Our continued quest to keeping kosher

Oh my my my. As I've been digging around and researching hechsherim {kosher symbols} I've seen even more how not all hechsherim are equal! Some of the things I read shocked me, like certain unclean things being allowed based on the amount of it! But as I said in this last post I wanted to share with you what I found as I studied this out. 

Thankfully I was able to come up with a list to start out with. But I'm pretty sure this is going to be a life long endeavor. Something where I'll just have to stay up to date on any changes that are made, and make sure that the standards haven't been relaxed.

Here are some resources I found that can help you in determining what is right for your family. 

kashrut.com
kosherquest.org
crcweb.org

Here are some videos in a teaching series from a "conservadox" Jewish shul that believes in Yeshua as Messiah.

And here is a printable card that has hechsherim that are deemed appropriate: kashrus card 

I hope these resources get you off to a good start, and if you hear anything about specific hechsherim let me know :o)

 Its purpose is to distinguish between the unclean and the clean, and between the creatures that may be eaten and those that may not be eaten. 

-Leviticus 11:47

Obedience and Fear

Something I'm chewing on today...

 "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble." James 2:19

Do we tremble in the face of the Almighty? Or are we flippant? Do we believe that we can do as we please despite the rules that He has in place? 

I think we can all agree the most flippant of all is hasatan himself. But even he knows to not go beyond the boundary that the Almighty set. Look at these verses in Job:

1: 12 And YHVH said unto satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So satan went forth from the presence of YHVH. 

2:6-7 And YHVH said unto satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life. So went satan forth from the presence of YHVH , and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.

The Almighty allowed the enemy to attack Job, but He gave clear boundaries. As we read we see that the enemy never once crossed those boundary lines. Are we that faithful to do as we are told or does hasatan obey better than we do?

YHVH gave many commands that are perpetual, or everlasting. Yet many today believe that those commands are done away with. Worse yet those that know and believe that the laws given by YHVH are still for us today are not diligent. We come to this truth but then still tow the line and say well its ok if I slip. When in reality we should be so far from the line there is no fear of slipping! 

I'm not pointing any fingers because Yah knows I am not perfect. But boy oh boy was I convicted by the obedience of hasatan. Isn't that crazy??? Our very own enemy that is in 100% opposition to YHVH obeys Him. But do we? 

We need to learn to tremble and to be exceedingly afraid of YHVH. While He is merciful and loving and long suffering that does not make Him soft on sin. Don't confuse His kindness for weakness. The same Elohim who destroyed Nadab and Abihu for offering strange fire, is the same Elohim that we call Abba, Father, and He will not be mocked. Be exceedingly afraid.... 

Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear YHVH, and depart from evil. -Proverbs 3:7

Keeping Kosher

I will be the first to tell you that to eat Biblically clean you DO NOT have to buy everything kosher. In fact if you know what you're looking for, and you do most of your cooking from scratch you can completely avoid hechshers {the symbols on food that tell you if they are kosher or not}.

But in light of our almost dinner fiasco tonight, we have decided to go kosher. Now of course anything that we know to be clean we will still purchase, like cheese, but we will be making sure that the bulk of our products are hechshered.

So here's what happened. My husband purchased a bottle of sweet and sour sauce that he wanted me to use for dinner. Nothing wrong with that. Well I ended up reading the label, because we have a youngin' with allergies, and guess what I saw? CARMINE. Now if you don't know what carmine is let me just tell you that a it's unclean, and b it's gross. Carmine is a red food coloring that comes from the Cochineal bug, which is a cactus parasite.. Blech! 

Being that so many food additives are derived from rather unsavory sources, and we can't keep up with them all, we've decided to trust those whose job it is to make sure that unclean things do not get into our food. This also means I'll have to start digging into which hechshers are actually good. Because I know some rabbis believe that things that are derived from an unclean source are so far removed from the original source that they can be considered clean. We do not agree with that, nor do most Orthodox Jews, so those are the type of hechshers we will be sticking with. One hechsher that everyone is very familiar with it the OU symbol from the Orthodox Union. That's the most common one, but as I study things out I will share the other ones that I find to be valid. 

In the mean time while you're trying to figure things out READ READ READ those labels! Even if you don't keep kosher do you really want to eat a bug, just to make your food red? 

This is the law of the beasts, and of the fowl, and of every living creature that moveth in the waters, and of every creature that creepeth upon the earth: To make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the beast that may be eaten and the beast that may not be eaten. -Leviticus 11:46-47

For as Oft as Ye Eat...

via google

About a month ago my family and I sat at our Shabbat table to break bread, and I was angry. I felt like my husband didn't help me prepare, and we were late! I was so upset, that I just sat there trying not to look in his direction. He read the Eshet Chayil (Prov 31:10-31) blessing over me and I was still angry. He blessed the children and I sat there just stewing. I was being so awful. Then I heard my Abba whisper to me "you can't enter my rest angry". I never really even thought about that before, we've always carried on with our normal routine no matter how we are feeling. Never really thinking how that may affect our time resting in YHVH. But as I reflected on it these verses came to mind. 

