Kosher….and First Fruits
March 30, 2013 ~ Nisan 19, 5773
Unleavened Bread and First Fruits Feasts…
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Pesach Torah Readings
Sh’mot (Ex) 12:21-51; 13: 17- 15:26; B’Midbar (Num) 28:16-25;
Sh’mu’el Bet 22:1-51; Y’hoshua (Joshua) 5:2- 6:1
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Sh’ma
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Today we are going to talk about “kosher”, but before we do that….I want to talk about First Fruits.
We are not meeting for First Fruits – because many have family get togethers. – Yes albeit for pagan easter… but I continue to encourage you to get together with your families… b/c they are your family and because they aren’t going to learn the truth if we never hang around them. The idea is not to offend them… but to light the world.
However, when I have my family over for dinner tomorrow – I am in no way celebrating easter.
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The Feast of First Fruits….
Vayikra (Lev) 23: 9-16 cjb p 136
- Marks the beginning of the cereal grain harvests in Isra’el.
- Barley was the first grain to ripen of those sown in winter months.
- For First Fruits – a sheaf of barley was harvested and brought to the Temple as a thanksgiving offering to YHWH for the harvest.
- It represented the barley harvest as a whole and served as a pledge or guarantee that the remainder of the harvest would be realized in the days that followed.
Offerings…
- Sheaf – “omer” = measure… was to be brought to the Temple priest to wave before YHWH for acceptance.
- Unblemished male lamb of 1 year
- Drink offering of wine
- Meal offering of the barley flour mixed with olive oil.
People were forbidden to use any part of the harvest in any way until after the firstfruits were offered to YHWH. Vayikra 23:14
To neglect these offerings is considered robbery of YHWH
D’Varim (Deut) 26:1-11 cjb p 225 ….how….
This was so important what to do / how to do it – it was written down.
-First Fruits – seen as a time marker…- marked the beginning of the grain harvest in Isra’el…
-but even more importantly, it marked the countdown to the Feast Weeks
-Beginning with Firstfruits, 49 days (or seven sevens) were counted, and on the 50th day, the Feast of Weeks was celebrated. (Shavuot)
How did Messiah fulfill First Fruits?
- Y’shua rose on the third day (some teach – literally the third day of the Pesach season, Nisan 16)
- It is also commonly understood that he was the final sin sacrifice… and the ONLY Cohen HaGadol (High Priest) to make the offering for the Sin’s of Isra’el that year b/c Caiaphas had torn his robes so he couldn’t do it in the earthly temple.
- Y’shua’s resurrection is the guarantee and the beginning (firstfruits) of the final harvest, or resurrection, of all mankind.
- Just as there are 2 parts to the harvest – wheat and chaff, there are 2 parts to the final harvest … some will inherit eternal life and dwell in YHWH’s house forever, and some will inherit eternal separation from YHWH and thrown into the lake of fire.
So today we celebrate with the wine, and oil, and barely, wheat, pomegranate, grapes, figs, dates, olives.
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I invite you to take a moment and think about your first fruits.
I invite you to take a moment and think about your first fruits.
Most of us aren’t farmers… Last year we had flowers blooming at this time, this year, there are none.
But think about the things you do best… the things HE created you to do…. These in many ways, are your first fruits…
I invite you to write them down and bring the papers forward and put on our altar….
1. Dedicating these things you do , to YHWH for the next year.
And D’Varim 26:11 cjb p 225 “Take joy in all the good that YHWH your Elohim has given you, your household, the Levi and the foreigner living with you.”
2. All the things I take joy in that YHWH has given you.
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Prayer of thankfulness and dedication.
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Kosher…
We are just passed the middle of the Feast of Unleavened Bread… and with the paper I handed out at Pesach Seder – pointing out that chametz is not “yeast” but has been mis-interpreted – and we have much to re- learn about this….
I thought it might be a perfect time to talk about KOSHER.
Different ones of us have told stories about sharing with people… and it comes out that we are eating “KOSHER” and I have to cringe.
I know you have good intentions…
….but I didn’t use that word for me b/c I always knew it meant a lot more than I understood.
So, much as my goal is to eat “kosher”… I have to say at this moment I am not doing that – although I am trying to eat Biblically clean.
So today, one of things I hope you get from this is an understanding of what it is to eat Kosher... and how to do that.
And to understand that at this point – nobody here, unless they are a very strict vegetarian with a GREAT deal of understanding of additives… is eating kosher.
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For this study I primarily studied “Biblically Kosher” by Aaron Eby – and then I went to the web to see if what he was saying seems to be mostly the consensus and it does.
