These are the regulations concerning animals, birds, every living thing that moves in the water and every creature that moves about on the ground. You must distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between living creatures that may be eaten and those that may not be eaten.
Leviticus 11:46-47 (NIV)

Throughout my life Iââ?¬â?¢ve been blessed with good food and great cooks around me! I consider food to be one of Godââ?¬â?¢s most wonderful creations ââ?¬â?? what better than to get around the table with family or friends and enjoy together some great tasty food with some good conversation? And if youââ?¬â?¢re not convinced about that, Iââ?¬â?¢m sure I could come up with a sound Biblical argument in its favour!

Growing up in a Jewish family definitely had some advantages and good food was one of them; much of what we did as a family centred around preparing, cooking and eating good food. My mum was very strict about keeping to the dietary laws as originally laid out in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 of the Bible and further developed by the Rabbis. The main regulations can be divided into three areas:-

� the distinction between permitted and prohibited animals, fish,
birds, reptiles and insects.
� the prohibition against eating blood.
� the prohibition against the mixing of meat and milk.

From an early age I learnt that these rules were not to be broken and my mum had everything in place to ensure there were no violations. She bought all her meat and poultry only from Jewish butchers who came under the supervision of the ââ?¬Ë?Beth-Dinââ?¬â?¢ which ensured that, not only was the meat strictly kosher, but also that it had been prepared by the hallowed method of shechitah - a swift cut by a razor-sharp knife – which Jews believe to be the most painless means of slaughtering the animal. Most of the blood would then be drained but even so, my mum would then kasher the meat ââ?¬â?? render it perfectly pure from blood. She would soak it in water for half an hour, then cover it all over with salt and allow it to remain for an hour and then rinse it with fresh water. She also kept separate sets of crockery and cutlery for meat and milk foods.

There was no chance of breaking the rules inside our house, but outside was another matter (and I blame this on the bad influence of my elder brother!). We would frequently sneak out to the local Wimpy Bar (Wimpy preceded McDonalds in the UK back in the 60s) and devour very non-kosher hamburgers. Even worse would be cheeseburgers ââ?¬â?? not only non-kosher but also a mix of meat and milk ââ?¬â?? if she ever would have found out, I doubt Iââ?¬â?¢d still be alive now to tell the story!

Fortunately now under the new covenant, there’s no longer the need to abstain from eating anything for religious reasons (1 Cor 10:25; 1 Tim 4:1-4) while itââ?¬â?¢s still important to be sensitive to others so as not to offend (Rom 14:14-15). The harder challenge now is to distinguish between whatââ?¬â?¢s clean and unclean in all aspects of life and to keep it ââ?¬Ë?kosherââ?¬â?¢ in our hearts and minds rather than in our mouths and stomachs.

You�d be forgiven for thinking sometimes that the Old Testament seems so completely different from the New Testament. For example, language, style, the character of God portrayed, the nature of events recounted, the relevance to our everyday lives etc. That they both exist in the one Bible can be thought of as a bit strange.

For me personally, growing up in a Jewish family, I only ever knew the Old Testament. In fact, I didn�t know anything at all about the New Testament until the age of about 21 when I was bought a Good News Bible. Having recently been introduced to some of the basic ideas of Christianity, I was hungry to read through the NT and was staggered by its significance. It was like being given the keys to a secret closet that contained great treasures. Or more to the point, it was like being given the last part of a book that I�d been longing to understand and finish for many years.

Two main things struck me:-

First, the OT law (which in the past Iââ?¬â?¢d been strongly encouraged to follow to the letter) was merely a way of revealing our human nature ââ?¬â?? i.e. sinful! It was actually impossible to fulfil the lawââ?¬â?¢s requirements. Iââ?¬â?¢d somehow missed that verse in Isaiah that talks about all our righteous acts are like filthy rags.

Second, that for the first time I glimpsed something of Godââ?¬â?¢s true character through the life and person of Jesus Christ. Heââ?¬â?¢d always been a God ââ?¬Ë?out there somewhereââ?¬â?¢, and certainly a very impersonal God. Now I was realising that God was actually someone I could relate to and who wanted to be close to me.

Anyway, over the course of the next few months (or maybe years!), Iââ?¬â?¢d like to share with you some reflections from the Old Testament, often from an autobiographical point of view – i.e. verses from the OT and some thoughts about the way those verses have really helped and encouraged me in my life and in my journey of faith. Occasionally, I’ll refer to verses in the NT too when it’s appropriate. Iââ?¬â?¢ve called this series ââ?¬Ë?Down2Earthââ?¬â?¢ ââ?¬â?? probably not a very original name but I want to share things that I hope you will find to be meaningful and relevant in your everyday lives ââ?¬â?? in other words, not a load of super-spiritual stuff that’s difficult to relate to but rather things that are strictly down to earth! Feel free to respond by posting your own comments, thoughts or personal experiences.