tazria
parasha Tazria, leviticus chapters 12—13
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… and thoughts
Tazria
conceives
What to write about Parasha Tazria … it’s challenging, because on the surface it’s kind of yuck.
The Parasha begins with “When a woman conceives … “ And then we jump right in to childbirth, after which she has become impure—ritually impure, that is—and we’re given the details of what she must do to become pure once again.
The next thing you know, we’re talking about other types of impurity, such as scaly white skin, puss, boils, mold, and mildew.
Is everyone ready for dinner now?
The Rabbis say that the cause of tsara’at, the gross skin eruptions that cause one to become impure, are the result of the sin of lashon hara, which is often translated as gossip. That seems pretty severe.
Words! What’s the big deal? No, gossip is not very nice, but really, they’re just words. Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never harm me.
A certain man who was on trial for his spoken words said, in his defense, that he was exercising his right to free speech.
Before we can determine whether or not his defense has merit, we need to determine the meaning of “free speech.” If free speech, a basic right given to all citizens of this country, means that one is free to say anything one wishes to say, then the defendant is correct.
Those who toss his defense out the window say that the constitution gives us the right to speak our opinion, specifically to criticize the government, but not to yell “Fire!” in a crowded theater. Slander is illegal. Telling outright lies is not free speech, it’s evil speech.
Speech is never free. Speech comes with a cost, and that cost can be very high. Just as most of us would give careful thought before buying a very expensive item, we should give careful thought to the words we choose to speak. Words have great power—perhaps the greatest power. The pen being mightier than the sword is one supportive example, but here’s a better one.
Words create universes.
All was chaos. All was an empty void. And God said, “Let there be light!”
Without those very first words and the ones that followed over the next six days, there’d be no world, no country, and no man to protest that his right to say anything is being denied him.
There’s good speech and there’s evil speech. Our sages maintained that lashon hara, evil speech, and particularly evil speech about other people, is as terrible a sin as idolatry, murder, and incest combined. Because, just as lashon tov, good speech, can create a universe, lashon hara can potentially destroy one.
Sadly, the number of lives lost because of lashon hara is uncountable. So many people have taken their own lives because of painful words that were used to attack them. Others survive, but with life-long scars—they never reach their potential because of the harm that was done to them through cruel words. And, lashon hara can harm an entire nation or destroy a civilization. Take, for example, the negative report that the ten spies brought to the Israelites regarding their assessment of the land that they were about to enter. Their words caused an entire people to falter, and resulted in a short journey becoming a forty year trek with almost none of the original travelers ever seeing their destination.
And, just as words spoken reflect our thinking, words spoken shape our thinking. What image do you have in your mind when you hear the word “girl?” Is it the same as the image you get when you hear the word “woman?”
The Amidah, the prayer that observant Jews daven three times daily begins with asking God to open our lips so that our mouths may offer praise. Without the gift of lashon tov, the words that follow have no meaning. The closing words of the Amidah are a plea for assistance in refraining from deceitful speech. We need to ask for that help, because it’s so easy to unthinkingly say negative things about others. And not only can we sink into speaking words that are not true, we can sink into speaking words that are true, but do harm rather than good. Those might be the most insidious of all.
I say that because usually when we say something unkind, we know we’ve done that. But how often have we said something about someone else to a third someone, thinking we’re only saying it because we “care about that person?” We think that the truth we’re sharing is constructive. Usually, it’s not constructive. Those words, if they’re spoken at all, would be better shared with the person in question, and in a way that is gentle and loving so that they feel supported rather than attacked. It can take some pretty fancy wordsmithing to do that in a truly constructive way.
When our speech is threatening to slip into that gray area, it’s usually best to say nothing. Speech is the ultimate gift given to us by God—to us and no other creature. Perhaps the most important thing we can do with that gift is to know when not to use it.
So, what shall we eat?
When the topic is words, the first thing that comes to my mind is alphabet macaroni. Alphabet soup is serious comfort food, serious fun, direct from my childhood. I’ll wait to decide exactly what the soup will be until I decide upon the rest of the meal.
And for the vegetarian main or vegetable side:
“Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.”
I don’t think Sir Walter Scott was a Torah scholar, but he paints a perfect picture of what can happen when words are used for the wrong purpose. So, let’s weave a tangled web and talk about it.