So I present this to you – as a basic understanding of KOSHER.
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I would like to give you some quotes to set the tone of this before I explain exactly how to eat KOSHER.
-“To observe kashrut (KOSHER) properly is to do so in a way that it becomes intertwined with other mitzvot. The boundaries and lessons it provides should inspire and equip a person to seek inner essential holiness…. As Y’shua said, “First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside may be clean” (Matt 23:26) However note that he did not say, “clean only the inside, for the outside does not matter.”
-“If kashrut does not lead one to improve in other areas of life, then that observance is superficial.”
- He also makes it a point that eating KOSHER is primarily NOT about physical health – b/c if it was just about that HE would have given instructions not to eat the poisonous plants.
-“Eating is one of the most primal of human desires. Learning to control one’s desires is essential to spiritual life. If one cannot control something as basic as what enters his mouth, how can he hope to control more advanced and abstract aspects of his life? Likewise one whose diet is governed by his spiritual discipline is accustomed to saying “no” to his primal desires. He will have greater capacity to withstand the temptation to steal from or commit sexual sins, or harm other people.”
- “Keeping a KOSHER diet can help a person to be constantly aware of YHWH’s presence. A person who keeps kosher lives consciously and purposefully. His or her choices about food are intentional and reflect a posture of service toward the Creator.”
- “Purity is a step toward holiness. The essence of holiness is distinction, since to be holy is to be set apart, distinguished, or designated for a spiritual or divine purpose. Through the dietary lows, ancient Isra’elites were made distinct from the surrounding Canaanite culture. To this day, archeologists who uncover ancient ruins are able to identify Isra’elite settlements by virtue of the lack of pig bones.”
- He also talks about what we eat literally becoming part of us and our energy… what if it isn’t just creating our bodies… but it has a spiritual effect on us too. ?
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Something really important to think about…
If the Messianic movement is going to make it – we have to do things different than the (pagan) culture we live in. We have to have tangible things that our children can connect to.
In another quote from a leader… I will paraphrase – he said something like… Messianic Jews – are told that they don’t have to eat kosher now that they have “jesus”… and that they can marry Christian and they can be Christian. … and they don’t’ even have to keep Shabbat…!
Hence Messianic Judaism is not passed down well b/c nobody is teaching the children to keep Torah!
In another thought… Matt 5: 17-19… we know that Y’shua didn’t come to end Torah but to show us how to live it.
But read on…. He that teaches others not to keep Torah will be called LEAST in the kingdom of heaven….
Now if Y’shua taught that Torah was done… He would be LEAST in the Kingdom and THAT doesn’t line up with the Word – if this were true – HE just disqualified himself from being Messiah – b/c he the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven!
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Terms….
Kadosh = holy / consecrated to YHWH
Chol = not holy/ common/ not consecrated to YHWH
Tahor = pure
Tamei = impure
--pure and impure are not about hygiene
Kasher (Ashkenazi’s pronunciation = kosher) = acceptable
Lo kasher = unacceptable.
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Mark 7:19 cjb p 1272 –
- We know this () wasn’t in original scripture
- We also know this section is not even about food
- Y’shua’s point = ritual purity of one’s soul/heart…. To pay attention to ritual purity but to neglect the purity of one’s soul/hear was to miss the heart of Torah.
- There is much Hebrew grammar discussion on why this statement cannot possibly be a legitimate sentence from any original Scripture.
- “all food” = literally “all”
- This can’t make sense b/c how would ALL the food a person ate actually become tahor/ pure? = not possible.
- “Y’shua’s statement is descriptive not declarative. He was not making a halachic ruling. His point wasn’t about food at all… but about him pointing out that ritual purification is nullified by moral degeneracy. By using Jewish law as a metaphor in this regard, he implicitly validates it. HE upheld Torah.”
Acts 10:9-29 cjb p1374 Kefa’s Sheet Vision
- Kefa interprets this himself … in verse 28 – (This is about people/ nations… not food.)
- “The use of animals to symbolize nations – is common in the Word.
- Kefa had never eaten these… and if Y’shua had gotten rid of the dietary laws…Kefa would have eaten this stuff!
- Ezekiel’s instructions in Ezek 4… is a literary antecedent – of Kefa’s sheet vision….
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Vayikra (Lev) 11 cjb p 119 and
D’Varim 14:1-21 cjb p 213 – food instructions.
