Why Milk?
Honestly, I never understood the connection between dairy products and the Shavuot (Pentecost) holiday. Exactly how did the celebration of the Torah (The Five Books of Moses) become a festival of milk and honey? Out of curiosity I began to surf the web in an effort to get some answers. I found many interesting and creative answers among them I discovered:
♦ The Torah was delivered on Mt Sinai or “Har Gav'nunim”, the mountain of majestic peaks. In Hebrew “gevina” is cheese.
♦ The numerology calculation for “halav” (the Hebrew word for milk) is 40: the Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years.
♦ White represents purity: the Israelites were obligated to purify themselves in preparation for the holy gift of the Torah.
It is clear that milk and all dairy products have become the symbols of Shavuot.
Just before the holiday began I went into the shopping center and was accosted by an army of Tnuva (the major producer of Israeli dairy products) sales reps on their way to hand out free samples, recipes and coupons to the crowd of shoppers on the lookout for new ways to dress up their holiday tables.
I visited Tnuva’s website and discovered a special page dedicated to the holiday festivities. I was blown away by its beauty and the abundant creativity. Even if you cannot understand Hebrew, you might want to take a look. You’ll find baking consultants, recipes, coupons, tips, a “Grandmothers’ Baking Contest” and if despite all of your best efforts your cheesecake was not a success, you may just get a special delivery replacement directly from Tnuva! An ingenious marketing effort indeed!
Despite all of the savory preparations for the holiday,
there is a foul taste in the air…
Symbols are dear to us, full of associations and memories but we mustn't hold on to them at any cost. It is the essence of the holiday which we need to remember.
Shavuot, the Feast of Deliverance, celebrates the gift of the Torah. The 10 Commandments are mentioned in two different books of the Torah, so important were they that they were mentioned twice. These commandments represent moral codes of ethics, behavior and commitment. Are the symbols we have adopted reflective of these codes?
One of the codes which I have adopted for myself is: honor thy body; thou shalt deliver abundant good and nutritious energies in earnest.
All that glitters is not gold. All that is white is not pure.
Provocative packaging calls out: look here, taste me, buy me! We are blinded by the beautiful lies we are sold. It is “merely” our health that is being compromised…
I don’t want to sell you anything. I have no desire neither to be the town crier nor the prophet of doom. Preach? No, not me. Most of the Ten Commandments are packaged in thou “shall nots”. I prefer the affirmative over the negative.
Be committed to your health. Look beyond the limelight, read the fine print and ask the right questions.
I’ve been cheezing away… I prepared a special cheese for a vegan cheese competition (wish me luck) and last night we licked our lips over a succulent chocolate coated cheesecake with strawberries. Yummy! I always was the cheesecake girl. Isn’t it wonderful that there is no need to deprive myself of my favorite treats?!
