Agriculture
1. Make practical provision for the poor. Note that these are not to be handouts. The poor must actually work for what they get. This is directly related to the command that one who will not work should not eat. (2 Thessalonians 3:10)
a. Do not harvest the corners of a field; they are for the poor. (Leviticus 23:22)
b. Do not gather the gleanings of a field; they are for the poor. (Leviticus 23:22)
c. Do not gather all the olives from the trees, the remaining are for the poor. (Deuteronomy 24:20)
d. Do not gather all the grapes from the vineyard; the remaining are for the poor. (Leviticus 19:10)
e. Do not return to pick up a forgotten sheaf from a field; it is for the poor. (Deuteronomy 24:19)
2. Maintenance of or separation of the species
a. Do not plant a field with two kinds of seed. (Leviticus 19:19)
b. Do not crossbreed different species of animals. (Leviticus 19:19)
c. Do not plant a vineyard with two kinds of seed. (Deuteronomy 22:9)
Many people mock these laws, derisively pointing to them as examples of the outdated, ludicrous laws the Bible tries to impose upon us. Some well-meaning believers try to defend them by one of three ways:
· They were created specifically for the Jewish people in Canaan in order to further separate them from the Goyim; rather like circumcision and the tzit tzit.
· They were created as some type of lesson on the joys of simplicity and purity.
· There is some kind of deep, hidden, esoteric spiritual meaning that we simply can’t discern.
While I agree that some laws were specifically designed for the people of Israel (see Mahleh); and that we are enjoined to appreciate quiet, hard-working lives (1 Timothy 2:2) and to be content with what the Lord has provided us (1 Timothy 6:8); and that the Bible is deep and multilayered, I also know that Hashem never asks us to do something that is not healthy for us in the long run.
Let’s look at what’s going on here by applying these laws to vegetables. When you purchase seeds you can choose from either modern hybrids or heirloom varieties. The hybrids were created by crossing two selected varieties, sometimes resulting in some type of advantage. Let’s focus on tomatoes shall we? Perhaps the hybrid is bigger. Perhaps it has a deeper shade of red. Perhaps it produces more fruit per bush. Perhaps it resists a specific disease or is more drought resistant.
Heirloom vegetables are old-time varieties, open-pollinated instead of artificially hybridized, and saved and handed down through multiple generations of families. Why would one choose an heirloom tomato over a hybrid? Isn’t new automatically better? Not really.
Better Taste. For one thing, heirloom vegetables generally taste better. The standard tomato you buy down at the grocery store has been bred to be picked green and gas-ripened because that’s helpful to the shippers. That means that hybrids encourage the modern propensity to have food shipped from hundreds if not thousands of miles away.
Less logistical vulnerability. Besides not tasting good, it makes us vulnerable to terrorist attack. Ask any good general about the disadvantage of extremely long logistical lines! Eating heirloom vegetables ensures that we eat food that is produced locally; food that we can not only ensure has not been poisoned by our enemies but has also not been poisoned by poor management or greedy corporations trying to get the most bang for their buck!
More consistent performance. Many heirloom vegetables have been saved over many generations, sometimes for centuries because they have proven themselves to be the best performers in a wide variety of conditions. Back in biblical days, they didn’t have trains, planes, and trucks to cart their produce thousands of miles. Every farmer sold directly to the market. Ship-ability was thus not as much a factor as flavor. The vegetables didn’t need to be tough. They needed to be tender, juicy, and delicious! Who was going to survive the market forces if the guy in the next stall had better tasting tomatoes than you?
Better nutrition. Modern commercial practices have consistently pushed for higher and higher yields. This higher yield comes at a hidden cost. In many cases, newer vegetables are significantly less nutritious. (For more information on this issue go to www.motherearthnews.com/Sustainable-Farming/Nutrient-Decline-Industrial-Farming.aspx)
Less dependence on a few high-tech businesses.
