldi’s. I’m not usually one to buy pasta sauce; I make my own. But I was intrigued, so I picked it up. I read the label. There was nothing in it that I wouldn’t use, so with some trepidation, I bought it. I thought, either I’ll love it or I’ll hate it. Whatever. It’s just food.
Spoiler alert: I loved it.
After that, I enthusiastically set out to create my own version.
Feel free to skip the recipe for the sauce and grab a jar of pumpkin pasta sauce at Aldi’s or at Trader Joe’s—they’re a bit different from each other, but they’re both good—or jump right in and make this quick and delicious sauce from scratch with me. (Amazon sells the Trader Joe’s version, but it’s insanely overpriced.)
Trout almandine is an oldie but a goodie. It will pair brilliantly with the sacchetti, and the crunch of the sliced almonds will add a welcome texture to the plate. That said, the pasta alone, served with a soup and a vegetable side, would be a lovely meal on its own and satisfy all our nutritional needs. So, to make this menu suitable for vegetarians, simply leave out the fish and serve larger portions of the pasta.
I’m going to start the meal with a woodsy roasted mushroom soup, made thick and creamy with puréed white beans. A vegetable tian will be a wonderful side for the pasta, and for the fish as well. You can assemble it the day before and just pop it in the oven when it’s time for Shabbat dinner. If you’re going vegetarian, you can finish both the Pumpkin Pasta Sauce and the Roasted Mushroom Soup with a dash of cream if you like.
For dessert after such a rich meal, I’m going to go with a simple fruit sorbet and some fancy schmancy store-bought cookies.
If you’re looking to create an elegant dinner worthy of your most revered guests, this one will fit the bill. Of course, my most revered guests are my family…