LAGANUM FRUCTUS - A CAKE OF FRUIT

Taking the Show on the Road by Cooking for the Kids

Hello My Friend and Welcome.

Our study of Christmas continues today with an ancient recipe for fruitcake. Fruitcakes are traditionally served during the Christmas season and so I decided to whip one up as a yuletide treat. It’s called Laganum Fructus which is Latin for Cake of Fruit or Cake with Fruit. Fruitcake was quite popular with the soldiers of Rome’s Legions. It was aged with wine and the alcohol preserved the cake and prevented spoilage. Consequently, a Legionnaire could pack his laganum fructus into his loculus,  a traveling pack or duffel bag, and count on the cake keeping until he finished snacking on it.

Fruitcakes are traditionally served during the Christmas season and so I decided to whip up one of these ancient fruitcakes as a yuletide treat. The recipe calls for some aging, so it’s best to make it well ahead of when you plan to serve it. Let’s get something straight. I don’t care whether you love fruitcake or hate the thought of it, gather the kids together and make one anyway. It’s a good way to make the Biblical era real to your children. When you serve it tell them this is the type of cake the boy Jesus might have eaten during Chanukah while he spun his dreidel.

There are two distinct styles of fruitcakes, cakey and fruity. The recipe definitely leans to the fruity side of things. That is, it’s a lot of fruit held together with a little bit of dough. The recipe for this fruitcake consisted of four primary ingredients: pomegranate seeds, pine nuts, dried fruits, and barley flour. The first hurdle you’ll encounter is how to soften pomegranate seeds to the point where they can be chewed without the risk of breaking a tooth. An easiest way is to circumvent this by substituting pomegranate juice, and that’s what the recipe I'll give you calls for.

Most of the pine nuts sold in the grocery stores are imported from China and are often very bitter. The best pine nuts are harvested in the mountainous regions of Nevada and New Mexico. They aren’t in stores, but can be ordered direct over the internet. If you’re a stickler for authenticity, by all means order some. They make wonderful eating. However, they are harvested in the Fall and typically aren’t ready for shipment until Thanksgiving or later. They also sell out pretty quickly, so if you want them don’t delay.

A cheaper alternative would be to substitute slivered almonds. This is a legal replacement since almonds were available in that part of the world in the 1st Century. In addition to eating the nuts out of hand and cooking and baking with them, they also pressed the nuts for their oil and made almond milk, which they used for cooking.

Ingredient list along with comments:

1 C olive oil

1 C honey

1 C pomegranate juice

4 eggs

2 C barley flour

1 C wheat flour…if you want to be authentic use whole wheat flour

2 tsp salt

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp baking powder…This is an easy, but illegal ingredient. The only leavening available in the 1st Century was natural yeast. They would have mixed some of their starter into the barley flour.

1 C of pine nuts

1 ½ C raisins

1 ½ C chopped dates

3 C mixed dried fruit…Equal amounts of apples, plums (prunes), and apricots works well.

Citron is also legal ingredient. If desired, you may add some diced, candied citron. Adjust the quantities of the other fruits proportionally.

Optional: Rose water, wine, grape or apple juice for basting while the cake ages.

Directions: Heat oven to 275 degrees. Grease two 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pans and line them with parchment or wax paper. Sift all dry ingredients together and set aside. Dice the fruit small, mix in a bowl and set aside. Combine oil, eggs, pomegranate juice and honey. Alternately add portions of the dry ingredients and the oil mixture to the fruit, mixing well each time.

The Finished Product Ready for Aging

When the batter is complete, pour it into the prepared pans. Bake for 2 to 2 ½ hours and check for doneness with a toothpick. Let stand 15 minutes before removing from pans. Do not remove paper. When thoroughly cooled, carefully remove paper and wrap the loaf in cheesecloth soaked with any of the basting ingredients. We boiled a half-and-half mixture of apple and grape juice down to syrup. Seal them in plastic wrap and then in foil and store them in the back of the refrigerator for 2 or more weeks.

An Individual Laganum Fructus Wrapped and Basted

The recipe above will yield two bread pan-sized loaves, each of which weight 2 ½ to 3 pounds.

The Final Analysis

As you can see from the photo at the beginning of this post, we took our show on the road and prepared Laganum Fructus for the youngsters in a Religious Education Class. I want to emphasize that this was done as a teaching tool, a way for the these young people to experience a reasonable facsimile of what people may have eaten 2,000 years ago. Our goal was to make something that tasted good, but accuracy should trump yummy.

Our Laganum Fructus Aged and Sliced

So how did it turn out?

To be brutally honest, the cakes were ranked okay to good. The cake is heavy on dark fruit…raisins, dates, and prunes and, for the sake of authenticity, we used whole wheat and barley flour. The combination of these two factors yielded a dark cake with a strong, but not particularly sweet flavor. Part of the problem, I believe, is that our modern taste buds are accustomed to a much higher level of sweetness than the ancient one. What tasted sweet and good to them seemed a coarse and dry to us. We served the cake with Cool Whip so the children could supplement the taste a bit.

This in no way means the experiment/demonstration was a failure. Whether the cake was of blue ribbon quality or not, it was a success because we replicated something that the children would never have otherwise experienced. I encourage you to pursue this recipe with that same goal in mind.

Our study of Christmas continues next time with a look at the first of the Wise Men's traditional gifts: Gold, the King of Metals.

Until then, we wish you Peace and Blessings.

IN THE FULLNESS OF TIME

“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman…”

                                                                                                                    — Galatians 4:4

The phrase the fullness of time is ripe with expectancy…waiting…longing. It brings to mind a convict in his cell leaning against the barred window and wistfully watching the sun set. Another day is done, one less day to be served. Perhaps that was what Paul was imagining when he penned those words. A captive world bound and chained by sin anxiously awaiting its promised Redeemer. Clearly this is how the Jews felt as they struggled under the thumb of Rome and Herod.

Though most people ascribe the Book of Daniel to the period of the Babylonian Exile (586-536 BC), there are some who would have us believe it to be much newer than that. They say it was composed during the Maccabean period, more precisely in the time of Antiochus IV, Epiphanes (175-164 BC). However, the date of the Book of Daniel is not relevant to this discussion. We know that Jesus made a specific reference to a passage from Daniel in Matthew 24:15 when he said, “So when you see the desolating sacrilege spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place…” This validates both the Book and its existence in the First Century.