You can save the seeds. Heirloom vegetables are open-pollinated. This means you can save your own seed and use them to replant from year to year. Heirloom vegetables will produce plants that are true to type. Saving hybrid seeds is pretty useless because the results will be mixed, ranging from poor to disastrous.
Reduced cost. By saving the seeds the farmers’ cost in that regards drops down to zero.
You can improve the vegetables. The prohibition was not against improving the crops or cattle through selective breeding. The prohibition is against crossing the species. By saving the seeds of heirloom vegetables over the years, the farmer can choose what has worked best, gradually selecting seeds from the plants that performed the best in their local soil and climate. They could keep track of which ones resisted local pests and diseases best. By working hard and intelligently selecting they could create their own locally adapted variety.
Independence. Each of these last three points means that our people would not become dependent on the Goyim for their access to hybridized vegetables.
Encourages small, local farmers over monoculture agribusiness. What works commercially and what works on a small scale is vastly different. Remember how Yahweh told the people to spread out over the whole earth and man chose instead to stay in one localized place and build a tower? God was trying to get them spread out so that one disease or other disaster wouldn’t wipe out all of humanity in one shot. Remember that God refers to Himself as humanity’s “husbandman” (Isaiah 5:1-2; Jeremiah 12:10; John 15:1-2; 1 Corinthians 3:9; James 5:7). That’s a fancy word for “gardener” or “farmer”. Our “Husbandman” prefers thousands of small, diverse gardens and heirloom seeds that will present various strengths no matter what challenge comes along. Consider the variety of life that exists in a forest before man comes along. After humans are done strip-mining or clear cutting, if they replant at all, they plant two or three varieties, leaving the region vulnerable to disease.
Continuous harvest. Because heirloom varieties are not as “uniform” as hybrids, they don’t ripen all at once. Monoculture agribusinesses want to have everything ripen simultaneously so they can harvest it all at once with huge machines or crews of people. If your principle goal is making money that makes sense. However, if your principle goal is to ensure the continuation of your people, you want food coming in at various times, especially in a day when they didn’t have refrigeration to store vast amounts of food.
Garment made of two kinds of material. In regards to the prohibition against mingling two types of material (Leviticus 19:19) the prohibition is more specifically defined elsewhere (Deuteronomy 22:11) as being linen and wool. Where the command regarding seed is simple and clear, this one is not. Many would seek to ascribe some now-lost but then-significant superstitious association. However, its connection in Leviticus 19:19 to a very practical piece of advice to use heirloom vegetables only would seem to me to argue against such esoteric interpretations.
Such practical considerations might include the fact that within their environment perhaps the two types of material were conducive to the growth of mildew (Leviticus 13:47). This would make sense if we consider the commands regarding the priestly dress code which prohibited wearing wool with linen and concludes with the admonition “They are not to put on anything that makes them sweat” (i.e. while serving in the Temple). (Ezekiel 44:17-18)
It turns out that linen clothing reduces solar gamma radiation by almost half thereby protecting humans wearing linen. Linen possesses high air permeability. The heat conductivity of linen is five times as high as wool and nineteen times that of silk. In hot weather those dressed in linen clothing are found to show a skin temperature 3° to 4°C lower than when they are wearing silk or cotton. Meanwhile, in cold weather linen is an ideal warmth-keeper.
According to some studies, a person wearing linen clothes perspires 1.5 times less than when dressed in cotton clothes and twice less than when dressed in viscose clothes.
Linen is highly “hydroscopic” meaning it rapidly absorbs and gives up moisture. Adsorbing water quickly, linen cloth can absorb as much as 20% of its dry weight which explains why linen cloth always feels fresh and cool.
Linen does not cause allergic reactions and is helpful in treating a number of allergic disorders. According to Japanese researchers, studies have shown that bed-ridden patients do not develop bedsores where linen bed sheets are used. Wearing linen clothes helps to decrease some skin diseases - from common rash to chronic eczemas. If you have sensitive skin, even the best wool will itch a little bit.
