Cocoa Krispies

Leann Shamash
18 hours ago
4 min read

Updated: 4 hours ago

#behaalotecha #parshatbehaalotecha #seferbamidbar #bookofnumbers #foodmemories #memoriesoffood #cravings #foodandmemory

Parshat Beha'alotcha begins quietly enough as we learn more about the jobs of the Levites and the manner of sacrifice. We continue in this quiet vein through a description of Pesach Sheni, the second chance for people to offer the Passover sacrifice if they had good reason to miss the first. We receive reassurance of God's presence through a description of the cloud by day and the fire by night which hung over the Mishkan. Our quiet interlude is completed with a description of the meanings of different blasts of the shofar, but quiet never lasts for long in Sefer BaMidbar, so it is not too surprising that the Hebrews begin once again to complain and whine. This is such a deep and bitter complaint that it leads to that patient leader and teacher, Moshe, to declare that he would rather die than lead this people yet another day. (Numbers 11:15)

Things go from bad to worse after this demand for different food and for the good old days of Egypt, where they had " the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic* all for free, but for the small price of being slaves.

Food can be a vehicle to give us cravings for "the good old days." It is so easy to fall back on hazy thoughts of the "good old days" when everything was glorious and simply peachy. The Hebrews, accustomed now to eating the manna each and every day, had perhaps developed an aversion to the taste or the texture; or perhaps it was just the monotony of eating the same thing every day. Perhaps these complaints give us an indication of their lives each day. What were their days like? How did they interact with others and what were they doing from sunup to sunup? Being a people not accustomed to doing for themselves, it was easy for the Hebrews to recall, lament and demand, but this specific demand for food led to severe consequences (see Numbers 11:18-20 to view the punishment) , which, at least for now, squelched the Hebrews desire to complain about food.

I descended into the cereal bowl of food memories for this week's post on Parshat Beha'alotcha. Perhaps the post is a bit glib, but I hope it reflects the memories, sometimes hazy or even false, of foods we used to eat, how they made us feel and where they place us in our lives. I write about Cocoa Krispies, but you may have food memories of your own. If you do, how do you think that they relate to this parsha and how we look back on our lives?

Last, if you are seeking a more serious look at this Parsha, I would suggest Na or The Book in the Middle, both linked below.

Wishing you all the best.

Leann

Cocoa Krispies

There are mornings while seated by a bowl of soggy Shredded Wheat

she craves deep in her gut,

and even deeper into her memory,

for a guilt-free bowl of Cocoa Krispies.

Once, it seems long ago,

when sugared cereals were considered food,

on quiet school mornings

she'd open the corner cabinet

and remove the tall cardboard box,

with Snap, Crackle and Pop smiling slyly at her.

She'd head to the breakfast table

blue bowl and spoon in one hand,

the box in the other

and she would lift the box high

and pour, pour, pour

witnessing with satisfaction the pitter patter of chocolate raindrops

as they showered downward….

They'd assume their spaces until the bowl was almost full,

with just enough space to add the milk.

She would rush to the fridge, lift out the bottle of Hood milk

and she’d pour it in,

cold and creamy

and each crispy Krisp would positively crackle with delight

as they made acquaintance with the milk in the deep blue bowl.

She’d sit down shielded by the Krispies box,

with a maze to solve while she feasted,

and she'd lift the spoon to her lips.

Ah, such delight!

And in her mouth was the intensely sweet taste of chocolate.

The crunch of the little krispies echoed in her ears

and she would rush spoonfuls to her mouth

before the sog set in,

because sog was secondary to crunch,

but even the soggy sweet cereal carried its own joys,

as the krispies, now drained of their color,

swam in a lake of chocolate.

And you know, dear reader,

that one bowl was never quite enough,

and throwing all caution to the wind,

she'd do it all again.

Finally, she was fulfilled,

but the experience was not complete until

she lifted the bowl

and slurped what remained of the chocolate milk.

Breakfast completed,

she lifted her arm high

and took a quick swipe at her chocolate milk mustache

with the back of a hand.

And only now was she ready to voyage,

a Cocoa Krispies warrior,

eager to tackle the day.

with Dick and Jane,

and new math.

with all the imagined health benefits of sweet cereals,

she skipped down the road to school

the taste of sweet chocolate still on her lips.

Cocoa Krispies

Cocoa Krispies

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