We also know that apocalyptic literature of all kinds was very popular during that period of time. As much as anything it was probably a backlash to high taxes and oppressive rulers. The Messianic hope reached a fever pitch in the early 1st Century. Several sections of the Book of Daniel contain Messianic predictions. The primary one being the prophecy of the seventy weeks in Daniel 9:24-27.

Like all prophetic writings, as specific as it sounds, it still required interpretation. When did one begin counting the weeks? What was to occur when this period time had elapsed? Some would say it would mark the arrival of the Messiah, but in what form? Would that be the date of his birth, the beginning of his ministry/revolt, the declaration of his kingdom? Things were just obscure enough to allow for multiple opinions. Consequently, a number of Messianic Pretenders arose around the time of the birth of Christ. Their appearance and almost instant success in gathering a conquering army was no doubt motivated as much by frustration as by prophecy.

Messiahs aside, there were other factors that had to be in place and, in retrospect; we can see the hand of God moving the various playing pieces into position. Astronomers have developed a set of criteria necessary for a planet to support life. Without factors such as a temperate climate, oxygen, liquid water and so on, life as we know it, whether created or evolved, can never exist. Perhaps it would be helpful to draw up a similar list of factors required for any Messianic movement to grow and flourish. First of all, the people had to be open to the message. While readiness may be hard to quantify, we can make several observations.

Though the presumption among Jews was that the Messiah would be a warrior king, the message Jesus brought was spiritual not temporal. This meant that there had to be a certain level of intellectual curiosity, if you will, about spiritual matters. The first century was a time of wildly divergent religious beliefs. As the Romans annexed territory, they also assimilated the local gods of that region into their pantheon of divinities. This combined with a general freedom of worship meant that a person could explore any and all alternatives.

Plato and Aristotle developed the idea of a soul, or spiritual essence, that was immortal. The rise of philosophies such as Hedonism, Epicureanism, and Stoicism which generally rejected the established gods created a spiritual void while the mystery cults emphasized a savior-god and required worshipers to offer blood sacrifices, making the gospel of Christ which involved a single ultimate sacrifice acceptable.

All the spiritual hunger in the world won’t do you much good if your core group is dispersed and inaccessible. The Jews went through a general in-gathering in the years preceding the birth of Christ. The existence of the Temple in Jerusalem and the requirement that all adult males return to celebrate the Pilgrim festivals of Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkoth meant that those believers who were geographically distant could still keep up with the latest happenings and newest ideas. The passage in Acts 2:9 relating to Pentecost lists sixteen different nationalities, or language groups, present in the city for the Festival who heard Peter speak. Having heard, these people could carry that message (gossip) back to where they’d come from.

It would difficult, if not impossible, to disperse a message across an area consisting of competing kingdoms, city states, petty fiefdoms and territories ruled by war lords and tribal chieftains. This is the primary reason the Roman Empire stalled in its conquest of northern Europe. These are the conditions the Romans encountered as they moved into areas such as Ireland, Scotland, and Germany…areas they never subdued. The Germanic tribes, in fact, inflicted the greatest military defeat Rome ever experienced when they slaughtered three Roman Legions plus six cohorts of auxiliaries and three squadrons of cavalry in the Battle of Teutoburg Forest. Hadrian built his famous wall from the North Sea to the Irish Sea in an attempt to stop incursions by the Picts of Northern Scotland.

Ancient Roman Bridges Are Still in Use in Many Parts of Europe

Despite its problems in the outer reaches of the Empire, Rome unified and civilized a huge area that stretched from northern Africa and the Middle East, around the Mediterranean Basin into the Balkans and across the greater part of Europe. Reciprocal trade relationships connected the Roman Empire with India, China and great portions of the African continent. A single governmental authority meant that travelers could move across the Empire and beyond freely. Such freedom to travel would have been impossible in prior eras.

As Rome built its Empire, it inherited a culture left behind by the Greeks. Most of the Empire was multi-lingual, speaking two, if not three, languages. While the affairs of the Empire were conducted in Latin and the average person in the Holy Land spoke Aramaic, Greek served as a common unifying language that facilitated trade and commerce. Apostles carrying the message of Christianity were easily able to communicate regardless of the locale they found themselves in.

As the Roman Empire grew, the necessity to rapidly move troops from one area to another became a necessity. Rome attacked the problem by constructing a network of highways throughout the land. Upon conquering an area one of the first things the Romans did was build forts along the perimeter and link them with all-weather roads of stone block over a base of gravel. Rome recruited its army from the provinces and shifted the men from on region to another. It made good sense not to conscript an army from your former enemies and then go home and leave them in charge, much better to have Britons in Gaul, Macedonians in Syria and so on. As Rome shifted troops, they also disseminated cultural and religious beliefs. The earliest introduction of the gospel to Britannia was the result of the efforts of Christian soldiers stationed there.

It has been said that everyone participates in God’s plan, some willingly and some unknowingly.

Given man’s limited scope, most of the time we find it impossible to see the good that God extracts from evil. It is difficult, if not impossible, to imagine anything worthwhile coming from the regimes of Hitler, Stalin, Mao Tse-Tung, Pol Pot, Idi Amin, et al. And yet, the same thing can be said for Caligula, Nero, Domitian or Diocletian. Even with a 2,000 year perspective it’s still difficult to make sense of the actions of such despots.

And yet God, with his eternal perspective and omniscient power, can arrange the affairs of this chaotic world in such way as to accomplish his goals…in the fullness of time.

Our study of Christmas continues next time with an ancient recipe for a Christmas Fruitcake.

Until then, we wish you Peace and Blessings.

ADVENT and ADVENT WREATHES

Hello My Friend and Welcome.

Well, the Thanksgiving holiday has come and gone. Everyone's let their belts out a notch, the parades and football games are over, and the leftovers have been safely stored in the refrigerator. Now comes what is known as Black Friday. A day when the many stores open in predawn darkness with all sorts of Door-Buster specials designed to put buyers loaded with Christmas cash into a spending mood.

