Alternate Viewpoints: Israelite Marriage

Hello again!

Today, I'll be exploring and explaining the different views Israelites have on marriage/weddings/dating as well as looking at what the Bible actually says. As I mentioned in my last post, the Israelite community is big into what is sometimes called "deliberate" marriages. Today, I'll be tackling a couple of things. For you newbies, I will explain in greater detail the workings of deliberate marriages, and for both newbies and old hats, I'll present an alternate viewpoint.

[NOTE: Adult content warning! As we are looking at marriage, there will be some rated R things said/shown in this post. They are Biblical rated R things, but rated R nonetheless.]

Without further ado, let's get into it.

(Source)

Deliberate Marriages and "Hebrew Israelites"
     A large portion of Israelite people refer to themselves as "Hebrew Israelites", in an attempt to differentiate themselves from Israelis, as well as to add something of their character to the religion. For the purposes of the following post, I will use "Hebrew" to denote the culture that often accompanies Israelitism but does not come directly from the religion itself. For example, many Hebrew Israelites mothers use cloth diapers. There is no law in the Bible regarding cloth diapers, but the usage of cloth diapers is something found in higher percentages in the group "Hebrew Israelite" than in a random assortment of Americans.
     Hebrew Israelites are the Israelites, to my knowledge, most interested in the idea of a deliberate marriage. Regardless of the parents' marriage origin, the Hebrew Israelite parent regards deliberate marriages as "God's Plan for Marriage", saying it is the ideal form of marriage, resulting in the best marriage relationships and families, etc etc. A deliberate marriage consists of many precise steps. I will render them as best I'm able; I have experienced a deliberate marriage secondhand through my brother, but I have not been able to find any fantastic sources to outline the steps for you guys. If I mess any of them up, I apologize heartily. For the purpose of explanation, I'll take the part of a single Hebrew Israelite lady who lives far away from her possible gentleman (this is a common scenario; most Israelite communities are spread far apart from each other. It's usual for couples to come from different states, etc).

• Step 1:  Recognize a desire for marriage. Talk to your parents about finding a proper prospective husband.
• Step 2: Your parents will begin putting out feelers with acquaintances, acquaintances-of-acquaintances, different congregations/communities, etc, looking for a suitable suitor.
• Step 3: Once a possible fella is found, your parents may set up a meeting with said sir and his parents to see if he passes muster. You may or may not know when/if this is occurring. Your parents will interview the guy in regards to his personality, background, interests, beliefs, wishes for the future, etc., to make sure it is all kosher. If a red flag comes up--conflicting personality/interest/belief, etc--they will politely cut off contact and resume the search. Assuming the man passes the test, they move on to:
• Step 4: Contact! You are informed of your suitor's name and background and given a way to contact him. Depending on where you live/how strict your parents are feeling, it could be emails sent back and forth, read by your parents first to make sure nothing too saucy is being said. This is the time for you to get to know your possible spouse's personality and see if they're the sort of person you could marry.
• Step 5: Simultaneous to your communication, your family will still be checking out the guy, and his family will probably be scrutinizing you, as well. Contacts will be utilized, internet history will be searched, and every action is observed to check for suitability.
• Step 6: First meeting! If some time has passed and it seems both parties are on board, a meeting will be arranged. The meeting, and subsequent meetings, are chaperoned by a family member/family friend. This is a chance to build a relationship with the person. Little to no physical contact will be allowed between you and your future husband at this point. Expect to sit on a different couch than him, no hand holding! and certainly no hugging or other physical affections.
• Step 7: Approval. If all is in order, your families (ie: "fathers") will agree to allow your relationship to progress to the next level. Hurray! It's time for:
• Step 8: Betrothal! At this time, a contract (called a "Ketubah") is drafted by yourself and your future husband. Some Jewish marriages also use Ketubahs. In a Ketubah, the outline/guidelines for your future life is planned--how you will deal with future children, how you will treat each other, etc. Once the Ketubah is signed, you are married, on paper. Practically, however, you are betrothed. The equivalent would be a marriage certificate. According to the interpretation of the Law, you are married at that point, but you yourself may not view yourself as married. Ketubahs may be bought or handmade, printed or written, etc. I myself painted the Ketubah for my brother and sister-in-law. At this, you may progress to the next physical level--hugging, and maybe some light kissing.
• Step 9: Separation! The strictest Hebrews require a period of separation after the betrothal is official. The groom must go home and prepare a place for his future wife. Contact between you and your hubby should be kept to a minimum. The separation should last a significant portion of time, even several months. This is your time to say goodbye to your family and single life.
• Step 10: Marriage! You will be prepared to move in with your husband, bags packed, etc, and at some unexpected time, he will appear. The wedding will be held, and after that, you will move into his house and be a married couple. (It's like a surprise party; everyone but the bride is usually in on it).

    And that's it! Now, depending on the relationship, there may be more steps, or there may be less steps. There is no commandment in the Bible in regards to the steps, though there are patterns existing for the steps (Notably, the relationship between Yeshua and the church). The main idea is to take the relationship out of the individual's hands and place the control in the hands of the parents/community to create a stronger bond. Parents and community members will be able to judge with clearer (ie: less lusty/shallow) heads the value of a relationship. They will choose a suitable spouse to start a family with. Family-starting is a very important part of deliberate marriages. Everyone I know of who is in a deliberate marriage has become pregnant/had a child in their first year. A child will cement the relationship and keep the focus where it should be--family.

    The fear is if marriage is left in the hands of the individuals, the wrong choices will be made, or there will be a sexual relationship before time. There is a belief that a couple who engages in sexual acts before marriage will be cursed in some way, because they have gone against "God's plan for marriage". I have heard couple who were not married deliberately lament their lusty pasts; this is a large factor in parents wanting to make their children follow "God's plan" when it comes time for them to marry. Parents who were married deliberately wish to help their children avoid the sordid experience of modern dating. Deliberate marriages are thought to be the only Israelite and holy way to get married.

