Parshas Tzav - Kosher L'Pesach to boot

Explanation 

 

Terumas Hadeshen - Before the start of the daily service in the mishkan, one shovelful of ashes from the previous day's Korbanos was lifted from a mound of ashes and deposited next to the Mizbayach ramp. This was called the Terumas Hadeshen. ("The Kohen shall don his fitted linen Tunic, and he shall don linen Pants on his flesh, he shall raise the ashes which the fire will consume of the Olah-offering on the Altar, and place it next to the Altar." [Vayikra 1:3])

 

From http://www.torah.org/learning/ravfrand/5767/tzav.html

What is the symbolism of this Avodah? What is the symbolism of the fact that every single morning, the first thing the Kohen did was gathering the ashes from the previous day's offerings and placing them next to the altar for today's offerings?

Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch says something here that is strikingly beautiful. I quote (from the English translation of Hirsch's original German commentary): "The Jewish today has to take its mission from the hand of its yesterday." This means, we have to bind today's Avodah [Divine Service] with yesterday's Avodah. This is because yesterday's Avodah and today's Avodah are the same Avodah. In Judaism, there is no such thing as "Oh that was yesterday's challenge. Today is something different."

No. Today is the same Avodah as yesterday. As Rav Hirsch explains "The very last Jewish grandchild stands there before G-d with the same mission of life that his first ancestor bore."

Technique

1. Cake is Brownie Pesach Recipe

2. Formed ashes into a mound

3. Mixed Crushed Brownie with Confectioner's Sugar and sprinkled it all over the top.

4. Stuck in a kosher l'pesach plastic shovel

Parshas Vayikra

Explanation 

 The Korbonos in this week's parsha can be from Cow, Sheep, Goat, Flour & Oil Or Bird. Every Korban needs salt and cannot have sourdough or honey.

Technique

The cake is made from Duncan Hines cake.

Parshas Vayakhel-Pekudei

Explanation 

 לא תבערו אש בכל מושבותיכם - You shall not kindle a fire in all of your dwelling places.

On Shabbos - one may not light a fire or do any of the other 39 categories of work used to build the mishkan. 

Technique

The cake is made from Duncan Hines cake. I  split the batter into 2 8-inch tins

1. I used chocolate frosting between the cakes and on the side.
2. The top was covered with white frosting
3. The Fire is made out of red, yellow and blue fruit roll up cut and layered to look like a flame.
4. The no fire sign is made out of pull and peel twizzlers
5. The cup is white frosting mixed with 3 drops black food coloring,
6. The grape juice is made from crushed up Paskes purple lollipops.
7. The match is a pretzel stick topped with red fruit rollup

Parshas Ki Sisa

Parsha Cookies

Explanation each male 20 and up was required to give a half a shekel. It was collected in Adar to be used beginning in Nissan

Technique

Made from the Sugar Cookie Recipe from Susie Fishbein's Kids in the Kitchen.  rolled out some of the dough to write 1/2 on the cookies.  Made Glaze from confectioner's sugar, water, and corn syrup. Dissapointingly, the black food coloring turned purplish rather than silverish.

Parsha Cake

Explanation 


After Moshe spent 40 days and nights on Har Sinai, he came down and saw the egel hazahav, the golden calf. He took the egel, ground it and put it in water for the people to drink

יט וַיְהִי, כַּאֲשֶׁר קָרַב אֶל-הַמַּחֲנֶה, וַיַּרְא אֶת-הָעֵגֶל, וּמְחֹלֹת; וַיִּחַר-אַף מֹשֶׁה, וַיַּשְׁלֵךְ מִיָּדָו אֶת-הַלֻּחֹת, וַיְשַׁבֵּר אֹתָם, תַּחַת הָהָר.

19 And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing; and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and broke them beneath the mount.

כ וַיִּקַּח אֶת-הָעֵגֶל אֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ, וַיִּשְׂרֹף בָּאֵשׁ, וַיִּטְחַן, עַד אֲשֶׁר-דָּק; וַיִּזֶר עַל-פְּנֵי הַמַּיִם, וַיַּשְׁקְ אֶת-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל.

20 And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it with fire, and ground it to powder, and strewed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it

Technique

The cake is made from Duncan Hines cake. I  poured the  majority into 9x13 disposable tin and the remainder into a pyrex bowl and put both in the oven to bake.

After baking, both cakes were cooled in the freezer for over 45 minutes. I leveled the cake that was in the bowl with a knife.

The big cake was frosted with white frosting mixed with a spoonful of chocolate, a drop of yellow & 3 drops of green. 

The water was made with white frosting tinted with neon blue food coloring.  I sprinkled yellow sugar crystals on the water to make the ground up golden calf.

Har Sinai was made with white frosting colored with regular green frosting. I crumb coated it first and then did a final layer. I used a paper scraped against the cake to smooth the frosting. I sprinkled flower toppings on Har Sinai. The broken luchos were graham crackers covered with frosting and blue sugar.