[Avodah] Boys Being Taught How to Cook

[Prof. Levine]

On 5/7 I posted the following on Areivim:

Teaneck, NJ - Orthodox Yeshivah Adds Culinary Class To Its  Curriculum

Please see http://tinyurl.com/d25cs3

I hope that this will begin a trend so that elementary and high 
school Bais Yaakovs as well seminaries will introduce similar courses.

I am an advocate for everyone, men, women and children, knowing at 
least the basics of cooking.  Some years ago the wife of someone who 
lived on my block passed away at a relatively young age, and the 
husband was left with taking care of his two young daughters. He had 
absolutely no knowledge of how to do anything in his home, and it 
turned out to be problem.

Home skills are survival skills!

YL

I then followed this up on  with

"Proof" From the Torah That All Yeshiva Boys Should be Taught  How to
  Cook

The article at http://tinyurl.com/d25cs3 about boys taking cooking 
classes at the Torah Academy of Bergen County (TABC) has got me to 
thinking. I believe that one can "prove" from the Torah that this 
school is doing the correct thing and that all other day schools and 
yeshivas should be teaching boys to cook.

We are told that we should emulate the Avos and follow in their 
footsteps.  Furthermore, we all know that when Eisav came home, he 
found Yaakov Aveinu cooking some sort of pottage.

Bereishis 25: 29 One day Ya'akov cooked a pottage, and Esav came in 
from the field, exhausted.

The Chumash tells us explicitly that Yaakov had cooked this food, not 
his mother. Also, Yaakov was, of course, a yeshiva bochur. Hence we 
deduce from here that a yeshiva bochur should know how to cook and 
actually do some cooking himself!

In light of this, I really do not understand why all yeshivas are not 
doing what TABC is doing, namely, giving their students courses in cooking.

YL

Last night I sent the message below to Areivim and the Moderator 
wrote that he felt it should be sent to Avodah.

This morning someone in shul pointed out to me that the Or HaChaim
writes about Yaakov learning to cook.  See

http://www.stevens.edu/golem/llevine/rsrh/or_hachaim_yaakov_cook.pdf

and the Or HaChaim on pasuk 29.

Again, it seems that TABC in Teaneck is following a true Torah
approach when it some to teaching boys to cook!

Yitzchok Levine


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