Achtung!

Personal Disclaimer

     I am rather biased against the view deliberate marriages are "God's Plan for Marriage". I will explain the personal bias here and the Biblical/scholarly bias in a bit. To be clear, I think deliberate marriage is a fine way to go about getting married. I respect people who marry in this way for their trust, faith, and determination. I have no problem with two adults choosing to marry deliberately. I have a problem with the pervasive idea that deliberate marriage is "God's Plan for Marriage" and the only legitimate way one can marry.
    Part of my bias comes from the environment preceding my own marriage. My brother had been married deliberately a few months prior, and the community was abuzz with "God's Plan for Marriage". My parents were on the bandwagon and very proud of/excited for my brother, naturally. However, there was an inevitable side effect to this buzz; I had been engaged for approximately a year, dating for 5 years, and my relationship was being viewed as "against God's plan".
     My personal bias comes from my feelings of having done "everything right" but coming up against "God's Plan for Marriage". By Hebrew standards, my relationship with Sven was scandalous, even X-rated. Kisses should only be shared between spouses! Dating?! The temptation! How dare we choose our spouse for ourselves! Etc, etc, etc.

Cover your eyes, kiddos; this stuff is for married grown ups only!

     Now, to be fair, I never had anyone scold me about my relationship with Sven, and nor did he. We were, however, involved in some slightly embarrassing conversations where someone would declare heartily, "X couple is doing the right thing! It's God Plan for Marriage!" and then give us an awkward side-eye. There'd be a little throat-clearing, and someone would change the subject.
     Being of the scholarly mindset, this got me interested in what actually was God's Plan for Marriage. Were they right? What was required? What were the proper steps to take? So I started digging.


First off, "Love"--Jacob and Rachel
     A large part of the Hebrew criticism of typical relationships comes from their problems with love. Love is inconstant. Love is shallow. Love is blind! "Marriage for love is a new concept" is a common mantra. This is the first and easiest claim to knock down. The Hebrew view of marriage is businesslike. It revolves around contracts, requirements, and steps. Everything is logical and weighed out. There is little room for love there.
    To disprove this claim, let's look at a couple of Biblical relationships. In Genesis 29, we can read part of the story of Jacob, also called Israel, the father of the 12 tribes. Back when Jacob was just plain old Jacob, he was single and looking to find a lady. He went to stay with his maternal uncle, Laban, and there met Laban's daughter, Rachel. Upon first meeting, Jacob kissed Rachel and introduced himself (29:11). He began to work with Laban for awhile, helping him with his flocks and lands, and Laban was impressed. He offered Jacob a reward, and Jacob asked for the hand of Rachel in marriage. "And Jacob loved Rachel; and said, "I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter."" (Gen 29:18). Right off the bat, Jacob and Rachel's relationship does not fit the Hebrew mold. Jacob met Rachel himself, not through a go-between, and kissed her upon first meeting, before he even introduced himself. When he asked for her hand, it was because he "loved" her. We are then told, "And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her" (Gen 29:20). The word "love" used is defined thusly, "to have affection for (sexually or otherwise)" (source). Jacob did not work seven years because he felt he had to. Jacob worked seven years because he loved Rachel. His love was such that the years felt short. This was not friendship-love. This was not fondness-love. This was love-love. And even after Laban tricked Jacob and made him marry his other daughter, Jacob was willing to work seven more years because he desired Rachel so much (Gen 29:27). This proves marriage for love is not "new". Its popularity may be new, but Jacob himself desired to marry for love. Marriage and love go together. It is not required for marriage to precede love. Adding family to the mix does not always make things better; for Jacob, it ended up with him having two wives; one he disliked, one he loved, a slew of angry children, two concubines, the curse of barrenness, much family strife, and a son sold to a foreign country. If he had been able to go along with his love and marry solely Rachel, their lives would have been much easier.

Too scandalous?

Second, "Process"--the Song of Solomon
    As you saw, the process of deliberate marriage is....well....deliberate. The steps should be followed, in order, or else. However, there is one glaring example in the Bible standing against deliberate marriage as the only way. I present to you The Song of Solomon. The Song of Solomon is one of the most misunderstood books of the Bible I know of. I've heard it's about the love of Solomon. I've heard it's about how we're supposed to love God. I've heard many things. A lot of the confusion comes from the structure and language. Much of the language doesn't translate as to the mood or gender of the speaker (but the original reveals the meaning) I highly suggest you look up the Companion Bible's explanation of to clarify it. (Or check the Strong's Concordance and go word by word).
    In short, the Song of Solomon is the story of a fatherless vineyard worker who loves a shepherd (1:5-6). The story is told by the woman to the women of Solomon's harem. It tends to jump out of order since it is a story, but this is the jist: The vineyard worker is sent to the vineyards by her family to keep her away from the shepherd , but nevertheless, they carry on with their relationship (1-2). One day, King Solomon sees the vineyard worker and tries to seduce her (6:8-10). He takes her away to his palace to try to add her to his harem. She resists (1:4), proclaiming loudly her love for her shepherd to the concubines of Solomon (7:10). Her shepherd follows her to the city. The woman tries to escape, but is caught and beaten by the guards of Solomon (5:7). Impressed by their love and the vineyard worker's faithfulness, Solomon sends her off home, accompanied by her shepherd (8). Now, that's the PG version. There's a lot more going on in this story.

