Parsha Mattot and Massei--Tribes and Journeys: Worship, Thanks, and a Butterfly Challah!

first `stages` of shaping the butterfly challah! (above) 

Two butterfly challot for the week of Matot and Masei!

The butterfly in the drawing and on the challah is inspired by a butterfly I met during the week of Matot and Masei

These are the journeys of the sons of Israel, by which they came out from the land of Egypt by their armies, under the leadership of Moses and Aaron.  Moses recorded their starting places according to their journeys by the command of the LORD, and these are their journeys according to their starting places.    Numbers 33:1~2

In this week`s parsha as we finish the book of Numbers let us all say the words that are said at the end of each book of Torah! 

Chazak, Chazak, Venit Chazek.  Be strong, Be strong and let us strengthen one another!!

This week I made a butterfly challah--actually two!! They multiplied!!

And because of the theme of the butterfly and transformation that comes from the journey that we are on in Christ, I added some praise and worship scenes in to the challah-cast this week (below)!! The challah-cast became more of a `worship-cast`!

Its inevitable eventually the praise and worship will find a way in to the challah uploads!   Praise and worship are part of everything we do on our `journey`, so maybe that is also part of what this upload is about!!  As I do the challah-casts they are always a time to seek the Holy Spirit for what He would speak to me or through me for the particular week, so maybe it is that! 　I sensed that rather than be a tutorial about how to make the challah, it was about the transformation that we go through as we seek to draw closer to God.  

I took video of the whole making of the challah --forming the butterfly shape--, but after all I ended up not including that this time and just kept it to showing the basic `stages` and then the scenes of worship by the river!!!  Funny as I write that I saw something.  `Masei` which is the Hebrew for  `journeys` in the name of the parsha, can also be translated as `stages`!!!

 I am noticing that this time around I did figure out an actual series of steps to make the challah into a butterfly shape, with weighing and measuring of all the pieces.  In this way I was able  to easily make the two challah almost identical, and it can be shared as a `recipe` in stages!

 Please let me know how the `challah/worship-cast`  communicates to you if you are moved to watch.  And if you would like to know more about how to make the challah!  I love it if the challah-casts, or worship-casts can be a way of encouraging one another and to `broad`-cast His goodness.

Blessings and Shavu`a Tov!! Have a blessed week! 

Love, ♡

Shayndel

 


＊Related posts on making a  Butterfly challah  HERE and related post HERE＊

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.       Romans 12:2

וְאַל־תִּדַּמּוּ לָעוֹלָם הַזֶּה כִּי אִם־הִתְחַלְּפוּ לִהְיוֹת לָכֶם לֵב חָדָשׁ לִבְחֹן מַה־הוּא רְצוֹן 

הָאֱלֹקִים הַטּוֹב וְהַנֶּחְמָד וְהַשָּׁלֵם

......................
Hebrew Notes!!
some notes here on the Hebrew journey I have recently set out on as well!!!

Masei , is the plural of the word Masa, which is written

 מַסַּע

Details can be found in Strong`s concordance #4550

massa: a pulling up, breaking (camp), setting out, a journey

Original Word: מַסַּע
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: massa
Phonetic Spelling: (mas-sah')
Definition: a pulling up, breaking (camp), setting out, a journey
Translations include:  NASB Translation
journey (1), journeys (7), order of march (1), set (2), stages (1)

Butterfly Challah for Parsha Masei and Matot

 These are the journeys of Bnei-Yisrael when they came out of Egypt by their divisions under the hand of Moses and Aaron.  Moses recorded the stages of their journeys at ADONAI`s command.  These then are their journeys by stages.    ---Numbers 33:1, Parsha Masei, Journeys

This week the meeting with the butterfly stayed with me and as I was getting ready for Shabbat I knew that this weeks challah would be a Butterfly Challah!

The shapes just came naturally, as I rolled the dough and divided it into three.  The body became a braided shape and the antennae really just formed themselves.  Then I rolled out a few strands to shape the wings.

I made some plum filling to go inside to honor my meeting with the butterfly and having left her in the ume (plum) tree, from where she would fly to her next place.