The Traditional Advent Wreath in a Commercial Stand

Here at Sowing the Seeds we don’t much care for the commercialism that now passes as Christmas. And, since the Christmas season officially starts after Thanksgiving, we decided to devote the next month or so to a study of All Things Christmas. It’s been my experience that even though we’ve celebrated Christmas all our lives, there is still much that can learned about the lore, legend and reality of this most important holiday. As always, we’ve tried to present the material in as interesting and informative way as possible.

Surprisingly enough, this holiday which has been so stereotyped and commercialized was not even celebrated by the earliest of Christians. Each year we hear the plea to return Christmas to its religious roots. Though most everyone agrees that to do so would be a good thing, no one seems to know quite how to go about accomplishing the feat. My suggestion would be to focus on the one part of the equation that is under our control…what happenswithin our own homes.

As Christmas begins to draw near, many parents look for a way, or ways, to prepare the children of the household for the big day and, in process, direct those young minds toward the spiritual meaning of the holiday rather than its more commercial aspects.

The Advent Wreath

While there are many things parents can do to accomplish this, Besides the Advent Wreath one of the most common is an Advent Calendar. For those unfamiliar with the term, Advent (coming from the Latin word adventus meaning coming) is the liturgical season observed in many Christian churches as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas. It begins four Sunday's before Christmas and concludes on Christmas Eve. This year, the First Sunday of Advent, the day your Advent Wreath or Calendar comes out, is this coming Sunday, November 27th.

With a history dating back to the Middle Ages, the Advent Wreath is steeped in symbolism. It has four candles, one for each of the four Sundays before Christmas. Many times a fifth white candle is added in the center of the circle and burned during the twelve-day Christmas season. Many stores sell pre-made wreathes along with a set of candles. For the more adventurous, it can be an easy do-it-yourself with the kids project.

The wreath itself can be as simple or elaborate as desired. Some people use circles of Styrofoam, or florist’s oasis, as the underpinnings of their wreath. Wreathes can just as easily be made using a square of plywood with holes drilled at each corner or candle holders attached at those positions and in the center, if desired. Once the wreath is covered in greenery, it assumes a round shape regardless of its base.

The traditional colors for the Advent candles are purple and rose. Because of its long association with royalty, purple candles symbolize the coming of the Prince of Peace. The single rose candle is lit during the third week of Advent beginning with Gaudete Sunday (from the Latin word for rejoice) to celebrate having reached the half-way point of the season. Some Protestant churches prefer to use four red candles, reflecting the common association of red candles with Christmas decorations, along with a white one at the center.

The wreath is covered with various evergreens, each having its own symbolism. The laurel signifies victory over persecution and suffering, pine, holly, and yew, immortality; and cedar, strength and healing. Holly also has a special Christian symbolism. Its prickly leaves serve as a reminder of the crown of thorns. The circular shape of the wreath, which has no beginning or end, symbolizes the eternity of God, the immortality of the soul, and the everlasting life found in Christ. Children may want to add pine cones, nuts, or seedpods to decorate the wreath as symbols of life and resurrection.

The following are a suggested, though not required, series of prayers to be used with the Wreath. Each night you may want to accompany them with a short Bible reading.

On the First Sunday of Advent, a parent blesses the wreath, saying: “O God, by whose word all things are sanctified, pour forth Thy blessing upon this wreath, and grant that we who use it may prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ and receive from Thee abundant graces. Amen.”

Each day of the first week of Advent, the youngest child lights one purple candle and the family prays: “O Lord, stir up Thy might, we beg thee, and come, that by Thy protection we may deserve to be rescued from the threatening dangers of our sins. Amen.”

During the second week of Advent, the oldest child lights the purple candle from the first week plus a second purple candle and the family prays. “O Lord, stir up our hearts that we may prepare for Thy only begotten Son, that through His coming we may be made worthy to serve Thee with pure minds. Amen.”

During the third week of Advent, the mother (or another child) lights the two previously lit purple candles plus the rose candle and the family prays, “O Lord, we beg Thee, incline Thy ear to our prayers and enlighten the darkness of our minds by the grace of Thy visitation. Amen.”

During the fourth week of Advent, the father (or another child) lights all of the candles of the wreath and the family prays, “O Lord, stir up Thy power, we pray Thee, and come; and with great might help us, that with the help of Thy grace, Thy merciful forgiveness may hasten what our sins impede. Amen.”

Throughout the twelve days of Christmas, light the white candle and pray, “God of love, Father of all, the darkness that covered the earth has given way to the bright dawn of your Word made flesh. Make us a people of this light. Make us faithful to your Word that we may bring your life to the waiting world. Amen.”

An Advent Calendar made of Cloth Pockets

The Advent Calendar is a more modern innovation that many families enjoy. Like the wreath, the calendar can be as plain as a series of numbered squares of paper or cloth hung in the shape of a Christmas tree, or as fancy as wooden cabinets or houses with doors and drawers for each day. Part of the Advent Calendar’s popularity lies in its versatility. It can be structured to convey a religious message for the Christmas season, or take a more secular approach.

In either case, the calendar counts down to Christmas as the child turns over a tag, opens a little door, or reaches into a pocket to discover a small hidden treasure. Stores sell cardboard ones with paper doors that open to reveal a picture.

A Wooden Advent Calendar with Drawers

Some people insert candies while others put in small plastic or felt nativity figures. Each day another figure is removed from that day's pocket, door, box or envelope, etc.. One day a lamb or an angel is revealed. On another day a shepherd or a Wise Man. This continues right up to the day before Christmas, or Christmas day itself when baby Jesus is found. By then the child has assembled the complete nativity scene.

Felt figures can be attached to an adjoining board. The solid figures can become ornaments to be hung on the tree or used to assemble a separate nativity scene in a small crèche. A corresponding portion of the Christmas story can be read for that day’s nativity figurine until it is completed on the last day.

One of the most important parts of parenting is creating memories. If used properly, both the Advent Wreath and/or an Advent Calendar will create both a family tradition and happy memories for your children that will last a lifetime.

Next time we'll take a examine Paul's phrase "...in the fullness of time."

Until then, I wish you Peace and Blesings

HEROD THE GREAT'S JERUSALEM PALACE

Herod's Palace in Jerusalem

Hello My Friend and Welcome.

