Day 7 - Shabbat Shalom

I love that the seventh day of my re-entering the journey into raw eating has fallen on the Sabbath.
Tomorrow is Shavuot (Pentecost), the eighth day of my journey and I couldn't be happier that the timing of my decision has coincided with such an auspicious event.

In Hebraic understanding the number eight symbolizes transcendence, divine grace, life, and new beginnings. Actually Hebrew letters are used as numbers and that is how the meaning of the number comes about. The meaning is concluded by looking at the letter, as well as the number and the it's use in Scripture. The letter used as the number eight is the letter Cheit.

Here's a quote from The Wisdom in the Herbew Alphabet: The Sacred Letters as a Guide to Jewish Deed and Thought by Rabbi Michael L. Munk with a little bit of input on the number seven (Sabbath is the seventh day).

"The number seven, as noted in the previous chapter, symbolizes the complete purpose of human existence, combining the spiritual level of the Sabbath with the physical effort of the week. Going beyond seven, the number eight ssymbolizes man's ability to transcend limitations of physical existence. Thus, with a gematria of eight, cheit stands for that which is l'ma'alah min ha'tei'vah, on a plane above nature, i.e. the metaphysical Divine. The study of the Torah and the practice of its commandments are the ways by which Israel can strive to exalt human spirituality towards the realm above the natural (Maharalz.)"

The book then goes on to list a number of places in which the number eight is involved in Scripture including aspects of Temple service, brit milah (circumcision), and Smini Atzeret (eighth day festival that follows Sukkot). Munk continues in his book by elaborating on the significance that these uses have to each individual.

"These uses of eight illustrate the symbolic means in the life of every Jew* by which he can raise himself towards the Divine. after man has attained the level of worldly spirituality denoted by seven, he can aspire to the higher level symbolized by eight. In commenting on the inauguration of the Sanctuary that took place after seven days of preparation, R' Hirsch says: With the eighth day a new beginning is made, similar to the octave of music on a higher level (Leviticus 9:1). "

According to Jewish belief Shavuot is the festival on which the Torah was given to us at Mt Sinai and received willingly by all. Although the text does not tell us this explicitly the probability of the Torah being given this day is very high. The time in which it took the Israelites to travel from Egypt to Mt Sinai should have been relatively short, but there were stops along the way which prolonged the journey. Taking this into consideration and looking at the text, it seems apparent (at least to me) that we did indeed receive the Torah on the day that we would later come to know as Shavuot.

Another name for Shavuot is the Feast of Weeks, because it comes the day after seven complete Sabbaths have passed from the Passover (Leviticus 23:15) which turns out is seven weeks, hence the name Feast of Weeks. If indeed this feast is the day that we received the Torah and entered into a covenant with our G-d, the significance of this is one in which we were elevated to a higher level of spirituality and closeness with Him. In fact, we were taken to Him as His people and as His Bride the day we received the Torah.

Knowing that the eighth day of my new way of eating is going to correspond with the feast of Shavuot, coupled with the knowledge of the profound significance of the number eight, its use in Scripture and the meaning of Shavuot gives me great pause. I couldn't have planned this better if I had tried, and I am delighted that the eighth day of my raw eating is going to be tomorrow. Will I ascend to a higher level of spirituality? Will I be able to ascend the physical limitations of my existence? There are indeed some things in my life that have been hindering my walk with YHVH. Things that I have allowed to creep in, almost willingly because I had reached a state of hopelessness in some areas due to some very discouraging things that have happened to me in the past couple of years. Some disappointments and heartaches that made me wonder why G-d put up with any of us in the first place. My weight gain, and lack of self control with eating is a reflection of this. Nothing terrible, but just slacking in some areas that I know I should never get slack in. I stopped singing and playing my guitar which I love but couldn't bring myself to play. For months it has sat in a corner, alone and not tuned. Occasionally I have looked its way, but something always comes up and so it has sat and collected dust. I should really pick it up again.

The heartache was at times so intense that I often thought of the words I once heard a great man of G-d say he told his Creator when faced with disappointments and mistreatment by holier than thou religious nuts in church.

"G-d I have no problem with you, but these people... I can't handle them anymore."

Even though I teach and preach the Torah, and even though I have spoken to small crowds and help my husband with a congregation I am still a human being. Even though I have prayed for the sick and seen them recover, even though I try to keep a good attitude and speak positive and not burden others with the trials I face, I still have disappointments and heartaches and feelings like everyone else. Unfortunately it seems that those who aren't in the position I am in seem to forget this, and forget that leadership needs the support of the people they care about so much that they would go without so that the people they minister to are cared for. Or maybe its just a lack of maturity and forgetfulness about the accuser of the brethren, and the division that he loves to cause. Opening up and allowing oneself to be vulnerable can be risky, and I'm wondering if I should even be sharing these feelings in this blog. It has always backfired on me in the past to open up to people that I mistakenly thought were friends but instead should have remained someone I ministered to and listened to only. Its so very hard to find even one friend when you are in ministry. Its almost as if those in need are the only ones allowed to express their feelings, but those in ministry dare not express even one word. Thankfully Yeshua said he would never leave me or forsake me for I surely would be miserable without him.

