Food Tourah – Bo

January 29, 2025 in Food Tourah

Parshat Bo – 15 parshiot down, only 39 more to go!

Parshat Bo recounts the final three plagues that G-d brings upon the Egyptians: locusts, thick darkness across the land, and the death of the firstborn. After 430 years of slavery, Pharoah and the Egyptians finally accept reality and demand that the Israelites leave. This parsha also introduces the commandment to eat unleavened bread and outlines other lasting practices, such as hanging mezuzot on our doorposts and wrapping tefillin – continuing reminders that G-d freed the Jewish people from Egypt.

The final plague was truly the last straw for Pharaoh and the Egyptians – so it feels fitting to begin your evening with a Last Straw Cocktail. Toast to the beginning of the Israelites’ journey toward freedom!  And speaking of journeys, while we all know that the Israelites left Egypt in such a haste that they were unable to let their bread rise, if they’d had just a bit more time, perhaps they would have made this Journey Cake to take on their travels. Shawnee Native Americans baked these hearty cakes to bring on expeditions – portable fuel for the road.

Reading about the darkness that covered Egypt, we were inspired to include a Brooklyn Blackout Cake – rich, chocolatey, and perfectly themed. (Just curious…how many of us can trace our American roots back to Brooklyn?) And because you can never have too much dessert, we’ll conclude with a nod to the mezuzot in this parsha: Fortune Cookies. Like a mezuzah, each contains a meaningful message tucked inside.

B’tayavon and Shabbat Shalom,
Alison (Baraf) & Sarah (Roark)

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For a more in-depth look at this week’s parsha, visit Sefaria.com.