• The woman's family heartily disapproves of the relationship. sending the woman to tend the vineyard to keep her apart from the shepherd (1:6, 2:15)
• It is implied the relationship of the shepherd and woman has progressed to the betrothal stage without the approval of the girls' family (2:16, 3:4, 4:8)
• There's a little bit of spicy raciness going on between the shepherd and woman. In the first chapter, (1:16-17) there is talk of a house made of trees. Due to the translation of the King James, it seems they are talking about an actual home. When looking at the actual meaning of the words, however, it is revealed they are talking about a secluded wooded area where they meet each other in secret. The translated as "house" is closer to "bower" in reality, and "rafters" more like "retreat". Chances are the KJV was translated to fit the sensibilities of the time. The "banqueting house" of 2:4 is closer to "vine arbor" or "vineyard bower"
• In this bower, a series of rather physical intimacies take place (derived from the compliments the woman and shepherd trade--more on these later)

     Looking at the more detailed version of the story, this seems like a cautionary tale. Saucy girl who spends too much time in secret with shepherd is picked up by notorious womanizing King, bribed, beguiled, beaten, and eventually sent home. However, the story does not have any caution in it. Instead, the relationship between the shepherd and woman is shown as pure while Solomon plays a villain's role, twirling his mustache while plotting to steal a woman's virtue by hook or by crook.

Pictured: Solomon (Source)

     It is also impossible to divorce the relationship of the woman and shepherd of its sexual nature. While the woman is recounting her tale, she includes many spicy details, "I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste" (2:3) (remember, her beloved is a shepherd; he does not grow fruit), "by night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth..." (3:1), "Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet...Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies" (4:3-5), "Thy lips...drop as the honeycomb: honey and milk are under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon" (4:11), "...His belly is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphires" (5:14), In 4:12-15, the shepherd describes the woman as a shut up garden, full of wonderful plants and fruit, along with a fountain. The woman replies in 4:16, "Let my beloved come into his garden and eat its pleasant fruits". Immediately thereafter, the shepherd replies, "I am come into my garden..." (5:1). There is nothing about these compliments that suggests an innocent meaning. The shepherd does not grow fruit; he is a shepherd. At night, on her bed, the woman thinks of the shepherd. The shepherd refers directly to her lips, breasts, taste, and smell. Obviously, the two are physically well-acquainted. The shepherd describes the woman as a garden; yes, she owns a garden, but she is not a garden herself. She tells him her "garden" is his, and for him to enter, and he responds that he is. Now, perhaps, they are talking of purely mental attributes, but it does not seem so. Their descriptions are too sensuous. 

     There can be no doubt the shepherd and woman are not following the plan for a deliberate marriage. They meet on their own, against her family's wishes. They are very physically intimate, or at least have no shame in complimenting each other. They are betrothed, through agreement with each other, but there is no planned separation (though a separation does occur thanks to Solomon's kidnapping). Yet, at the end, the woman is celebrated by her family, who say, though she is young, that if she is a wall, they will build her into a "palace of silver" (8:9), and she affirms her worth, saying the shepherd is the only one for her, and Solomon can keep his 1,000 gardens; she'll be happy with her one vineyard and her beloved (8:12-14). Rather than being scolded by her family or receiving any, "I told you so"s, the woman is applauded for her faithfulness. She is not cursed for running away with some shepherd. She is not condemned for her "shallow" feelings, nor is the shepherd. Also, their relationship has nothing to do with the family they hope to create. Their relationship is not "for the creation of children". Their relationship exists because they love each other. For their actions, they are blessed and, as it is implied, live happily ever after.

"Those Abs......."

"Those Lips......"

The Law and Marriage

   One with some small knowledge of the Torah may jump to their feet, citing indecency when confronting the relationship between the shepherd and woman in the Song of Solomon. However, as strange as it seems, their relationship is kosher. As I mentioned earlier when talking about Hebrew culture; it does not come directly from the Bible. There is nothing in the Bible that states one must follow the steps of deliberate marriage. Honestly, most of the laws regarding marriage are "do nots" (don't sleep with relatives, don't sleep with married people, laws for allowing divorce, etc, etc.). As far as "Do"s go, there aren't many, and most of the "do" laws are tangentially related:

• If a woman who lives in her father's house makes a vow, her father may cancel her vow when he first hears of it, but if he doesn't cancel it within the day, her promise stands (Numbers 30:3-5)
• "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." (Genesis 2:24)
• If a couple is in the newlywed phase (ie: first year), the man is supposed to stay at home, even during war, to "make his wife happy" (Deuteronomy 20:7, 24:5)

     And, well, as far as the Torah is concerned, that's about it. To answer the question, then, "What makes a marriage?" the answer is this: a man and a woman who have become "one flesh" (ie: had sex). People in the Biblical Old Testament times did have betrothal periods, and they did have wedding ceremonies, but nowhere are these things required. The betrothal and ceremony is just a cultural tradition. Even the approval of the father does not have to be sought for the marriage to be complete. He can cancel the promise of marriage if he disapproves, certainly, but all he has to do for the marriage to be legitimate is to remain silent. The woman and the shepherd from the Song of Solomon were completely legitimate; she had no father who could say "no"; the father's right of veto does not pass to another relative if he is out of the picture. Therefore, no matter how much her mother and brothers disapproved, they had no say over her relationship. If the woman and shepherd had not had sex yet, but simply been rather intimate, it means nothing, and if they had had sex, they were technically married. 

     After all, did Adam and Eve have parents to set them up? Or a Ketubah to sign? No. Adam simply said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’for she was taken out of man.” and thus, "That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame." (Gen 2:23-25). Adam and Eve followed "God's Plan for Marriage" in its truest form. 

Hey, look at that, "marriage"

Conclusion

Deliberate marriage is fine and dandy, and there's nothing wrong with it, but saying or believing it's "God's Plan for Marriage" does a disservice to yourself, your children, other couples, and, ultimately, God. It doesn't matter if there are children or no children. It doesn't matter if there is a signed piece of paper or not. It doesn't matter if there is a wedding ceremony. God's plan for marriage is a man and a lady getting intimate and staying that way their whole lives. Everything else is just icing on the cake.

[To keep this post short, I've left out two important aspects of Israelite marriage; however, I will address them in my next two posts. They are polygamy and "rape=marriage". These are two foggy bits of Israelite marriage that are often looked over, wrongly applied, or ignored. Studying them reveals a lot, however; where Ketubahs come from, how marriages begin, a system of responsibility, and, ultimately, they both add to the Adam and Eve version of marriage. Stay tuned!]