During his lifetime, Herod the Great, who exhibited extreme paranoid tendencies, built or rebuilt eleven fortresses throughout Israel. Some of them remained just that, defensive military outposts, but others he expanded into full blown palaces.

His palaces, in alphabetic order, were:

Caesarea Maritima. West of Jerusalem, it was a thoroughly Roman city and prosperous port city thanks to an artificial breakwater constructed by Herod’s engineers. His palace overlooked the Mediterranean and served both as his primary residence and the residence of Roman Prefect and procurators who follow d him.

Herodium. Near Jericho, it sat atop a manmade mountain with a view of Lake Asphaltitis…now known as the Dead Sea. Herod was buried there around 4 BC.

Jerusalem. Herod’s little place in the city that he used when official duties demanded his presence in the Capitol.

Masada. Probably the most famous of the group, it was a mountaintop  palace in the Judean desert near the southernmost tip of Lake Asphaltitis.

Today, I plan to concentrate on Herod’s Jerusalem palace. The photos illustrating this post are taken from an incredible model of First Century Jerusalem built by Hans Kroch, the late proprietor of the Holyland Hotel. It is built to a 1:50 scale with authentic construction materials - Jerusalem stone, Marmor, and Steel all based upon historical accounts from the Mishna, the Gemara, and Flavius Josephus. Step back into ancient Jerusalem with me. The date is 66AD…skies are clear and the weather’s mild. 

Detail of the Courtyard and Matching Stoas

Modern excavations beneath the Citadel have found remains of the foundational platform which supported Herod’s palace. This model was reconstructed on the basis of finds in Jerusalem and excavations of Herod’s palace at Jericho. The dimensions of the palace were from the area of today’s Jaffa gate to the southwest corner of the present-day, Old City walls, estimated to be about 1,050 x 415 feet. That’s about three plus football fields, folks!

 The palace was built on an elevated platform made of a series of retaining walls rising from 13 to16 feet above ground level. Amiran-Eitan’s excavations revealed some parts of the superstructure which included sections of painted plaster. The construction covered over remains of older Hasmonean buildings.

Aerial View of the Matching Wings of the Palace

The palace had two main wings, each with its own banquet halls, baths, and accommodated hundreds of guests. It was surrounded by groves of trees, canals, and ponds, and studded with bronze fountains. The two wings were named after Agrippa and Caesar. In the center of the palace were gardens with porticoes.

To put Herod’s palace in perspective, we conducted an internet search on largest houses in America. The homes of most Hollywood stars fall into the 10-15,000 square foot range, which puts them out of the running. Hugh Heffner’s Playboy Mansion is nearly 22,000 sq. ft. However, the tidy bungalow Bill Gates calls home is three times larger at 66,000 square feet. A software billionaire is constructing a castle in Missouri that will be 72,000 sq. ft. The Versailles Mansion in Orlando tops that at 90,000 sq. ft. You’ve probably heard that it takes a lot more than a million dollars to live like a millionaire these days. If you’ve ever doubted that statement, consider that George Vamderbilt’s Biltmore Mansion in Ashville, NC measured a whopping 175,000 square feet.

Jerusalem: Herod's Palace in Foreground - Temple in Upper Left

While all of these people from Brad and Jennifer, to Cher and Heffner, to Vanderbilt are known to have extravagant tastes, Herod makes them all look like pikers. Are you sitting down? Herod’s Jerusalem palace had a footprint of about 435,000 sq. ft. When you consider that the palace consisted of multiple floors, it becomes apparent that it most probably exceeded 1,000,000 square feet. No matter how you cut it, Herod was a man who lived large. They didn’t call him “the Great” for nothing.

We plan to visit Herod’s other palaces in future posts. Meanwhile, you should know that this coming Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent…the liturgical season that precedes Christmas. Beginning this Friday we’ll begin a series of posts dealing with various aspects of the Christmas Season. We invite you to drop in often. You’ll find the posts interesting, enlightening and entertaining.

Until next time, we wish you Peace and Blessings.

Bruce Judisch Review - LOST

A storyline you don't expect; a tale you won't forget.

In Lost, Mr. Lewis treats us to glimpses of the past, present, and a possible future, and ties them together in an intriguing tale that juxtaposes deception with integrity, and grief with hope.

The story opens with an engaging monolog by a minor--or at least, not-as-major--character, who sets the stage with glimpse into the past and its application to the present. Then we're off and running...

A brief visit to Delhi, India, where a top-secret scientific breakthrough lauches us into the initial foray between deception and integrity. Dr. "Derek" has invented the capability every military commander in the world covets. Today, that translates to untold billions of dollars for the firm that can bring it from the laboratory to the battlefield. And Mr. Winston Ridgely of the RCI Corporation intends to do just that.

Skip to Pine Crest, Oregon, where Viet Nam veteran, now newspaper owner/editor, Tom Jenkins and his wife, Marty share a quiet life--a life that is about to be turned upside down. Marty embarks on an Alaskan cruise as a member of a singing group. Then, only a couple of days out, the ship runs afoul of RCI's field-testing their newly acquired capability.

Enter grief vs. hope. The Coast Guard gives up on the chances that there are any survivors, but Tom can't let go of the feeling that Marty is still alive. His conviction sends him on a mission that ranges from the cruise line's home office in London, England, to Oregon's backwoods. Driven by his obsession, he ignores the sentiments piling up against him by well meaning friends who counsel him to move on, that he must reconcile himself to his wife's death. He just can't do that--oh, did I mention his granddaughter was also on the cruise? Yeah. Now you see.

But who is right: Tom or everyone else? What really happened to the Paradise Voyager, its passengers and crew?

Mr. Lewis toys with mysticism, but not too much; flirts with science fiction, but doesn't cross the genre line. What he does is produce a unique story that pits the staying power of love and devotion against the forces of 'fate' manipulated by the intervention of greedy men.

Well researched and thoughtfully written, this is a story you'll ponder well beyond the final page.

— Bruce Judisch

AVICUTURE IN ANCIENT ISRAEL

Mary and Joseph Present the Infant Jesus for Her Purification

Hello My Friend and Welcome.

