The Constitution does not give us rights.

I just wanted to relay something that popped into my head earlier today... The Constitution does not give us rights. Keep that in mind in the coming months and years - The Constitution does not give us rights. The Constitution assures the rights that are endowed to us by our Creator. The Constitution tells us that those rights are "self evident" and given to us by God Himself.Do you get that? The Constitution states that the rights that we love so much were given to us by Him. It states it - it does not initiate it.  Lets keep it in perspective, as this administration continues to chip away  at personal freedoms. They are freedoms given to us by our Maker.

God Help Us...

Well, they did it.

This century's most corrupt band of liars, cheats and thugs have made the biggest step yet toward making America a Communist Nation.

The words "transparent" and "open" mean nothing to them.

Democracy and Capitolism are swear words to them.

Truth and Justice are a nuisance to them.

Thanks to everybody who refused to believe Obama when he told us he was going to "fundamentally change America."

 Thanks for not reading his voting record while he was still in Illinois.

Thanks a lot for voting for "hope and change." 

Because of your pathetic lack of responsibility and foresight, you have effectively ruined any chance for future generations to know the liberties that we have seen.

If you voted for "O" you should be ashamed of yourselves.

Imagine if George W. Bush were to have conducted himself in the manner in which our illustrious president has. Would the press let him off for such a string of lies? For allowing and encouraging open bribery?

Would they have kissed his feet, and treated him like deity while hounded representatives, gave them rides on Air Force One, and gave their family members life-long positions in the judicial system?

No. They would have raked him over the coals. 

They would have... well, they would have treated him like George W. Bush. 

Welcome to the New Deal, only it isn't a new deal at all - it is an outright Marxist take over. 

This is nothing more than Communism.

The whole thing makes me feel ill.

Time...

I have let my readers down. I apologize. Please allow me to give a few excuses reasons for the blatant neglect of Mangdiddles.OK, I have very little time these days to blog. I hate to be blunt, but dang! We are dealing with some stuff here!What sort of stuff, you might ask? Allow me to elaborate...
The first on the list is that we are expecting a new baby. Yes, a new baby... and yes, it was on purpose. I'm not getting any younger, and to tell you the truth, I am a sucker for little one's. I love having little kids in the house - they are so sporatic and off-the-wall, that they make me laugh & appreciate being alive. Besides that, we are commanded to "be fruitful and multiply." How can I argue with that? ...well, actually, I can interpret that a few ways - three kids is fruitful. Four kids is fruitful. Truth is, I don't know how many "fruitful" is, but the thought of having a whole bunch tickles me.I'll fill you in on a little secret (my wife doesn't read Mangdiddles - go figure): I worry for my kids' future in America. We are letting our boarders down, steeping debt on the unborn ...that we decide not to kill, and destroying the foundational principles that America was founded on. ...But that's another story. I am being pulled in all directions concerning business. Sometimes I wonder if I am in the right line of work, and if it is even safe to consider getting out of it. I love my job... my job doesn't always love me though. These are not the best times to change careers. Enough said on that.  My kids are growing up, which adds a whole new dynamic to the equation - working on their vehicles, explaining chemistry & algebra (we home-school). The fact that my oldest is as tall as me, and eats twice as much as I do just... honestly, it makes me sad. I hate it. I would give anything to go back in time, and prioritize my life. I have failed in 'time management.' I have been doing portraits and such on the side - I love doing it, but it takes a bunch of time.Time. There's never enough when I am at home, and it never goes fast enough while I'm at work.I am teaching the book of 1 John at church, which takes a lot of time too.
I promise to try to keep up-to-date on here. Pray for me, as I want to be a person, who in the end people can say, "man, he did it right."

What is sin? No, no... the biblical definition.

So, it's been about a 10 years since I've posted here, and after a lot of false starts, I've decided to get back in the saddle. Time is of the essence in my world at the moment. I am teaching 1 John at church, which has been a total blessing (see links below to listen), and my business is starting to branch a little, which is good and bad. Good for obvious reasons - any work is good work; bad because of the amount of paperwork and time on the computer (which means time away from my family).At any rate, I am here for the moment, so let me talk about John's 1st epistle.
As you may know, I believe that the Torah is not only valid for believers today, but I believe that it is to be obeyed. This of course is not the popular opinion within the body of Christ today. ...Let me tell you why I am at odds with the opinion of the church as we know it, and what I believe John, and the rest of the Apostolic writers, were talking about.That's as good of a kick off to a commentary as I can think of, so here goes:



