Food and mosaic law (Not a discussion of Macht Study)

The laws were designed to keep the Tribes culturally separated from their pagan neighbors.And Sidelined has a good example: The poisonous puffer fish or Blowfish is used in Haiti hoodoun ceremonies to produce "zombies" by putting the victim into a suspended, near-death state for up to seven days. Had a culture neighboring on Judea utilized Blowfish stomaches or bladders as a part of their rites, I assure you that puffer fish would have made the list of abominations just like pork and shagetz fabrics did.Peace. Ab.

Chiroptera:The Kosher Diet vs the Typical Bronze Age Canaanite Diet aside, there is a school of thought that attributes Cromagnon's advanced mental and spiritual evolution beyond Neanderthal's due to the Cromagnon's shellfish and waterfowl rich diet vs the Neanderthal's more "kosher" diet of red meat (hoofed ruminates, etc.).The shellfish and much of the waterfowl is prohibited in the Kasher diet, ie: oysters, mussels, clams, cormorant, ibis, swan, pelican, heron, etc.Peace. Ab.This message has been edited by Abshalom, 05-28-2004 05:11 PM

Maybe. Maybe at the time the dietary laws were introduced to the Judean Hebrews, their observance was questioned by some saying, "so on whose authority must we observe these rather restrictive rules?" After all, the rules prohibit eating otherwise acceptable protein sources available in an area not necessarily known for its pleantiful food sources regardless of its designation as the "Land of Milk and Honey." And they probably said, "Hey, look, my neighborhood, Ahmed the Moabite, regularly feeds his clan roasted camel meat, bbq pork ribs, catfish fillets, fried bats, lobster bisque, and roumelade of rabbit with no ill effects. Where the heck are you coming from with all these dietary restrictions, Moshe?"If one reads Exodus, one finds Moshe repeated retort to such questions was that he operated under the direct authority and advice of YHVH. So apparently, "devine intervention" was the customary method of prosecuting the enforcement of new rules at the time.