Eating Dairy Foods
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It is customary to eat dairy foods on the first day of Shavuot. There are a number of reasons for this custom. Here are a few:
- On the holiday of Shavuot, a two-loaf bread offering was brought in the Temple. To commemorate this, we eat two meals on Shavuot—first a dairy meal, and then, after a short break, we eat the traditional holiday meat meal.
- With the giving of the Torah, the Jews became obligated to observe the kosher laws. As the Torah was given on Shabbat, no cattle could be slaughtered nor could utensils be koshered, and thus on that day they ate dairy.
- The Torah is likened to nourishing milk. Also, the Hebrew word for milk is chalav, and when the numerical values of each of the letters in the word chalav are added together—8 + 30 + 2—the total is forty. Forty is the number of days Moses spent on Mount Sinai when receiving the Torah.
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When Moses ascended Mount Sinai, the angels urged G‑d to reconsider His decision to give His most precious Torah to earthly beings. “Bestow Your majesty upon the heavens . . . What is man that You should remember him, and the son of man that You should be mindful of him?” (Psalms 8:2–4). One of the reasons why the angels’ request went unheeded is because of the Jews’ meticulous adherence to the laws of the Torah—including the kosher laws. Not so the angels, who when visiting Abraham consumed butter and milk together with meat (Genesis 18:8). On Shavuot we therefore eat dairy products and then take a break before eating meat—in order to demonstrate our commitment to this mitzvah.
Click here for traditional Shavuot dairy recipes
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Latest Comments:
The harmful effect of dairy is no limited to its lactose content.
The chunks of the dairy protein (peptides) entering the blood stream are confusing the immune system. The antibodies created against those dairy peptides attack various tissues in the body leading to autoimmune diseases, diabetes type 1 and cancer.
The dairy fat blocks the intake of insulin by the cells and causes diabetes type 2.
Dairy is responsible for 800 disease caused by dairy.
If you love the Jewish people, tell all your fellow Jews to stay away from dairy products.
I pray that our Arab/Muslim enemies all eat dairy; may they all grow fat, get diabetes, heart diseases, strokes, arthritis, lupus, may, and may they all suffer from impotence, due to clogging of the arteries leading to their erectile tissues!
May the Jewish people be smart enough to stay away from that poison!`
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Also, I heard that "Chalav" (milk) has a "gematria" (numeric equivalent) of 40, which corresponds to the 40 days & Nights that Moses was up on Sinai :)
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I have found that when I drink pasterurized milk or eat cheese made from pasteurized milk, I get sick. When I drink raw milk or eat cheese made from raw milk, I do not experience any symptoms of lactose intolerance.
As for soy, any unfermented soy is inherently unhealthy, far worse than milk.
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My father was the milkman that came to your home each moring and placed the ordered millk in that little metal box. I drank lots of milk and never had problems. When I became an adult, I found out that I could not digest regular milk. Today, there are many people with this condition. The stores now have so much variety for people with lactose intollerance. It tastes great and offers the same benefits of Vitamin D and calcium which is so important especially when you age.
I do not know where these individuals are getting their infomation but as with any diet anything in moderation is good for you.
In fact, my sister could not drink milk in formula as a child so she was given soy. It takes a liitle getting use to but it is good for you. She still drinks non milk products and is enjoying it. I might add that she is asthmatic and has osteoperosis as a result of the steriod medications she had to take in order to live. So don't blame milk.
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I think you missed the whole "historically" part of my previous statement :P
In a time when food wasn't so abundant, cows milk and the foods you could make from it were kind of essential.
a. Didn't I say low-fat / skim dairy was probably better for you? *scratches head*
b. Fruits. vegetables, and nuts that contain calcium weren't always available all year round.
c. Mind if you send me the link for that study? I would think that other things you eat or drink (like soda or coffee, which is infinitely more acidic) would be worse for you.
d. Yogurt = prebiotic = good thing.
3. Can I see some statistics on that?
:P
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1. Majority of Jews cannot digest lactose.
2. The statement "historically, animal milk was good thing ..." is misguided:
a. Nobody who is not starving (with the exception of some alcoholics) suffers from protein deficiency. We need very little protein per day, and we get it easily from any source. We need to worry about excess not deficiency!
b. Cow fat in milk is main cause of arteriosclerosis.
c. While dairy products do contain a lot of calcium, they do not improve bone density, they are decalsifying the bones. This has been shown in several population studies. The more dairy intake the more neck of femur fractures.
d. Yogurt is just as harmful as milk and cheese is many times more harmful as it is much, much fat and and has more of the harmful proteins. (Dairy proteins cause cancer, and destroy pancreas in the babies.)
3. Dairy is definitely killing many times more Jews than all the Arabs and other antisemites combined.
4. Low-fat dairy may be slightly less deadly.
Stay away!
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Historically, animal milk was a good thing: lots of fat, protein, and calcium. It was easily stockpiled. Also, it allowed for the creation of dairy products, such as cheese and yogurt, each having its own unique benefits toward human health.
Do we need all of the fat from whole milk in today's day and age? Probably not. Is it going to kill us? No. Is low-fat or skim milk better for you? Probably. Was cow's milk ever meant to be a substitute for human milk in infants? No, recent advances in baby formula ingredients prove that. Does the consumption of milk lead to health problems in some individuals? Yes. Should everyone avoid drinking milk because of those individuals? No.
Just my two cents.
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Indeed, your evidence is only anecdotal. I am happy that you are healthy. On the other hand there have been tens, perhaps hundreds of studies showing the detrimental effects of dairy on our health.
And the detrimental effects are not caused by "non-organic" cows. It is caused by dairy as such, even from the healthiest cows.
Dairy is simply not for humans, it is for little bulls and cows. It is designed to make that little calf to a huge bull in just one year. It is also likely to make anyone who takes them, fat and unhealthy.
The biggest study on that subject is the "China Study", or "China Project". The statistical error in it is virtually ZERO due to the excellent design and a huge size of the population.
There have been huge studies in other countries: Finland (where they traced people from birth to past 20 and found direct correlation between dairy intake and diabetes.) United states and Australia studies of total 100,0000 women shows that dairy INCREASES osteoporosis. Etc, etc...
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Veet Vivarto, I don't doubt that you believe what you are saying is true, but I happen to consume a LOT of dairy and I don't have the same medical problems you point out. I did notice a big improvement in my health when I reduced my meat intake (note: REDUCED, not eliminated). Things to consider giving up include artificial colors and flavorings and things containing excessive caffeine. I sincerely doubt consuming dairy JUST for Shavous would have any long-term health effects. After all, I drink on Purim and on Pesach and nothing bad happens. If I drank that way every day, I'd certainly have some liver trouble, I'm sure. Before you go cautioning people off observing rich traditions and customs, consider the positive effects of eating kosher. Look it up. There's plenty of evidence.
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If you want to not have the colds, flus, allergy problems from milk - drink ORGANIC milk. It does not have the pus, hormones, or added antibiotics that regular cows are pumped full of. Organic dairy herds are cared for better than non-organic. As for lactose intolerance, there IS lactose-free organic milk, I'm severely lactose intolerant and I've been drinking organic lactose-free milk for several years without problems. I am also less sick since I've switched to organic.
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