In the first chapter of 1 John (read it here), we see John telling his readers, "⁵ This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. ⁶ If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. ⁷ But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.  There is a paradox in these verses. John tells us (by way of inspiration f the Holy Spirit), that God is "light," and in Him is no darkness at all. This reminds me of James' words, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." He is light, so there is no variation or shadow of turning. Notice that He is also the "Father of lights." God created light in the first place. By default, He is the literal Father of light; but not only that sort of light. Jesus is the Son of God, and He is also called the Light. Stay with me.Let's back up for a moment, and look at what King David had to say about God's Word (Torah).Psalm 119:105; "Your word is a lamp to my feet
         And a light to my path." We all agree that God's Word is light unto our path, right? Lamp unto our feet? Of course. We also agree that Jesus is the Light, which makes since, considering He is the Word made flesh. Jesus is the Light, the Father is Light, and His Word is Light. By default, darkness would imply a lack of either God the Father, Jesus the Son, or the Word, Given by the Father, right? Right. We are given the alternative here though; "if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin."Here's where the paradox comes in. It all begins with the word "sin." John tells us that if we are in the light with Him, we not only have fellowship with each other, but with Him as well; and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.Be in the light. Have fellowship with won another, have fellowship with Him, and Jesus' blood cleanses us from all sin....so what is sin?Before you answer that question, I encourage you to read a couple chapters ahead in 1 John. John doesn't use the wishy-washy definitions that we are used to hearing. He never once mentions "falling short" or "anything against God's will." The definition that John gives is very simple:^{1 John 3:4} "Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness" the emphasis  on "and sin is lawlessness" is mine. That's the biblical definition of sin; lawlessness.Stay with me.John wrote this letter in Greek. He was living in Ephesus at the time, probably between 90 and 100AD. John uses a very specific word when describing "lawlessness" here. He uses the same word that the writers of the Septuagint used for... you guessed it, Torah. Not just any Torah - the same Torah that is found in synagogues all over the world. We call it "Old Testament Law." This becomes very important early on in John's book, because he will mention sin several times. Each time, we can rest assured that he holds the same meaning for the word, because he defined it.I know what you're thinking, "what is the Septuagint, and why does it matter what it says?"Good question. The Septuagint is nothing more than the Hebrew scriptures translated into Greek. Seventy men (hence the name Septuagint) did the translating, all Jews, who held the Torah in high regard. This is really important, so please bear with me...These seventy men were meticulous in the choosing of Greek words to translate the scriptures. The need for accuracy was paramount - they were translating God's Word, and they were very aware of the importance of the task. Now, fast forward to John, writing to the churches surrounding Ephesus. While penning the letter, he feels the need to define "sin." John and his contemporaries are used to one translation of the Scriptures - the Septuagint. Paul, James, John, all of them quote it. That was the "version" of the Word that they had. Back to John. While defining the word sin, he chooses to use the word "anomia" which means transgression of the law. Which Law? Torah. Nomia=Torah, or Law, while the "a" before it indicates a lacking of, or absent. You could say that sin is "no Torah" or "Torah-less-ness."John could have chosen from a handful of words to use in it's place, but he chose not to. He was simply telling the readers that sin equates to breaking Torah.I know this is a little choppy, but it is after midnight, and i have to get up at 5:00am. I'll write more noon.
You can listen to The Word Is grace podcast here.

Al Gore is a Liar.

Howdee.

I'm still alive.
Times are busy, busy, busy. Stay tuned - I am writing something new.
How 'bout that president, ay?
Be back soon - I promise.
(you thought that was going to be a haiku, didn't you?)

GOD FORBID.

This is from News Busters.

NB: There's a new American flag available on the Internet that has a picture of President Obama in the corner where the stars representing our fifty states normally reside.

Given how our media have assisted in selling Obama paraphernalia since Inauguration Day, one has to wonder what their position will be on the attractive keepsake pictured right.

As NewsBusters has chronicled, news outlets up until now haven't been shy about pushing product associated with the new president... (click here to read the whole post at Newsbusters.com)

...................................................................

Read the rest at Newsbusters.com. They have a good point. After all of the pandering, and lack of media criticism, why wouldn't they help BO sell out the American flag? He already made his own version of the Presidential Seal. Maybe that is what it will take to get him to show the Stars and Stripes any due respect. May it never be. As a vet, I must say that if this starts to get under way, we will not let it happen.

