Israel or Bust!

I thought I knew my Scripture fairly well, so I did not expect any problems when I received an order for a cake to celebrate a siyum of Sefer Yehoshua (for the uninitiated, a siyum is Hebrew for a “completion” of any unit of Torah study – in this case the Book of Joshua).

Turns out I was wrong. After some discussion, the customer and I settled on a 3-D sugar depiction of the crossing of the Jordan River with the Mishkan (ark – see Raiders of the Lost Ark to get a Hollywood version of what I’m talking about). I thought this one would be a piece of cake, even though there were no photos to use for a model.

But as I sat down to sketch out the cake, I realized that I needed more info. I knew the river split differently here than it did for the Red Sea. I knew that the Kohanim (priests) carried the ark on their shoulders. But did the poles (no touching of the actual ark allowed on penalty of death!) run lengthwise or widthwise? Were the rings holding the poles parallel to the ark or perpendicular? Were the Kohanim standing with a shoulder facing the ark or did they walk sideways?

This was the first cake where I had to pull out my Tanach and source books and really research the subject while still working out the mechanics of scale (how much is a cubit?) and balance. Luckily, I like creative challenges.

Happily, the cake stayed intact and the fondant Kohanim managed to carry the ark until they arrived in the classroom, where they were properly devoured… (what bracha do you make on a Kohain?)

P.S. couldn’t decide if the Kohanim’s feet should be bare – in deference to the holiness of the mishkan, or sandal-shod, in recognition of the fact that there were probably sharp rocks on the riverbed. I went with sandals. Will be happy to print responses from anyone who wants to bring me a source stating otherwise….