Folklore and fairy tales: the midrash of the Lamed Vav-

I love stories of all kinds.  Folk tales, myths, legends, fairy tales, oral histories you name it I get transfixed when I hear a great story.  I even took a class on how to take apart or dissect one of these stories to find the kernel of truth that makes them a little bit believable.  What I learned is that we humans share a common life experience. A story which is known to a particular region of the world often shows up in another part of the world but with a slightly different regional twist.  The Cinderella story could be the bible story of Joseph which is a perfect example of the rags to riches tale every culture shares.  Many times these stories were used to explain things that seemed miraculous and unknowable such as the regularity of a sunrise or the stages of the moon.  For all the weather science we know today, my snow plow company told me he knew we would have a snowless winter in 2011- 2012 because the Farmer's Almanac told him so. He also did not refund me the season rate even though he knew I would overspend and recommended that I use that as a guide for future reference.

 My favorite story of all time is the Lamed Vav- the 36 angels sent by God to roam the earth with the intention to save the world
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0012_0_11784.html.
I love this story because it makes the connection between God and people through the heart (lamed) and mind (vav).  The word Lamed-Vav is Hebrew for the number thirty-six.  In Hebrew all words have many layers of meaning, and so, challenging to study and come to common opinion.  In this story there are 36 undistinguished people roaming the earth to save the world.  These people do not know that they are one of the chosen thirty-six so it might be you.  I like to believe, sometimes, I am one of the thirty-six and try to live my life to do good things.  When I meet people who do good I believe they are a Lamed Vav too.  Are you?

June 22, 2012

Welcome to my first ever blog!  I have two passions one is Nutrition and in college at The Ohio State University I studied Human Nutrition graduating in 1980 with a BS in Human Nutrition.  This was a relatively new major back then and differed from how most Registered Dietitians were trained in that I was not hospital trained with an internship. In 1983, I went to graduate school at the University of Cincinnati and received a Master's in Nutrition Education. I became a Registered Dietitian through the six month hospital experience route available to those with Master's Level education.  My second passion is Jewish History and much later in my life after marriage and children I decided to return to school and get a Master's in Judaic Studies with a concentration in Modern Jewish History at Siegal College in Cleveland.  At first it may seem that these two subjects have no connection to each other but you would be suprised how often nutrition and spirituality have meaning together.  The purpose of this blog is to explore, educate, highlight and draw parallels when these subjects collide.   I am also interested in hearing what you have to say as I have found that most people feel quite strongly about this subject BUT please be polite.