When is a swarm a plague?
07/03/13 04:29
There is some controversy among Christians about whether or not, and if so, when it is appropriate for Christians to observe the entire Passover meal known as the Seder. Each year many churches offer a “Christian” Seder, usually by modifying the Haggadah liturgy and adding a communion service around the ritual eating of matzos and raising of the cup. From a Christian perspective, there are plenty of Biblical references to the Seder meal, most notably Luke 22:15: “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.” From a Jewish perspective, it may seem more like Christians are adopting a ceremony from their tradition and modifying it.
Earlier in my career I did officiate at a number of Seder meals, observing the practices outlined in the Haggadah. I even recited prayers in Hebrew to add to the effect. But these days, I believe that it is probably only appropriate to observe the Seder in a Jewish context. If invited by my Jewish friends, I attend and participate. But I don’t try to modify the ceremony or presume to be a leader in my own context. Instead, we use the rites and traditions of the church for the celebration of the sacrament of communion, making appropriate references to the Exodus tradition and the Passover.
During Holy Week our calendars line up. Passover 2013 officially begins with sundown on Tuesday March 26, and continues through sundown on Monday, April 1. During that time, Christians will observe Holy Week and Easter. There are may traditions associated with the observation of Passover, and most involve the recounting of the Biblical story of God rescuing the Hebrew slaves from Egypt under the leadership of Moses.
Part of the storytelling is the recalling of the 10 plagues that are visited upon Pharaoh and Egypt:
1. Water is turned into blood.
2. Frogs
3. Gnats or Lice
4. Flies
5. Livestock Disease
6. Boils
7. Thunder and Hail
8. Locusts
9. Darkness
10. Death of the Firstborn
It appears that there is a plague of devastating proportions going on in Israel right now. Huge swarms of locusts are darkening the skies over southern Israel and Gaza, migrating from neighboring Egypt. The locusts can be devastating to agriculture. Farmers near the border with Egypt are reporting crop losses that exceed 33%.
Unlike the plague in the Bible, however, the response to the swarms of locusts is decidedly high tech. Pesticides are being sprayed from the ground and from aircraft in order to kill the locusts and save the crops from further devastation.
Some, however, are taking a different approach. Orthodox Jews have been coming from the north down to the southern part of the country to collect the insects for eating. They get up early in the morning. Locusts don’t fly at night and they are easy to capture before the sun warms them. Then the insects are gathered into bags and bottles. According to those who are collecting the insects to eat, they are Kosher according to scripture. They simply put the bugs into the oven and roast them lightly. They come out crispy and crunchy. I understand that a bit of barbecue sauce really make them tasty. Others prefer to fry the insects for a tasty treat. I haven’t ever eaten locusts to my knowledge. I would, however, recommend that the locust harvesters at least be aware of the spraying in the area. I wouldn’t recommend eating the bugs once they have had contact with pesticides.
Even though the numbers of locusts are high, it doesn’t appear that they will be as terrible as those mentioned in Exodus: “And they shall cover the face of the earth, that one cannot be able to see the earth: and they shall eat the residue of that which is escaped, which remains unto you from the hall, and shall eat every tree which grows for you out of the field.” (Ex.10:5)
And, as far as I know, there are no contemporary sages who are interpreting the current infestation as a sign of God. Then again, Pharaoh doesn’t get it in the book of Exodus. It takes two more plagues before he agrees to let the people go and once he does release the slaves, he quickly rethinks his decision and sends his army to recover them and return them to slavery. The story is dramatic enough to be a movie script. Then again that movie has already been made.
Periodic infestations of locusts in the region are relatively common. These locusts probably hatched in the deserts of Sudan and moved north in search of food. By the time they reach Israel, they encounter weather that is decidedly cooler and the reproduction rates slow with the colder nights.
According to the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture, the infestation has been a real problem in that country as well especially in Cairo, Upper Egypt, the Canal area, the Red Sea area and El Arish as well as the border areas on the Sinai Peninsula.
And we still have three weeks before Passover. The timing of the insects seems to be off a bit. By that time the pesticides, the weather and those who collect the insects for food will have done their work. There probably won’t be an unusually high number of locusts crossing the borders in the Middle East.
