Face Lift Time

Some think growing old a'natural is fine. Well we don't. We got a facelift. Check out our new and improved web site! http://steelcutpress.com/

 

 

A Just Society

This week’s Torah portion, Ki Teitzei, (Deut. 21:10-25:19) continues the theme of justice that began in last week’s portion, Shoftim.  Ki Teitzei sets out a list of miscellaneous laws, most having to do with communal and social behavior.  If you find a sheep or ox on the road, you must take it in and feed it until you are able to find the owner.  If you build a new house, you must put a wall around its roof’s edge so that no one will fall off.  If you miss a few sheaves when you reap a field, don’t go back for them; leave them to be gleaned by the poor.  Use honest weights and measures.  Pay a laborer his wages on the same day on which the work was done, because he needs the money.  

The Torah then gives several examples that bring the point home: “You shall not subvert the rights of the stranger or the fatherless; you shall not take a widow’s garment in pawn.  Remember that you were a slave in Egypt and that the Lord your God redeemed you from there; therefore do I enjoin you to observe this commandment” (24:17-18). Having been enslaved, even in past generations, should make us forever watchful that we uphold the rights of the disadvantaged in our societies. 

The portion ends with a reminder of the people Amalek, who assaulted the Israelites in the wilderness, shortly after they had escaped Egypt, when they were hungry and tired.  The Amalekites attacked Israel from the rear, where the slow, the old, and the sick were trying to keep up the pace.  The Torah paradoxically enjoins us to “blot out the memory of Amalek.  Do not forget!” (25:19) How are we supposed to remember to forget Amalek?  Perhaps by building a society where the strong protect the weak, where the poor, the old and the sick don’t need to worry about defending themselves, because others will take care of it.

Standing in Judgment

This week’s Torah portion, Shoftim, (Deut. 16:18-21:9) begins with Moses recounting to the people how God commanded us to administer justice.  “Judges and officers shall you appoint in all your gates…and they shall judge the people with just judgment”.  The next verses go on to remind us what just judgment is, as it has been stated in the Torah previously on three occasions: no favoritism to any person for any reason, neither out of sympathy for a poor person or honor of a wealthy one, and no acceptance of a bribe.  

This Shabbat is the first one in the month of Elul, the month preceding Rosh Hashanah in which we examine our thoughts and our actions preparing for our own judgment.  We will not stand before any human court of law, but before the divine Judge.   

The belief that justice belongs to God does not absolve us of responsibility in the administration of justice.  We may not shrug our shoulders and say, “God is the true judge; this person will receive divine judgment in time.”  Rather, it gives us an increased responsibility.  Just as God judges justly, we are commanded to follow God’s example, and carry out justice on this earth. 

Rashi, the great medieval Torah commentator wrote: “Do not think in your heart: What difference does it meake if we pervert justice to acquit our friend or wrest the judgment of the poor or respect the person of the rich?  Surely judgment does not belong to God.  For this reason the text (Chron. 19:6) states “but for the Lord” – it is His.  If you have convicted the innocent, it is as if you have taken from your Creator and perverted the judgment of Heaven to mete out a  crooked judgment.  Therefore consider what you do and conduct yourself in every judgment as if the Holy One, blessed be, were standing before you in judgment.  This is the meaning of the phrase, “He is with you in giving judgment”.

Life One Year Later

And having a good time living it!

Also learning that when life hands out pancreatic cancer, make sure your hat and boa match.

Inside The Basset Brain

"At last I have achieved my goal.  I am invisible.  No one can see me."

We all need our privacy and Basset Hounds are no exception.  They must have a private place for Basset thinking and Basset dreaming and, yes, Basset plotting.
If it weren't for the leash hanging out from under the sheet, this Basset would, indeed, have been almost completely invisible.
Success, however, is always in the details.

