Shabbat Musings #1 - Tzitzit

Shabbat Musings: Wearing Tzitzit!

July 7th, 2012 - Shabbat Shalom!

Good morning! Today, I've been thinking about tzitzits and how great they are! 

For family and friends who aren't familiar with the commandment to wear tzitzit, let's go over to Bemidbar (Numbers) 15:37-40:

"And Yahuah spoke to Mosheh, saying, 'Speak to the children of Yisra'el and you shall say to them to make tzitzit on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a blue cord in the tzitzit of the corners. And it shall be to you for a tzitzit and you shall see it, and shall remember all the commands of Yahuah and shall do them, and not search after your own heart and your own eyes after which you went whoring, so that you remember, and shall do all My commands, and be set-apart unto your Elohim."

Debarim (Deuteronomy) 22:12 "Make tassels on the four corners of the garment with which you cover yourself."

But in the modern times, do we really have to follow this small, seemingly insignificant commandment? Our Messiah has the answer! 

Mattithyahu (Matthew) 5:17-19:

Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.  For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.  Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

It seems as if the Messiah was calling his taught ones to follow all the commands, even the smallest, most "insignificant" ones. If he called them to obey, why shouldn't we?


Also, the Messiah wore these tassles himself!

Mattitiyahu 9:20-22:"And see, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the edge of His garment. For she said to herself, 'If I only touch His garment, I shall be healed'. But Yahushua turned and when He saw her He said, 'Take courage, daughter, your belief has healed you.' And the woman was healed from that hour."

 The word "edge" there according to the Greek version of Mattithyahu is spedon meaning fringe or tassel!


Now, a lot of people will try to point to Mattithyahu 23:5-6 to say we aren't supposed to wear tzitzit as sort of a 'slam' on tzitzit wearing by Yahushua, but in fact, he's condemning the lengthening and thickening of tzitzit to kind of "parade your faith".

Mattithyahu 23:5-6: "And they do all their works to be seen by men, and they make their t'fillen wide and lengthen the tzitzit of their garments, and they love the best place at feasts, and the best seats in the congregations."

Now, I've had someone recently tell me that I've "ruined my shirt" by wearing tzitzit! How deeply offensive! I wear tzitzit as a reminder of the Commandments of Yahuah as I am commanded to do according to Scripture. The only "law" that was fulfilled was the "law" concerning the previous priesthood. The command to wear tzitzits is one of the least of the commands, but those who follow the least of these will be greatest in the Kingdom!

Try telling the Messiah not to wear His tzitzit! Remember, it's Satan's job to tell you not to obey!

Shalom! 

Baruch Haba B'Shem Yahuah! 

(Blessed Is He Who Comes In The Name Of Yahuah!)

Breastfeeding in Public

Breastfeeding in Public

July 6th, 2012 - Preparation Day

We've all heard of people getting dirty looks from people in stores for breastfeeding in public, but I don't think I've ever seen anything like this before:

I am from Saudi Arabia and I agree with Americans. For woman to feed baby with breast in public is disgusting and filthy habit. A woman must always be discreet and stay in house - best place to feed baby. Outside is not for woman with baby, inside better for woman and baby and family honor. In my family woman with baby stay in house for one year - never go out. Safer, cleaner and more honor. 

Breast in public is work of devil!

Oh, hell no. Sounds like you can go back to Saudi Arabia, thanks! A filthy habit? So, since when is feeding my child a filthy habit? Since when is it healthy for a woman to be cooped up in her house for the first year of their sweet darling baby's life? 

When a weak liberal minded society who doesn't have a tonge to speak out against this indecent, inappropriate, cheap, lowclass behavior, such as public breastfeeding, how long will it be till society 200 years down the road starts condoning Urinating-Defacating in public...its a slippery slope. 
Public breastfeeding is rude, its disrespectful, its shameful and a sexual act of perversion among the women who chooses to expose her sexual private parts in front of everyone to see so we can take the blame of being insinuated as a pervert just for making a complaint to the restaurant manager about it.

Cheap? Low-class? Women have been breastfeeding since the creation of the world. So, tell me, how is it that in "200 years down the road" society will condone urinating/defecating in public if it hasn't been condoned by now? And by the way -- breasts are multi-purpose, you know. Yes, they CAN BE sexual, but their PRIMARY function is nourishment! 

Is it cheap and low-class to expose your mouth in public? I'm sure you've kissed someone at some point in your life, unless you're a total prude in that area too. If you want to follow that train of thought, any part of your body that can be used for "sexual" purposes should be hidden away too, right? Your hands, your mouth...hell, what about the creep-o's that get their jollies by looking at people's feet, huh? Women should all wear burkas then just so nothing "indecent" is showing, right? So what if I go to nurse and a wee bit of side-boob shows? Or what if my baby pulls away for a split-second and heaven forbid, you see a little more than that? I'm not going around parading my breasts on purpose, but everyone on the planet knows that women have breasts. It's no secret. 

