A holy man once wandered through the village, speaking words of comfort and healing to people he met in the marketplace. A young student would seek the holy man out just to learn from him. One day, as the young student walked across the marketplace, he noticed a piece of paper that had blown into a doorway. He picked it up and saw that it had holy writing on it, deep thoughts that touched the very soul on the paper.

“Oy vey,” the young student said to himself as he picked the paper up. “How is it that these holy teachings are just blowing around the marketplace?”

Later on, when the young student asked the holy man about the paper, he shared a parable:

“Once, there was a king whose only son and heir became so sick that the doctors lost all hope, so a specialist was called in from far away to diagnose the prince. The foreign doctor said someone could cure the prince, but only by a special method. ‘What you must do, he advised the royal family’s doctors, ‘is take the largest diamond, the most precious stone, from the center of the king’s crown, grind it up into pow­ der, add some water to it, and feed the prince this mixture, a little bit every day until he is healed:

“‘But the prince is so sick he can’t swallow, the local doctors objected.

“‘That’s true; the doctor said. ‘But when you feed him this medication, just count on getting a few drops into his mouth at a time. Don’t worry about feeding all of it to him at once. Some of the mixture will spill and be wasted, but the few drops that he ingests will be enough to start the healing. Each time he is fed this medication, he’ll be able to ingest a few more drops. In this way, he’ll gradually get better until finally he is completely healed.”

Kartoffelzup

A creamy potato soup topped with buttery mushrooms and sour cream.

INGREDIENTS

4 Tbsp butter or margarine, divided		1/2 tsp dried thyme
16 oz mushrooms, like Baby Bella		6 cups vegetable stock
2 medium onions, chopped (or use 1 large leek + 1 onion)		⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
2-4 cloves garlic minced		¾ cup cream
2 lb potatoes, peeled		⅛ tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 teaspoons salt		1 Tbsp chopped fresh chives, optional
sour cream (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Thinly slice the mushrooms into ¼” pieces, cube the potatoes into 1″ pieces, dice the onion, and mince the garlic.

Melt half of the butter in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, then add about a quarter of the mushrooms. Stir the mushrooms around the pot to evenly coat with butter until reduced in size, 2-3 minutes. Let the mushrooms crisp up by cooking them for 3-4 more minutes without moving them until the bottoms are golden brown. Flip with tongs and cook for another 3-4 minutes to let the other side crisp up. Remove the mushrooms from the pan and place in one layer on a paper towel or cooling rack to stay crispy.

Add the remaining butter and mushrooms to the pot, along with the potatoes and onion. Stir to combine, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for about 10 minutes until the potatoes have softened.

Add garlic, salt, pepper, thyme and the nutmeg.

Pour in the vegetable stock. Bring to a simmer, lower the heat and cook, partially covered, for 1 hour or until the potatoes are tender.

Take the soup off the heat and let it cool slightly. Puree the ingredients in a blender, food processor, or immersion blender. Return the soup to the pan. Add the cream and heat through.

Serve with an optional garnish of chopped chives or chopped roasted mushrooms. If desired, add a dollop of sour cream.

May the sharing of this tale and dish strengthen the bonds of friendship, hope, and Shalom (peace)

May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)

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Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation. (Joel 1:3)

Rachmiel Tobesman is a motivational speaker and Maggid (spiritual Storyteller). He is available for speaking engagements or storytelling, Click here to contact us

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