 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come. Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. -1 Corinthians 11: 26-29

Until that point I had NEVER looked at our Shabbat tradition as communion. I never really put that together. But in fact it is just that. It is the breaking of bread in remembrance of Yeshua. 

So before my hubby broke the bread I stopped him and told him that I needed to apologize. He already knew I was mad so that wasn't a shock, but once I explained to him what Abba had revealed to me I think we both realized that we were on the cusp of something really important for our family. 

Right there, in front of our children, I confessed my sins and asked for his and their forgiveness. After that I felt fully free to enter into the sabbath and enjoy the rest provided by YHVH. We now make it a point to be in good spirits and right standing with each other (and Elohim) as we enter into Shabbat. It's so amazing what the Ruach HaKodesh {Holy Spirit} can do when we allow YHVH to work in our lives. 

The things we do shouldn't just be vain traditions. Every thing we do in the name of YHVH should be drawing us closer to Him and producing godliness in us. Learning that lesson has greatly transformed all that I do. 

For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. -Phillipians 1:15

Our Shabbat in Pictures

And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made;
and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. -Gen 2:2

Our Shabbat didn't go exactly as we planned, but it was a blessing none the less. We watched some videos from Passion for Truth, spent time reading scripture, and enjoyed each others company. After I lit our Shabbat candles I got the idea to share our day with you. Everyone was too hungry for me to take any pictures of dinner though :o)

The challot I made!

They looked so pretty, before I baked them lol. The funny shaped one was part of a project I'm working on for a friend. 

The funny shaped challah didn't make it pass dinner!

This is what it's all about, spending time with Abba.

Pumpkin cookies! 

Lunch!

The girls "reading"

Time for havdalah:
grape juice, spices, and braided candle.

Hubby doing the havdalah service.

There you have it, our Shabbat. It was very refreshing and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to fellowship with my family. I can't wait until next week! Shavua Tov {good week}from my family to yours!

Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. -Revelations 14:12

Preparation Day

I can't believe it's been over a year since I've written a preparation day post! Wow. I guess that's just a reflection on how we've been living. We've gone back and forth over the Sabbath issue so many times. While we know the truth of the Sabbath it can often be hard to walk it out, especially alone. 

2012 has been a really difficult year for my family. Lot's of changes and upheavals have happened. But through it all Adonai has been nothing but faithful to us. We've purposed to end this year on a much better note and to head into 2013 with a renewed devotion to our Elohim. For me that means lot's of readjusting our diets (so that we are taking care of our temples), getting back into studying Hebrew, and reaffirming commitments that I've made to YHVH. For my family it means walking in the ways of Adonai, no matter how difficult it may be. 

Recently my husband and I watched Identity Crisis again (if you haven't seen this teaching I highly recommend it) and this time around something clicked for him. It was like the things that we've known for awhile took on new meaning for him. So now I've got a man on a mission, on my hands. :o)

How this will look in the coming months is unclear, but I trust that my Abba has a plan for my family. I do however know the first step that we must take is getting back to keeping the Sabbath! Shabbat was always a favorite of mine and I'm so excited to begin keeping it again. We will still be attending our church on Sundays, for the reasons found in this post. Only difference now is that my husband is able to be home for Shabbat and we're able to truly set aside this time for our Elohim. 

Well enough with all the heavy stuff, want to see my menu?!?

Dinner: Moroccan Chraimi Fish with roasted potatoes and corn 

Breakfast: Homemade Bagels, Cinnamon Rolls 

Lunch: Tuna Salad 

Plus: Challah, Pumpkin Challah, and Pumpkin cookies (if I get to them)

I am going to be busy, busy, busy but I'm super thankful my hubby has agreed to tackle most of the cleaning, so that I'm able to get everything done. 

May you have a blessed Erev Shabbat (Sabbath eve/preparation day), as you prepare to usher in the shalom of YHVH this Shabbat. 

Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you.- Exodus 31:13

Shabbat Shalom!

A big step

My husband and I are taking a really big step (to us at least). We've decided to wear tzittzit! I know to some this may seem like an odd step or maybe like a really simple one. But for us it's both logical and difficult. Since it's Shabbat (or at least about to be) I won't get into it. But I will update you all on how this has worked out.




Shabbat Shalom

A Mezuzah!

This is not our Mezuzah but I thought this one was pretty :o)

Baruch HaShem we finally got a mezuzah! I'm so excited about this. We've lived in our apartment together for 7 months, hubby lived here for three months before we got married, and we didn't have a mezuzah! But we recently renewed our lease and got a mezuzah; perfect timing! It feels so good to be keeping another commandment! Adonai didn't give us His commandments so we could ignore them.

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: ⁵And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. ⁶And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: ⁷And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. ⁸And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. ⁹And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. -Deut 6:4-9 

¹³And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, ¹⁴That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil. ¹⁵And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full. ¹⁶Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them; ¹⁷And then the LORD's wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and lest ye perish quickly from off the good land which the LORD giveth you. ¹⁸Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. ¹⁹And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. ²⁰And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates: ²¹That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth. -Deut 11:13-21