On May 19 and 20 we celebrate the holiday of Shavuot (one day in Israel). Why do Jews eat dairy on Shavuot? For standard answers see seven reasons behind this popular custom.
However, customs vary. For example, a friend writes that her Hungarian grandfather ate the blintzes her grandmother made then they waited a bit and had a meat meal. That’s basically how one brother-in-law handles the holiday. My vegan friends are eating neither dairy nor meat. For myself, I will limit the amount of dairy I eat, as my body just doesn’t do well with dairy (I am lactose-intolerant and beyond).
On Facebook, I asked: “Looking for funny, historical, hysterical or creative reasons why Jews eat dairy on Shavuot.” Some of the responses:
You’re milking this for all it’s worth. We’d butter not fool around. (She also came up with the title of this post).
A naturalist answer: It’s approximately the time when goats wean their kids and the mothers have additional milk that’s not being used otherwise.
Because you may go to a shiur where real ice cream is served. There ought to be one Jewish holiday in honor of cheesecake.
From a vegetarian: You meat-eaters get ALL the holidays. It’s OUR TURN, people. ๐
What kind of world would it be if we didnโt have license to eat cheesecake guilt-free at least once a year?!
I’ll conclude with a joke:
Upon Mt. Sinai, Moses is receiving the Torah.
God proclaims through the burning bush “THOU SHALT NOT SEETHE THE KID IN ITS MOTHER’S MILK.”
Moses is a bit confused. “What does that mean, Lord? We should not cook meat in milk?”
God repeats “THOU SHALT NOT SEETHE THE KID IN ITS MOTHER’S MILK.”
Moses responds “But what do you mean, Lord? We should never serve meat and dairy in the same meal?”
Again, God repeats “THOU SHALT NOT SEETHE THE KID IN ITS MOTHER’S MILK.”
Moses continues “Do you mean that we should have two completely separate sets of ovens and cookware? One for meat and one for milk?”
Finally God agrees, “OK, Moses, have it your way.”
One more joke:
Elijah the Prophet resurfaces on Planet Earth in New York City right before Chanukah. He gets very excited when he sees Chanukah decorations, Chanukah parties and Chanukah cards and hears Chanukah music. He declares: if this is what Jews do for Chanukah, I can only imagine what they do for Shavuot!
marigolds and red salvia at Rutgers Gardens Plant SaleI finally made it to the famous (at least in Central New Jersey) Rutgers Gardens Annual Plant Sale. I wasn’t disappointed with the plants but with the crowds – there were just too many people there! We had to park all the way near the highway and walk all the way down to the pavilion by the Raritan River. Why were so many people available on a Friday? I can understand seniors or moms with kids, but young couples hand-in-hand? Neither had a full-time job they needed to be at – or maybe they both thought it was worth a day off or a leisurely lunch hour (more like leisurely three hours, to get the most out of the sale).
Do you have popular plant sales where you live?
And these are just photos of the annuals!
For more photos with a little or a LOT of red, visit:
Happy Mother’s Day. Our azaleas have already faded (this shot is from last week), but the rhododendron is starting to show color, and the roses have tiny buds. We have a bit of a chilly day here… lots of unusual winds yesterday.
Carver posted about Melanoma Awareness (a topic that hits too close to home for her).
On a related topic, HaAretz had an article: Skin cancer increasingly likely among Jewish Israeli men
There were some nutrition prevention suggestions on that article:
“Dr. Niva Shapira, a nutrition counselor at the Cancer Association also noted that recent studies have shown a Mediterranean diet rich in fish and olive oil reduces the risk of melanoma.
Food proven to help protect against radiation includes broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, kiwi, grapes, strawberries, oranges, fish, olive oil, avocado, almonds, tea, cacao and spices including rosemary and sage.
In contrast, processed red meat; Omega 6-rich oils like sunflower, corn and soy oil; fried food; celery; parsley and figs all increase skin oxidation and skin cancer risk. “
Upcoming: Why Do Jews Eat Dairy on Shavuot? The standard, the fun, the funny, the historical, the hysterical. Feel free to leave your own funny comments on this topic in this post, if you dare to see your words (name dropped) appear in the upcoming post.
