I post a lot about feelings. This blog is basically my online journal and showcases how alike you and I might be with our differences in beliefs. Yet, I forget to let you in on some of the extraordinary portions of my life – the details that are specific to being Hebrew.
What I find to be one of the more complicated matters of Hebrew life is that of clothing.
The command not to mix fibers leaves a modern gal mostly flummoxed when confronting the clothing aisles. Linen/wool blends, linen blends, wool blends, cotton/poly blends, linen/cotton/wool blends… it’s like looking for a sinew needle in a 500 gallon bin full of multi-fiber yarn.
I can tell you that I have to be in the mood to shop when it comes time to buy clothes. The time I spend poring tediously over every content label would unnerve me to no end if I were simply running an errand on a tight schedule.
Since I work in an office, I typically settle on man-made clothing blends, hoping for a label of 100% unnatural vs mixing the natural cloth fibers. Poly, nylon and spandex are my primary work-a-day options.
When I find the rare item that is 100% single fabric, I’m overjoyed.
The most recent find was on clearance as well. Label me the proud owner of 9 (yes, nine) new pairs of 100% cotton jeans, purchased for $6.67 per pair, plus shipping and taxes.
Come now, don’t hate – I cannot find jeans without that tidbit of spandex added to the cotton. When I do…
Call it prepping, call it hoarding – I call it practical. It will save me hours of search time over the next few years. With that practical mindset, I also varied the sizes, to account for minor fluctuations on the scale over time. I like my chocolate and I’m prone to the occasional baked goods binge. It’s not going to leave me pant-less.
But wait, there’s ‘More’.
While commanded, there is no penalty listed for this guideline. Should I find myself facing no options but mixed fibers, it would not be a death penalty. There is no slap on the wrist listed. Many of the guidelines in Torah have no retribution, contrary to what some might believe. I like to think that Almighty was keen to the possibility that there would be times when it would be difficult to live those ‘lesser’ commands.
Would I know? Certainly. There is that. I would know that I had tried, but not met my obligation. I’d have to live with that.
What a beautiful methodology.