> > I'm wondering, what does life mean to you people? What keeps you going? What is important?
> >

> I know that Ecc. is not a popular book, except for the making of a song by the Beatles(Turn, turn, turn...) but it contains this line:
>
> Here is the final conclusion, now that you have heard everything: fear God, and keep His mitzvot(commands); this is what being human is all about. (Kohelet[Ecc.] 12:13)

Okay, well, I have always suspected that to read the Bible without a grounding in Jewish custom and tradition is to steal away the Word's deeper significance from yourself. But of course there are some aspects of halakhah that puzzle a modern lamer like me. The way it's been explained to me, halakhah (observance of the commandments) increases the spirituality of a person's life, because it turns the most trivial, mundane acts -- such as eating and getting dressed -- into acts of religious significance. But quite a few of the mitzvot in the Old Testament were charged by God, in plain words, as "This is a commandment forever, for all your future generations". How, then, can a Christian really justify *not* observing God's mitzvot that are still directly applicable, like celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot)?


> Note: There is much about relationships in these commands. Your relationship with God, others, your own body, and yourself are all in there. Sadly, there are those that seem to think that you have to *dis*obey them in order to be saved.

I thought that was only a Christian heresy (I know that you're not exactly a Christian but a Messianic Jew, Nyperold... but still!).


> And, at least in the case of food, when you try, some seem to think that you're trying to force it on them. I don't get offended that they eat it, why should they get offended that I choose not to? Here, I'm especially referring to situations where each person has a choice as to what he or she eats. Being under actual duress may be considered by some to be a different matter.
>
> Nyper"Sorry if I rambled too much"old

Er, I think you've lost me there. Are you referring to the merits of keeping kashrut? One of my Orthodox friends once said eating kosher is important *even* with modern refrigeration and hygienic food-handling practices, because God "recognizes that it is in mankind's heart to rationalize rebellion against the authority of God... The person who refrains from pork because it is God's original Commandment has more merit than the person who refuses pork because he's afraid of consuming pig hookworms, or because he doesn't like the taste." Ouch. At the time, I did think she seemed to have a point there...

Wolfspirit