“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)”
Erev Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Beha’aloscha
15 Sivan 5784/ June 21, 2024
Pirkei Avos – Perek 2
NO KETCHUP
People take their food very seriously. We are blessed
to live in a society of plenty and we expect our plenty to tantalize our taste
buds exactly how we like it. Who isn’t a food critic these days? Debates about
which restaurant is better or what is the best dish in a particular eatery can
be surprisingly passionate.
In the United States one of our national pastime foods is the hotdog.
It’s estimated that Americans consume about 7 billion hotdogs each summer
between Memorial Day and Labor Day. (As no one is counting, anyone can make up
whatever number he wants. The bottom line is Americans eat a lot of hotdogs.)
Various places have different practices about which toppings they like on their
hotdogs.
Chicagoans classic hotdog has mustard, neon-green relish, raw onions, a
full pickle, tomatoes, a bit of celery salt on a poppy seed bun. But there’s
one thing you won’t find anywhere near a Chicago hotdog - ketchup! Former
President Obama once quipped that it’s not acceptable to put ketchup on a
hotdog once a person is older than 8 years old. There are many hotdog vendors
in Chicago that won’t even carry ketchup and will become annoyed if a customer
dares to ask for ketchup for their hotdog. In fact, there is even a book
entitled, “Never put ketchup on a hotdog.”
Why the ketchup hate? And why is it okay for children?
Ketchup is sweet and kids like when their food is sweet. To appreciate
the taste of meat one must have some modicum of culinary sophistication. Even a
hot dog, the basest of meats, has a distinct meaty taste. Children like to
douse their food in ketchup to make it sweet. But not every food is meant to be
sweet.
It’s been said (by me) that if someone is dousing steak in ketchup, it
may be a better idea to just eat a candy. He’s anyway not appreciating the
taste of the steak and it’s a lot cheaper.
Ketchup may be okay with french fries, because they don’t have much taste
anyway and are more eaten for their texture. But food that has “culinary depth”
is wasted when its taste is overwhelmed with the taste of ketchup.
For a young child who prioritizes sweet over all other tastes, we can
give him a ketchup pass. But for someone who should have more of an
appreciation, ketchup obscures the taste of the hotdog and is insulting to the
meat.
Chumash Bamidbar begins with great anticipation. The nation of former
slaves were elevated to greatness when they accepted the Torah at Sinai. They
began to travel through the desert in regal formation preparing for imminent
entry into the Holy Land.
But then disaster struck. And then disaster struck again, and again, and
again.
It’s not pleasant to read about the nation’s repeated foibles. The people
that had so recently been compared to angels was soon complaining about the
lack of pickles. Then they denigrated the Holy Land, joined the rebellion of
Korach, and caused Moshe to strike the rock, etc.
In the writings of other religions their saints are portrayed as perfect
and infallible. Why does the Torah include these unflattering stories?
The Torah is the book of life and ultimate truth. Therefore, by
definition, it must teach us about dealing with struggles and failures in that
they are an integral part of the human experience. Nothing is whitewashed in
the Torah and no one, even our greatest leaders, gets a free pass.
In our lives, we make mistakes, both on a personal and a national level.
Instead of erasing the past, our mistakes and our sins can become “Torah” If we
learn from them. They then become transformed into steppingstones towards
growth.
Perhaps that is why the Torah relates about the loshon hara Miriam said
about her brother Moshe. I’ve often wondered why the Torah telling us about
that ordeal isn’t itself loshon hora about Miriam?
Very often successful people relate times of struggle early on in their
career. They share how they grew from a foolish mistake, an embarrassing
moment, feelings of inadequacy, or the like. Now that the experience has become
part of their growth and path to success, it is no longer embarrassing for them
to share it. In fact, it becomes a dramatic part of their story and subsequent
success.
Miriam undoubtedly internalized the message of her exacting punishment.
What greater honor could she have then to have the Jewish people eternally
learn from her mishap!
The Torah doesn’t sugarcoat challenges, struggles or foibles. That is a
lesson for us on a personal level as well. If we can grow from our mistakes
they can become “delicious” in their own right, but it requires a level of
sophistication to appreciate its taste.
And they don’t need ketchup to taint their elite taste.
Shabbat Shalom
& Good Shabbos,
R’ Dani and
Chani Staum