Strawberry King

Deuteronomy / Devarim 17:14	When you come to the land which G-d, your God, is giving to you, and you inherit it and settle it, you may say “I will put a king above me, as have all of the nations around me.”	כִּי־תָבֹא אֶל־הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לָךְ וִירִשְׁתָּהּ וְיָשַׁבְתָּה בָּהּ וְאָמַרְתָּ אָשִׂימָה עָלַי מֶלֶךְ כְּכׇל־הַגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר סְבִיבֹתָי׃
17:15	[If you do that,] establish a king whom G-d has chosen from amongst your brothers.  You may not install above you a foreign man who is not one of your brothers.	שׂוֹם תָּשִׂים עָלֶיךָ מֶלֶךְ אֲשֶׁר יִבְחַר יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בּוֹ מִקֶּרֶב אַחֶיךָ תָּשִׂים עָלֶיךָ מֶלֶךְ לֹא תוּכַל לָתֵת עָלֶיךָ אִישׁ נׇכְרִי אֲשֶׁר לֹא־אָחִיךָ הוּא׃
17:16	But he may not have many horses, and may not return the nation to Egypt in order to obtain more horses, as G-d told you “you will never again return this way.”	רַק לֹא־יַרְבֶּה־לּוֹ סוּסִים וְלֹא־יָשִׁיב אֶת־הָעָם מִצְרַיְמָה לְמַעַן הַרְבּוֹת סוּס וַיהֹוָה אָמַר לָכֶם לֹא תֹסִפוּן לָשׁוּב בַּדֶּרֶךְ הַזֶּה עוֹד׃
17:17	He may not have many wives, to avoid leading his heart astray; and he may not have a great deal of gold and silver.	וְלֹא יַרְבֶּה־לּוֹ נָשִׁים וְלֹא יָסוּר לְבָבוֹ וְכֶסֶף וְזָהָב לֹא יַרְבֶּה־לּוֹ מְאֹד׃
17:18	And as he is sitting on his throne, he shall have the Cohanim/Priests write this Torah/teaching.	וְהָיָה כְשִׁבְתּוֹ עַל כִּסֵּא מַמְלַכְתּוֹ וְכָתַב לוֹ אֶת־מִשְׁנֵה הַתּוֹרָה הַזֹּאת עַל־סֵפֶר מִלִּפְנֵי הַכֹּהֲנִים הַלְוִיִּם׃
17:19	And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, so that he shall learn to have awe for G-d, and keep/ protect/ fulfill  all of the obligations of this Torah, and the do all that these rules require.	וְהָיְתָה עִמּוֹ וְקָרָא בוֹ כׇּל־יְמֵי חַיָּיו לְמַעַן יִלְמַד לְיִרְאָה אֶת־יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהָיו לִשְׁמֹר אֶת־כׇּל־דִּבְרֵי הַתּוֹרָה הַזֹּאת וְאֶת־הַחֻקִּים הָאֵלֶּה לַעֲשֹׂתָם׃
17:20	So that he shall not be haughty (literally: his heart shall not be above his brothers), and so that he shall not divert from that which has been commanded to the right or to the left, so that the days of his kingship shall be lengthened, him and his sons, within Israel.	לְבִלְתִּי רוּם־לְבָבוֹ מֵאֶחָיו וּלְבִלְתִּי סוּר מִן־הַמִּצְוָה יָמִין וּשְׂמֹאול לְמַעַן יַאֲרִיךְ יָמִים עַל־מַמְלַכְתּוֹ הוּא וּבָנָיו בְּקֶרֶב יִשְׂרָאֵל׃

Note: if making on Shabbat, you may want to cut flat surfaces onto the strawberry and grapes (see here for example) in order to avoid using a toothpick to attach them to each other.

Ingredients as shown:

• 1 strawberry
• 2 green grapes
• 2 black sesame seeds
• 1 thin slice of easily rolled cheeses (e.g. mozzarella)

Tools:

• Knife
• 2 toothpicks

Instructions:

1. Cut stem end of strawberry. Either cut flat top (see step three here) or insert toothpick as shown.

2. Add two toothpicks facing forward to form arms. Roll cheese and place in “arms.”

3. Cut one grape into a crown. If making on shabbat, cut bottom of crown flat, and top and bottom of “head” flat.

4. Gently place black sesame seeds on the “head” grape using fingers or a (CLEAN, PLEASE) tweezers. They will stick to the moisture left from washing.

5. Attach or stack head and crown on top of the strawberry body.