Ever.

By the way, News Busters has become my favorite source of news lately. They show you the Left-wing bias in the media like I've never seen it before. They do an excellent job of pointing this stuff out, and deserve more than what ever they are getting.

Just what has he accomplished?

I can't take any credit for compiling the list, and I'm not familiar with Dark Matters Radio (which is where I found it). Having said that, this is awesome. If only the rest of America would wake up and smell the truth...

How does Obama define "hope" and "change?" Since he has been in office, he has already:

1. Offended the Queen of England.
2. Bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia.
3. Praised the Marxist Daniel Ortega.
4. Kissed Socialist Hugo Chavez on the cheek.
5. Endorsed the Socialist Evo Morales of Bolivia.
6. Sided with Hugo Chavez and Communist Fidel Castro against
Honduras.
7. Announced we would meet with Iranians with no
pre-conditions while they’re building their nuclear weapons.
8. Gave away billions to AIG also without pre-conditions.
9. Expanded the bailouts.
10. Insulted everyone who has ever loved a Special Olympian.
11. Doubled our national debt.
12. Announced the termination of our new missile defense system
the day after North Korea launched an ICBM.
13. Released information on U.S. intelligence gathering despite
urgings of his own CIA director and the prior four CIA directors.
14. Accepted without comment that five of his cabinet members
cheated on their taxes and two other nominees withdrew after they
couldn’t take the heat.
15. Appointed a Homeland Security Chief who identified military
veterans and abortion opponents as “dangers to the nation.”
16. Ordered that the word “terrorism” no longer be used and
instead refers to such acts as “man made disasters.”
17. Circled the globe to publicly apologize for America’s world
leadership.
18. Told the Mexican president that the violence in their
country was because of us.
19. Politicized the census by moving it into the White House
from the Department of Commerce.
20. Appointed as Attorney General the man who orchestrated the
forced removal and expulsion to Cuba of a 9-year-old whose mother died
trying to bring him to freedom in the United States.
21. Salutes as heroes three Navy SEALS who took down three
terrorists who threatened one American life and the next day announces
members of the Bush administration may stand trial for “torturing” three
9/11 terrorists by pouring water up their noses.
22. Low altitude photo shoot of Air Force One over New York
City that frightened thousands of New Yorkers.
23. Sent his National Defense Adviser to Europe to assure them
that the US will no longer treat Israel in a special manner and they
might be on their own with the Muslims.
24. Praised Jimmy Carter’s trip to Gaza where he sided with
terrorist Hamas against Israel.
25. Nationalized General Motors and Chrysler while turning
shareholder control over to the unions and freezing out retired
investors who owned their bonds. Committed unlimited taxpayer billions
in the process.
26. Passed a huge energy tax in the House that will make
American industry even less competitive while costing homeowners
thousands per year.
27. Announced nationalized health care “reform” that will strip
seniors of their Medicare, cut pay of physicians, increase taxes yet
another $1 trillion, and put everyone on rationed care with government
bureaucrats deciding who gets care and who doesn’t.

Bloomberg: Daschle says, “Health care reform will not be pain
free. Seniors should be more accepting of the conditions that come with
age instead of treating them,” while former Colorado Governor Dick Lamm
says seniors have “a duty to die.”

Sukkot is Finally Here! ... And The Neighbors Think We Are Nuts.

Sukkot is here, and I am pretty excited about it. I can't remember if this is our 4th or 5th year celebrating it, but each year I learn more about the significance of this prophetic moedim (click the link for a great essay on God's moedim by Tim Hegg).
I can't blog about the journey of a "Christian-gone-Messianic / Hebrew Roots" without mentioning the feeling you get when you build your first real sukkah.
It is an incredible experience knowing that God's people all over the world are building similar temporary dwellings. It is also a little awkward when you live in a small town, like we do.
There are no Jewish people living living here - at least I haven't seen any other Sukkah's in the neighborhood. I have to tell the neighbors that it's "only temporary."

I know that this is short, and not very informative, but I have to get ready for Sabbath dinner (which we will be eating outside), and there is a lot of work to do before the sun goes down.
Sukkkoth lasts for a whole week, so I will go into details of what it is and how we have grown in our observance of it. Keep checking back for more in depth coverage of "Sukkot 2009!" In the meantime, I will leave you with some pictures of our Sukkah...


Sabbath dinner will be eaten out here tonight
looking up through the branches

Our "front door" for the week!

