Aaron`s Blossoming Rod Challah ~ Re-visited!

 

TODAY!

 

TODAY!

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The next day, Moses entered the Tent of Testimony and behold, Aaron’s staff, from the house of Levi, had sprouted, blossomed, and produced almonds!

^{Numbers 17:8}

 

^{Dear Friends!}

^{Shabbat Shalom!}

^{This is Shayndel, coming in to say Hello and Shabbat Shalom after a long while!!}

^{The funny thing is, this is a draft of a post that I started last year at this time!!}

^{I am amazed to see how `today` on this Shabbat, I have made this very same challah and  that it is so similar to the one on our Shabbat table at this very time of Parsha Korah year!!} 

 

^{I love something about that, and so it made it easy to do a post, I actually kept the post as it was  !!!} 

 

^{And just added the 2 pictures that say SHABBAT SHALOM from `TODAY` and this intro.} 

 

^{How are you? I missed you and hope you are all well! Much love from `TODAY`!!}

^Love,

^Shayndel

 

^{(Post below is drafted one year ago on this same Shabbat of Korach!}  

^{New edits or words I added when re-posting are in Red, just for historical accuracy:).)}

^{~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~} 

If you come to my home for Shabbat, on certain Parsha you will find certain things at our Shabbat table!

For example, in Parsha Shelach, we will always try to have Big Grapes!  Because of the big cluster of grapes that the 12  brought back from the Land of Israel when they went to spy the land, we are reminded of the bounty that the LORD provides and the fruitfulness in the Land of Israel.  On Parsha Toldot (oops! I had written Vayigash in the original draft!), be ready for red stew! You-know-why that is! (If you don`t, please see HERE.....)!

Those are just a few examples, and if you come for Parsha Korach, which was last (This) week for us,

You will find a special Challah, Aaron`s blossoming rod challah!

I am beginning to feel more and more the presence of angels in our home when we welcome the Shabbat, and that Heaven is pleased to look down and see the table set in an expression of the word we are reading!!  There are actually in the Bible those whose  job was to set out the bread of the presence weekly in the holy place.  As I return to the blog this week after a long absence, I wonder if that this is one of my callings.  I hadn`t written for a while on the  blog, but was encouraged by a dear blogger friend, so I decided to come back and explore it further, and return here to my challah blog and to share the blessings of Shabbat and invite you to the Table together as we partake of the bread and the vine!!

You did not choose Me, but I chose you. I selected you so that you would go and produce fruit, and your fruit would remain. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in My name.

John 15:16 

 Shabbat Shalom to all! Happy to `see` you again!

Love,❤️

Shayndel

 For how to make the Blossoming Rod Challah, and for more about the story of Aaron`s blossoming rod and parsha Korach, please visit HERE, HERE, and HERE to start!

Please find a prayer sheets to pray for your loved ones corresponding to the parsha HERE Korah, and all parsha HERE on AHAVA Prayer and Movement! Also please sign up for my weekly Parsha newsletter and Prayer sheet, either there or here!

 
 

PS  adding this trailer, hope its timeless!! And that we can keep making this challah year after year on the Shabbat of Parsha Korach, and make all our special challah for everyone at the banquet when Messiah returns to restore all things❤️

Post returned, though still in progress

Thank you friends, I returned the post below, but temporarily removed the Hebrew postcard, To add an   א   !!!!!

The post, "God is Love, and you are a crown of beauty in His hand, Postcards♡"  is back,  with the scriptures added!!

The Hebrew version of the postcard will return shortly!!

I couldn`t leave the post out of commission for too long, as the word that it contains is from the scriptures and I wanted to have the word posted , even if the postcard will be delayed!!  Reminded that the word of God will remain even after the heavens and earth ( and all the material world things ) pass away!!

Meanwhile, I needed to get a new yellow color pencil, you may not believe it but I used the very last of the color pencil to color the postcards, and to make the correction I needed more yellow to fill the heart around `God is Love` in Hebrew!! That may be more blog- behind-the-scenes that you needed to know, but as you are my loyal and wonderful blog friends who hold me accountable for my actions by your loving and caring comments and sharing, I felt to tell you what was happening on this end, probably things only a fellow blogger could understand (I hope!! Lol!!:)!! And if anyone has no idea what I am talking about, no worries!! Enjoy, have some challah, and thank you for visiting!!!

Meanwhile, 
We at Challah and Cherry Blossoms apologize for any inconvenience with my posting and reposting!! and For your viewing pleasure during this inconvenience,  I invite you to watch my new One-minute  `Trailer`!!! at Joanne`s Challah-Cast Channel.

(note :  its a new Trailer!!!,  the feature has already been released!!!

Enjoy!! Love, Shayndel

Aaron's Blossoming Rod Challah!

Taking a closer look at almonds, in this weeks Parsha!

and behold, Aaron`s staff, from the house of Levi, had sprouted, blossomed, and produced almonds!

---Numbers 17:8

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You will see the blossoms will begin to sprout off of the ends as you make the long strands.

Make almond paste simply by mixing almond powder, sugar, an egg white and vanilla or almond essence.  Not the bitter almond kind though!

