HAPPY SHAVUOT!

Shavuot celebrates the Ten Commandments received by the Jewish people at Mt. Sinai.

According to Chabad.org, "Every year on the holiday of Shavuot we renew our acceptance of G‑d’s gift, and G‑d “re-gives” the Torah. The word Shavuot means “weeks.” It marks the completion of the seven-week counting period between Passover and Shavuot. The giving of the Torah was a far-reaching spiritual event—one that touched the essence of the Jewish soul for all times. Our sages have compared it to a wedding between G‑d and the Jewish people. Shavuot also means “oaths,” for on this day G‑d swore eternal devotion to us, and we in turn pledged everlasting loyalty to Him."

Let's think about the Ten Commandments. Many of us just take them for granted and don't think about them very often, probably not unless we are ready to break one of them. What do the Ten Commandments mean to us in the 21st Century?

"The Ten Commandments don’t change based on time or place but are instead statements of high-order moral sentiments that tell how ethical people should conduct themselves. Different generations will sometimes understand the details of law differently, but that’s not what is really at stake." says Michael J. Broyde, the academic director of the Law and Religion program at Emory University’s Law School in Atlanta, GA in "Moment Magazine". I totally agree with him. Many things in all of our religions, IMHO, must change with the times, but not the fundamental core of our religions, and that core, in most cases, I believe, are The Ten Commandments, certainly within the Judeao-Christian religions. Why do I believe this? Because, without The Ten Commandments, we would have no blueprint for moral behavior. Now, I am not a moralist nor a religious person by any means, however, I do believe that one should try to strive to keep the Commandments. Without them, I believe the world would be even more chaotic than it already is.

The first four Commandments deal with a person's relationship with G-d. That is personal, so I will not deal with the first four Commandments. I believe that you know how to handle your own relationship with G-d, and if you don't, then I advise seeing a cleric or a religion teacher.

Commandment #5 - Thou shalt honor thy father and mother...

WoW! This one is not always easy, especially as an American teenager. Why is this? Too much freedom? Not enough respect for anyone or anything? Is it because our society has no time to solidify the family structure? Perhaps it is because teenagers need more contact with their parents and spend more family time together? Or is it because teenage hormones make them predestined to rebel? Perhaps it is all of these reasons. What do you think?

Sadder, is the adult-child that stops speaking to a parent, or who abuses a parent by neglect. How can they not remember that the parent (in most cases) tried their best to be a good parent and that no child comes with a manual for their parents to learn how to be a good parent to that particular child. Why can't these adult-children get over their anger and keep a relationship going till death parts the family, which happens all too quickly. What happens to these adults? How do they deal with the separation from family? What would it take to rebuild the family and the "normal" or perhaps more likely "the abnormal" familia structure? What do you think?

COMMANDMENT #6 - Thou shallt not commit murder...

Pray tell, why can't we all obey this Commandment? Ok, now I know that I have never killed anyone and you probably haven't either. There are many types of killing, so I decided to look up the definition of murder. This is the definition found on "Online Free Dictionary:"

n.
1. The unlawful killing of one human by another, especially with premeditated malice.

v. mur·dered, mur·der·ing, mur·ders
v.tr.

1. To kill (another human) unlawfully.
2. To kill brutally or inhumanly.
3. To put an end to; destroy: murdered their chances.
4. To spoil by ineptness; mutilate: a speech that murdered the English language.
5. Slang To defeat decisively; trounce.

v.intr.
To commit murder.


Hmmm...I love this..."the UNLAWFUL" killing of a human being. What is lawful killing? Killing someone in war or battle? Why is this not murder? Why isn't ALL killing murder? I truly believe that G-d did not put us on earth to kill one another. That just doesn't make sense to me.

