A Land of Milk and Honey
Please Note: Torah at the Table will be on hiatus for a few weeks, while my family takes a much needed vacation. This newsletter is a passion project, and one I am so happy to share with you all, but I do not have the resources to put it out every week while I am away. In advance of my trip, I am sharing here some recipe inspiration for this week’s parashah. I’ll be back in a few weeks with more ideas for your table.
This week’s parashah, Sh’lach, describes the experience of the scouts who go and investigate the promised land, and famously report that the land is filled with giants, to the dismay of the people. While they all agree that the land is good, only Joshua and Caleb counsel the people to have no fear and trust in Hashem. Fittingly, it is Joshua who will eventually lead them into the land.
While most of the scouts play up a fear of the inhabitants of the land, they all agree that the land itself is good, describing it, famously, as “flowing with milk and honey.” They also bring back the first fruits of the land: grapes, pomegranates, and figs.
For an easy recipe this week, consider offering a cheese board, using chèvre (goat cheese) drizzled with honey as your centerpiece (it’s delicious!), and rounding it out with some grapes and figs, or other fruits that are just coming into season where you live. This could be a lovely appetizer, or you could build it out into a light meal with challah and some other accompaniments. Looking for more of a complete recipe? Check out these simply instructions for Goat Cheese with Honey from Leite’s Culinaria. Feeling fancy? You could also try this recipe for Roasted Grape and Honey Goat Cheese Crostini.
Enjoy! Shabbat Shalom.