Jewish Musings, Wednesday 2/28

[lee058]

What’s on your mind — how to make kugel? This week’s Torah reading? Life goals? Prayer? We are all engaged in weight loss/weight maintenance journeys and we are all Jewish or at least interested in Judaism. We like to eat, we like to discuss. It is our goal here to provide each other support on our journeys, to share experiences, to call on our rich cultural heritage and texts, and to help each other grow spiritually.


Some of us take weekly turns starting the thread:


Frieda (hopefully)?
Holly
Lee
Louise
Lynne
Peachy


And for those of you who stop by to read this thread without posting — you are welcome to, but you are also welcome to chime in. Don’t be shy!

[lee058]

Good morning everybody. Hope you are all well and SAFE! Please pray for Israel.

Today's topic: Milk and the Jewish connection.

Disclaimer: I don't keep kosher, so please excuse any mistakes I make.

One phrase that I have always liked is the characterization of Israel as a land of "milk and honey." To me, that signifies the strength and sweetness of being Jewish.

Wherever there are Jews raising animals, we drink milk. Cow's milk, sheep's milk, goat's milk, etc. (And did you know that yak's milk is pink?) There are so many ways to have dairy products: yogurt, butter, cheese, cream cheese, cheesecake (had to put that in there!), etc. We even have a whole repertoire of dishes that are made with dairy products.

Practically the first thing people learn about keeping kosher is to not mix meat and milk. I do, but one thing I just can't do is to have a glass of milk with meat. My parents also didn't keep kosher, but the only time they drank milk was in their coffee. It was powdered skim milk, as regulated by Weight Watchers, and I hated it. I managed to persuade them to buy liquid skim milk although they thought it was a needless extravagance. I still remember it was 26 cents a quart! That tells you how long ago I'm talking about.

Now there are plant-based "milks" too: They're made from oats, cashews, coconut, almonds, soy, etc. The only one I've ever tried is soy milk, and I didn't care for it. However, they are helpful for vegetarians/vegans and those with lactose intolerance.

Speaking of lactose intolerance, there are plenty of Jewish people who have it. It's genetic. Some people can eat yogurt but not drink milk; I think the bacteria in yogurt make it easier to digest.

I'm going to have to buy some cheesecake one of these days. Maybe I could even persuade DH to learn how to make it! That would be fun.

Have a peaceful day, Lee

[hollygail]

From yesterday: I remember SweeTouchNee tea although not from my own house as a child; maybe from DGM's. I never got back here yesterday; it was a strange day. I woke up, got out of bed and the whole room started to spin! It was terrible. I woke up DH and had him guide me to the bathroom and back to bed. I was dizzy for hours. I took the entire day off, either napping or watching TV. The dizziness lasted wwaaaaaayyyyy too long, although it got slightly better as the day wore on. About 30 minutes ago, I got up and the room was spinning again, although not as fast as yesterday morning. I lay down again for a few minutes, then was able to walk to the bathroom by myself. Yuck.

Here's a quote from Rabbi Julie Zupan (JewishBoston): "Israel is referred to numerous times in the Bible as “a land flowing with milk and honey,” indicating its abundant fertility." There was a song some years back; the only line I remember from it is "The Land of [pause] Milk and Honey" to the melody of the song. (I just looked it up; it's from 1966, The Vogues, and apparently the remainder of the lyrics weren't anything I needed to remember...)

If I can, I'll BBL.

[hollygail]

Can you believe today is National Tooth Fairy Day?!?!?!?!?!

[gazelle18]

Regarding lactose intolerant Jews, this is a true story from my first tour of Israel with a busload of Jews . There was one nice couple from Brooklyn, and the wife confessed a few days in that she was enjoying the Israeli ice cream a little too much. She explained that her lactose intolerance was acting up and giving her gastrointestinal problems. One evening, we were all sitting around a restaurant table. Suddenly, the woman got up and quickly walked towards the bathroom. Her darling husband, always helpful, yelled out in his best New York accent, “Esther! Too much dairy!” We laughed for the entire trip about this.

[peachymom1]

I have always loved milk, and I still do. When I was a kid, we only ever had the regular, full-fat kind. When I left home, I switched to nonfat milk to avoid the fat and calories; to make it palatable until I got used to it, I poured it on Cap'n Crunch and enjoyed it immensely! I did develop a lactose intolerance (the kind that isn't genetic), but I just take a Lactaid tablet, and I have no problems. I've tried almond milk and oat milk, but they don't appeal to me.


There's an old song called "Milk and Honey" by Jackson C. Frank - here's a YouTube link. www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4gdWucBelI I haven't heard the song in ages; it's beautiful and moving.

The song "Halleluyah" by Milk & Honey won the 1979 Eurovision contest. If you've never heard it, here's a YouTube liink. www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKbvuYRR35E When I first heard it back in the early 1980s (when I was gobbling up Jewish religion and culture), I listened to it over and over so I could learn the words phonetically. When I learned Hebrew, it became even more wonderful to me. It's still one of my favorite songs ever.

[louise]

Did you know that the honey being referred to re Israel is date honey?

Ialways liked milk growing up. I pretty much stopped using it for calroes. I love iced coffee with almond milk. Much lower calories than even skim milk and higher calcium.