Actor Chris Pratt has jumped on the \u201cDaniel fast\u201d bandwagon, thrusting it into media spotlight.<\/p>\n
The \u201cDaniel fast,\u201d for those who may not know, involves eating only things that grow from seeds, including fruits, vegetables and whole grains. People undertaking this diet avoid meat, dairy, sugar, fat, alcohol, caffeine and processed foods. Inspiration for this \u201cfast\u201d comes from the Biblical book of Daniel. In the first chapter<\/strong><\/a>, the title figure and his friends limit themselves to water and vegetables while serving in the court of Nebuchadnezzar. This was done strictly because Nebuchadnezzar\u2019s kitchen wasn\u2019t kosher. Not only was it not done for health reasons, the fact that Daniel, Chananiah, Mishael and Azariah (AKA Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego) were able to flourish on such a diet was seen as a miracle. Make no mistake, given the option, Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (AKA Daniel, Chananiah, Mishael and Azariah) would have preferred to partake of meat, wine and other rich foods. Their motivation was kashrus \u2013 no more, no less.<\/p>\n The \u201cDaniel fast\u201d typically lasts for 21 days, based on another, unrelated fast that Daniel undertook, in chapter 10<\/strong><\/a> of his book. In this case, he explicitly abstained from luxurious foods because he was in mourning. (We are given no indication of this fast\u2019s impact on the state of his health.) I find it telling that people don\u2019t \u201cDaniel fast\u201d for three years, as was done by Daniel, Chananiah, Mishael and Azariah (AKA \u2013 ah, you know!).<\/p>\n I\u2019m not saying that the \u201cDaniel fast\u201d is a bad diet per se<\/em>. It might be an excellent diet for weight loss (though weight loss was the opposite of what Daniel and his friends wanted). It\u2019s just that saying that the diet undertaken by Daniel and company was done so for reasons of health \u2013 or that one could regularly expect the results they achieved \u2013 misses the point entirely. It\u2019s completely out of context.<\/p>\n I had the same issue a few years ago, when \u201cEzekiel bread\u201d was a popular dietary fad. \u201cEzekiel bread\u201d is a form of \u201csprouted\u201d bread. It is made from whole, sprouted wheat, barley, spelt, millet, soybeans and lentils. It takes its inspiration from the recipe that God gave the prophet Yechezkel in Ezekiel 4:9<\/strong><\/a>. Now, for all I know, Ezekiel bread might be the most delicious and healthful thing in the world but such was certainly not God\u2019s intention in prescribing it to Yechezkel. The diet was commanded as part of a prophetic act because it was disgraceful for Yechezkel to eat. The Radak explains that this was a sign of the impending famine, in which people would not have access to sufficient wheat to make bread, forcing them to mix it with inferior ingredients. In fact, God originally commanded Yechezkel to bake this bread using human excrement as fuel but when the prophet balked, He permitted him to upgrade to cattle dung, which is less repulsive.\u00a0(As with people not \u201cDaniel fasting\u201d for three years, I doubt very much that anyone uses this kind of fuel to bake their sprouted bread.)<\/p>\n So, yeah. The product might be excellent but the Bible certainly doesn\u2019t recommend it for reasons of health per se<\/em>. Again, the recipe is taken out of context.<\/p>\n Taking things out of context has a long history \u2013 sometimes humorous and sometimes insidious. Here are a few of the more entertaining variety:<\/p>\n I could go on all day. When you and a friend have the same idea and you say, \u201cgreat minds think alike,\u201d you\u2019re actually insulting yourselves. The quote in whole is \u201cgreat minds think alike, though fools seldom differ.\u201d It\u2019s fools that generally have the same (trite) ideas according to the expression, not wise people. Similarly, \u201cluck of the Irish\u201d was originally a racist swipe at a country historically beset by conflict and famine. Falling in a hole and breaking your leg was \u201cluck of the Irish,\u201d not winning the lottery.<\/p>\n Taking aphorisms out of context so that people use them in the opposite of their original senses is harmless, perhaps amusing, but losing context can also be harmful. This is something Jews have had to contend with\u2026 well, pretty much for as long as there have been Jews.<\/p>\n Jewish Bible passages have long been used in attempts to convert Jews to other religions. Perhaps most famous of these is the attempt to read the doctrine of a virgin birth into Isaiah chapter 7<\/strong><\/a>. Even those with a modicum of Jewish education know that the word almah<\/em> in Isaiah 7:14 means a young woman, not a virgin but, beyond that, just knowing the context of the chapter would preclude misinterpreting it as a messianic prophecy.