Sometimes the Torah is very confusing. This week's parasha is progressing along nicely; discussing at length and great detail the care and feeding of priests; moving on to special holy days and then touching on specific items that we still use on Shabbat (lights and challah). Then, suddenly, out of nowhere, the Torah turns aside and tells us about this guy whose mom was Jewish but his father was not and he had a fight with another Jew and used G-d's name in a bad way.
What in the world? I'm not saying the story is not worth telling. And certainly the verdict and the lesson learned about using G-d's name are valuable, but what is this doing here? In the middle of discussions about holiness, purity and priests?
As a teacher, I have encountered many (too many) times when I am in the middle of an exciting and important lesson and the class' current imp (and there is always one, isn't there?) pipes up with some irrelevant or, worse, inappropriate, comment or action. And then you have to stop mid-sentence, losing your momentum and the class' rapt attention to give the little upstart a piece of your mind. And sometimes, when you're done, you sort of temporarily abandon the previous topic to go on a rant regarding proper behavior in this and other matters, addressing general rules and what happens to those who break them.
It seems the same thing happened here. G-d was in the middle of talking about VERY IMPORTANT STUFF when this pipsqueak starts a fight. Now, normally, G-d can ignore fights the way parents ignore siblings squabbling. But in this case, somebody mentioned G-d's name and cursed it. W-e-l-l!!! This cannot be ignored. No sirree-bob. So G-d paused His lesson and dealt with the offender and then used the opportunity to explain that A. If you curse G-d - you die and B. As long as we're on the subject here's a bunch of other things that have to do with general violence. I.e. - don't.
It's interesting what new directions we take when something unexpected is inserted into our path. I went to the green grocer's this week and they had those beautiful leeks. Now, leeks come in many shapes and sizes: thin, thick, lots of white part, too much of the green, with or without brownish spots. Whatever. These were excellent. Thick, clean and with more creamy white part than dark green (less useful) one. So I bought a few. I wasn't planning on buying any and I had no idea what I will be doing with them. Then I got home and my daughter said: "You know how I did not want any soup yesterday because my stomach was bothering me? Can I have some soup now?"
She ended up eating some mushroom broth because she (or rather her tummy) rejected the idea of a leek and potato soup. But the seed was already planted.
Leek and Potato soup
4 thick, long leeks, white parts only, thoroughly washed, thinly sliced
4 Tbs butter (or olive oil)
4-5 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
Water or vegetable broth (enough to cover the veggies)
Salt and pepper to taste
Over low-medium heat, cook leeks in butter or oil, stirring occasionally, until soft and starting to brown a bit.
Add potatoes and cover with broth or water (if you use water, you might have to spice it up a bit and the flavor will be slightly different. I really recommend using broth, even if canned or from powder, just use quality brands).
Bring to a boil, lower heat to low, cover and cook for 30-45 minutes until potatoes are totally soft.
Puree the soup with an immersion blender or in a food processor (let it cool a bit first if using a food processor).
Season to taste.
Optional - you can stir a little cream in if you want it to be richer, and gently re-heat. But really, there's no need.
This will serve 5-6
And, speaking of G-d's name, I must quote our Christian friends "G-d's last name is not 'damn' " If you think about it, using this particular expletive is like blaming G-d for whatever got you riled up. Is it G-d's fault that you banged your finger in the door? Or that there is traffic? Or that someone annoyed you? Be fair.
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