So with the eighth day of my raw eating coming tomorrow I truly hope that I welcome this new beginning and turn in my life with open arms. Will I transcend? Only if I choose to. And... I do choose.

Enough with all my private musings above. Please don't think I am feeling sorry for myself, because I don't ever feel sorry for myself, and actually like myself quite a bit. Its only through having a relationship with Yeshua that I have been able to like myself because before I was a believer I didn't care for myself very much at all. While the thought my cross your mind that I am feeling sorry for myself, that is not the case. It looks like it - but its not. LOL

I have promised someone to post links to the recipes for the raw food I am eating. Not only am I going to share these links, but I will also post some of my own recipes. However, I won't be giving them all away. A cookbook is in the works. Actually it has been in the works for about a year now, and when it is ready I will make sure to let everyone know.

This morning my husband and I had a wonderful raw porridge made from raw buckwheat groats soaked overnight with strawberries, bananas, apples, bee pollen, coconut and wheat sprouts. I found a recipe from someone's blog. Sorry sorry sorry to the person who posted the recipe. Unfortunately I didn't write the name of the blog down when I wrote the recipe down although I thought I had. I really tried to find your blog again to give you credit but to no avail. If the below recipe is yours please contact me so I can link the recipe to your blog.

I did a variation of the below recipe. If you are new to raw and want to try this AWESOME porridge out make sure you get RAW buckwheat groats. The roasted don't have the same nutritional value and aren't nearly as good for you to eat raw. Actually I think I read somewhere that you shouldn't eat roasted grains in a raw state, but I can't remember why right now.

1/2 cup buckwheat groats,
soaked overnight and rinsed thoroughly
5 strawberries, sliced
1 banana
1 winter banana apple
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp shredded coconut
1 tsp bee pollen
1 tsp dried cranberries

Blend groats, strawberries, banana, apple, vanilla extract, and cinnamon in a blender until desired consistency. Serve in breakfast bowl, and top with coconut, bee pollen, cranberries, and dash of cinnamon. Strawberry Vanilla yum-yum! Perfect for breakfast or a snack between meals.

I doubled the amount of buckwheat and strawberries, but left the banana the same because I don't care for bananas. Also, I used a green banana because they have a low glycemic level whereas a ripe banana has a high glycemic level. I'll have to post more about glyvemic levels of foods at a later date.
I also added 2 tbsp of raw honey to the processing part, and in addition to the bee pollen, coconut flakes, and cranberries I added wheat sprouts for a lovely presentation.
The result?
Absolutely delicious!

Yesterday I mentioned beet wraps that I had in my dehydrator. I wound up throwing those away. I tried a bite, but the taste was not to my liking at all. The color turned out vibrant, and so alive. I am sure that a few more months into the raw eating I would be more appreciative of the taste of these things, but obviously my stomach can't handle these yet, or my taste buds. Actually, the beet wrap recipe called for celery seed and I don't care for celery seed at all. If I had omitted this the beet wraps probably would have been eaten instead of thrown away.

How am I liking the raw food so far?

I'm loving it! Today I feel really good. No headache and no body aches. I just feel very wonderful. I love preparing the raw food, and I love looking at it. Raw food is so beautiful. The colors of the foods are so bright and vibrant reminding me that the food is alive and healing my body from the inside out. As I was eating breakfast this morning enjoying the fresh raw taste of the buckwheat porridge in my mouth that caused my senses to wake up even more I could almost hear my organs saying, "Thank you! We have been wanting to be bathed in the goodness of fresh food for so long. Thank you! Thank you!" As I drank my nettle tea I knew my body was being nourished and that I was taking care of the body given to me by my Creator to care for and I thanked Him for providing the foods most beneficial to that cause.

Oh! the dry skin on my arms? Pretty much non existent. I have been using a dry skin brush for the past three days so I know that has helped, but I also know that my body has benefited from, and loved the fresh food and natural oils that I have been eating. My skin is getting back to being soft, silky and lovely. I should be glowing and oozing radiance from my pores soon in the next few weeks.

I am not craving sweet things really at this point. I normally have a very sweet tooth and constantly want something sweet (one of my bad habits). But lately this hasn't been an issue. Yesterday I found myself looking at the deserts I had made for Shabbat dinner and thinking that I could do without because I really wasn't that hungry for desert. I did have a little though. It was Shabbat dinner after all!

One of deserts I made for Shabbat dinner was Heather Pace's Blueberry Cardamom Cake, and it is incredible! I served this two Passover's ago (the first time I went raw) and it was a big hit. No one knew it wasn't made with dairy then and no one new that it was not made with dairy last night at Shabbat dinner. Its perfect if you are observant of Rabbinic kashrut laws that prohibit diary served with meat. I highly recommend this desert. If you appreciate the taste of cardamom you won't be disappointed.

Shavua Tov!