It is probably just as well this way. After all, lamb is the traditional main dish of the Seder meal. It needs to be specially prepared with great care. There are plenty of rules governing the slaughter, cooking and eating of the Passover lamb in the Bible. And there are rules about teaching our children the story of Exodus and rules about making sure that our people never forget the events of slavery and the power of God that brought us out of the land of Egypt and into the place that God promised.
A quick check of my Bible this morning, however, didn’t reveal any recipes for cooking locusts.
Earlier in my career I did officiate at a number of Seder meals, observing the practices outlined in the Haggadah. I even recited prayers in Hebrew to add to the effect. But these days, I believe that it is probably only appropriate to observe the Seder in a Jewish context. If invited by my Jewish friends, I attend and participate. But I don’t try to modify the ceremony or presume to be a leader in my own context. Instead, we use the rites and traditions of the church for the celebration of the sacrament of communion, making appropriate references to the Exodus tradition and the Passover.
During Holy Week our calendars line up. Passover 2013 officially begins with sundown on Tuesday March 26, and continues through sundown on Monday, April 1. During that time, Christians will observe Holy Week and Easter. There are may traditions associated with the observation of Passover, and most involve the recounting of the Biblical story of God rescuing the Hebrew slaves from Egypt under the leadership of Moses.
Part of the storytelling is the recalling of the 10 plagues that are visited upon Pharaoh and Egypt:
1. Water is turned into blood.
2. Frogs
3. Gnats or Lice
4. Flies
5. Livestock Disease
6. Boils
7. Thunder and Hail
8. Locusts
9. Darkness
10. Death of the Firstborn
Unlike the plague in the Bible, however, the response to the swarms of locusts is decidedly high tech. Pesticides are being sprayed from the ground and from aircraft in order to kill the locusts and save the crops from further devastation.
Some, however, are taking a different approach. Orthodox Jews have been coming from the north down to the southern part of the country to collect the insects for eating. They get up early in the morning. Locusts don’t fly at night and they are easy to capture before the sun warms them. Then the insects are gathered into bags and bottles. According to those who are collecting the insects to eat, they are Kosher according to scripture. They simply put the bugs into the oven and roast them lightly. They come out crispy and crunchy. I understand that a bit of barbecue sauce really make them tasty. Others prefer to fry the insects for a tasty treat. I haven’t ever eaten locusts to my knowledge. I would, however, recommend that the locust harvesters at least be aware of the spraying in the area. I wouldn’t recommend eating the bugs once they have had contact with pesticides.
And, as far as I know, there are no contemporary sages who are interpreting the current infestation as a sign of God. Then again, Pharaoh doesn’t get it in the book of Exodus. It takes two more plagues before he agrees to let the people go and once he does release the slaves, he quickly rethinks his decision and sends his army to recover them and return them to slavery. The story is dramatic enough to be a movie script. Then again that movie has already been made.
Periodic infestations of locusts in the region are relatively common. These locusts probably hatched in the deserts of Sudan and moved north in search of food. By the time they reach Israel, they encounter weather that is decidedly cooler and the reproduction rates slow with the colder nights.
According to the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture, the infestation has been a real problem in that country as well especially in Cairo, Upper Egypt, the Canal area, the Red Sea area and El Arish as well as the border areas on the Sinai Peninsula.
And we still have three weeks before Passover. The timing of the insects seems to be off a bit. By that time the pesticides, the weather and those who collect the insects for food will have done their work. There probably won’t be an unusually high number of locusts crossing the borders in the Middle East.
It is probably just as well this way. After all, lamb is the traditional main dish of the Seder meal. It needs to be specially prepared with great care. There are plenty of rules governing the slaughter, cooking and eating of the Passover lamb in the Bible. And there are rules about teaching our children the story of Exodus and rules about making sure that our people never forget the events of slavery and the power of God that brought us out of the land of Egypt and into the place that God promised.
A quick check of my Bible this morning, however, didn’t reveal any recipes for cooking locusts.