Ted Walther's Private Diary

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There are lots of references in the Bible to plowing. Because people are violating the land sabbath and jubilee laws, some moderns have turned to "no-plow" or "no-till" farming to build their soil back up. No-plow farming works somewhat. But it doesn't give all the benefits that accrue from the land sabbath system.

From the Bible, two things are clear. Plowing is the right way to farm, and oxen are the animals used to do it. There plenty of mentions in the Bible of plowing, but none of plowing with horses or any other animal beside oxen.

1 Kings 19:19 So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him.

Job 1:14 And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them:

Judges 14:18 And the men of the city said unto him on the seventh day before the sun went down, What is sweeter than honey? And what is stronger than a lion? And he said unto them, If ye had not plowed with my heifer, ye had not found out my riddle.

Amos 6:12 Shall horses run upon the rock? will one plow the sea with oxen? for ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock:

An ox is a castrated male cow. The castration makes the bull manageable.

Because of rising gasoline prices, many farmers in America have been returning to animal power for their plowing needs. But they are turning to horse power.

The Amish folk have always been fond of horses, using them to pull their buggies as well as plows. Amish make their horses pull the buggy on Sunday. Amish also believe Sunday is the Sabbath, and that they claim to observe the Sabbath. The Sabbath command forbids making animals work on the sabbath day. So, even by their own light, the Amish are sabbath breakers.

In the Bible, it was Assyrians, Egyptians, and other pagan nations that used horses. Israelites rode on donkeys, and plowed with oxen.

Deuteronomy 17:14-16 When thou art come unto the land which YHWH thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me; Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom YHWH thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother. But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as YHWH hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way.

Horses are primarily instruments of war. Israel was to rely on YHWH God for salvation, not on military might. Not on nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers. ICBM's, bazookas, and spy satellites would be good Israelite technologies since they are more defensive than offensive.

As above, so below. Farmers are choosing to plow with horses instead of oxen when they abandon the products of crude oil. According to Torah teacher George Gordon, a horse consumes 25% of the hay and grain it produces. So if you work 100 acres with horses, you can take 75 acres to market. Because of the high price of gasoline and diesel fuel, this 25% loss makes better sense than using tractors.

I have here two articles for you on the benefits of plowing with oxen instead of horses. The articles go into good detail, but I'll summarize the key points for kosher people:

1. Oxen are cheaper to feed. They don't need oats or grain like horses.
2. Oxen are cheaper to buy and breed.
3. Oxen are easy to care for, horses take a lot of time and energy.
4. Oxen do just as much work as a horse.
5. Oxen manure doesn't damage the land, horse manure does.
6. Oxen meat is kosher; horse meat is not.

Why Oxen are Better than Horses by the Foxearth and District Local History Society. This is a collection of two articles, the first being contemporary, giving a fascinating insight of the use of Oxen for working farms, and the second from the mid eighteenth century arguing eloquently for the use of Oxen in preference to horses on farms.

A few weeks ago a friend sent out the following email. She wants to remain anonymous. I believe she wrote it herself, but she isn't saying.

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Date: Day 5, Month 3, Year 2729 of Our Exile (May 21, 2007)
To: my friends
From: anonymous
Subject: the definition of love

Leviticus 19:34 If a stranger lives with you in your land, do not molest him. You must treat him like on of your own people and love him as yourselves. For you were strangers in Egypt.

To the author of this sentence, holiness had a strong ethical component and was no longer merely a cultic matter.

Israelites must not despise the stranger.

This was a law based on empathy. The experience of suffering must lead to an appreciation of other people's pain. Your own sorrow must teach you to feel with others.

The commandment to love did not require the people to be constantly filled with warm affection. The author was not writing about feelings. This was a law code; the language was as technical and reticent as any legal ruling, where emotion would be out of place.

In the Middle Eastern treaties, to love meant to be helpful, loyal, and to provide practical support. The commandment to love was not excessively utopian, therefore, but was within everyone's grasp.

I hope you all understand what love means and see why I always say that: "talk is cheap". If you don't walk your talk, love is just a pile of hot air. Without "practical support" uttering "I love you" means "shit".

I hope you can figure out now, who loves you and who doesn't. I always knew that and that is why I can say that I know who loves me and I know who pretends to love me, because I am not watching words, I am looking at the actions and the results of those actions. I pray to God that you will do the same. It will save you lots of headaches.