Congregation Shema Yisrael

Author: Hope Egan
Format: Paperback, 161 pages
Publisher: First Fruits of Zion (March 2005)
ISBN-10: 189212419X
ISBN-13: 978-1892124197

Speak to the Children of Israel, saying: These are the creatures that you may eat from among all the animals that are upon the earth. Everything among the animals that has a split hoof, which is completely separated into double hooves, and that brings up its cud – that you may eat. But this is what you shall not eat from among those that bring up their cud or that have split hooves: the camel, for it brings up its cud, but its hoof is not split – it is unclean for you… -Leviticus 11:2-4

While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon’s house was and stopped at the gate. They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there. While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three men are looking for you. So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.” Peter went down and said to the men, “I’m the one you’re looking for. Why have you come?” The men replied, “We have come from Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is respected by all the Jewish people. A holy angel told him to have you come to his house so that he could hear what you have to say.” Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests. -Acts 10:17-23 (NIV)

Most Christians believe that the passage quoted from Leviticus 11 established the dietary laws for the ancient Jewish people and that Peter’s vision in Acts 10 (among other scriptures) reversed God’s original decision. Hope Egan, in her 2005 book, examined these assumptions by taking a fresh look at the Bible. Her conclusions weren’t particularly surprising to me, but then I’m not the primary audience for her book; Evangelical Christianity is.

Egan is what most folks would call a “Messianic Jew”; a Jewish person who has accepted Yeshua (Jesus) as the Jewish Messiah, and as the hope to the Gentiles for salvation and reconciliation with God. That said, her book isn’t about issues of salvation. Most Christians who consider the Messianic or One Law movement, assume that we are all “under the Law”, meaning that we believe we must keep all of the Torah commandments to “earn” and maintain our salvation. This is in spite of the fact, that no one who I worship with, or who I’ve met in the movement, actually holds to such a notion. Egan points out quite clearly and accurately, that we are all saved by faith, just as Abraham was, and just as the Children of Israel in Sinai were, and our obedience to God’s commandments is a response to God’s grace and kindness. Torah is God’s written instructions defining His preferred lifestyle for the already redeemed community. These instructions include the dietary commandments. God cares about what we eat.

Actually, there are several sections of Egan’s book that work quite well as a general “Messianic primer”. In order to make her points, she had to present some of the basics about the One Law or Hebrew Roots movement (or whatever “label” you want to use). I was delighted to see these portions in her book, because it saves the reader who is a novice about “Messianics”, a lot of research. It also saves such a reader, from going online and running into some of the rather odd theologies that occasionally are associated with our movement. Egan provides a straightforward, Bible-based presentation of Messianics as Jews and Gentiles, worshiping together “in spirit and in truth”.

Egan also included a section of her book that was helpful in illuminating my wife’s and my recent decision to kasher our kitchen, and to keep a more Rabbinicly kosher lifestyle (from my previous article, Going Kosher). She specifically pointed out the benefits of raising an animal intended for human consumption, in a manner consistent with the original intent of God’s Word (but not necessarily consistent with how meat animals are currently raised in America), and how killing the animal in a kosher fashion, is both more merciful to the animal, and more healthy for the people who will eat it.

The author does tend to consider keeping two sets of dishes (meat and dairy), and many of the other Rabbinic practices to be going too far, which makes sense if your template for understanding Kosher is the Bible and only the Bible. On the other hand, Egan does discuss some of the issues with eating meat and dairy in the same meal, in terms of the effect on human digestion, so it’s not something to be completely disregarded, either.

I know what you’re thinking (if you are uncertain about the Kosher laws still being valid). What about Mark 7:1-23 where “Jesus declared all meats clean”, and Acts 10, when Peter had the vision of God telling him to eat unclean meats? Those are very clearly explained in a way that makes sense, and shows that God didn’t actually change his mind (or that Jesus didn’t decide to override Leviticus 11). Actually, Egan had some help with this part.

In the various chapters of the book, there are references to small articles that provide more information. These articles are also in the book, contained in Part II: Man Alive! There’s More!, after Egan’s narrative is finished. First Fruits of Zion’s (FFOZ) D. Thomas Lancaster contributed some supplementary material, taken largely from different volumes of his Torah Club tutorials. These articles are an invaluable part of the book, because they organize in one place, all of the “proof texts” for why Christians have no issues eating pork roast and shrimp scampi, and interprets their meaning, minus modern Christian theology filtering the view (and without the “filter”, you can see Peter explaining in Acts 11, that God was telling him it’s the non-Jewish people who are “clean”, not baby-back ribs and calamari).

For the Messianic, this book, and especially Part II, makes it amazingly easy to organize our thoughts and sources, in order to respond to people who ask why we (particularly Gentiles) believers in Jesus hold to the Biblical kosher practices. For the non-Messianic believer, I can only imagine the book will be a real eye opener and in fact, it will take an open mind to read and absorb all the points, without reflexively rejecting the suggestion that God cares about what we eat.

I have no intention of being critical of mainstream Christianity in my comments about Kosher or in this book review, although I know I’ve made statements that might indicate the contrary. I am suggesting though, that Christian readers who believe God has no behavioral expectations of them (us), should please set aside what you’ve been taught, and the assumptions connected with “the New Covenant”, and to read the text for what it says. There’s nothing presented that can’t be found in the Bible, and no extraordinary interpretations of scripture are required to come to Egan’s (and Lancaster’s) conclusions.

God does care about what we eat, but not because we are saved or unsaved by eating or not eating bacon with our scrambled eggs. God cares because He cares about every aspect of our lives. When He included lifestyle directives in the Bible, He did so, not to make life restrictive and uncomfortable, but for our benefit. Parents “restrict” their children all the time to protect them and benefit them, why would God act any differently toward His children (us)?

I highly recommend Hope Egan’s Holy Cow! Does God Care About What We Eat?. It’s been out for a few years, so you can purchase it on Amazon for an extremely modest fee. That means, you have no excuse not to pick up a copy and have a go at it. I promise, it’s worth the price of admission. After you read it, you’ll never look at a ham sandwich on rye the same way again (if at all). Bon appetit.