Curried Parsnip Soup with Saffron - Sensory Engagement

How do you learn best?  Think back through your experiences as a learner to a time you were fully engaged.  Are you in a lecture?  Reading a book?  Are you listening to music, or in an art museum?  Each of us is predisposed towards certain ways of learning that are most effective and which draw on some combination of our senses.  When asked this question most of us immediately distinguish between whether we are aural vs. visual learners.  These are certainly two common ways of learning, but there are an array of others.

Parshat Teruma opens with God instructing Moshe to have the Israelites build the Mishkan, a holy dwelling place that is often equated to a type of sanctuary.  Immediately, God provides Moshe with an incredibly extensive list of building materials and a set of concise measurements.  Moshe is to collect supplies that range in texture, color, brightness, and smell, and which can be put together in a very specific manner.  Soon the parsha reads more like a set of instructions for Ikea furniture than the dramatic narrative of the Chosen People to which we have grown accustomed to reading.  Now, the crafty people amongst us may plow forward to read through the minutia, but those who shy away from furniture marked "assembly required" may be inclined to skip ahead.  WAIT!!!  You'll miss the point.

As is so often the case, the question to be answered is "WHY?"  Why does God command the Israelites to build such an intricate Mishkan?  Why must it be so elaborate, so multi-dimensional?  In providing this grand plan I fear that God has just set a literal gold standard that plants future seeds for classism and conceit.  After all, the entire function of the Mishkan is to provide a physical environment for people to honor God.  ...or is it?

Let's flip the Mishkan upside down, and view it instead as a model classroom for communal and individual engagement in holy behavior.  God explains the purpose of the Mishkan:

וְנוֹעַדְתִּי לְךָ שָׁם וְדִבַּרְתִּי אִתְּךָ מֵעַל הַכַּפֹּרֶת מִבֵּין שְׁנֵי הַכְּרֻבִים אֲשֶׁר עַל אֲרֹן הָעֵדֻת אֵת כָּל אֲשֶׁר אֲצַוֶּה אוֹתְךָ אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל:

I will arrange My meetings with you there, and I will speak with you from atop the ark cover from between the two cherubim that are upon the Ark of the Testimony, all that I will command you unto the children of Israel. -Shemot 25:22

God intends to do some powerful teaching from the Mishkan, and these instructions serve as the pioneering example for effective education.  Long before Howard Gardner offered his theory of multiple intelligences, God used the Mishkan as a way to teach two important lessons.  First, classrooms must be designed to engage a variety of learners.  God has no direct external form, and yet we can encounter God through a combination of our senses.  Second, learning should be active, hands on, experiential.  As magically as God split the sea or showered manna on the ground, God could have made the Mishkan appear.  Instead, God wanted us to learn by doing.  Building the Mishkan was one of our first group projects, and while it came with specific instructions there were also a couple of elements left open to the creative imagination of the builders.  The lesson of the Mishkan can be extended broadly to the full gamut of Jewish ritual observance.  

The way I experience Shabbat is quite similar to the story of how the Israelites received the Mishkan.  Firstly, for me Shabbat is also a multi-sensory experience involving color, textures, light, spices, and aromas.  Secondly, the Israelites received the Mishkan with some explicit guidelines given by God which required focused labor before it could be used, but which also left some room for personal expression.  So too with Shabbat - God has explicitly commanded that Shabbat be a day without work, which requires some focused preparation, but there is also room for personal expression.

Curried Parsnip Soup with Saffron

Unsurprisingly, the specific points of parallel lie in the spices and aromas that distinguish both the Mishkan and my observance of Shabbat.  Regardless of the particular dishes on my menu for any given Shabbat meal, one course always featured is soup.  As described in previous entries - too oftan soup is underrated when in reality it is easy to prepare, often contains a balanced meal in one single dish, and is simply delicious!

This recipe for Curried Parsnip Soup with Saffron was given to me by a new colleague and friend, and an extremely gifted educator.  Its incorporation of some particularly potent spices made it an appropriate match for Parshat Terumah.  Parsnips combine with a fantastic combination of curry powder, saffron and freshly grated ginger to create a flavor profile with great depth.  Curry and ginger are pretty standard spices, but it is the addition of saffron which makes this soup so distinct. This spice was originally found in Southeast Asia and is often sold in the form of thread-like shavings known for their distinct crimson color.  Don't be fooled - when saffron is heated and melts into food it turns from dark red to yellow, a great magic trick for kids!  Be forewarned - this magically pungent spice can be quite costly, but is worth the expense.

The original recipe called for celery as the only other substantive ingredient, but I for one cannot imagine a soup without onion so I added one.  Additionally, I had some left over celery root and decided to substitute this for celery and think it came out very well - take your pick when you make it yourself.  The soup can be quite thick, which is exactly how I like soup.  If you prefer a thinner variation, add additional stock and/or be sure to include the soy milk.

Curried Parsnip Soup w/Saffron
Serves: 6

Ingredients:
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, chopped  
2 lbs. parsnips, peeled and roughly chopped
4 stalks celery or 1 cup peeled, chopped celery root
1 tsp. salt  
½ tsp. freshly ground pepper  
2 tbsp. fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 tbsp. curry powder (additional to taste)
1 tsp. saffron
4 cups low-sodium chicken stock  
½ cup cream or soy milk (optional)

Instructions:

1. Heat olive oil in soup pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté until translucent (4-5 minutes). Add parsnips and celery with salt, pepper, ginger, curry powder and saffron. Saute until vegetables turn somewhat tender (5-8 minutes). 
2. Add chicken stock and bring to boil. Reduce to simmer and cook around 45-60 minutes.  
3. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup and vegetables are completely blended and soup is thick. Add cream or soy milk if desired.