Song of Solomon and Passover--Sayeth What?

Hello all! I have something interesting to share with you today.
    
     I've been working on/sitting on a post about the Song of Solomon and marriage for some time now. While I was studying, I came across an interesting note in my Bible, "The Song is read annually at the Feast of the Passover, as Ruth is read at Pentecost; Lamentations on the 9th of Ab; Ecclesiastes at the Feast of Tabernacles; and Esther at the Feast of Purim." It struck me as odd. What could a story about love and kidnapping have to do with the Passover? It took me a bit, but the answer came--when viewed in its proper context, The Song of Solomon is the exact same story.

Pictured: This is where love begins. When you look after someone's sheep.

"Proper Context"
     It is my personal opinion the Song of Solomon is one of the most misunderstood and under-appreciated books in the entire Bible. Most of the problems come from misinterpretation of the story of the book. I cannot begin to count how many times I've heard "It's about King Solomon and his lady love!". From that interpretation comes a slew of other (equally wrong) morals. To begin comparing the SoS to the Passover, we have to establish the actual story. To begin, the story is a lot less "Solomon in love!" and a lot more like this:

Source

     The fact is, the Song of Solomon has little to do with Solomon; he plays the role of villain and is a supporting character at best. Indeed, the story is about the woman in the tale--the Shulamite vineyard worker. She loves a shepherd, but her family does not approve. One day, King Solomon is travelling by and sees her. Twirling his lusty, villainous mustache, he takes her from his home and puts her in his harem. While there, the woman laments her separation from her beloved shepherd. Eventually, once Solomon realizes the woman will not fall for his wiles, he lets her go home to her shepherd love.
     I'll go more into detail of the hows and whys of the story in the upcoming marriage post. For now, I'll just another quote from my Bible that sums it up quite neatly,

"...It is a poem based on the true facts of a story which unfolds itself as it proceeds. Various interpretations have been given of it: the literal, the allegorical, and the typical. The allegorical embrace Jehovah and Israel (which was the view of the Jewish commentators); the Roman Catholic views it of "Christ and the Church"; the typical view regards it as a type of Solomon's nuptials, or as that of Christ and the Gentiles. The allegorical view puts the coarse flatteries and language of a seducer in the lips of "Christ", which is inconsistent with His dignity and holiness. it is the language of seduction put into the mouth of Him "Who never spake as man spake". The number of speakers forbids all the interpretations which depend on their only being two. There are seven in all, and they can be easily distinguished by the Structures: (1) The Shulamite; (2) the daughters of Jerusalem; (3) Solomon; (4) the shepherd lover of the Shulamite; (5) the brothers of the Shulamite; (6) the companions of the shepherd; (7) the inhabitants of Jerusalem."

The Connection to Passover
    The story of Passover, or, really, the story of Exodus, is a long one, fraught with miracles, belief, and drama. To sum it up: after the time of Joseph and the famine his family suffered, the Israelites relocated to Egypt. Things went well at first, but then, there was a new Pharaoh who did not respect or trust them. He instituted more laws, and as time went on, the Israelites found themselves slaves to the Egyptians. Much time passed. The Israelites lamented their captivity, and, finally, a way out was provided. Moses, the son of Amram and Yoshabed, was, by a fluke of destiny, raised in the household of the family of the Pharaoh. After seeing the oppression of his people, Moses, with the help of God, manned up and led them out of there after a series of 10 awful plagues. The Israelite people went into the wilderness to found their own land where they will be established as a people, protected by God.
     The connection between the Song of Solomon and the story of the Exodus is simple. The Shulamite parallels the Israelite people. Solomon represents Egypt, and the shepherd lover and God play the same role. In the beginning of the stories, the Shulamite/Israelite people are living freely, beloved of their shepherd/God. Things are grand. But then, a richer, more powerful, and corrupting force appears on the stage--Solomon/Egypt. The Shulamite/Israelites are taken from their home. They are pressured to change their ways and submit the the power of Solomon/Egypt, but the Shulamite/Israelites just want to go home to their shepherd/God who truly loves them. Time passes, and the pressure is great, but the Shulamite/Israelites hold out. They will not lose faith in their shepherd/God. Finally, a miracle! Solomon/Egypt, under some duress,  realize the futility of their mission and allows the Shulamite/Israelite to go home. The Shulamite/Israelites, now free, rejoice, and rush back to their true home with their shepherd/God.

Free, at last.

     Both stories emphasize the importance of faith, perseverance, faithfulness, and love. The Shulamite is only able to hold out against Solomon's seductions because she has faith in her love for the shepherd. She knows what a good life looks like, and she refuses to be tricked. The Israelites only made it out of Egypt because they kept their faith through their long bondage, and God heard their cry and helped them. If the Israelites had given in and conformed to the Egyptians, they never would have gotten free. Both stories encourage bravery, honesty, and holding out against oppression, even when you're outnumbered and unsure of yourself.

Conclusion

The story of the Exodus is not a one-trick pony. It's not just an ancient history adventure--it's a tale of freedom and redemption. Similarly, the Song of Solomon is not just a love story; it's a morality tale that encourages us to show integrity and strength in our everyday lives. They both show the rewards of sticking to your guns, and put together, the two teach the same lesson, "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:31-32).

The Spring Holidays!!

Hello again, all!

If the picture didn't tip you off, I'm writing in the honor of Passover--today! Now, I don't plan on writing a long post on this; there are many great posts and videos explaining the spring holidays/how to do them/why to do them, etc. Rather, I'd just like to give you some tips for making your Passover and spring feasts easy and fun.