What developed in my mind is a quick sauté of colorful spiralized vegetables, punctuated with black beans in a Thai-inspired coconut milk curry. But, then there’s the issue of the fish sauce. It’s an integral part of that dish and it’s neither vegetarian or kosher. I’ve tried leaving the nam pla, the fish sauce, out of Thai coconut milk based curries, and it’s definitely not the same. I was so happy to find this fish sauce substitute, which is both vegan and kosher. It’s as close to the real thing as you can get, and it does the job.
Zoodles, noodles made from zucchini, are touted as a low carb, low calorie, gluten-free substitute for pasta. That doesn’t speak to me. I love pasta. Real pasta. Pasta is pasta, and these are vegetables—transfigured into long, thin strings. They’re something altogether different, and considered in that way I’m a fan. This dish goes way beyond zoodles and combines several colors of spirals that look gorgeous together. If you’re a fan of colorful food, you’re going to love this.
Have you given spiralized vegetables a try yet? Once I started spiralizing vegetables, I couldn’t stop. If it could possibly be spiralized, I tried it. And the spiralizing gadget is so much fun to use. This one is worth the investment (it’s not all that expensive), because there’s so much you can do with it, but if you’re not ready to invest , try this hand-held one. It’s the first one I had and it was very satisfactory.
Because I love contrasting textures, I’m going to top it off with crispy spiralized sweet potato strings.
This is undoubtedly fusion cooking, as in Asian cuisine, beans are usually reserved for desserts.
If your dinner is going to be vegetarian, or there are vegetarians among you, this vegetable dish can be made heartier, transforming it into a main course rather than a side. Click on the recipe to see all my ideas for add-ons, or come up with some of your own.
And I’ve got the perfect meat course.
There was a time when I would have, without hesitation, suggested sweet and sour tongue. It was a very common special occasion meat choice when I was young, perfect for Shabbat as an appetizer or entrée. This delicacy was a little pricey but it was readily available in any meat market or supermarket. Grandma Ethel made it with a sweet and sour raisin sauce, and it was one of my favorite treats. But, it’s fallen out of popularity and many people are kind of freaked out just thinking about it. I guess it’s because, unlike many other cuts of meat, it looks like what it is. I’m nevertheless going to give you the recipe, because it does represent classic Ashkenazi cooking, and because I’m making it for dinner this week. Give it a shot—you may be amazed by how delicious these tender slices are. Tongue is also fantastic as a deli meat, piled onto Jewish rye bread on its own, or with corned beef and pastrami (don’t forget the Russian dressing!).
So, back to the soup. I’ve decided to make a basic French onion soup—not the kind with the melted cheese, just the soup itself. When you click on that recipe you’ll see it gives you the option of adding some onion skin to darken the stock. Don’t do that here—I want a lighter colored stock here, to better show off the alphabet pasta. To finish the soup, cook some alphabet pasta separately and then add it to the soup when you’re ready to serve it. One ounce of macaroni per bowl should be just right. Optional: For a clear broth, strain out the onions from the finished soup. (use them elsewhere)
And now, dessert. Here are some tongues that I think everyone will like—Langues de Chat, or Cat’s tongues, are a thin, crispy butter cookie that are easy to make and so addictive. You can make them pareve by substituting Country Crock bars (not the tubs) for the butter. Served with a scoop of ice cream or sorbet, they’re a perfect finish to the meal.
These are cat’s tongues with a twist—We’re going to sandwich them with a pandan flavored filling.
If you’re not familiar with it, pandan, also called screw pine, is a tropical plant with long, blade-like leaves. Those leaves have the most amazing aroma and flavor. Pandan is usually used in desserts and is especially happy when paired with coconut. It turns out that it’s a very nutritious food, and that’s an additional reason to love it.
What does pandan taste like, you ask? People have described it as being similar in fragrance and flavor to vanilla, rose, coconut, almonds, and even basmati rice, but I don’t think it resembles any of those things. The only way to know it is to try it. I tried it once and have craved it ever since. If you have an Asian grocery near you, you may be able to find the leaves, fresh or frozen. If not, I’ve used this pandan product with excellent results. It’s become a staple in my kitchen.
Have fun playing with some new toys and new flavors!