Linen cloth does not accumulate static electricity - even a small addition of flax fibers (up to 10%) to a cloth is enough to eliminate the static electricity effect. On the other hand, when combined with wool, the resulting clothing increases the static electricity. In a hot climate where people are walking long distances, the resulting combination of increased static and increased retention of perspiration would actually exhaust the wearers sooner, and create vicious blisters.
3. Periodic allowance made for the land to rest
a. Every seven years
i. Do not till the earth or sow the fields in the seventh year. (Leviticus 25:4)
ii. Do not prune your vineyard or trees in the seventh year. (Leviticus 25:4)
iii. Do not reap your harvest in the seventh year. (Leviticus 25:5)
iv. Do not gather the grapes of the untended vine in the seventh year. (Leviticus 25:5)
In our economy of macro, mono-culture farms run with high-tech gear that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars these commands seem strange. Yet to periodically allow the soil to replenish itself is simply good management of natural resources. More than that, it kept firmly before the people the decision to make God and ecological stewardship come before profits.
Nothing says that couldn’t store up food and money for the other six years to prepare for that seventh year. And nothing says that they couldn’t harvest what grew naturally. They simply were not allowed to work the soil.
Here again we see that what grows naturally is not to be harvested (i.e. for sale or profit) but may remain available for personal food.
Though the principle of allowing the land to periodically rest is wise, the ritual obligation is maleh since the Sabbath year was meant for Eretz Yisra'el and not for those in the Diaspora:
i. Do not till the earth or sow the fields in the Jubilee year. (Leviticus 25:11)
ii. Do not reap the harvest in the Jubilee year. (Leviticus 25:11)
iii. Do not gather the grapes of the untended vines in the Jubilee year. (Leviticus 25:11)
a. Do not harvest the corners of a field; they are for the poor. (Leviticus 23:22)
b. Do not gather the gleanings of a field; they are for the poor. (Leviticus 23:22)
c. Do not gather all the olives from the trees, the remaining are for the poor. (Deuteronomy 24:20)
d. Do not gather all the grapes from the vineyard; the remaining are for the poor. (Leviticus 19:10)
e. Do not return to pick up a forgotten sheaf from a field; it is for the poor. (Deuteronomy 24:19)
2. Maintenance of or separation of the species
a. Do not plant a field with two kinds of seed. (Leviticus 19:19)
b. Do not crossbreed different species of animals. (Leviticus 19:19)
c. Do not plant a vineyard with two kinds of seed. (Deuteronomy 22:9)
Many people mock these laws, derisively pointing to them as examples of the outdated, ludicrous laws the Bible tries to impose upon us. Some well-meaning believers try to defend them by one of three ways:
· They were created specifically for the Jewish people in Canaan in order to further separate them from the Goyim; rather like circumcision and the tzit tzit.
· They were created as some type of lesson on the joys of simplicity and purity.
· There is some kind of deep, hidden, esoteric spiritual meaning that we simply can’t discern.
While I agree that some laws were specifically designed for the people of Israel (see Mahleh); and that we are enjoined to appreciate quiet, hard-working lives (1 Timothy 2:2) and to be content with what the Lord has provided us (1 Timothy 6:8); and that the Bible is deep and multilayered, I also know that Hashem never asks us to do something that is not healthy for us in the long run.
Let’s look at what’s going on here by applying these laws to vegetables. When you purchase seeds you can choose from either modern hybrids or heirloom varieties. The hybrids were created by crossing two selected varieties, sometimes resulting in some type of advantage. Let’s focus on tomatoes shall we? Perhaps the hybrid is bigger. Perhaps it has a deeper shade of red. Perhaps it produces more fruit per bush. Perhaps it resists a specific disease or is more drought resistant.
Heirloom vegetables are old-time varieties, open-pollinated instead of artificially hybridized, and saved and handed down through multiple generations of families. Why would one choose an heirloom tomato over a hybrid? Isn’t new automatically better? Not really.