Ok, I hear you saying, "what about survival of the fittest." "What about over-population?" "What about natural selection?" Well, my thoughts on the survival of the fittest is not who is the toughest fighter or warrior or bully, but who can survive life, disease, poverty, natural calamities such as storms, flooding, fire, etc. And I believe that over-population needs to be taken care of naturally, not by wars and killing. We need to education all people and we need them to understand why they should not have more than five children and how to help them understand that they should (again IMHO) not have more children than they can afford to decently house and clothe these offspring. And we need to help each other prosper...not thru charity or Welfare, but through job creation, motivation, and respect. We need to support our farmers so they can help feed all of us. We need to tear down vacant buildings so we can rebuild (except we should not tear down historical structures), and build homes and build businesses. We should not have to have warriors-soldiers-armed forces. Stop the hatred, stop the wars! What about natural selection? Well, that too should just be done through nature, who are we to judge who shall live or who shall die?

COMMANDMENT #7 - Thou shallt not commit adultery.

I recently heard or read that adultery can be commited only if the husband says that the wife is a slut or more accurately if he says that she is behaving in a manner that could be construed as being adulterous. And then he has to tell her to stop the adulterous behavior. This thought I just looked up at Chabad.org and found that this came from the Parshah reading of Naso (actually from the Interpolated Translation for Parshah Naso by the From the Lubavitcher Rebbe found at http://www.chabad.org). It also says that the accusing husband must not be an adulterer himself if he is accusing his wife and that he must assume she is not a slut. Also, the woman must be a married woman. A single woman cannot be an adulteress. This Parshah also equates G-d's relationship with Israel as a marriage, and so, if a Jew turns away from G-d, or abandons him for another god, then that Jew is guilty of adultery, according to the Parshah, IF I am interpreting it correctly. Is adultery, in the secular sense, still as serious a crime as it is in the Torah? Why is it considered to be such a serious crime? I think that adultery in today's age, is serious, but certainly not to the extreme as it is in the Torah. I certainly do not believe that it is a crime worthy of death. I do believe that adultery does break up the family unit and that that is not a healthy thing for the family, especially the children, nor is it good for society. How can we stop adultery? I don't believe you can. G-d made humans passionate and passion lends itself to temptation, and humans often fall to temptation. I think it is human nature. And I do believe that people should be given second, and perhaps third, chances before the family is broken up due to adultery.

COMMANDMENT #8 - Thou shallt not steal...This commandment is self explanatory. Why do people steal? What should be the punishment for stealing? Why is stealing so prevelant in our society? Again, I don't have the answers, however I do believe, again, that if we help each other so that everyone lives in relative comfort and is able to eat regularly that there would be no need for stealing and then the crime rate would go way down. I believe that in many instances that stealing is done for survival. I can forgive this. I cannot forgive theft as an occupation nor can I forgive theft for the thrill of it, or for support of a drug habit.

COMMANDMENT #9 - Thou shallt not bear false witness...I totally agree with this...especially if the word "neighbor" is defined as "another human being."

COMMANDMENT #10 - Thou shallt not covet thy neighbor's house. Thou shallt not covet thy neighbor's wife...What is the definition of "neighbor?" What is the definition of "covet?"

According to The Free Online Dictionary, this is the definition of "covet:"

cov·et

v. cov·et·ed, cov·et·ing, cov·ets
v.tr.

1. To feel blameworthy desire for (that which is another's). See Synonyms at envy.

2. To wish for longingly. See Synonyms at desire.

v.intr.

To feel immoderate desire for that which is another's.

I think the wording needs to be changed in this Commandment, or it should be deleted. Why? Because, I don't think that in our "Keep Up With The Joneses' World" that we live in today that that would be impossible. Most people want the same things, and if your neighbor gets it first, well, many people would be jealous. Why? Human nature is to be competitive in the sense that most of us want the comforts of life. I know that there are many exceptions to this; I have a wonderful nephew who does not need the materialistic things in life, and I have a tremendous respect for him because of this view, but he is the only person I know who does not desire to keep up with the Joneses. Yes, I admit to being extremely materialistic to a fault, but is that a crime? Not in our society today. Should it be a crime? I don't think it should be a crime and don't see why the punishment for it is death. This is especially true because of the definition of neighbor as defined at Free Online Dictionary as follows:

neigh·bor

n.

