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July 15, 2025 in Food Tourah
Parshat Pinchas – 41 parshiot down, only 13 more to go!
Pinchas begins with God promising a “covenant of peace” to Pinchas, who zealously defended God’s honor at the end of Balak – a dramatic episode we didn’t explore in last week’s Food Tourah. God then commands a census of all males able to bear arms. Each tribe is listed by name, along with its count of men of fighting age, which in total numbered 601,730.
Following the census, God instructs Moses on how the land of Israel is to be divided among the tribes. The daughters of Zelophehad – whose father died leaving no sons – come to Moses requesting the right to inherit their father’s portion. Moses brings their case before God, who agrees to this request and then specifies broader laws of inheritance.
Next, God instructs Moses to prepare Joshua for leadership and pass on to him the authority to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land. The parsha concludes with a detailed list of offerings that are to be brought daily, as well as those required on Shabbat and each of the festivals.
This week, set the tone for your meal by starting with a Peace Cocktail – a nod to God’s covenant of peace with the parsha’s namesake, Pinchas. Sip that while contemplating the census tally of 601,730 (and that was just the men aged 20 and up!) Our first thought? That’s a lot of people to feed! With that in mind, we’re linking to this article: How to Easily Feed a Crowd without Ordering Pizza – hope you find it helpful! Since this week’s parsha focuses on lineage and inheritance, family favorites are in order. As the summer heat continues, how about starting your meal with a Spanish Grandmother’s Gazpacho? It’s tasty, refreshing, and easy to scale up for a large gathering.
Keeping with the theme of tradition, we collected a few recipes that sounded especially good. Pair either Safta’s Salmon or Grandma’s Meatballs with Great Aunt Sallie’s Sweet Potato Soufflé for a complete meal. For more Bubbe-approved ideas (and a good laugh), we stumbled across the website Leave it to Bubbe. Worth a look for the name alone!
For dessert, we have two tempting options. For something old made new again, try Not Your Bubbe’s Babka – the same sweet classic with a time-saving twist. Alternatively, in honor of Zelophehad’s daughters – whose bold plea helped shape Jewish inheritance law to include women – we found this recipe for Individual Ladyfingers Dessert. Bonus: it’s no-bake! Take your pick from either dessert…we won’t judge if you choose both.
B’tayavon and Shabbat Shalom, Alison (Baraf) & Sarah (Roark)
To read past installments of Food Tourah – Click Here.
For a more in-depth look at this week’s parsha, visit Sefaria.com