Better Taste. For one thing, heirloom vegetables generally taste better. The standard tomato you buy down at the grocery store has been bred to be picked green and gas-ripened because that’s helpful to the shippers. That means that hybrids encourage the modern propensity to have food shipped from hundreds if not thousands of miles away.
Less logistical vulnerability. Besides not tasting good, it makes us vulnerable to terrorist attack. Ask any good general about the disadvantage of extremely long logistical lines! Eating heirloom vegetables ensures that we eat food that is produced locally; food that we can not only ensure has not been poisoned by our enemies but has also not been poisoned by poor management or greedy corporations trying to get the most bang for their buck!
More consistent performance. Many heirloom vegetables have been saved over many generations, sometimes for centuries because they have proven themselves to be the best performers in a wide variety of conditions. Back in biblical days, they didn’t have trains, planes, and trucks to cart their produce thousands of miles. Every farmer sold directly to the market. Ship-ability was thus not as much a factor as flavor. The vegetables didn’t need to be tough. They needed to be tender, juicy, and delicious! Who was going to survive the market forces if the guy in the next stall had better tasting tomatoes than you?
Better nutrition. Modern commercial practices have consistently pushed for higher and higher yields. This higher yield comes at a hidden cost. In many cases, newer vegetables are significantly less nutritious. (For more information on this issue go to www.motherearthnews.com/Sustainable-Farming/Nutrient-Decline-Industrial-Farming.aspx)
Less dependence on a few high-tech businesses.
You can save the seeds. Heirloom vegetables are open-pollinated. This means you can save your own seed and use them to replant from year to year. Heirloom vegetables will produce plants that are true to type. Saving hybrid seeds is pretty useless because the results will be mixed, ranging from poor to disastrous.
Reduced cost. By saving the seeds the farmers’ cost in that regards drops down to zero.
You can improve the vegetables. The prohibition was not against improving the crops or cattle through selective breeding. The prohibition is against crossing the species. By saving the seeds of heirloom vegetables over the years, the farmer can choose what has worked best, gradually selecting seeds from the plants that performed the best in their local soil and climate. They could keep track of which ones resisted local pests and diseases best. By working hard and intelligently selecting they could create their own locally adapted variety.
Independence. Each of these last three points means that our people would not become dependent on the Goyim for their access to hybridized vegetables.
Encourages small, local farmers over monoculture agribusiness. What works commercially and what works on a small scale is vastly different. Remember how Yahweh told the people to spread out over the whole earth and man chose instead to stay in one localized place and build a tower? God was trying to get them spread out so that one disease or other disaster wouldn’t wipe out all of humanity in one shot. Remember that God refers to Himself as humanity’s “husbandman” (Isaiah 5:1-2; Jeremiah 12:10; John 15:1-2; 1 Corinthians 3:9; James 5:7). That’s a fancy word for “gardener” or “farmer”. Our “Husbandman” prefers thousands of small, diverse gardens and heirloom seeds that will present various strengths no matter what challenge comes along. Consider the variety of life that exists in a forest before man comes along. After humans are done strip-mining or clear cutting, if they replant at all, they plant two or three varieties, leaving the region vulnerable to disease.
Continuous harvest. Because heirloom varieties are not as “uniform” as hybrids, they don’t ripen all at once. Monoculture agribusinesses want to have everything ripen simultaneously so they can harvest it all at once with huge machines or crews of people. If your principle goal is making money that makes sense. However, if your principle goal is to ensure the continuation of your people, you want food coming in at various times, especially in a day when they didn’t have refrigeration to store vast amounts of food.
Garment made of two kinds of material. In regards to the prohibition against mingling two types of material (Leviticus 19:19) the prohibition is more specifically defined elsewhere (Deuteronomy 22:11) as being linen and wool. Where the command regarding seed is simple and clear, this one is not. Many would seek to ascribe some now-lost but then-significant superstitious association. However, its connection in Leviticus 19:19 to a very practical piece of advice to use heirloom vegetables only would seem to me to argue against such esoteric interpretations.
