Still rainin'....

[fiberaddict]

it paused during the Cowboy's game yesterday, and stayed clear for about 1.5 hours afterwards. Just long enough for Sweet Geek to dig the last 3 holes for the barn. Then it hit again. It's weird - I was watching the weather channel yesterday, and it LOOKS like hurricane-rain...only, we've had NO hurricane. :shrug: Just reporting...

4 repeats to go on the sock! :huzzah:

Now..a question that I honestly want an answer to - if there are any Jews in the audience, please feel free to educate me. I understand the commandment: Honor the Sabbath and keep it Holy. I also understand the whole "do no work" part....but.....

OK. Some orthodox Jews do NOT flip a light switch on the Sabbath, because it's "work". I...can't think like that, but OK. I get that. However, what do you do with your animals on the Sabbath? I mean, if turning a light switch on is "work", so is feeding your dog, right?

Well....you can't NOT feed a horse for 24 hours, or you're setting yourself up for a nice case of colic. (You also can NOT "free feed" them - same thing, or laminitus (spelling...it sucketh)/founder can/probably will occur). You can't NOT milk your dairy animal - not only will you be losing production, you will also cause harm to the udder (and possibly - in a worse-case scenario - Death of the animal). Chickens don't stop laying eggs and eating/drinking on the Sabbath - do you just refuse to top off the feeders and waterers or collect eggs (you'll lose some - the hens'll peck the eggs, learn they taste good, and you have a major problem on your hands)? You can't NOT drop hay/feed to cows/goats - their rumens HAVE to be kept busy, or they could die.

I mean...I'm trying to understand this. I don't get the whole "I can't watch TV on the Sabbath because turning on the TV is "work" or (and this is what brought this up) "I can't turn on a crockpot at the start of the Sabbath because that is "work", so I need receipes for long-time cooking". :scratches head: By this thinking, you can't take a bath on the Sabbath, because turing on the water would be "work", you can't pour yourself water from the 'fridge/sink, because, again, turning the handle would be "work" (I'm not be snarky here - it just stands to reason to me that if flipping a light switch is "work", then so is turning on a water faucet (which..by the way - how would you put out a fire, should one threaten your property? That would be work....))

I get that you don't want to use your horse/donkey/ox for plowing on the Sabbath - that's definatly work. What about riding? My horses are "lawn ornaments"/"grass maggots"/loafers that don't do ANYTHING except grace me with their presence most of the time. Would a slow, leisurely trail ride be considered "work"?

Again, not trying to be snarky, I'm just wanting to understand. Any info would be appreciated!

Comments

[oakenking.livejournal.com]

I don't know a lot of the rules... but I lived with a Jewish family for five years, and picked up a bunch of little things. One of my friends told me that the light switch issue was actually related to a prohibition against kindling a fire - the same reason that the slow-baking things could be simmered for hours, but the fire had to be lit before sundown on Friday. She said that flipping a light switch often makes a small spark when the contact connects, and that was considered "kindling a fire."

Don't know what to tell you about the animal issues - we didn't have anything but cats and dogs, and they got fed.