Passover/Unleavened Bread/First Fruits Sources
     Passover is the first of the spring feasts--its name comes from when God passed over the Israelites during the last plague of Exodus. If you're unfamiliar with the story, I'd highly suggest you check it out; it has everything--family drama, marriage, love, strife, death, betrayal.
     If you're interested in just the specifics of the Feasts, the rules for this day are given in a couple places in the Bible. Firstly, in Exodus 12. This section focuses on the food prep and rules and story of the first Passover. Secondly, Leviticus 23 gives the timeline of all the holidays and the Sabbath rules of each. Numbers 9 gives greater detail on who can and can't celebrate Passover. The story of Yeshua's last days (which took place during the time of the spring feasts--lots of parallels there) is told in the New Testament, in the Gospels.
    I'll provide a link at the bottom to a very detailed video explaining the spring holidays.

Always practice proper fire safety, kids, no matter how small your grill!

Tips
     In short, for we modern Israelites, the time of the spring feasts is about remembrance and appreciation. We remember how our people were rescued from the Egyptians and how Yeshua rescued us from punishment. For me, it's a bit like Thanksgiving. There's something about it that makes one appreciate just how good things are for us. With that in mind, here are some tips for having a great spring holiday:

1. Know your sources for lamb and do your research. Where we live is a rather small and country-fied place--any meat other than beef, pork, and chicken is rare and far between. However, every once in awhile, one of the local stores will sell lamb for a limited time and (rather) exorbitant price. The key is pouncing when the right opportunity arises. And if it doesn't? Never fear! You can also order the meat off the internet! That's what we had to do last year. The shipping was very high, but the meat arrived promptly and still chilled. Depending on where you live, you may also be able to call in an order with a local butcher/farmer ahead of time.
2. Make your own unleavened bread! Many people buy it in boxes for Passover/Unleavened bread, and it tends to be dry and tasteless. I suggest looking up a simple recipe. Many of them only have 3 or so ingredients, and the result will taste fresher than anything from a box. If you're going to be eating it for a week, it should taste good.
3. Know about the sneaky sources of yeast in your house: part of the Feast of Unleavened Bread is removing all yeast-containing things from your home to avoid accidentally eating them. Now, "bread" is what most people think about when yeast is brought up, but many surprising foods contain yeast or yeast extract! Make sure you check all your food labels, especially the foods listed below:
1. Soups--many soups contain yeast extracts, especially your heartier stews-in-a-can.
2. Tortillas--though a flour tortilla is a flatbread, most of them have yeast! The same goes for pita, naan bread, and other flat breads you'd buy in the store. Corn tortillas, however, are usually yeastless.
3. Instant noodles--instant noodles like ramen, cup o' noodle, and microwave noodles may contain yeast extract in the flavor packets.
4. Bullion cubes--bullion cubes are used to add some zazz to broths and rice dishes, but the cubes often have yeast or yeast extracts included. 
5. Flavored spreads/cheese dips--even though it is surprising, foods like chive-sour cream sometimes have yeast in them.
4. Be creative with your side dishes and desserts! Vegetable side dishes and sauces are easy to make and hardly ever require yeast. For desserts, cakes, brownies and cookies may be out, but pies, ice cream, and fruit dishes are in! This is a great time to test out Greek and Middle-Eastern style dishes.

I hope these tips help you in celebrating your spring feasts!

Homemade flour tortillas, grilled corn, salsa, and tzatziki sauce all make delicious sides during the spring feasts!

Additional Resources for Curious Minds

More Info Links:

Detailed Instructional Video on Passover & Unleavened Bread

Explanation of the Passover vs. Easter Timeline

Recipe Links:

Cilantro Unleavened Bread

Yeastless Flour Tortilla (Do substitute vegetable shortening or butter for the lard)

Flavorful Middle-Eastern Rice

Tzatziki Sauce

Hummus

Fun Music Links:

Uptown Passover

Hava Nagila (aka "Let us Rejoice") for all your dancing needs

When You Believe/Song of Moses

An Israelite's View on Vaccines

Hello, all, and welcome!

     Today, I'm writing about the newly-hot-button issue of vaccination. Now, I'm guessing you came in with one of two viewpoints about the debate: A) VACCINATE ALL THE THINGS! or B) VACCINATE NONE OF THE THINGS! and are keyed up to fight based on what my opinion is. I don't intend to feed either of these sides of the argument. Instead, I want to look at the issue more closely and through a different lens while sharing some information with you.

    To begin; I was vaccinated as a child. I was vaccinated a lot. My dad worked for the military, and we lived overseas. I was getting stuck with needles every other month, it seemed. I still caught an array of exciting and exotic diseases; however, I did not die, nor did I succumb to Autism. I was vaccinated prior to and during college--meningitis for dorm living and typhus/yellow fever (I think) for travelling abroad in Korea. It wasn't until I started thinking about my future children (and became an Israelite) that I gave vaccines much thought.

    So, where do I stand on vaccines? The answer is, "about one third on the 'no' side". But why? Is it because I'm worried about Autism? Is it because I'm a hippy who believes only in homeopathic medicine? Is it because I'm leery of the MSG, formaldehyde, and aluminum present in vaccines? No. It isn't. It's because of this: the CDC list of vaccine ingredients. 

[NOTE: I only talk about some of the vaccines and some of the ingredients in this post. I highly suggest you read it for yourself and do your own studying if you're curious.]

Or, to be more specific, it's because of these:

Hydrolized Gelatin

Embryonic Guinea Pig Cultures

Porcine _________ ("Porcine" means, "from pigs")

Vero Cells

MDCK Cell Protein

MRC-5

WI-38

The Reveal

     Some of those are pretty self-explanatory. Guinea pig, gotcha. But, what about those others ones? Take a minute to follow the links. I'll wait. Okay, we have monkey kidney, we have some cocker spaniel cells--not such a big deal. Animal testing helps humans, blah blah. Mmm. But those last two. I didn't think much of them when I was doing my initial research. They're just strings of letters and numbers. Probably a chemical or something, but I looked it up just to be safe. Imagine my surprise when I found what they were. "Aborted fetus". 