“And when the time came for her purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord) and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.”  —Luke 2:22-24 

MEETING THE DEMANDS OF THE TEMPLE

Every Jewish mother was required to make an offering at the time of her purification following the birth of a child — 40 days after for a boy, 80 days for a girl. Here is an admittedly unscientific attempt to arrive at an estimate of the number of pigeons required for Temple sacrifice.

WORKING OUT THE NUMBERS

A)   Determine the country’s population. Josephus places the number of Jews in Jerusalem at the time of its destruction at 3,000,000. Even though the timing of Titus’s attack trapped a significant portion of the country’s population in the city, this number exceeds the space available. Tacitus places the number at a more reasonable 600,000. If 600,000 people were in Jerusalem, the total population might have been 1,000,000.

B)    Average life expectancy at that time was about 35 years. [Let’s be clear, I’m not suggesting that a person was considered “old” at 35. This average takes into account the fact that one of every two children died before the age of five.] In order to sustain a population of 1,000,000 with an average life expectancy of 35 years you need 1,000,000/35, or 28,571 new individuals a year. With the high infant mortality rates this means about 60,000 births annually.

C)    If 80% of the mothers chose the “poor option,” we need .8 x 60,000 x 2, or roughly 100,000 pigeons each year for purification sacrifices.

MEETING THE DEMAND FOR DOVES

Just as there were families that earned their living raising sacrificial lambs for Temple, clearly there had to be people who raised pigeons for the same purpose, and here’s how they did it.

Aren't they beautiful? This is a photo of the Dovecotes at the ancient city of Beit Guvrin in the Judean lowlands. Part of the Beit-Guvrin - Maresha National Park in Israel, it also features a Roman amphitheater and Tel Mareshah, which was fortified by Solomon’s son Rehoboam (2 Chron. 11:8). The area is riddled with man-made caves. The workers dug a narrow hole in the hard nari rock layer. When they reached the soft inner chalk layer they dug deeper and deeper widening and expanding the cave. These caves were used for burials, storerooms, olive presses, hideouts and dovecotes.

A CHICKEN IN VERY FEW POTS

We can be certain chickens were kept in home flocks at the time of Christ. Recall his conversation with Peter in Matthew 26:33-34 “Peter declared to him, ‘Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Truly, I say to you, this very night, before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.’”  

However, chickens were kept primarily for their eggs rather than for consumption. Only the upper classes could afford to kill a chicken or chickens for a meal since doing so meant foregoing their future contribution of eggs. Instead, the common man ate dove, or pigeon, if he was going to consume fowl. 

Thus, in addition to the necessity of meeting the demand of birds for the Temple, people also consumed them as a meat source. The secondary market, as it were, was surely as large, or larger, than the calculations above. No doubt on market day in every community throughout the land there would be people with grates of pigeons to sell.

HEROD & HIS GUESTS DINE ON SQUAB

And finally, what is perhaps the most interesting of the group. A dovecote was uncovered in the ruins of Masada. We all know that Masada was a mountaintop fortress in the Judean desert built by Herod the Great. It later became the site of a mass suicide of Zealots led by Eleazar ben Ya’ir when they were trapped by Roman troops. Talk about self-sufficiency. Not only did Herod have huge cisterns and granaries, he apparently had fresh squab whenever he wanted it as well.

Our posts on Foods of the First Century will be going on hiatus for a short time as Sowing the Seeds focuses its attention on the Chruch Calendar and the Seasons of Advent and Christmas. They will resume after the new year.

As always, we wish you Peace and Blessings.

A ROMAN CENTURION'S HELMET

Richard Burton and Jean Simmons from the Movie The Robe

Hello My Friend and Welcome.

You just never know where material for a blog post is going to come from. The thought for today’s post started as one of the pesky emails that are forwarded to you with…you guessed it…pictures attached. But these weren’t cutesy pictures of puppies, or kittens taking a bath, or even cartoons of Maxine; these were pictures of a group of statues depicting the Stations of the Cross outside Groom, TX.

A little research told me that Groom, pop. 568, is a railroad town founded in 1902 and named after Colonel B.B. Groom who established a prosperous ranch in the area. It was a stop along the Route 66 and is home to the famous Leaning Tower of Texas. (I knew you’d ask. It’s a water tower deliberately constructed with one leg shorter than the others. Hey, since they built the Interstate you have to do something to get those travelers into town.)

But little Groom really got on the map when Steve Thomas of Pampa, Texas became disgusted with the huge billboards advertising XXX pornography along I-40 and decided to make a statement of faith by building a 190 foot tall cross. It’s the tallest cross in the Northern Hemisphere, by the way. He’s since added a memorial in memory of the victims of abortion and a life-sized Stations of the Cross…a depiction of the events leading to Christ's crucifixion.

What does any of this have to do with The Life and Times of the Early Chruch, you ask? First, I’d like you to take a second look at the picture of Richard Burton and Jean Simmons at the top of this post. It’s a clip from the 1953 20^th Century Fox movie, The Robe, based on a book of the same name by Lloyd C. Douglas. The Robe tells the story of Marcellus Gallo, a Roman soldier who, while in Judea, supervised the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and won the Lord’s robe with a throw of the dice. An epic movie and the first one ever shot in CinemaScope. It won two Oscars.

Above is a second photo from the movie. Burton and Simmons, now Christian converts, have been called before Caesar to explain their behavior. Diana (Jean Simons) carries the robe over her arm. Instead of looking at her, I’d like you to take a look at the soldiers…more particularly, the helmets they’re wearing. 

Here’s another picture. This one is from the 1959 Warner Bros. epic, Ben Hur, which was also based on a book of the same name by Lew Wallace. Ben Hur tells the story of a Jewish Prince, Judah ben Hur (Charlton Heston) who was falsely sent into slavery. The movie, and its unforgettable chariot race, won 11 Oscars. Look at the helmet Quintus Arrius (Jack Hawkins) is wearing. Just like those worn in The Robe and every other Roman Empire flick you’ve ever seen, right?

So what is it about these Centurion’s helmets that makes them so interesting? Very few people know it, but they are all wrong, wrong, wrong. In each case Hollywood has the crest of the helmet running from front to back. The distinctive helmets worn by a Roman Centurion had a crest alright, but it ran from side to side. Yeah, I know it sounds a little weird, especially after watching all those Hollywood actors running around with front to back crests.

