Rena Rossner was inspired about ten years ago while eating a hot bowl of red lentil soup. That fateful soup began a journey for Rena that culminated in her first cookbook, Eating the Bible. Eating the Bible takes us through the weekly Torah portions with quoted verses and a little bit of commentary that connects us to a recipe. Rena find connections similar to the way I do in our Shabbat Menus and I had fun going through and finding new ideas I had never thought of before. I also love the way Rena explains her connections going into just the right amount of detail and adding alternative recipes options as well as questions to help keep the conversation moving from cooking to table. Let’s learn a bit more about Rena and preview a few recipes here:
The red lentil soup served to you the same week we read about the one Esau sold for his birthright inspired your journey. What else inspired you through the whole process?
Well, first, I think that creating these recipes gave me a reason to read the Bible/Torah much more closely. My husband was always reading and learning and connecting to the Torah every week, and this gave me a reason to spend as much time, if not more time, analyzing the texts. But I was doing it in a way that was interesting to me, and I was looking for something completely different – not erudition, but rather, nutrition! It was fascinating not just to see how food played a part in people’s lives in Ancient times, but also which food items were critical to their lives and which types of food played (often a really important part!) in these stories.
Did you always think you would write a cookbook?
No. Never. I love food and I love cooking and baking. My mother is an amazing cook and baker, and so was my grandmother, and I grew up cooking at their elbows, but I never thought that what I did was different or special enough to warrant a cookbook. When I got married and finally had a kitchen of my own I got tons of cookbooks for my bridal shower and I started creating elaborate menus and trying recipes I’d never had the opportunity to try before. Creating a meal for me became something like an artform. I didn’t realize then that as I worked my way through nearly every recipe in these books that I was actually taking everything to the next level.
HERB-ROASTED BEEF IN SALT CRUST
Herb Roasted Beef in a Salt Crust
What is your earliest memory of cooking?
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Wow. That’s a good question! I think it must be watching my mom make birthday cakes. My mom is an amazing cake decorator, and for every birthday she always made something fabulous. I learned to decorate cakes just by watching her, and I remember every cake she ever made for me. I think something in that speaks to what I’m trying to do with EATING THE BIBLE. Why do I remember those birthday cakes? Because they were tactile memories. And I want EATING THE BIBLE to create those memories for everyone, so that people don’t just have tactile memories that they associate with holidays (think Turkey=Thanksgiving,) but also tactile memories of the Bible. How cool would that be if your mouth watered every time you read your favorite Bible stories? That’s what I want to do. To make it come alive.
Did you find that your study of Torah was enhanced when you looked at it with this food lens?
Yes, absolutely. It was a way for me to connect with the texts in my own way – to bring the stories alive in a way that spoke to all of my senses. Also, from a historical/academic perspective one of the things that was most fascinating to me was creating the index of food items mentioned in the Bible that’s found at the back of the book. What I discovered was amazing – the Bible can also be a blueprint for healthy eating! Wheat was surprisingly a mainstay of the Biblical diet, goat’s milk (which is supposed to be healthier for you that cow’s milk,) dates, olives, figs, and very little meat. Meat only on special occasions. It’s really very interesting if you think about it.
Seven Species Harvest Chicken
How do you expect/want your readers to enjoy your book?
I’d love people to use my cookbook to enhance their weekly tables and to help them bring meaning to their meals. I’d be even more excited if people loved my recipes so much that they returned to my cookbook to make the recipes again and again, just because they taste good!
Now that it is out there, have you thought about writing any other cookbooks?
Oh, well that is the big question! I have enough recipes from all my weekly columns to put out a second cookbook (Eating the Bible Revisited?) and many of my friends joke around with me about it giving new suggestions: Drinking with the Prophets? Eating Ecclesiastes? But in all seriousness I think it would be fascinating to take a look at the Prophets or at the Song of Songs. There’s lots of rich language in there and I think it would be a poetic and culinary challenge. Who knows. We’ll see!
BRICK-SHAPED TURKEY MEATLOAF WITH CRANBERRY CHAROSET
Brick Shaped Turkey Meatloaf
Which was more difficult for you, creating the recipes or finding a connection to the parsha?
Definitely finding the connection. Some weeks were super easy. I could write an entire cookbook just about certain chapters – Genesis alone has enough for hundreds of recipes. I actually thought Leviticus would be the hardest when I first started doing this, I thought it would be all meat from the sacrifices, but it was easy! So many of the sacrifices involved grain and oil and spices that it wasn’t a challenge at all. Deuteronomy was actually the most challenging – there were many chapters there that had absolutely no connection to food and I admit that sometimes it was a stretch.
Are all the recipes easy to make and good for Shabbat?
Most of them, yes. One of my main goals in creating this cookbook and these recipes was to make things that I myself would make easily and be able to bring to my table. But, because I know that not everyone finds cooking and baking as easy as I do, I also added “Alternatives” in a sidebar that give “quick and easy” ideas so that everyone, no matter what experience they have in the kitchen, can find a way to bring more meaning to their meals and help bring the Torah/Weekly Portion to life. Admittedly there are one or two recipes that are quite involved – The Gingerbread Tabernacle is a prime example, but I think every cookbook needs one or two challenge recipes in it, don’t you?
Am offering a taste of food & history each week in a beginning Hebrew class for adults using letters they have learned and the Hebrew word for a food. This week is the word for lentil, but made megadurra, not stew, as easier to transport. Book sounds fabulous!