 The makings of a Butterfly Challah

I rolled the plum paste, well actually prune, into another strand and the next thing that happened was I realized I could make 6 little rounds in each wing to make a pattern. These would represent the 12 tribes as this weeks Parsha is Matot and Masei, double portion, Tribes and Journeys!!  And be reminiscent of the black ink like patterns and dots on her precious wings.  Then another thin line around the middle also remniscient of a journey, and see how it also made a kind of heart! 

Connecting with the Parsha

Masei, the second portion, means Journey.  It  also seemed to speak to my spirit this week with the butterfly.  And it connected the dots to think about the journey of the children of Israel as we are finishing the book of Numbers, as well as my journey from point to point, and all our journeys and transformation.

I was happy with how the butterfly challah came out, and somehow it seems to also go with the double portion readings of Masei and Matot.  As if she was a tribes and journey butterfly, coming to meet me at just this time.   As I have challah that I make for different Shabbat, I can see this becoming one on the challah cycle.  A butterfly challah for parsha Masei and Matot.

Shabbat Shalom! 

As we finish the book of Numbers and get ready to start the book of Deuteronomy, we say these words, words to say at the end of each book of the Torah.  This year I say them and dedicate to my sweet butterfly friend.

Chazak, chazak,v`nitchazek!
Be strong, be strong, and be strengthened!!

  ♡

Healing in His Wings

But for you who revere My Name, 

the sun of righteousness will come with healing in his wings.

Malachi 4:2

Seeing this little butterfly today on the pavement, with broken wings,  I thought of this scripture, and prayed to Yeshua to heal her wings.  It started an adventure and a morning and an afternoon and all the way into evening.  I  never imagined that I would spend a whole day with  a little butterfly.  There must have been something surely God wanted to show me in bringing her this close today.

This morning I  ran  out to the 7-eleven to fax something to my Dad in the US.  I had written the fax number on a  butterfly shape memo paper.   That is why it amazed me to see the butterfly while I was holding the butterfly memo, soon after I left our apartment house.
 It was just the way the Holy Spirit was calling attention to Himself.

So I kneeled down and saw one of the wings was overlapped on the other, and she couldn`t fly and  was having a struggle moving.

Amazingly she started to crawl towards the paper and I picked her up.  Then we went together to the convenience store just a block away and in that block she started to come closer to me, and soon I  was able to hold her gently in my hand.  She even climbed up on my arms.  Once she fell down to the ground, as there was a wind and she was weak, and she found my foot and crawled up again!!

I didn`t know what to do about the fax, as my Dad was waiting but I couldn`t bring her inside, as I remember hearing that butterflies can`t live in side without outside natural air... not sure if that is true, but I didn`t want to take a chance, and eyed the scene outside to see if I could ask someone to watch her.. so I asked a man sitting on a bench outside the 7-eleven , he was a businessman on a break and in between calls.  I  felt boldness and the instinct to protect this creature of God and asked , challenged, him to watch her while I went in to make a fax!! I might have astonished him, but that is good.  It is what we need to do sometimes as the salt and the light!

So I left my new butterfly friend with him and ran inside only to find out that the fax machine doesn`t do international fax.  So I thanked the man and  picked her up and continued on our way to the next convenience store nearby.  There I know they have international fax.  I found a safe place to leave the butterfly when I went in, and told her I would be right back, and there she waited!!

After finishing the business, I wanted to bring her to a place she might be happy in, and brought her to my favorite place where the ume (plum) tree is.  I set her on a leaf of the ume tree, and the breath of God breathed into her as she settled on to a leaf.  I prayed for her to be healed and be able to fly again.  The wing that had been completely folded over was now opening and she expanded and contracted, like she was stretching her muscles!!  Then I noticed myself, here I was crouched and kneeling in the shade of the plum tree on a very hot summer day.  It was a wonderful place to be, but not somewhere I would have brought myself.  God, through this butterfly , brought me there.

The time with her continued through out the day.  This sounds like a story made up but it is true, several times during the day I left her for even several hours to take care of other things in the day, and each time I came back she was there waiting for me! We had such a splendid time, and I really believed she would fly.   I turned on some music and danced with her to Sim Shalom.  And she kept trying to walk and stretch her wings, finding my feet and climbing up and finding my hat and echoing the bow!!

At the end of the day I left her on a leaf in the ume tree.  Sim Shalom means give peace.  I felt sad to leave her but she seemed so peaceful and I know that she is in His hands.  It was a special time with her today.

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.   --James 4:8

♡