We must not allow these foreign heathen habits come into our sacred land. If a baby wants to eat, why, there is so much good food in the stores - why all this breast exposure.

First off, since when is America "sacred"? Don't get me started... Second, have you read the labels of the "good food" in the stores? Don't you know that breastmilk is a PERFECT food for babies and toddlers? They get nutrients from it that you just can't reproduce. 

 Keep it covered! Geez. Religion's got nothing to do with exposing yourself in public like that. All you're gonna do is attract perverts, especially in the US. It's such a deeply personal act and we are not animals with cubs. We are taught to have manners. Sorry. Use a breast pump and get it before you go out. Compromise!

 There are perverts out there looking for any excuse to be creepy whether I nurse in public or not. And compromise? You must not have mammary glands at all if you wrote this. Do you know how hard it is to just "use a breast pump"? Women aren't faucets! You can't just say, "I know my baby is going to need exactly six bottles of milk today" and pump that much! It's supply and demand. Plus, most women need their babies latched on to create a milk let-down. You can't get that with a pump. And what about the bonding with your baby? Bottles can't do that.

It has to do with the fact that I'm with my four year-old nephew at a breakfast restaurant and before we receive our eggs we have to see someone's putrid, disgusting nipple exposed and I have to comfort my screaming nephew because he is so shocked and appalled and confused. 
For god's sake, do you want to see a man whip out his genitals and pee behind his truck? No! Then why should I have to watch some flabby boob flopping around and ruining my appetite when I'm about to eat breakfast?

 Your nephew was only shocked, appalled and confused because some "person whose attitude toward breast feeding has been impeded/hindered/delayed in development" (which are other synonyms for the word 'retard', the word I originally used here to describe said person -- didn't mean to offend, folks!)  taught him that breasts are "putrid and disgusting". I wish him luck with any intimate relations as an adult, because if he's scared of breasts now, wait til he gets married. 


I don't advocate having your entire breast out while nursing in public, but remember, my child has a right to eat just as much as you do. You're just as welcome to go take your food and eat it in the bathroom as my child.

"If You Give a Mom a Blank Check..."

If You Give A Mom A Blank Check...

July 1st, 2012 -- 1st Day

It's no secret. We all have a wishlist. You know, things we'd buy/do if we had access to stupid amounts of money. Now, I'm not a "big house, big car" kind of a person. I don't want a swimming pool with sharks in it! I'm more interested in practical things...like, paying off the little debt that we have. :)

You know what would be really cool, being able to completely sustain my family with the food supply from our garden, complete with irrigation system, raised beds, etc. And of course, new tools, a tiller of my own, and a little shed in which I can put all my gardening paraphernalia. It would be neat and organized, with veggies, fruit, herbs, flowers here and there...a wooden gate surrounding it. Ahh, that would be the life!

And of course, what would be better for gardening with a baby than something to carry him around in without straining yourself, right? See, I love my Moby Wrap to death, and it's so wonderful for small babies (I haven't figured out a wrap for Godzilla babies like my dear son...) but I'm looking for something a little more sturdy. Upon looking around online for something to meet my specifications, I stumbled upon a homesteading mother who swears by her Ergo Baby Carrier! Ahhh, the things I could do with it! My son does come outside with me into the garden in his stroller, and sure, the stroller is great for the grocery store/going out to eat (I don't trust public high-chairs for anything...too gross), but for walking and being outside...yes, this is perfect. :)

And then there's the car. Ahh, my lovely ex-cop car. I really do love it. And since we only one child (for now), it works perfectly! A little tune-up is all it needs for now, but I'm sure eventually we will acquire a larger vehicle for more children. :)

 

And then, there's my dear darling laundry room! Oh, how I want to paint, plan, and just make it a welcoming spot for me to get to work. I can see it now: my washer in place with my dryer tucked in a corner for rainy-days when I can't use my clothesline. The walls painted a green or a yellow (not too bright though!). A specific place just for my home-made laundry detergent and other cleaning supplies. But you know what would be really neat? A small table for children in the corner so they can look forward to hanging out with mama in the laundry room with special books/coloring pages just for the occasion of being with me while I get some laundry done! Hurrah for dual purposes!

Moving back outside...I dream of a chicken coop, a field of wheat, a bigger clothesline (that isn't tied between two trees, although I'm not complaining!) an area for keeping turkeys (lots of meat), and some dairy goats. Ooooh, the fun I could have...:D 

Looking at this little wish-list of mine, I realize that yes, it costs money, time, and effort...but my dreams aren't so far off! Next week we will have our very own chicken flock. Starting this September, we're putting out the wheat field and our winter veggie garden...next year we will look at goats as well...but it makes me step back and think of the verse in Scripture: "Ask and it shall be given to you, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you." Mattithyahu (Matthew) 7:7

And it's so true, you know? Yahuah knows my heart's desires and He is already blessing me with the resources to fulfill my dreams of homesteading so my family can be healthy, well fed, and less-reliant on money and more reliant on Him!

Shalom! :) Have a great week.