We're Getting Big.

Rhett and Link to the Rescue!

These guys continue to make me laugh until I cry.

When the foundations are gone.

Can't say it any better than this; but I can add to it.

This whole "race" thing bothers me.
It seems to me that when a person is attacked for his / her political views or intentions, it is just that - because of their political views or intentions. I have no tolerance for Oprah, but I am neither a racist or chauvinist . I don't care for Billy Crystal - does that make me antisemitic?
Of course not. I'm a white guy who observes Sabbath for crying out loud!

Just today, the House Rules Committee Chairwoman Louise Slaughter (D-NY) set some new rules for speech in the House. Read this and tell me if we are not watching our foundations crumble, and slipping into a Totalitarian state:

From now on, members of the house can not

• call the President a “liar.”
• call the President a “hypocrite.”
• describe the President’s veto of a bill as “cowardly.”
• charge that the President has been “intellectually dishonest.”
• refer to the President as “giving aid and comfort to the enemy.”
• refer to alleged “sexual misconduct on the President’s part.”

Here's my question; what if the president is a lying hypocrite who is intellectually dishonest, actively giving aid to the enemy (all of them), and shown through his

actions that he is nothing more than a coward?
Only a coward and his henchmen would go through the trouble of making it illegal to speak the truth. And the truth is that he is a liar. The bill shows where he is a liar - I am not saying it because I am a racist, but because it is fact.

What do we do now? David asked in Psalm 11:3, "When the foundations are gone, what shall the righteous do?"
This scripture has intrigued me for a long time, and it has never seemed more timely. It used to bother me that David never answers the question. I mean, what do we do? We see it happening all around us, the "foundations" are being destroyed right before our eyes.
I see now that David did answer the question. He answered it in the very next verse:

The LORD is in His holy temple, the LORD’s throne is in heaven;

It all depends on where your foundation is. Like the old hymn says, "...my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness..."
We are not of this world. Our foundation is not of this world. Though we may be citizens of the United States of America, we hold a greater citizenship, to a Greater Kingdom. His Kingdom can not be thwarted by idiotic lies and rules that are intended to silence the Truth.
His Kingdom is untouched by all of this.

So, "when the foundations are gone, what shall the righteous do?"
We will continue to stand on a firm foundation.
When the foundations are gone, we will thank our Master for welcoming us into His Kingdom.
When the foundations are gone, we will act like we belong to His Kingdom.
When the foundations are gone, we will show the world around us that we are not standing on the same foundation that they are.
When the foundations are gone, we will reach out to save those who are losing their grip on the only foundation they know, which is being destroyed.
When the foundations are gone, we will rejoice in the LORD for allowing us to live in such a time as this.
When the foundations are gone, we will look to His word with hope and read,
“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. ¹⁹ If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
When the foundations are gone, we will be prepared, because it means that He will be returning soon.

My hope is built on nothing less,
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus' Name.

CHORUS:
On Christ the solid  rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.

His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay.

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh may I then in Him be found.
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.

Snails Blood and Tassles? Clams and Heaven's Gates?

In a previous post titled "Go Tallit on the Mountain," I mentioned that I was going to get some tallit katan (shown right) and they finally showed up! I ordered them from Jerusalem, and the tzitzits are hand tied, solid white. The type that I ordered are certified kosher (yes, kosher covers more than just food), and I will be ordering the blue thread soon.
I have mentioned the "particular color of blue" before, and mentioned that I would write more on that later, so here you go...

The scriptures tell us to include a "blue" thread in the fringes that are to be tied on to the four corners of our garments. I say "blue" because the word for "blue" in Hebrew is Tekhelet. This sounds simple enough, but it turns out that for many centuries, the Jewish people have been unable to find the exact type of blue. Instead of just taking any old blue (which is what I have been doing for the past four years), many Jews prefer not to use any blue thread at all, for fear of having the wrong one.

In the Talmud (sort of like a huge commentary on the Old Testament, written by Jewish sages from long ago), the instructions are given for making this special blue, and as it turns out, it is more difficult than those of us in the West would think.