No Kissing In Florida, Apparently

There is especially no kissing in Florida if the recipient of the kiss happens to be a police officer and even more especially if the officer doesn't want to be kissed.  Especially on the nose.
That's the lesson learned recently by Peggy Hill.  Ms. Hill was arrested after she kissed a police officer on the nose against his will.
Officers responded to a call from Ms. Hill's neighbor who accused her of taking part of his fence.  Ms. Hill invited the officers into her yard to show them that said fencing of which she was accused of pilfering was nothing more than a bunch of loose boards laying against her side of the fence.  The situation was complicated by the fact that the neighbor had previously accused poor old Peggy of stealing some of his livestock.
While one officer was trying to sort out all of these accusations, Ms. Hill planted an uninvited kiss on his nose.  She was promptly arrested for battery of an officer.  While getting into the squad car, she fell and hit her head.  She was taken to the hospital where she apparently kissed no one.
Now in jail hoping someone will fork over the $5,000 bond, Ms. Hill has confessed to what was doubtless obvious from the get go.  She had three or four glass of wine before the officers arrived to investigate the allegedly stolen pieces of fence.
She went on to explain that out of nowhere the idea to kiss the officer on the nose just popped into her head.
I gotta wonder how all of this would have played out if she had only asked the officer first.  I mean, how could he have refused a kiss on the nose from someone so supportive of spontaneity?
That's Florida for you, I guess.  No fun.  Just heat and humidity.

A Suggestion From the United Nations

So here's the disclaimer.  I am not a nutritionist nor am I a medical doctor or any other kind of doctor for that matter so any information or advice contained here should not be considered anything except the mental wanderings of someone interested in just about everything and expert in just about nothing. 
I really like reading lists of foods that I should eat to reclaim health, vigor, youth, coherence -- you get the picture and you've seen the lists.
Imagine, then, my delight with this list of suggested foods recently released by the United Nations.  It's a list of bugs provided by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.  Bugs are high in protein and at least for now easy to obtain.
Here's the list of best bugs.
1. Beetles

The most commonly eaten beetles are the long-horned, june, dung, and rhinoceros varieties. These are munched by people living in the Amazon basin, parts of Africa, and other heavily forested regions, both tropical and temperate, as diverse species are easily found in trees, fallen logs, and on the forest floor. They are efficient at turning cellulose from trees (indigestible to humans) into digestible fat. Beetles also have more protein than most other insects.

2. Butterflies and Moths

They're very popular in African countries, and are an excellent supplement for children and pregnant women. In Central and South America, fat and fleshy agave worms, which live between the leaves of the agave plant and turn into butterflies, are highly sought after for food and as the famed worm dropped into mescal, a Mexican liquor.

3. Bees and Wasps

We love bees for their honey, but they have more to give. Indigenous people in Asia, Africa, Australia, South America, and Mexico commonly eat these insects when they are in their immature stages. Stingless bees are most commonly munched, with wasps a distant second.

4. Ants

You're probably thinking that it takes a lot of ants to make a meal. True. But they pack a punch: 100 grams of red ant (one of thousands of ant species) provide some 14 grams of protein (more than eggs), nearly 48 grams of calcium, and a nice hit of iron, among other nutrients. All that in less than 100 calories. Plus, they're low in carbs.

5. Grasshoppers, Crickets, and Locusts

Grasshoppers and their ilk are the most consumed type of insect, probably because they're simply all over the place and they're easy to catch. There are a lot of different kinds, and they're a great protein source.

6. Flies and Mosquitoes

Not as popular as some of the others, these insects—including edible termites and, yes, lice—still have a place at some tables. Flies that develop on various types of cheese take on the flavor of their host, and the species from water habitats may taste like duck or fish.

7. Water Boatmen and Backswimmers

Easy to cultivate and harvest, these cosmopolitan little guys deposit eggs on the stems of aquatic plants, in both freshwater and saltwater environments—even in stagnant water. The eggs can be dried and shaken from the plants to make Mexican caviar (tastes like shrimp), or eaten fresh for their fishy flavor.

8. Stinkbugs

If you can get past the funky smell, these insects apparently add an apple flavor to sauces and are a valuable source of iodine. They're also known to have anesthetic and analgesic properties. Who would have thought?

I'm only sharing a list with you.  I haven't tried any of these bugs and I don't expect to.  However, at least two billion people on this planet do regularly eat bugs.

And here's the kicker.  The diets of a good percentage of those two billion are as healthy or healthier than our 'civilized' Western diets of chemicals forced to look like food.

Just some food for thought.