1. Large land animals…
a. Must have split hooves – must have hooves as opposed to toes or paws.. must be split in the middle, rather than being one solid piece.
b. Must chew cud
c. Disqualified = camel, rock badger, hare, pig
d. Pure = ox, sheep, goat, deer, gazelle, roebuck, wild goat, ibex, antelope, mt. sheep; bison
-lots of reports / studies to show that meat is mislabeled and ground beef is usually contaminated with other kinds of meats in stores.
2. Water animals
a. Must have fins
b. Must have scales – (If can be removed without causing significant damage = a scale.)
- Fish often mislabeled and sold as kosher fish when not kosher!
3.Birds
a. kosher – chicken, duck, geese, turkey, pheasant, dove, pigeons, quail
b. non kosher – scavenger birds – eagles, vultures, and also ostrich and emu.
4. Teeming creatures – bugs = all unclean, can eat jointed back leg – jumpers that can also fly.
Including the gnats that fall into your soup.
5. Parts of animals
a. Gen 32:32 “This is why, to this day, the people of Isra’el d onot eat the thing muscle that passes along the hip socket – b/c the man struck Ya’akov’s hip at its socket. (sciatic nerve)
b. fat of certain animals not to eat – Lev 3:17; 7: 23, 25 – no fat of ox, sheet, gout.
c. blood – hind quarters of animals – hard to get the sciatic nerve and the blood out of. – cuts – tenderloin, Tbone, fillet mignon, liver.
-If not Kosher slaughter = these cuts will have the nerve and blood in them!
How slaughter – Deut 12:21; Ex 22:31, Deut 14:21
If animals don’t die in proper way – not kosher.
Cut carotid and NOT trachea – bleed out but don’t suffocate . Pain free with sharp knife. Unconscious in 2 sec… and bleed out completely very fast.
Death is defined differently by Bible, civil law and science…
Civil law and science – cessation of heart and brain activity.
Bible defines death as not breathing.
USDA – considers animal still alive while Bible says they are already dead.
So USDA = not kosher.
Meat and Dairy…
Sh’mot (Ex) 23:19; 34:26; D’varim (Deut) 14:21
“You are not to boil a young animal in its mother’s milk.”
“You are not to boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
“You are not to boil a young animal in its mother’s milk”
- This discussion often become about what is biblical vs rabbinical.
- From this Rabbis don’t see this at all about rabbinical law , but just about Torah.
“you shall not boil” = “bishel… sometimes means to boil and sometimes mean to cook it.
“A young goat” = gedi = - Janet’s short summary…. = the species of the animal is not the issue…. It can refer to any young livestock… ox, cow, sheep, goat.
Or simply – as “meat” – do not cook meat in the milk of its mother….
“in the milk of its mother” = chalav = can mean milk or it can mean dairy.
Better translated: “you shall not cook beef, lamb, or goat, with dairy.”
Red meat with dairy.
The rabbis added no poultry in milk “to be safe.”
There is not an explanation in the Word for this….
Might be that YHWH often separates opposites…
Milk = life --- meat = death
Light --- dark
Waters below – waters above
Dry land --- seas
Plants --- animals
Ox – donkey can’t plow together
2 seeds… don’t plant together
Wool --- linen
Food offered to idols…
Sh’mot (Ex) 34:12, 15;
D’Varim 32:38;
D’varim 7:26
Halal = not kosher killed… so not kosher.
I believe that halal meat is sacrificed to allah… so I can’t eat it b/c it is sacrificed to idols.
Problem ingredients:
Carmine = cochineal = red food color, in fruit juice, baked goods, spices and meats.
Gelatin – cheap yogurt and cheap ice cream… marshmallows, jams, margarine… etc…
Anticaking agents – spice powders and blends
Glycerides – in sauces and dressings, and cheap ice creams
“Natural flavorings” – derived from animal products such as extracts from beaver, cat or deer glands
Food grade oils are used in food processing plants..
Ie – baking containers are sprayed with sperm(whale) oil… not kosher
L-Cysteine
Stearic acid
Gelatin
Collagen
Glycerin
Mono and Diglycerides
Magnesium Stearate
Calcium Stearate
Enzymes found in cheese
Collagen
Glycerin
Mono and Diglycerides
Magnesium Stearate
Calcium Stearate
Enzymes found in cheese
stearic acid made from fat is found in vanilla flavoring and pill coatings
pepsin, a pig stomach enzyme, can be used in cheese-making
calcium stearate from fat is commonly found in garlic salt and spice blends
energy bars often rely on collagen as a protein source
pig skin-derived gelatin is used to absorb cloudy elements in juice drinks, add texture to low-fat dips and spreads, and cut down on the formation of sugar crystals in ice cream; it’s also added to marshmallows, yogurt, and frosted breakfast cereals
pepsin, a pig stomach enzyme, can be used in cheese-making
calcium stearate from fat is commonly found in garlic salt and spice blends
energy bars often rely on collagen as a protein source
pig skin-derived gelatin is used to absorb cloudy elements in juice drinks, add texture to low-fat dips and spreads, and cut down on the formation of sugar crystals in ice cream; it’s also added to marshmallows, yogurt, and frosted breakfast cereals
Some of the other names for pig-based additives that are familiar to anyone who reads product packaging are capric acid (decanoic acid), glucose (dextrose), glycerides, sodium stearoyl lactylate, and oleic acid (oleinic acid).