It all starts with a tiny snail that lives in the Mediterranean Sea called a "chilazon." This tiny shellfish's blood is used for the die. Now, before I go any further, this will sound strange to those of you who know Torah; all shellfish are unclean - an abomination to God's people. Isn't that a little peculuare? To me, it is as odd as the "Pearly Gates." After all, the pearl is an irritation to the abomination we call a clam, right? Strange.
At any rate, the Talmud didn't have photos, and the identity of the "chilazon" was lost. Evidently, they have found it and are making it again, which is good for us, but leaves one to question the Kabulistic writings that tell us "the chilazon will not reemerge until the coming of the Messiah."
...but I have no problems questioning Kabulistic writings. For the time being, the blue blood of the chilazon is good enough for me.

See what I mean? That's a lot of information to sort through! It is awesome to know that our God is who He is. I know that His grace is sufficiant for me - and because of that, I want to obey Him with all of my heart.

I'lll try the new blue, when I get the extra money - in the mean time, I forgot to tell you how much I prefer the tallit katan over the "belt-loop-tzis." I know that that is the right way for me to fulfill this Commandment.

Now, should I start wearing a head covering all the time? I have some study material that claims just that, and it is getting harder and harder to deny it's validity - I may be donning a kippa in the future; but for now, I'm going to keep searching it out in God's Word.

(I used chabad.org for this article)

Hitler Smells Like Teen Spirit... Or Something.

So...
I finally get a comment from the latest post (thank goodness I don't wait for all of them to have comments before posting the next), and it is in Russian!
Now, before you get as excited as I did, relax - I think it is spam. At least I hope it is spam because if it isn't, "Google Translate" needs some tweakin'.
Here is what it says in [broken] English:

From the pleasures of the most pleasant ones that are most rare. Most, the best perfume in small vials. Throw yourself your case with all my heart and soul, but look especially good if this case. Reasonable chasing so it is good, but for the fact that eliminates otnepriyatnostey. All Russia is drinking Hamlet.

If that made sense to you CC, let me know - I can't figure out the connection to Hitler's speech and perfume.

..............................................................

History is repeating itself.

"This year will go down in history. For the first time,
a civilized nation has full gun registration!
Our streets will be safer, our police more efficient,
and the world will follow our lead into the future!"

so, who said it?

Nancy Pelosi?

Jimmy Carter?

Hillary Clinton?

Barack Obama?


Wrong, wrong, wrong and wrong again. Though this seems like the ramblings of today's Liberal "luminaries," they can't take the credit for such a statement - though they would like more than anything to be the ones who make it happen.

It was Adolf Hitler, 1935.

Public Service Message from a confirmed Right-Wing Terrorist

This bit of Orwellian rhetoric was on the Mybarackobama.com Community Organizer website... until they realized that those of us on the Right have computers too. Just think - if they have their way, Barack will someday be in total control of the internet, and they won't have to hide who they really are.

(Excerpt from NewsBusters.com)

Our US Senators return to DC the Tues after Labor Day. That next FRIDAY, Sep 11, is Patriot Day, designated in memory of the nearly three thousand who died in the 9/11 attacks.

All 50 States are coordinating in this – as we fight back against our own Right-Wing Domestic Terrorists who are subverting the American Democratic Process, whipped to a frenzy by their Fox Propaganda Network ceaselessly re-seizing power for their treacherous leaders.

...............................................................................

As they said on NB, so much for "bringing the country together" and being a "centrist." In the end, those of us who value Constitutional rights that many of our Forefathers died for are the enemy.

Hope!

Change!

Marxist Revolution!

One more thing.

Before any of you liberal, Left-Wing, communist loving, nut-jobs add me to another list, take a few minutes contemplate the fact that your leader has already put me on one for being a Veteran, a Conservative blogger, a Christian, and a believer in the founding principles laid out in the Constitution.

New Podcast from the James Study!

I just uploaded the latest podcast from the James study, titled "Count it all Joy?" James 1:1-16.
This is my first time teaching a book for the church - unless you count Teen Bible studies.
This is turning into a great experience, if I can safely say that after only two weeks. I haven't been nervous, and I have learned a lot.
Lord willing, the rest of the study will continue to get better - I have had a time trying to get my thoughts to flow from the inside of my head to the out... but that is not anything new to teaching.

James Ate Kosher.

...just wanted to make a quick update to remind Mo that I am teaching the book of James each Saturday at the Carpenter's Shop, and you can listen online, or download them here.

I had no idea that James was such a controversial guy. Evidently, few commentators of the Reformation believed that it was Jesus' brother who wrote the book, and just as many didn't want to include it into the canon of scripture. For the record, James ate food that was kosher. He was a Jew, raised in a Jewish home, in a Jewish community... and his older half brother was, well, God incarnate, so it is a safe assumption.

