Berakhot 42

I approached today’s reading convinced there wasn’t much there for me. There is more analyzing of when to say blessings and in what order, with some focus on wine, “which is different.” And the discussion of whether one sits, stands or reclines during a meal and which requires a group blessing did not inspire me to keep reading. All this debating over order of blessings and what food or drink comes first, can get a little discouraging because it appears to focus on minutiae. 

But every day when I think there is nothing in the text for me, I find a nugget that resonates. Today what reverberated most with me is this: “One who welcomes a Torah scholar and hosts him in his home receives blessing.”  This is fairly profound because it suggests that if we surround ourselves with learned people we can enrich our own lives through the relationship. And can the Torah scholars who we are welcoming in our homes through this Daf Yomi cycle be ourselves?

The reference to “bread that comes as dessert” reminded me of my father who was a serious foodie, very serious about his bread, and despite being diabetic had a strong opinion on Jewish desserts, which he thought were inferior to other kinds. His exposure was mostly to his mother’s baking skills, which were restricted to stale loaves of pound cake, macaroons, and black and white cookies which were often hard and dry. But he was convinced that as good as Jewish cooking is, that desserts just did not compare to Italian or French pastries. It might be that Jewish baking has improved since his day, or he was not exposed to the full range, but certainly I believe he would have loved sufganiyot if only he could eat them. Although he complained about his mother’s baking, he also made me spend time with her learning the recipe for her black and white cookies, so that I could carry on the tradition (of  baking dry cookies?). The background in the Koren Talmud Bavli says that the “bread that comes as dessert” may be referring to “pockets of dough filled with sugar, almonds and nuts” which sounds tasty.

The following article from Bon Appetit ranks Jewish desserts and includes those famous black and white cookies:

https://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/desserts/slideshow/jewish-desserts-ranked