One can’t keep kosher just by reading labels!!
Cheese – rennent – made from pork or calf stomach or plants. The porcine pepsin = pig.
Cheese produced by non Jews is forbidden in kosher diet.
Kosher certification
1. Symbol = “hechsher”
2. “Mashgiach” = the expert trained in kosher law – inspects and supervises food production..
3. “K” – can’t be copy righted – so doesn’t mean KOSHER
4. Most well known symbols
= a circled k, or u, k in a star, k in a letter bet , and others
Some will say that the Gentiles should JUST follow Acts 15 …
Acts 15: 19-21 cjb p 1382
but the key is the ending of this section….”in the synagogues ever Shabbat”….
With the point being - one can not sit in synagogue and not learn!
The “rules in Acts 15: 19-21 – are a starting point…. Get them cleaned up enough to sit in synagogue!
Other things about Kosher:
- KOSHER – doesn’t’ mean a rabbi has blessed it
- We do it b/c the Torah says so…. It is a call to holiness
Summary of Kosher
1. Can’t eat certain animals – flesh, organs, meat, eggs, or milk.
2. Animals must be killed in a certain way.
3. All blood must be drained or broiled out
4. Certain parts of permitted animals are not eaten… like the sciatic nerve and the hind parts unless especially cared for in draining the blood
5. Fruits and Vegetables are eaten but have to be carefully washed to assure NO BUGS!
6. Meat can not be eaten with dairy…. – you can choose the place on the continuum you want… not in same dish, not cooked together but put together, not in same meal….
7. Pots, pans, surfaces and utensils – must not ever be used for something not kosher or – no longer kosher to use.
8. Grape products made by now Jews are not kosher – b/c this is commonly used in pagan sacrifice
Labels = “meat” “dairy” “Pareve” = neutral
So this is KOSHER.
Aside from eating vegetarian – I don’t know how we have a chance to eat KOSHER in northwest Ohio.
Certainly can’t go to restaurants….
I invited you to seek YHWH and ask HIM his direction for you.
It is very important not to say “I eat Kosher” – unless you truly are.
We can say – we are trying to eat as Biblically clean as possible.
Clearly we are to be intentional about what we eat…
Clearly our eating is to set us apart from the culture we live in.
You know – I used to say all the time as a Christian… just looking at us – we can’t tell who is Christian and who is not for most things….
And here we are – in Hebrew roots – starting to understand that YHWH calls us to eat clean… and be set apart – and that is clearly not fitting in with the culture we live in.
I do know that in Detroit and Ann Arbor and Cleveland, and Chicago – there are kosher butcher shops, and some kosher restaurants, but NONE in less than 2 hours from here!
Note that I said all this – and I haven’t talked about the products that have fetal cells in – that clearly are not Kosher
I haven’t talked about the DNA modifications, or the steroids/ hormones and antibiotics in meats that probably make them also not clean.
Nor have I talked about the GMO plant food – especially corn… that I am sure YHWH doesn’t consider clean either!
Or how about fake sweeteners… that are poison.?!
We know that aspartame is a carcinogen and clearly does nothing positive….
There is a lot to cleaning up the diets and things that we are exposed to in our culture!!
How will we live?
My heart is to follow the Word as much as I am able.
We can get on this Christian kick and say - … He has grace for us.
Really?... He gave clear instructions… and just what if HE actually means them?
We can say “it’s too hard”…
Changing habits is very difficult…
But it is not too hard….
D’varim 30:11- 14 cjb p 232 “For this mitzvah which I am giving you today is not too hard for you, it is not beyond your reach…. You can do it!”
So let’s go back to the First Fruits… remember the gifts you wrote down and what you are dedicating to YHWH this year and what all you are thankful for….
… now how will you walk closer to HIM?
I encourage you to follow HIS Word .
AMEIN
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May be helpful….
http://www.theisraelofgodrc.com –this is an excellent listing!
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