"Perfect! Harvest the lungs!" (source)

Let that sink in a moment.

     In the 1960s some women decided to get abortions. After the children were scraped out of their wombs, the doctors decided to take some cells and use them in vaccines. These kids weren't buried; They were dissected. 

     A combination of their cells are in most of the vaccines on that list. Some of those vaccines are vaccines I was given as a child. I had the cells of murdered children injected into my bloodstream to prevent infection. Hep A? Hep B? MMR? Et tu, Brute? 

     If I was not an Israelite, the dead baby cells would be enough for me to say "no" to those vaccines. If nothing else, it's creepy. It's cannibalistic. It's wrong. 

The Law

I am an Israelite, and there are rules about these things, and that's where the animal cells tie in. One of the rules YHVH gave to people was about what was considered an "abomination", "unclean"--something not to be touched, if it could be helped. The animals are talked about in Leviticus 11. It's a list of animals to eat and not to eat. On the list of 'do not eat' are monkeys, pigs, dogs, and guinea pigs. Now, you could say, "But injecting them isn't eating them!", and you'd be technically correct. However, I think, if He said "do not eat", He's not cool with injecting them either. Either way, the cells end up being processed in one's system. Humans count under the rules of Leviticus 11, I believe. We don't fall under any of the "sure, chow down" categories, therefore; people are not meant to be consumed. If that weren't enough, there are additional laws about the treatment of a dead body:

• "Whoever touches a human corpse will be unclean for seven days." (Numbers 19:11)
• "And whosoever toucheth one that is slain with a sword in the open fields, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days." (Numbers 19:17)
• "And do ye abide without the camp seven days: whosoever hath killed any person, and whosoever hath touched any slain, purify both yourselves..." (Numbers 31:19)

Touching a dead body makes one unclean. Being unclean is sometimes inevitable; bodies must be buried, for example; the point is this; dead people aren't something to play around with. Their bodies are not to be taken lightly. And, as proven by Leviticus 11, unclean things are not to be consumed. Eating an unclean thing is not a matter of taking a shower. Touching a unclean thing requires a shower. It is not a sin to be unclean, but it is a sin to eat what one is told not to eat, and I believe that includes dead babies.

Just say "no" to cannibalism

Getting vaccinated with any of the vaccines that include these animal or human cells is not something Israelitism allows. There is no verse that says,"Yea, verily, if thou art very sick, thou mayest consume thy dead brethren" or, "so sayeth the Lord, 'though eating an unclean animal is an abomination, verily, it it permissible to otherwise put it into thy bodies", so there is no excuse.

Summary

     I'm cool with vaccines in theory. Letting the immune system practice killing diseases sounds like a great idea. But, these ingredients give me pause, and they should give you pause, as well, regardless of your religious or non-religious affiliation. As for me, until we can make vaccines without the unclean animals or dead people, I'ma pass.

Matchmaker, Matchmaker: Thoughts on the "Goal" of Marriage, a Response to "The Myths of Singleness"

Hello again, all!

A week or so ago, I read the post "Myths of Singleness" from the blog Everyday Set-Apart. It was an interesting post, and Bethany did a good job looking at the different angles of the perceptions of "married" and "single". Related thoughts have been spinning about in my head since, and I thought it was time to write some of them down. I plan to write a much more involved post at a later time, tied in with The Song of Solomon. So, if you're interested in the Biblical nature of all of it, just stay tuned.

Suggested Listening

Need-to-Know for Neophytes
Marriage is going through interesting shifts in the Israelite community. People are trying out new methods of meeting, of setting marriages up, etc etc. I am in a unique situation as far as a newly-married Israelite is concerned. Though I have only been married for one year, I have been together with Sven for six and a half years as of last Saturday--more than a quarter of each of our lives. We were friends in high school and began to date before we both eventually converted to Israelitism in college. This sounds more or less typical for your average American, but it's quite uncommon for Isralites in their early 20s. Fitting the more-"Israelite" mold is my older brother; About a year and a half ago, my brother was married in what he calls "a deliberate marriage" (from the outside, they look like arranged marriages).

Right now, deliberate/arranged marriages are very popular in the Israelite community. For one, they guarantee a spouse of the same religion--a very important thing for Israelites. They also remove the insecurities of dating and the risks of temptation. It makes meeting a suitable partner easier, as contacts are called in and used to connect a likely couple, who takes it from there. It's a bit like online dating, only it's through acquaintances and family members that people are matched. All of the Israelites I know who have been married through deliberate marriages plan to use the same system for their children.

Though the system is not the same as that represented in the video above, in many ways, the current Israelite outlook is closer to "Matchmaker Matchmaker" than to the typical American one.

[I was unable to find a good link to an article or video properly describing a deliberate marriage, but for those of you with some jingle in your pocket, there's a documentary you can watch, called Betrothed, that shows the story of a betrothal beginning to end]

The Gift of Singleness and the Myth of Marriage
The aforementioned post from Everyday Set-Apart tackled the concept of the "gift" of singleness, as single people are greeted with comments like, "Oh, how blessed you are! You have so much time/connection to God/ability to travel!" These comments make it seem being single is the single-best state a person can experience. Bethany rightly points out the rather pessimistic light these comments shine on marriage--they imply marriage eats time, suppresses one's relationship with God, and limit mobility.

Make your choice!

On the other side of the coin, there is a growing movement/idea of marriage as the ideal state regardless of the circumstances, with the goal of creating a family being first and foremost. People begin planning for their children's eventual marriages while the children are still infants. There is a strong emphasis on "finding a proper wife/husband".


Thoughts
To be clear on my bias before I begin, I am a married person, and I haven't been single since I was......16. So I may be way off-base here as far as talking about other realms of experience. However, I feel falling into either camp, "Singlehood=BLESSING!" or "Marriage=PUREST HAPPINESS!", does a disservice to the camp-member.

