Posted on 05/17/2005 12:34:50 PM PDT by FoxPro
I need some answers.
What I don't understand is if one believes there is a good reason for the Sabbath restrictions, why does one dream up ways to follow the technicality of the law but not the spirit? Having a machine do the prohibited acts for a person seems like cheating.
It is like building a machine that wishes your wife happy birthday and happy anniversay, sends her cards and flowers. Technically, we are showing her we love her, but is she really impressed? It also reminds me of people I have seen at cemetaries who take flowers from someone else's grave to put on the grave of a loved one. If the loved one is watching from the hereafter, do they think, "Oh, he really must love me!"
Is God happy that people are clever and have figured out ways around the prohibitions or does He say, "Dang, tricky little devils! I never thought they would come up with that idea! I should have worded it a bit tighter."
Is the spirit of the law the important thing or is it just the law? I would think if it were the former, none of these crazy gadgets would exist. If it is the latter, why even bother following the law if it has no "spirit" behind it?
Could I make a machine that would pull the trigger of a gun and have it kill someone I don't like and get away with it? Would God say, "Alright! Good one! You aren't guilty. The machine killed the guy!"
Someone please explain.
From what I know about Amish in NE Ohio, they can use machinery that is not fixed in place. A mobile sawmill is OK, but you can't bolt it down. You can't have a phone, but you can have a neighbor make your calls for you. (Tricky!) I think they can use some machinery to help pay off the mortgage, but once the bills are gone, so is the machinery.
I also think these are decided by the local bishops and probably vary from place to place. But again, if you are shunning a lifestyle, it seems like cheating to still take advantage of certain of its benefits. They can't own a car, but I can drive them to work. They can't own a car, but they can get a job driving a car or a truck or a taxi for a non-Amish company. Some of those taxis are used to pick up Amish people and take them to work. What a wonderfully convoluted way to beat the law! They can get a job working in a factory using all kinds of electrical machinery to make a living. Hmmm. Sounds like cheating again.
Again, what is the purpose of obeying the law? To show obedience or respect to God by following the spirit of the law or is it just to fulfill the law because it is a law? If I were God, (I can't put words into His mouth) I might have a warmer feeling toward those who are not trying to be tricky.
But I imagine God doesn't work that way. Wouldn't it be funny if, when we die, He says, "You dummy! You actually think I wanted you to do those stupid things and follow those stupid laws? I was hoping you would use your brains and figure out some loopholes to get around them! What a moron! I am going to reincarnate you as a platypus. Get thee hence!"
1 pkg. beef stew meat
4 large potatoes
1 sweet potato
1 onion
1/2 c. lima, pinto or kidney beans
1/2 c. pearl barley
1 Tbsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 pkg. onion soup mix
Soak beans in water for at least 2 hours.
Chop onion and cut potatoes into chunks and place in 4-qt. crock pot. Add stew meat, beans, barley and seasonings. Fill pot 1/2-way with water and bring to a boil on stove top. When reaches a boil, remove from stove and place on crock-pot element.
Cover and simmer for 18-20 hours.
Variations: substitute 1 cut-up chicken for beef stew; substitute brown rice for barley; omit beans if they cause air pollution.
you dont use kishka?
I'm not interested in threads that are just used as an opportunity for the anti-semites on FR to vent.
I don't know about that... I have a specific example with the manna above.
But as a broad answer, God rested on the 7th day, but all the machinery that He set in motion on the first 6 days -- stars, planets, oceans, weather, plants, animals, and man, continued to operate.
Therefore, I don't think it breaks the spirit of the law to set up machinery on days 1-6 that will continue to work into the Sabbath. After all that's what God did -- and if He hadn't, the universe would have ended on the 7th day.
I can't eat kishka more than once or twice a year, it is a real gut bomb.
KILLER KISHKA
1 onion
1 carrot
1 stalk celery
1 bud garlic
1/2 c. oil
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 Tbsp paprika
1/2 c. flour
Put onion, carrot, celery, garlic and oil in food processor, process until pureed.
Mix together flour and seasonings.
Mix together the flour and the puree to make a soft dough (add more flour if needed). Refrigerate for 1 hour.
Shape in balls and add to pot of cholent just before placing on the element.
1 10-oz. pkg. thin noodles
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1/3 c. oil
1/3 c. sugar
3 eggs
Boil and drain noodles. Mix noodles with salt and pepper.
In a 1-qt. saucepan, cook the oil and sugar, keep stirring with a wooden spoon, until the sugar melts and an orange foam spreads over the top of the mixture. Quickly, pour the sugar mix over the noodles and mix well. Add eggs and mix again.
Pour noodle mixture into a pre-heated, oiled saucepan (teflon for you modern people). Cook over very small flame for about 30 minutes. Turn off flame and allow to cool, flip over (using 2 pot lids), cover and place on "blech."*
*If you're afraid to try this at home, you can bake the kugel in a glass or aluminum baking pan in the oven at 350, but this is how it was done hundreds of years ago in old Jerusalem.
For some reason, I like his show anyway.
Thanks, for both answers. Makes sense.
much easier than traditional kugel and good hot or cold.
>>It would be very beneficial to you to understand Jewish customs and thought and read the New Testament with that in mind.<<
I do.
Do you know why a tzitzit no longer has a petil of blue?
I do.
My understanding of Jewish customs and history is broader and deeper than you may imagine. I merely scratched the surface with my first few posts. There is justifiable reasoning behind my opinion on this subject.
I am not being rude. I am being frank, as often Jesus was. Not that I could compare to him, but I am merely following his example on this. Sometimes prophets were also "rude" as in 1 Kings 18: 26-27.
Specifically, in verse 27: At noon Elijah mocked them, Yell louder. After all, he is a god; he may be deep in thought, or perhaps he stepped out for a moment or has taken a trip. Perhaps he is sleeping and needs to be awakened.
BTW, "stepped out for a moment" could be interpreted as "he's taking a leak."
I am not trying to be rude. But I am trying to exhibit frankness, which is what I appreciate from those who disagree with me.
cmon Yehuda, be modern and use a crock pot (with removable inside pan of course), drop the temperature to "warm" right before ner licht.
I have a West Bend slo-cooker, have used it for years.
Nonsense. God is not a sadist.
I had a Jewish room mate in my younger years. I would light and put out his cigarettes for him on the Sabbath, drive him to the Chabod House, etc.
Geez, I thought this thread would die instantly.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.