Parashat Beshallach - Walking Through the Sea & Man Hu

 This week I have a guest challah maker. Combine a busy work week with being sick (went for a covid test, no results yet), there’s still work to do today (even though I don’t normally work Fridays). Jesse stepped up to bake and cook. 

We discussed a few different shapes. My favourite is a bird challah. Midrash tells that when some of the mixed multitude strew the manna on the ground on Shabbat to make it seem as if manna had fallen that day, the birds came to eat it before anyone saw. There is a strong tradition of feeding wild birds for parashat Beshallach. Jesse chose to make manna. Described as man hu, meaning what is it, the manna was formless and described as tasting like coriander seed. It’s covered with poppy seeds because the Yiddish mun is similar in sound. This is Jesse’s interpretation of manna.

Jesse also created a beautiful interpretation of the splitting of the sea. Everything spice represents the shells and stones that would have been left on the sand and cinnamon on the outer sides is the sand and dirt that would have been churned up by the movement of the water. Beautiful.

Finally, no Shabbat is complete without our family cupcake challah.

 

My children, like all other can be frustrating and aggravating. They leave laundry and dishes around and consistently clean up 97% of the kitchen. Really! 97%. Why do they do that?! Why not just put the last few things away or wipe down the table? But when we need them, they step up. 

Here’s hoping that covid tests are negative. Be well. As Sean says, “Stay safe and stay sane.”

Shabbat shalom.