Such practical considerations might include the fact that within their environment perhaps the two types of material were conducive to the growth of mildew (Leviticus 13:47). This would make sense if we consider the commands regarding the priestly dress code which prohibited wearing wool with linen and concludes with the admonition “They are not to put on anything that makes them sweat” (i.e. while serving in the Temple). (Ezekiel 44:17-18)
It turns out that linen clothing reduces solar gamma radiation by almost half thereby protecting humans wearing linen. Linen possesses high air permeability. The heat conductivity of linen is five times as high as wool and nineteen times that of silk. In hot weather those dressed in linen clothing are found to show a skin temperature 3° to 4°C lower than when they are wearing silk or cotton. Meanwhile, in cold weather linen is an ideal warmth-keeper.
According to some studies, a person wearing linen clothes perspires 1.5 times less than when dressed in cotton clothes and twice less than when dressed in viscose clothes.
Linen is highly “hydroscopic” meaning it rapidly absorbs and gives up moisture. Adsorbing water quickly, linen cloth can absorb as much as 20% of its dry weight which explains why linen cloth always feels fresh and cool.
Linen does not cause allergic reactions and is helpful in treating a number of allergic disorders. According to Japanese researchers, studies have shown that bed-ridden patients do not develop bedsores where linen bed sheets are used. Wearing linen clothes helps to decrease some skin diseases - from common rash to chronic eczemas. If you have sensitive skin, even the best wool will itch a little bit.
Linen cloth does not accumulate static electricity - even a small addition of flax fibers (up to 10%) to a cloth is enough to eliminate the static electricity effect. On the other hand, when combined with wool, the resulting clothing increases the static electricity. In a hot climate where people are walking long distances, the resulting combination of increased static and increased retention of perspiration would actually exhaust the wearers sooner, and create vicious blisters.
3. Periodic allowance made for the land to rest
a. Every seven years
i. Do not till the earth or sow the fields in the seventh year. (Leviticus 25:4)
ii. Do not prune your vineyard or trees in the seventh year. (Leviticus 25:4)
iii. Do not reap your harvest in the seventh year. (Leviticus 25:5)
iv. Do not gather the grapes of the untended vine in the seventh year. (Leviticus 25:5)
In our economy of macro, mono-culture farms run with high-tech gear that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars these commands seem strange. Yet to periodically allow the soil to replenish itself is simply good management of natural resources. More than that, it kept firmly before the people the decision to make God and ecological stewardship come before profits.
Nothing says that couldn’t store up food and money for the other six years to prepare for that seventh year. And nothing says that they couldn’t harvest what grew naturally. They simply were not allowed to work the soil.
- Leviticus 25:6-7 HCSB Whatever the land produces during the Sabbath year can be food for you; for yourself, your male or female slave, and the hired hand or foreigner who stays with you. (7) All of its growth may serve as food for your livestock and the wild animals in your land.
Here again we see that what grows naturally is not to be harvested (i.e. for sale or profit) but may remain available for personal food.
- Leviticus 25:11-12 HCSB The fiftieth year will be your Jubilee; you are not to sow, reap what grows by itself, or harvest its untended vines. (12) It is to be holy to you because it is the Jubilee; you may only eat its produce directly from the field.
Though the principle of allowing the land to periodically rest is wise, the ritual obligation is maleh since the Sabbath year was meant for Eretz Yisra'el and not for those in the Diaspora:
- Leviticus 25:22-24 HCSB (22) When you sow in the eighth year, you will be eating from the previous harvest. You will be eating this until the ninth year when its harvest comes in. (23) "The land is not to be permanently sold because it is Mine, and you are only foreigners and temporary residents on My land. (24) You are to allow the redemption of any land you occupy. b. Every Jubilee
i. Do not till the earth or sow the fields in the Jubilee year. (Leviticus 25:11)
ii. Do not reap the harvest in the Jubilee year. (Leviticus 25:11)
iii. Do not gather the grapes of the untended vines in the Jubilee year. (Leviticus 25:11)