I still need to finish my thoughts on eating kosher, don't I?

Where does my family stand on this today? Thought you would never ask.
We buy foods that have a hechscher. It has to have the symbol - even if it is canned fruit, it has to be hechschered. We don't eat out often because of the expense of it, but when we do, we know which fast food places have kosher food, and which don't - we have to do a little research to find out, but it is worth it.
In the end, there is no guarantee that the food we get has no unclean things in it... unless it has the symbol - and even that sometimes is a little sketchy. Certain organizations are more strict than others. We typically stick with the most recognizable; there are literally hundreds of symbols, the "Circle U" being the most prominent around here (on right).
But what about meat? Meat is somewhat of an anomaly when eating kosher, as it has its own set of rules, and there are specific methods that make it kosher. As for now we still eat meat bought from the store, but that is subject to change. We are starting to lean more toward eating fish as our only meat - less to worry about.
I should note that none of this is hard. In fact, once you start looking at what is in the food we all eat, it is a little shocking at first and you will feel compelled to keep looking. This leads me to my next surprise in the drive to eat kosher:
NATURAL FLAVORS
...just what are "natural flavors?" Good question.
Here's the definition of “natural flavor” under the Code of Federal Regulations: “the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis, which contains the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof, whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional” (21CFR101.22)

Most disturbing find yet:
Did you know that L-cysteine, a common dough conditioner, flavor enhancer in human and pet foods, and precursor in some dietary supplements, is most often derived from human hair or duck feathers, and to a lesser extent from pigs' bristles and hooves? (from www.vrg.org)

Yes, human hair.

I'lll leave you with that for now. I still need to revisit the meat issue in greater detail, but I want to move on to the kippa (head covering) next, as it has been on my mind a lot lately...

Um... You Gonna Eat That?

Speaking of "fishy" information on Obama's Marxist revolution health care debacle, it is time for me to lead you through my ever-changing thoughts on eating kosher.

"What is kosher," you ask?
Good question! Grab ten random people and ask them what kosher is... you're likely to end up with fifteen answers. Heck, I might give you two or three answers myself.

Lets go back to the beginning. We'll start at "The Beginning" and then move on to my own personal Torah observance beginnings.

Genesis 2:15 states that ...the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; ¹⁷ but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

I am starting with this passage because I believe it is important to notice that God has been interested in and giving instructions to mankind about the food we eat since... well, since the beginning. It must be important to Him. When He instructs us not to eat something, then the instruction is, well, the Law. That's what kosher is - it is conforming to God's dietary laws, or instructions. Biblicalholidays.com puts it like this:

Biblical kosher refers to the dietary laws as outlined in the Scriptures, forbidding the eating of (1) animals that God calls unclean (Lev. 11:47), (2) animal fat (Lev. 3:17), or (3) animals that still have the blood in them (Lev. 17:12-14) as food. Lev. 11 talks about clean and unclean foods.

When my family began to observe the food laws in Leviticus 11, we began by simply refraining from pork and shellfish. It seemed like a huge step too - all the sudden we were aware of how much of our food fell into the 'abomination' category. What we didn't know at the time was that the battle to eat food that was 'kosher' according to God's word was bigger than we could ever have imagined.

At first, we would occasionally hear about a favorite food that had pork in it, or a candy that contained gelatin. As we continued to be more sensitive to what was in the food, we became more and more aware of teh fact that pork is in ... well, almost everything that we were eating at the time.

Our conversations went like this; We had the best time with the kids last night. We ate Smores around the camp fire -"
"You know marshmallows aren't kosher, right? - they have gelatin in them."
"What!? Marshmallows have pork in them?" As I am reeling from the disturbing news of pig fat hiding in my desert, I pop an Altoid mint...
"So do those."
To which I reply, "ha ha, that's funny - as if you didn't already ruin camping for the rest of my life, now my mints actually have pork in them too? What ever..."

And so the story goes. We had heard about the "kosher" labels (on left) but had not given them any real thought - after all, I had no reason to eat food that had been blessed by a rabbi, right?
What we soon learned though, was that the blessing was not what the kosher label was all about. The label was a sense of security for the buyer, telling him/her that the food they were purchasing has been watched over by a person with strict standards according to Leviticus 11.
Somebody who cares about God's Law was in charge of giving the food a seal of approval, called a hechscher.

...more later - I have to get something to eat.