Now take a look at the picture of the statue above. It's from Groom, TX, and, lo and behold, they got it right! This is first time I have ever seen a painting, photograph, or movie still that correctly portrays the Centurion’s helmet. And, by golly, I thought it was worth sharing…even if it does make him look kinda like an Indian chief.

For those not familiar, the Stations of the Cross originated as early as the 5^th Century. Trips to Jerusalem were popular pilgrimages and the Stations were an attempt to reproduce the important shrines that one might visit while in the Holy Land for those who couldn’t make the trip. The earliest use of the word stations, as applied to the accustomed halting-places along the Via Sacra (the sacred road) in Jerusalem, occurs in the narrative of an English pilgrim, William Wey, who visited the Holy Land in the mid-1400s, and described pilgrims following the footsteps of Christ to the place of crucifixion.

The object of the Stations is to help the faithful to make a spiritual pilgrimage of prayer, through meditating upon the chief events of Christ's sufferings and death. It has become one of the most popular devotions for Roman Catholics, as well as other Christian denominations, especially on Good Friday. The number of stations has been set at 14 since the early 1700’s. You can get more information about the Stations of the Cross by clicking her to see our earlier post on the subject. And if you would like more information about the cross and statues in Groom, TX, here’s a link.

Until next time, we wish you Peace and Blessings.

RECREATING NOAH'S ARK

Johan Huibers of Holland with his Ark in the Background

Hello My Friend and Welcome.

It’s difficult to know how to categorize this post. One place to file it might be under: Men with too much time on their hands. Today we’ll be looking at two arks, one realistic, the other futuristic.

AND GOD SAID TO JOHAN HUIBERS, “MAKE THYSELF AN ARK…”

For an event that occurred nearly 6,000 years ago, Noah and his Ark remain an ever present reality. Reports of finding the remnants of the Ark on Mt. Arafat surface with surprising regularity. We reported on one such incident in an earlier post Noah’s Ark Found. One of the questions that always seems to come up is, “Could one man and his three sons actually build such a thing?”

Yohan Huibers has answered that question with a definitive, “Yes!” Like most big ideas, it began with a dream. In1992, Dutch native, Huibers had a dream that Holland would be flooded. The following day, he went to a local bookstore and bought a book about Noah's Ark. In no time at all he’d developed a burning ambition to build an ark of his own, but not as a means of survival. A devout Christian, Huibers is quick to point out that God placed the rainbow in the sky as a sign of his covenant with Noah to never again destroy the world with a flood.

The Size of Huiber's Ark is Clearly Seen when in Dry Dock

If he didn’t have survival in mind, why did he undertake a project of such Biblical proportions? Huibers hopes the project will renew interest in Christianity in the Netherlands, where, like all of Europe, church attendance has dramatically declined in the past 50 years. He also plans to take his show on the road, or more precisely on the water, and visit major cities in Belgium and Germany.

Huibers, a contractor by trade, worked from a design his wife, Biannca, drew. He admits she didn't really want him to do it, but knowing she couldn’t dissuade him, she said. “If you're going to do it, it should look like this.” He built his ark out of cedar and pine working mostly with his own hands. He used modern tools and, when he needed someone to hold the other end, got occasional help from his son Roy. It took him two years to complete the project.

BIG, BIGGER AND BIGEST

As you can tell from the photo at the top of the page, Huibers’ ark is big enough to house a giraffe. Using Biblical measurements, it is 150 cubits long, 30 cubits high and 20 cubits wide — two-thirds the length of a football field and as high as a three-story house.

When he opened the ark for tours a common comment was, “I knew the story of Noah, but I had no idea the boat would have been so big.” In fact, Noah's Ark as described in the Bible was five times larger than Johan's replica. But even his scaled down model still has enough space near the keel for a 50-seat film theater, where kids can watch the segment of the Disney film Fantasia that tells the story of Noah.

For added realism, Huibers scattered life-size models of giraffes, elephants, lions, crocodiles, zebras, bison and other animals throughout the ark. He also plans to eventually add a petting zoo on the upper deck. In any project such as this, one must always weigh practicality against realism. Looking closely, you’ll notice that Huibers mounted his ark atop a barge rather than float it in the water. In doing so, he avoids the problems of rot and leaks that Noah undoubtedly had to deal with.

FROM REALISTIC TO FUTURISTIC
Rather than a traveling exhibit, this next ark exists only on paper…well, more correctly, only as pixels, bits and bytes. It is the brainchild of Russian architect, Alexander Remizov. Unlike Yohan Huibers, whose desire to build an ark was fueled by strong religious convictions, Remizov’s motives are purely secular.

Alexander Remizov's Futuristic Ark

He began with a belief not in God, but in modern technology’s ability to counteract the effects of nature. His response to the growing concern about potential natural disasters such as earthquakes, tidal waves, global warming, melting polar icecaps, and even old-fashioned floods, is to design a way around them. He’s a high-tech survivalist who plans to ride out the coming annihilation not in some dismal underground hideaway, but in a football-field-size floating biosphere

EVERYTHING FROM SOUPS TO NUTS

Mr. Remizov's architectural firm, Remistudio teamed with the International Union of Architects to create a modern version of Noah's Ark. His Ark Hotel will begin life as a land-based structure. However, when the bad times come and flood waters overtake it, the building will simply rise out of the ground and float away. It is designed to be self-sustaining. Collection devices will capture rainwater, solar panels will convert sunlight to energy and interior greenhouses will produce food. 

Remizov's Ark Becomes Sea-Borne in the Event of a Flood

Like most modern architecture, the appearance of the Ark Hotel is strange and vaguely futuristic. It looks like a high-tech Slinky pulled from the set of a Sci-Fi movie. The design utilizes hi-tech plastics and a combination of wind, solar and thermal energy. The design can be scaled from small to very, very large. In its initial state it would provide housing for between 5,000 and 10,000 people.

 

It is planned to be independent of any external support systems, such as hydro or electricity, allowing the structure to exist in any locale or climate. Remizov envisions these self-contained survival pods scattered about the earth. “The building would have an organized community with everything necessary for its prosperity and growth. I think that The Ark is a new prototype in the development of green architecture,” he said.

 Our post-Christian world seems to have forgotten that Utopia was a fictional concept.

Until next time, we wish you Peace and Blessings.