1. One who lives near or next to another.

2. A person, place, or thing adjacent to or located near another.

3. A fellow human.

4. Used as a form of familiar address.

v. neigh·bored, neigh·bor·ing, neigh·bors

v.tr.

To lie close to or border directly on.

v.intr.

To live or be situated close by.

adj.

Situated or living near another: a neighbor state.

If "neighbor" is interpreted as another human being...that is a lot of not coveting to ask for! Who doesn't fantasize at some stage of their life about marrying a movie star or athlete or the Belle of the Ball? I know that I have had these fantasies...and even though I may not know if that person is married or not, I still had these fantasies, so was I coveting my "neighbor's" spouse? Wow...Many 21st Century people would be dead if the punishment for this Commandment was carried out.

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
(courtesy of Chabad.org)


1. "I am the Lord your G-d, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

2. "You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a graven image, nor any manner of likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them, nor serve them. For I the Lord your G-d am a jealous G-d, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children of the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me; and showing mercy unto the thousandth generation of them that love Me and keep My commandments.

3. "You shall not take the name of the Lord your G-d in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that takes His name in vain.

4. "Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work; but the seventh day is a Sabbath unto the Lord your G-d. On it you shall not do any manner of work -- you, your son, your daughter, your man-servant, your maid-servant, your cattle, and your stranger that is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is, and rested on the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath Day, and hallowed it.

5. "Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your G-d gives you.

6. "You shall not murder.

7. "You shall not commit adultery.

8. "You shall not steal.

9. "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

10. "You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, his manservant, his maid-servant, his ox, his ass, nor anything that is your neighbor's."

Boy, how did I ever get on my soap box? I guess because of the interesting Parshah and the late hour I'm writing this entry. So, now I will end with my recipe for Blintz Casserole. Dairy foods are traditionally served on Shavout. I hope you enjoy the recipe and that you all have a Happy, Healthy Shavout!

BLINTZ CASSEROLE

Ingredients:

FILLING:

2 pounds Farmers Cheese (similar to Riccota cheese) OR Riccota Cheese
2 large Eggs
Juice of 1 medium Fresh Lemon
1/4 cup Granulated Sugar
1 pinch of Salt

BATTER:

1/2 pound Butter
1/2 cup Sugar
1 pinch Salt
2 large Eggs
1 cup All-Purpose Flour
1 tablespoons Baking Powder
1/4 cup Milk
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract.

Directions:

BATTER: Cream butter and granulated sugar together for the batter. Add remaining batter ingredients (salt, eggs, all-purpose flour, baking powder, milk and vanilla extract). Mix until all ingredients are incorporated and smooth.

FILLING: Beat together all filling ingredients (farmers cheese, eggs, lemon juice, granulated sugar and salt) until well incorporated and smooth.

CASSEROLE: GREASE a large casserole dish OR 9"x13"x2" pan. Place half of batter in casserole (MARILYN'S NOTE: I use 9"x13"x2" glass pan.). It will be a thin layer. Spread filling over the batter layer. Cover filling with remaining batter.

Bake casserole at 300° Fahrenheit for 1 1/2 hours.

This recipe is absolutely wonderful!!! The taste is wonderful and it is so much easier than making blintzes from scratch. I think that it tastes better than the blintz casseroles made with frozen blintzes. The first time I made this recipe, I took it to a New York State Home Bureau (Monroe County's) Pot-Luck picnic in August of 1994. Everyone loved it. I had no leftovers!!!

If you wish, you can serve with cherry, apple or blueberry pie filling on the side. I like this plain.

The recipe came from Cynthia Merzer who lives in Atlantis, Florida. She posted it on the Prodigy Food Boards on September 22, 1993. ~Marilyn Sultar
Servings: 8-10