Singleness is not a blessing or a curse; it is a state of being. It is not something to be reveled in or escaped. It simply is.

Marriage is similar. Marriages are not equal, and not all marriages are great. Everyone has their own story as to how they got into their marriage, and there are many methods that "work" for becoming married.

The key, I think, is the not state of being, married or single, but the people involved. Allow me to explain. I've read several blog posts/magazine articles in which a religious person laments their singlehood. They want to be married. They want to have a family. They're tired of waiting. Seemingly, Israelite parents who plan on having their children deliberately married prioritize the same things--a marriage for their child, a family for their child, etc etc etc.

The people who feel this way are looking at marriage the same way Bridezillas look at weddings. They want a "marriage", not a specific person. To be fair, I am a romantic, but, if I were not married to Sven currently--if we had never met--I truly do not believe I would be married at all.

This guy or no guy. All I'm saying.

A marriage is only as good as the people in it. A single person should not feel bad for being single if they have not met "that person" yet. There's nothing to mourn if there is no opportunity. Likewise, we happily-married folk shouldn't put pressure on single folk if there is no person in their sights. Marriage is wonderful. Marriage is life-changing. Marriage can complete lives--but only if the couple is right.

"Marriage" should not be the goal of anyone's life, in my view. Instead, the goal should be to meet someone worthy of marrying, a "matchless match", if you will.

On that note, a verse: "...I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go..." 

Song of Solomon, 3:4

Kosher Kimchi How-To Videos!!!

Hello again!
This past weekend, Sven and I had the pleasure of spreading the kosher-kimchi knowledge, and we shot a few videos to give a better visual. Here are the links!

First: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCezG9xjpG8
Second: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIPg1NDj5i8
Third: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbqQ8LHnpcc

Good luck in all your kimchi-making endeavors!

Kosher Kimchi How-To

Howdy, all!
It's been a little more than a month since I last posted, and this post has been a month in the making. I hope you'll find it worth the wait.
On December 10th, Sven and I set out to make something we'd been wanting since we found out most kimchi contained shrimp: a kosher kimchi.
Kimchi is a Korean fermented cabbage dish eaten with most foods (think a spicy saurkraut). While Sven and I were in Korea, we ate kimchi every day and grew quite fond of it. When we discovered most kimchi had shrimp paste in it, we were more than a little bummed out. After a while of researching and comparing recipes, we decided it was time to make some for ourselves.

Link

[This is the part of the post where I do the recipe-mandatory "why you should eat this food" bit. If you're already sold on the concept, feel free to skip it. Kimchi is extremely healthy; it contains no processed foods, no/next to no fats, no added sugars, etc etc etc. Because of the fresh ingredients used, it is full of vitamins and minerals. In addition, it is fermented. Fermented foods are healthy for the digestive tract and do not contain artificial preservatives. The garlic and chili used in kimchi act as natural antibiotics and promote healthy heart function. Still not sold? Kimchi is delicious and versatile. The tangy, spicy flavor goes well with most any "Asian" food--plain rice, fried rice, stir fries, sweet dishes, savory dishes, any dishes--and acts as a palate cleanser between different-tasting foods. It also complements western foods like fried chicken, fried fish, and even grilled cheese. It can be eaten along with other foods or as a snack. The spicy sourness is good for both sore throats and for feeling more awake. Still feeling not totally convinced? The process is fun, simple, and a great family-bonding experience, plus, it allows for lessons on chemistry and fermentation. To sum it up, it's fun to make, good to eat, and makes you healthier. What else could you want?]

The Ingredients
We used this one as a base (the instructions are stellar; I suggest you check it out), and altered it to make it more convenient for what we had on hand. The base ingredients for any kimchi recipe is as follows, and the amounts really depend on how much you're wanting to make:
Napa cabbage
Daikon Radish
Hot peppers
Garlic
Green Onion
Onion
Salt
A fruit (we used a juicy yellow pear, but it seems almost any fruit will work)
Ginger
Dried seaweed (kelp)
Soy Sauce
A source of yeast (we used a bit of boiled potato)

Now; these are the base ingredients. Variation is allowed in amounts, types of ingredients, and optional extras. Sesame seeds are popular, as is fish sauce, a kosher alternative to shrimp paste. For us, it was pretty easy to bring these together; the only thing we needed to buy were the cabbage, radish, and pear.

The Beginning
The process of making kimchi is relatively straight forward. The cabbage must be soaked; a broth is made; the broth is added to the flavoring ingredients and blended; the cabbage and radish are chopped; the flavor-sensational paste is rubbed onto the cabbage and radish; leave to ferment. That's all.

First, cut the cabbage until the pieces are about 1" x 2". The size is not extremely important; picture eating it, and make it about mouth-sized. The radish should be cut into little strips--very thin, but it does not need to be soaked.

Then, cut the cabbage lengthwise

After it is cut, the cabbage is soaked. The most time consuming part of the process is the soaking; the cabbage must be left for soak for many hours in a salty brine. We soaked it for three hours, but some recipes require soaking overnight. What you'll see below is our set up for the soaking. To make sure all the pieces are submerged, it's recommended to put a layer of plastic wrap over the cabbage and then add a weight to the wrap. We ended up stacking two bowls on top of our soaking cabbage and adding a can of juice for greater weight. When the cabbage is halfway done soaking, take off the "lid" and turn the cabbage bits over. Then, recover and wait the rest of the time.

1 cup salt, 8 cups water

While waiting for the cabbage to soak and become flexible, we made the broth. The more important part of the broth is the kelp. Dried, thick squares of kelp are sold in Asian markets; it might be called "kombu". This will add a nice sea-salty-briney-west-coast-sea-air flavor to the broth. When we made our broth, we threw in two pieces of kelp, some onion, and the bottom of the cabbage. It boiled pretty much the whole time the cabbage was soaking, so by the end, it was quite strongly-flavored.

Time for Flavor!