OLIVES, OIL AND THE GETHSEMANE

The Mount of Olives in Jerusalem

Hello My Friend and Welcome.

The word Gethsemane appears in the Greek of the Gospel of Matthew (26:36) and the Gospel of Mark (14:32) as Γεθσημανἱ (Gethsēmani).  The name is derived from the Assyrian Gaṯ-Šmānê, meaning “oil press.” Luke (22:39) speaks of them going to the Mount of Olives, but says nothing of a Gethsemane.  We get the phrase “the Agony in the Garden” from John (18:1), which says Jesus entered a garden (κῆπος) with his disciples.  Combining the two, we end up with the familiar Garden of Gethsemane. Tradition locates a Gethsemane on the lower slopes of the Mount of Olives, but the exact spot remains unknown.

The olive tree is native to the Mediterranean basin; wild olives were collected by Neolithic peoples as early as the 8th millennium BC. The wild olive tree originated in Asia Minor…now modern Turkey. A widespread view exists that the first cultivation took place on the island of Crete. The earliest surviving olive oil amphorae date to 3500 BC (Early Minoan times), though the production of olives is assumed to have started before 4000 BC.

An Ancient Oil Press

The olive tree and its oil were major components in the culture and rituals of Ancient Israel and the economy of its inhabitants. Its prominent status is revealed by numerous verses in the Old and New Testament, the Mishnah and the Talmud.

 The olive tree served as a symbol of beauty (Isaiah 11, 16), freshness and fertility “your sons are like shoots of olive around your table” (Psalms). In (Judges 9,8),  Jotham tells the fable of the trees choosing the olive tree as their king. The Holy Land and the olive tree are a “land of olive and oil” (Deut 8, 8) and later “olive trees will be growing everywhere” (Deut 28, 40).

Proof of the importance and antiquity of olive oil can be found in the word’s origins.  Our English word oil derives from Anglo-French olie, which came from the Latin oleum “oil, olive oil” from Gk. elaion “olive tree”, which may was derived from the Phoenician use of el'yon meaning “superior.”

As long as we’re on the eytomology of words and phrases, it’s interesting to note that the first manmade floor covering was composed of linseed oil combined with wood flour or cork dust, powdered limestone and color pigments over a jute or canvas backing. Its name was derived from the Latin names for two natural materials: flax (linum) and oil (oleum)…linoleum. As you can see, it is all natural, whereas vinyl flooring is composed of petrochemicals. Perhaps you’re old enough to remember when the stores sold something called oleomargarine as a butter substitute. Do you also remember smoshing the packet of yellow food coloring into the white block of margarine?

A One-Man Oil Press

As early as 2,000 BC, Dynastic Egyptians imported olive oil from Crete, Syria and Canaan making oil an important item of commerce and wealth. Remains of olive oil have been found in jugs over 4,000 years old in a tomb on the island of Naxos in the Aegean Sea. Sinuhe, the Egyptian exile who lived in northern Canaan about 1960 BC, wrote of abundant olive trees.

The first recorded oil extraction is known from the Hebrew Bible and took place during the Exodus from Egypt, during the 13th century BC. During this time, the oil was derived through hand-squeezing the berries and stored in special containers under guard of the priests. Over 100 olive presses have been found in Tel Miqne (Ekron), where the Biblical Philistines also produced oil. These presses are estimated to have had output of between 1,000 and 3,000 tons of olive oil per season.

A Two-Man Oil Press

The fruit and its oil were major constituents of the ancient Israelites diet. Olive oil was used for cooking, fueling lamps, as an emollient for grooming and conditioning the skin and hair, as well as a healing balm. Olive oil was used in the Temple sacrifices. Anointing of any type was always been done with olive oil…a practice carried over into the early Church.  This chrism, oil blessed by the Bishop, was used at Baptism, ordinations, anointing of sick, and at Last Rites.

The Kingdom of Israel founded several industrial villages devoted to the production of oil, probably under royal auspices. Two examples of such sites were found at the Kla’ and Khirbet Khadash sites. In provincial towns in the hill country and mountain region of Judea, industrial areas become part of urban planning. Such a royal economy during King David's rule is spelled out in Chronicles 27:25-31, where the names of the various officials administering the king’s holdings are listed.

Surprisingly, the region of Galilee apparently did not share in mass production during the biblical period. Only 14 oil presses (compared to hundreds in Samaria and Judea) dated to the tenth to eighth century BC have been found. The Phoenicians brought an improved system utilizing a peripheral collecting to their colony at Tel Shiqmona. This colony served as the royal administrative center of the Land of Kavool, which was given by King Solomon to King Hiram of Tyre (Zor in Hebrew). During the third century BC the center of oil production in the Judean Hills moved to the Sidonite colony of Maresha, where 18 oil press caves were carved in the soft limestone around the city.

Olives, by weight, can contain up to 25% oil and getting it is a two-step process. First, the olives must be crushed. A crushing mill consisted of a large, circular stone upon which a millstone (memel) was placed. The memel was rotated around a central axis, rolling over the olives and crushing them.

Remains of a Donkey-Powered Mill

The remains of large mills where an animal was harnessed to the axle of the millstone and would turn the stone by walking a continuous circle.

After crushing and breaking them, the olive pulp was gathered and taken for pressing in aqalim, baskets woven of coarse fabric or ropes. The aqalim were squeezed in a press and the olive oil was extracted as a result of this action. The baskets served as a filter whereby the liquid dripped out leaving the pits and pulp waste behind. Later improvements to the process included the addition of troughs that drained the oil into holding vats. In larger facilities, several presses might all feed a central vat.

A Large Lever Press that Used Weights for Crushing

The first use of a mechanic pressing tool dates to around 1500 BC. The system used a large beam that acted as a lever. One end of the beam was held stationary and weights were hung from the other. As the weighed of the beam was mechanically lowered, it gradually raised the force applied to the olive pulp in the aqalim, forcing out the oil. During the Byzantine era this method was supplanted by the introduction of a direct screw press that allowed the user to continue cranking a plate, or large piece of wood, down against a crushing basin with increasing pressure.