I love cookbooks based on cultural and literary themes – you just don’t see enough of them!
Love the idea of this! The pictures look delicious.
Not sure what my favourite bible story is, but in general Bereishit is wonderful for seeing our patriarchs and matriarchs as real people who also made mistakes.
What a fascinating concept—I have often thought about a recipe for red lentil soup
Very unique
The seven species harvest chicken looks really good!
Wow! This is FANTASTIC!!! It would be great to pour through along with studying the Torah portions!
All the food looks so lovely! My favorite stories of the Bible include the Nativity Story and Daniel in the Den of Lions.
What a wonderful idea for a cookbook! I think my family situation is flopped from the author- this might get my husband more interested in reading the weekly portion with me 😉
I think recipes developed with some deeper thought in mind are tasty on many levels. I like the idea of biblical references and ingredients, especially as the food pertains to the portion of each week. And those dishes look wonderful, particularly the seven species harvest chicken.
I like the way this cookbook allows us to make a connection to Torah. I guess I relate most to Rivka. Aside from sharing a name (my middle Hebrew name), I too suffered from infertility. While my two boys are actually 19 months apart, we struggle with the older one’s surface connection to his Judaism since he attends a secular special needs school while the younger embraces his Judaism and wraps it around himself. I would love to share this food journey with my daughter (my youngest) not only embraces her Judaism, but is also my most adventurous eater.
can’t wait to try these!
What a fantastic fun way to involve the kids. The story of David and Goliath would make us think of healthy foods to make you stronger and smarter.
I don’t need to win the cookbook, but I just wanted to say how moved I’ve been by everyone’s responses above! Thank you so much!
My favorite characters are Moshe and Tziporah. My middle name is Tsipora, and I’ve always felt really connected to her as a character.
Keep the comments coming!!
– Rena
Most interesting idea, pairing food and Chumash.
favorite story, Dovid and Goliath
Sounds like a very interesting cookbook. Would be nice to have one to add to my collection of cookbooks
Sounds like a very interesting cookbook! My favorite story of the bible is the exodus from egypt. I love the hagada and the fascinating events revolving around that time period. I guess the connection to food in that one is pretty obvious!
I like going out of Egypt – and there is LOTS of food associated with THAT story. 🙂
Sounds like an inspiring book. Hope I win!
As a young girl, I was of course touched by the story of Ruth and Naomi. The importance of family and being generous and compassionate are good lessons to learn early.
THis would be one of the most unusual cookbooks I have.
I love cookbooks that incorporate stories–what an interesting way to go through the bible!
I have ritually cut out and collected Rena’s recipes from the Jerusalem Post magazine weekly. I missed her weekly posts and I would love an actual cookbook that I can refer to when making and baking her delicious and creative recipes!
joseph! best story
The story of Rachel giving up her groom for Leah.
This would be such a fun cookbook to have!! My favorite Bible story is of Ruth & Naomi. I love Ruth’s dedication in allowing “(Naomi’s) God to be (her) God and (Naomi’s) people to be (her) people”!!
Looks like a great cookbook!
I’m a convert so to me Megilath Ruth is particularly touching to me. Ruth is considered the mother if converts. In Ruth 1:16-17, she professes to her mothers law Naomi that “your people will be my people.” Love this story. <3
How creative. My wife would love to win
sounds marvelous, I always do “parshas red lentils” and would love to do the rest! hatzlocha!
I think my favorite story is Parchas Balak. The only thing (food) I can think of that would relate to it is “Eating crow”, but really, who would want to eat a crow? And, are they even kosher?
I am so excited by this cookbook! This is exactly what I need for my kitchen to for another way to help me teach Torah to my children.
This looks great.
Everything looks amazing!
This would be good for my collection
The story of Joseph is my favorite
Would love this cookbook! Favorite story? Probably Moshe and Pharoah and the story of the Exodus. I did once make a woodblock print of young Moshe with his sheep and the Burning Bush
The recipes would not only be delicious to explore but also educational, hopeful to win the cookbook
As the person who does 99.9% of the cooking in our home, I’m fascinated by, and drawn to, the idea of connecting something as simple (and complex) as cooking for the family to the Bible. My favorite Bible story is the story of Ruth, and how she accepted the G-d of the Israelites as her G-d, and the Israelite people as her own.
Love this idea for a cookbook.
This cookbook sounds terrific!
I find the story about Rachel and Leah, and their dynamic, committed yet jealous relationship very interesting. I don’t have a sister myself, so I am not sure that I can relate, but it is fascinating how they took care of one another, made sacrifices for the future of Am Israel all while competing for one man’s attention.
I’m really interested in how you handled those “stretch” weeks…
Great cookbook idea! I like parshat Noach.
It does look interesting. Biblical recipes? Interesting thought.
I’ve been intrigued by this idea the first time I read about this book. It would be great to have the book & try out the recipes!
As a Food historian 9 on a limited budget), I really do hope I win this fantastic cook book. I have seen a few biblical based recipes on the internet, which I have tried, by the way.
What a fascinating idea for a cookbook! I am always intrigued on how the Tanach can lead to new menu ideas and foods based on its teachings. And I love easy recipes. Those that are good, yet don’t tKe too much time in the kitchen. This would be a great cookbook for me.