Notes on Making the Challah;
The Whole Wheat Challah dough is perfectly elastic and easy to use for the long rods that will make the main challah, as well as easy to fill for the rounds that will be the blossoms!! It sprouts and blossoms as you make it.

The delicious almond paste filling is easy to make.  It goes in the middle of each of the strands.  You can be creative with sprinkling and decorating with almonds.  When making this challah I also looked closely at the almonds, their beautiful texture like wood, and the contrast to the rough outside.

Almond trees are  the first blossoming tree in Israel, in late winter.   There are many almond trees on Mt. Zion.  The almond blossoms are used on the motif for the Menorah in the Holy of Holies, which is made in the shape of an almond tree with bulbous blossoms at various points.  In the scriptures we know that Aaron`s rod and a rod itself represent authority and God`s chosen one.  It speaks of blossoming and a time yet to be revealed.

It will come about that the staff of the man I choose will sprout.   --Numbers 17:5A

Notes on the Flowers! I  like to make connections to the weekly parsha when getting ready for Shabbat, and when  choosing flowers for Shabbat.
This week there was a special on a bunch of roses at the flower shop!  That gave me the inspiration to "act out" the parsha in flowers.  They represent the twelve rods that each tribe had to set before ADONAI and one would blossom.  As you can see the open pink rose represents Aaron's rod that blossomed!

at the flower shop, always so many choices!  Even seeing the roses laid out like this reminded me of the rods that were laid out in the Tent of Meeting.  Only one would blossom!

Almonds, almonds and more almonds,  an amazing breakfast idea for the Shabbat of Parsha Korach, Aaron's Blossoming Rod Challah with Almond butter, Fig shake, and almond milk!

God Bless you and  Shabbat Shaolom.
Have a great week!  Shavu'a Tov!

I will bless ADONAI at all times.
His praise is continually in my mouth.  --Psalm 34:2



For more on how to make Aaron`s Blossoming Rod Challah, see HERE

Aaron`s Blossoming Staff Challah, Part 2, Setting the Table for Parsha Korach

The table is set as the story of this week`s Parsha Korach unfolds ---in Challah!---  to reveal almond flowers from Aaron`s Staff

On Shabbat, our table can become a place to tell the story of the weekly parsha reading, and a way to invite others to enter into the Torah in creative and fun ways.  And maybe even inspire others to read the Torah and hunger for the Word that it contains.

The Parsha this week inspired me to make a Challah to express Aaron`s Blossoming, Flowering  Staff.

 (see Post , Aaron`s Blossoming Staff Challah, Part 1 below )

In this post, I would like to set the table with the Challah and a little more of the story.

When Korach rebels against Moses, which is actually a rebellion against G-d, G-d tells Moses to have the twelve tribes line up their staffs (rods)  in front of the testimony of the Tent of Meeting.

ADONAI spoke to Moses saying, "Speak to Bnei-Yisrael and get a rod from each ancestral house, twelve staffs in all, from each prince according to his ancestral household.  ---Numbers 17:1

He then tells Moses that the staff of the man that He chooses will sprout, and this is how He was to do away with those who are grumbling and rebelling against Moses.  So Moses gathered the staffs and placed them before ADONAI in the Tent of Testimony.

Of course, Aaron's staff blossoms (see post below and read Numbers 17:1 - 12!).

 To keep the surprise for your Shabbat guests, I recommend keeping `Aaron`s Flowering Staff` Challah  covered at first.  This is fitting  because we keep the Challah covered while we recite the blessings over the candles and the wine (explained in a post HERE)!  I used my Second Challah Cover, with the Hebrew names of the Twelve Tribes.    

For a dramatic effect in the telling of the parsha, from under the Challah Cover, you can have the flowers and the top of the staff emerge!

As you tell the story of the Parsha to your Shabbat guests, and uncover the Challah it makes for a memorable surprise and teaching to see how only the staff of Aaron blossomed.  Have almonds scattered on the table, and if possible, use a blossom patterned cloth!

Behind the scenes note:

For the eleven `staffs` of the tribes,  I used `POCKY` sticks.  They are a popular kind of candy in Japan.  I used `almond` variety, and this colorful shower variety.  I bring your attention here to the back of the `Almond` Pocky box.  There were perforations where you could poke the arms out and move them into an embrace.  It just seemed perfect to put the flowering staff into the hands of the boy!  And  do you see how the background has blossoms all around!!

Don`t you find that as our lives get more and more focused on Torah, every little thing around us reflects it too!! Even a Pocky Box! Pocky sticks! And the origami paper that is full of blossoms.  Just roll it and tape it to make a little `flowering Staff` to remind us of Aaron in the story this week of Parsha Korach.

Aaron`s staff is a testimony in perpetuity to us all to NOT rebel like Korah, and to be obedient to the One who G-d chooses as His High Priest.  This story lives on.

ADONAI said to Moses, "Put Aaron's staff back in front of the Testimony to keep as a sign to the sons of rebellion, so that it may put an end to their grumblings against Me, and so they will not die. "  Moses did just as ADONAI commanded him.     --Numbers 17:12

 

Blessings and Shalom!

Love,

Shayndel

note:  I have been using the words `rod` and `staff` interchangeably through these two posts.