Rubashkin Demonstrates Avraham Avinu’s Menu

By Menachem Benchemon of Visual-Torah.com
Exclusively for COLlive

With Parshas Vayeira upon us, the timeless story of Avraham Avinu’s legendary hospitality comes alive once again.

The Torah tells us that when three guests arrived at his tent, Avraham ran to prepare “a calf, tender and good” — which, as Rashi points out, actually means three calves, so that each guest could be served a full tongue with mustard.

In the words of the Torah:
Parsha Vayeira, Perek 18, Possuk 7:
וְאֶל-הַבָּקָר רָץ אַבְרָהָם; וַיִּקַּח בֶּן-בָּקָר רַךְ וָטוֹב, וַיִּתֵּן אֶל-הַנַּעַר, וַיְמַהֵר לַעֲשׂוֹת אֹתוֹ.
Then Avraham ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to a servant-boy, who hurried to prepare it.
Rashi comments:
בֶּן-בָּקָר רַךְ וָטוֹב A CALF, TENDER AND GOOD —
ג’ פָּרִים הָיוּ, כְדֵי לְהַאֲכִילָן ג’ לְשׁוֹנוֹת בְּחַרְדָּל (בבא מציעא פ”ז).
There were three calves, so as to feed them three tongues with mustard (Bava Metzia 86b).

So this week, we decided to take this ancient culinary moment… to someone who actually lives it.

Enter Moshe Rubashkin, whose home has become famous worldwide for its open doors and constant flow of guests. Some even call him “Avraham Avinu” — and if you’ve ever seen the scene at his home, you might understand why.

Curious to see how the master does it, we asked him to demonstrate the art of preparing three tongues — and what unfolded quickly turned into a humorous exchange, packed with culinary advice, and rich insights into this week’s Parsha.

Enjoy!