Olive trees were planted across the entire Mediterranean basin during the period of the Roman republic and empire. According to the historian Pliny, Italy had "excellent olive oil at reasonable prices" by the first century AD, "the best in the Mediterranean." Thus olive oil was very common in Hellenistic and Latin cuisine. According to legend, the city of Athens obtained its name because Athenians considered olive oil essential, preferring the offering of the goddess Athena (an olive tree) over the offering of Poseidon (a spring of salt water gushing out of a cliff).

Until next time, we wish you Peace and Blessings.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES

Sroll of the Torah on the Bimah, Reading Stand, in a Synagogue

Hello My Friend and Welcome.

This the second post in our series on the Bible. If you missed the first post, you can read it here. 2011 marks the 400^th anniversary of the publication of the King James Bible and this seemed to be an opportune time to do a series such as this.

THE HEBREW BIBLE OR THE OLD TESTAMENT?

Today we’re going to examine the development of the portion of the Bible you may have grown accustomed to calling the Old Testament. Keep in mind that calling it the Old Testament presumes there is a New Testament. The portion of the Bible consisting of the Gospels, Acts of the Apostles, Epistles and Revelation contains distinctly Christian writings. To the Jews there is no New Covenant and, thus, no New Testament. Therefore, a more correct name for the earlier books of the Bible would be the Jewish, or Hebrew, Bible.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE TANAKH

In its earliest form, the Hebrew Bible existed as an oral tradition passed on from one generation to another by the Priests and Scholars. In its written form, it is known as the Tanakh (Hebrew: תַּנַ"ךְ‎, pronounced as təˈnax). This name is used in Judaism for the entire canon of the Hebrew Bible. The Tanakh is also known as the Masoretic Text or the Miqra. The name is an acronym formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Masoretic Text's three subdivisions: The Torah (Teaching, also known by its Greek name the Pentateuch, The Law, or the Five Books of Moses)…Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy; The Nevi'im (Prophets) and Ketuv’im (Writings)—hence TNK or Tanakh. The name Miqra (מקרא), meaning that which is read, is an alternative Hebrew term for the Tanakh.

DEVELOPING THE CANON OF THE HEBREW BIBLE

Biblically speaking, a canon, from the Greek kanon meaning rule or measure, is a list of books considered to be authoritative as scripture by a particular religious community. According to the Talmud much of the contents of the Tanakh was compiled by the Men of the Great Assembly in 450 BC. They examined the oral traditions as well as written copies of the various books and from them developed a definitive text.

Now they had the books, but a canon had yet to be decided upon. There is no scholarly consensus as to when the Jewish canon was finalized. A popular position is that the Torah was canonized circa 400 BC, the Prophets circa 200 BC, and the Writings circa 100 CE. Others argue that the Hasmonean dynasty (140-37 BC) fixed the Jewish canon. And still others claim it was established during the transition to Rabbinical Judaism which occurred after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 AD.

Clearly it remained in a state of flux well into the First Century. This is clear from the twenty-four books mentioned in the Midrash whereas the Jewish historian Josephus, describes 22 sacred books when writing Against Apion.

The Entire Tanakh on Scrools

PUTTING IN AND TAKING OUT

Creating a canon involves making both negative and positive choices. It is necessary to not only decide what belongs, but also what doesn’t belong. For instance, there were Early Christian writings that were widely read and considered worthy for teaching and edification that did not make it into the New Testament. The same is true of the Hebrew Bible.

Included in the list of books discarded from the canon is the Book of Jasher, or the Book of the Just. It is mentioned in Joshua 10:13 and 2 Samuel 1:18 and seems to have been a collection of poetry. The Book of the Wars of the Lord, referenced in Numbers 21:14, was also excluded.

The Book of Shemaiah the prophet, and of Iddo the Seer (also called Story of the Prophet Iddo or The Annuals of the Prophet Iddo) is mentioned in 2 Chr 9:29, 12:15, 13:22. Iddo was a seer who lived during the reigns of Solomon, Rehoboam, and Abijah. His deeds were recorded in this book, which has been completely lost to history, save for its title. However, it is interesting to note that Zechariah was the son of Iddo (Ezra 5:1, Zechariah 1:1). Additionally, The Manner of the Kingdom, mentioned in 1Samuel 10:25, The Acts of Solomon, The Annals of King David, The Book of Nathan the Prophet, also called The Acts of Nathan the Prophet, The Book of Gad the Seer, The Acts of Uziah, The Book of Enoch, The Sayings of the Seer and The Book of Jubilees are all books that didn’t make the cut. 

There are also significant differences in the arrangement and the way the books are counted.

The Jews count 24, Protestants 39, Catholics 46, and Orthodox Christians up to 53. Part of the reason for this is the way in which the books are subdivided. In the Hebrew Bible, The Twelve Minor Prophets are considered one book, while in Christian Bibles they count as twelve separate books. The arrangement of the books is also different. The later prophets come before the Writings in the Hebrew Bible, whereas all of the prophets come after the Wisdom Literature in a Christian Bible. The books are even categorized differently. In the Hebrew Bible 1&2 Chronicles, Ezra-Nehemiah, Esther, Ruth and Lamentations are part of the Writings. In the Christian Bibles these books are placed with the Historical Books.

One way of looking at it is both the Christian Old Testament and the Hebrew Bible consist of four sections. In the Hebrew Bible it is: Torah, Nevi’im A, Nevi’im B, and Ketuv’im. For the Christian Old Testament it is: The Law, the Historical Books, the Wisdom Books, and the Prophets. Of those four, only the Law or Torah is the same in both Bibles.

The final list of the Hebrew Bible consists of the five books of the Torah, and in the Jewish format, the nineteen books of the Nevi’im, Former Prophets, consisting of Joshua, Judges, Samuel (I & II), Kings (I & II), and Nevi’im, Latter Prophets, consisting of the three Major Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Book of the Twelve: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi along with the eleven books of the Ketuv’im: Psalms, Proverbs, Job, The Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah, and Chronicles (I & II). This makes a total of 24 Books in the Hebrew Bible.

An Essene Studying the Scriptures

After Christmas we’ll look at what the Dead Sea Scrolls can tell us about the development of the Hebrew Bible, among other topics relating to development and structure of the Bible as we know it. We’ll also spend time examining the process instituted by King James of England as well as other famous translations.

 

Until then, we wish you Peace and Blessings