When the broth was suitably flavored, it was time to add the other flavorful ingredients. The garlic, ginger, onion, green onion, peppers, and pear should be peeled as needed and chopped small. Add the broth, soy sauce, and chopped ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. This is also when the potato is added. Not much is needed--we used about a half of a small, peeled, red potato. The goal of the potato is to add yeast to the mixture to aid the fermentation. It doesn't alter the flavor much, if at all.

A note on these ingredients; there is a lot of leeway in what you use in this step and the amounts. For example, it was suggested that the peppers used should be special "Korean Chili Flakes". We did not have Korean chili flakes. What we did have, however, were dried peppers from our garden.

Shown Here

We'd grown a variety of peppers in our garden this summer, and they'd done surprisingly well. We don't eat much spicy food, so, for lack of something better to do, Sven strung them up in our living room, and there they stayed until they were called upon to fulfill their destiny in our kimchi. The goal of the peppers in kimchi is not just heat; they should have a nice flavor as well. We used a combination of the dried chilis and some frozen peppers. The frozen peppers tasted almost like red bell peppers, but they were also very spicy. The chilis had a smoky flavor and a less-pronounced burn. So, whatever nice peppers you have on hand should suffice as long as you enjoy the way they taste. If you don't like spicy things, use less spicy peppers. If you love hot-hot-hot, add something spicier.

We blended the peppers first so we could test the flavor before we added the other ingredients.

The amount of blendedness also depends on your own personal taste. It should be smooth enough to rub over the cabbage, but it doesn't have to be baby smooth. The pear helps the texture and adds a nice sweet kick (we only added half a pear; it was very-very flavorful, and we didn't want it to be too sweet). As noted above, we added the ginger/garlic/onions last so we could gauge the pepper mixture first. Another reason we added them last was so they'd be less blended than the rest of the mixture.

And 'cause the color was nice

Time to Put it Together

Once the cabbage is soaked, the radish is chopped into small strips, and the paste is blended to satisfaction, it is time to put them together. The paste should be spread over every nook and cranny of the cabbage; coverage must be complete! For this step, gloves are suggested--the burn from hot peppers is not nice. We didn't have gloves, so we put plastic bags over our hands and secured them with hairbands around our wrists (no pictures of this; sorry! Our hands were too goopy). It wasn't ideal, but it worked pretty darn well.

Note the towel put down to catch any mess

To make things simpler, you can do the primary mixing with two spoons, and only use the hands-on approach for once it's more mixed. It shouldn't take too long; go over each piece twice, and you'll be good to go.

About like this

At this point, feel free to sample! The ideal amount of time (according to the various recipes I read) for kimchi to ferment is three to four weeks. However, first-day kimchi is individual in its flavor and just as tasty. Before it's fermented, the flavors are more individual; you'll be able to taste the pear, garlic, peppers, and ginger separately. 

Chances are, after mixing, you'll have a little leftover sauce. Don't throw it out! It can be added to other dishes for a spicy flavor, or, if you have any leftover radish, you can also make radish kimchi; Simply cut the radish into chunks and add the sauce--no soaking required. 

the radish kimchi

Once mixed, it's time to set up your kimchi for fermenting. It should be put somewhere where it will not be disturbed, somewhere free of temperature extremes. We chose the end of our table. The kimchi will need to be sealed off from direct contact from air; jars, tupperware, bowls, can all work. We used the same old bowl for the cabbage kimchi and a tupperware container for the radish kimchi. Plastic wrap should again be spread over the mixture and pushed down so it adheres to the kimchi. It doesn't have to be air-tight, just air-blocked. A lid should also be put on the container. Since gases are created during fermentation, it's important to A) Have space in the container for the gases to go B) Weigh down the lids so they don't come off and allow the gases to escape. We went a little over-board in the weighing down, as you can see; better safe than sorry, but the gases really weren't a problem.

Our set up. If you look closely, you can see the plastic wrap in the red-topped container.

The Wait

We, as you can see, actually made three containers of kimchi. The bowl, for the 3-4 week kimchi, the red-lid, for the radish kimchi, and the blue-lid, for the 3 day kimchi. Just like how first-day kimchi has its own special flavor, so does 3-day kimchi. It'll have a slight fermented flavor, and the individual ingredients will be slightly more blended than first-day kimchi. We made some Bulgogi to celebrate and taste the 3-day kimchi.

I will admit; I was little apprehensive. "Fermentation? Like beer? Doesn't that take...I dunno...a degree?". I wasn't sure how well it would work. What if the kimchi tasted nasty? What if it was slimy? What if it just tasted "off"? However, making kimchi is really just this simple. It was delicious.

A note: as we discovered, the cabbage-kimchi does not have a strong smell, no matter where you are in the fermentation process. The plastic wrap and container lid is enough to keep the smell contained. The radish, however, is very pungent. Not to be crude, but it's a bit like a fart, or cooked eggs. If you want to make radish kimchi (it has all the benefits of kimchi, and a crunchier texture), but you don't want your home to smell, put it in an unused room or closet. 

After three weeks, the kimchi will be ready to be eaten and stored. It will have a more orange color, and a slightly spicy, vinegar smell.

After three weeks; compare to the just-mixed picture.

To store kimchi, it's another "anything-goes" sort of thing. You can keep it in a bowl, container--whatever you want. We opted to put it into empty pickle jars. Once in the refrigerator, the fermentation will mostly stop. The flavor will get slightly stronger over time, but it can be stored for as you want.

At this time, the left jar has already been eaten, and we're carefully conserving the right jar.

For some more kimchi sources, check out these links:

Video: For the visually oriented and/or those interested in making large quantities of kimchi.

Recipe: This is the same recipe I linked above, for a more precise set of instructions.

Kimchi Jiggae Recipe: If you want to turn kimchi into a main dish, check out this soup recipe.

History of Kimchi: For those of you interested in history and culture.

Thanks for reading, and good luck with your kimchi endeavors!