<\/p>\n King Achaz of Judah was at war against the combined might of Aram and the northern kingdom of Israel (which had broken away from Judah in a civil war). He was rightly concerned so the prophet Isaiah came to assure him that he would ultimately emerge victorious. Isaiah gave Achaz the following sign:<\/p>\n \u201cSee that girl over there? She\u2019s pregnant. She will have a son, whom she\u2019ll call Immanuel. Before he\u2019s old enough to know good from bad, the lands of the two kings whom you fear will be abandoned.\u201d<\/p>\n Even if your Hebrew isn\u2019t strong enough to know the difference between the words\u00a0almah<\/em> and besulah<\/em>, or between the tenses meaning \u201cshe has conceived\u201d and \u201cshe will conceive,\u201d if you know the context of the quote, logic will tell you that it can\u2019t refer to a birth that would occur 700 years after the death of King Achaz, since the entire purpose of the sign was to convince him of the outcome of a war in his lifetime<\/em>!<\/p>\n Out of context quotes are a favorite of anti-Semitic web sites. They especially like out-of-context Talmud quotes, intended to make Jews look evil in general and \u201canti-gentile\u201d in particular. One of the most reprehensible misrepresentations is the assertion, based on Kesubos 11b, that sexual relations are permitted with a girl under the age of three. I must stress most emphatically that this is not<\/em> the case, it has never<\/em> been the case and no authority has ever<\/em> interpreted the law to support such a reading. While the Talmud there does discuss the possibility of such a thing occurring, it focuses strictly on the legal ramifications, such as the value of the girl\u2019s future dowry. When it comes to such things, the Talmud rules that this act is of no legal impact (i.e., her dowry is unaffected). That is definitely not<\/em> to suggest that such a violation is permissible, or without consequences for the offender.<\/p>\n Nowadays, we also have cropped, doctored and in other ways out-of-context photos and video with which to contend. How many photos of Israeli \u201catrocities\u201d have been revealed as staged events? (Many.) Remember that photo of a Syrian child, ostensibly sleeping on his parents\u2019 graves? Not only was that not taken in Syria, it turned out to be a posed art photo. How about the immigrant child in a cage? That turned out to be the child of protestors behind fencing they brought with them for illustrative purposes. As I write this, much of the Internet is apologizing to a group of high school students, whom they lambasted for allegedly accosting a Native American elder. The broader context of the video has revealed that what the briefer viral clip purported to show was not in fact what had occurred.<\/p>\n Taking things out of context can sometimes be relatively harmless. If you want to \u201cDaniel fast,\u201d that\u2019s your prerogative. If you starve a cold, you might end up feeding a fever, though the use of folksy maxims as medical procedures is questionable in any event. But presenting things out of context can also be used to mislead people or to inspire hatred. If something sounds outrageous, it usually warrants further investigation.<\/p>\n One last thing: sometimes presenting things out of context may further religious or political agendas in which we firmly believe. Tempting as that may, it doesn\u2019t justify misrepresenting facts. If your position is correct, convince others to come around to your way of thinking using actual proofs. If truth is on your side, there should never a need to resort to a \u201cpious fraud.\u201d<\/p>\n Rabbi Jack Abramowitz is Torah Content Editor at the Orthodox Union. He is the author of six books, including\u00a0The Tzniyus Book<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0The Taryag Companion<\/a>. His latest work,\u00a0The God Book<\/a>, is available from\u00a0OU Press<\/a>\u00a0as well as on\u00a0Amazon<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Actor Chris Pratt has jumped on the \u201cDaniel fast\u201d bandwagon, thrusting it into media spotlight. The \u201cDaniel fast,\u201d for those who may not know, involves eating only things that grow from seeds, including fruits, vegetables and whole grains. People undertaking this diet avoid meat, dairy, sugar, fat, alcohol, caffeine and processed foods. Inspiration for this<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":384,"featured_media":61464,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-61460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inspiration"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
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