What would Jesus do...

[Xavier_Onassis]

One time some picky people noticed that Jesus's deciples were eating some wheat right off the stalks , rolling the grains in their hands to get the seed seprated from the chaff.
   The deciples were accused of doing work on the sabbath, which is not kosher at all.
=====================================
Wheat in this form is Kosher with regard to the way it was eaten. It is how they obtained it--by laboring on the Sabbath, that was the transgression.

[Plane]

  That is right, any food looses Kosher if improperly prepared.

[Xavier_Onassis]

Eating wheat off the stalks of someone else's wheat field sounds to me like a form of theft as well.

Grabbing fruit off someone's trees is called "praedial larceny." The Crown frowns on such things.
==================================================

Praedial larceny is the theft of agricultural produce or livestock from a farm or estate. This term is primarily used in commonwealth countries.

Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_praedial_larceny#ixzz1wkcOEzie

[Xavier_Onassis]

 Jesus used this as an oppurtunity for teaching, " Is the law for man or is man for the law?"

==================================================================
Isn't this the same thing as the rhetorical question, "Are we a nation of laws or a nation of men?"

So wasn't Jesus saying that if one is hungry, then one is excused from the laws against theft of food?

Is that really a proper lesson?

[Plane]

  Their laws for farmers included that the corners of feilds were to be left unharvested , and that the owners could not perform "gleaning".

     Gleaning was reserved for the poor, but anyone was allowed to harvest and eat as he stood , no one was allowed to carry a sack of harvest away unless they were gleaning.

      I think this was for the purpose of preventing starvation of the poor and travelers, or to prevent strife with people behaving naturally in the presence of food.

[Xavier_Onassis]

I like the way that every possible question has some snappy answer from some Biblical "scholar".

The Romans were in charge, weren't they? The owner of the field and the farmer were probably different people.

The fact is that it was simply impossible to guard all the fields all the time, so people took advantage and did what they had to do to survive.

The idea here is that what is obvious theft is redefined as not theft, because it would not be acceptable to teach people to be like the disciples if the disciples lacked scruples.

It does not bother me that the disciples or even Jesus himself, engaged in praedial larceny. But I do find your justification amusing.

[Plane]

You may look it up.

Even the pharisees on the scene were not accusing them of theft , the law would have been for them on that, but even the slightest work on the sabbath was an infraction.

I think the point Jesus made is valid, the law needs int erpretation with sense and good judgement , not niggleing attention to detail. When applied so as to operate against the spirit and intention of the law, the law can be made harmfull to the people.

[Xavier_Onassis]

Eating on the Sabbath is not forbidden. I imagine that would mean that food preparation is also not forbidden.

Most food preparation is more effort than stripping grain from a wheat stalk.

There is a lot of nonsense in Jewish dietary law.
 

[kimba1]

probly dietary laws in general grow into nonsense. I brought up practical reason for these laws and folks did not like to hear them and prefered religious reasons.
ex. kosher/ halel tend to be more sanitary.

cows are better used for plowing than food for maximum yield of food. hindi hate when i say this

[Plane]

Eating on the Sabbath is not forbidden. I imagine that would mean that food preparation is also not forbidden.

Most food preparation is more effort than stripping grain from a wheat stalk.

There is a lot of nonsense in Jewish dietary law.

Food prep is exactly forbidden, but you knew the day before that you better have something .

Didn't we have a Jewish member once?

I am reazlly a poor stand in for someone who has actually kept kosher.

[Xavier_Onassis]

cows are better used for plowing than food for maximum yield of food. hindi hate when i say this

======================================
Hindis use various forms of oxen for plowing. They are not opposed to this. They don't raise cattle for meat, but they do milk them.

Hens are a better source of protein when raised for eggs as well.