11 November 2008

Blogging Leviticus, part 2



Check out The Brick Testament, which is a lot of fun--and really, how often can you say that about Leviticus?

Leviticus chapters 5 through ten get further into the niceties of atonement and sacrifice: when you need to find an unblemished goat, calf, or ram and bring them to the priest; when and how the sons of Aaron make cereal (actually, frybread) offerings; and which priests get the white meat and which the drumsticks. Moses and Aaron put their newfound knowledge into practice, sort of like doing a comprehensive hands-on exam, only in front of G*d, which I suspect would be nerve-wracking--especially since if you mess up (as did Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu), you'll die on the spot.

Whew. At last, in Leviticus 11, we get into familiar territory: what's kosher and what's not. Now here's a whole chapter on eating that, I think, offers raw material for California's next proposition. By the way, check out God Hates Shrimp to find some suggestions for Levitical political action. 

Having just returned from Quebec City, a lovely place with a native cuisine that makes much of maple syrup and wild game (boar knuckles, caribou bourguignon--not kidding!), I'm feeling rather inured to meat-shock. Oh, okay, I've come to tell myself. People will eat almost anything. My father, for example, used to buy jars of pickled pigs' feet and snack on them, can be counted on to eat giblets at Thanksgiving, and has reported having eaten such things as only Anthony Bourdain might encounter on an extreme food tour.

But back to Leviticus. I'm pretty sure that Dad hasn't ever eaten rock badger or camel, so that's good. His having eaten rabbits, seafood, horse, and snake ("tastes like chicken," he says) is trouble, though. 

And me without an unblemished goat.....

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