CTeenConnection

By Yasmine Shahar

In this Parsha, the difference of, tumah v’taharah, purity and impurity are spoken about. The Torah explains in the sense of ritual and spiritual purity and impurity.

At the beginning of this Parsha, Hashem has Moshe tell the people the laws of a Bris Millah, circumcision, which customarily occurs on the eighth day after a baby boy is born. A woman must also bring a Korban (Offering) to the Mishkan or Beit Hamigdash after she gives birth to a boy or girl.

There are many ways a person can become impure. One way is by Tzara’at (best compared to leprosy in translation). Tzara’at is a plague that is inflicted upon a person when they tell Loshon Harah (speak about another person). The supernatural occurrence of Tzara’at can also affect the clothing of the transgressor. A white or pink patch would appear on a person’s skin when they developed Tzara’at. For clothing, dark red or green spots would show up. Also, it could show up on a person’s house. The person would immediately call a Kohen (Priest) and the Kohen would have to figure out how to treat the situation, case-by-case judgment. If the Tzara’at was serious, it would grow after a seven day isolation. On skin it was easier to tell: if there was a patch of regular skin with two white hairs in the middle of the white patch of skin. The Kohen had the choice to declare the person Tamei (impure) or Tahor (pure).

If a person were to be Tamei, the person would have to live outside the dwelling borders of the city/campground of the people. A Kohen would check on the person weekly to see if the person had done true Teshuvah (Repentance) and the Tzara’at had disappeared. When clothing has been touched by Tzara’at, the garment would be removed, and if the Tzara’at spread or came back, the gament would be burned. If Tzara’at afflicted a house, the house would have had to be cleared out, which was very embarrassing for the homeowner in itself, and in serious cases the house would have had to have been destroyed.

WEEKLY PARSHA RECIPE: After this week’s Parsha, what better than making cupcakes, specifically in honor of the Bris Millah Mitzvah of the Parsha?

Ingredients:

DARK CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES

· 1/2 cup (1 stick or 115g) unsalted butter

· 2 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate

· 1/2 cup (64g) unsweetened cocoa powder

· 3/4 cup (95g) all-purpose flour

· 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

· 3/4 teaspoon baking powder

· 1/4 teaspoon salt

· 2 large eggs, at room temperature

· 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar

· 1/4 cup (50g) light brown sugar

· 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

· 1/2 cup (120ml) soymilk

Directions:

For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Line a 12-cup cupcake/muffin pan with cupcake liners. Set aside.

Melt the butter and chocolate together in the microwave. Microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between each time. You may also melt the butter and chocolate over low heat on the stovetop. Stir until smooth and set aside to slightly cool.

In a medium sized bowl, toss the cocoa powder, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together until thoroughly combined. Set aside. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla together until smooth. Add the cooled butter/chocolate and whisk until smooth. Add half of the flour mixture, then half of the buttermilk. Repeat until everything is added. Stir until *just* combined; do not overmix. The batter will be very thick like pudding.

Divide the batter between 12 liners in your cupcake pan. Bake for 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting