A Practical Guide to Camping Over Shabbat.

Camping on Shabbat requires extra preparation and effort, but is not that difficult once you get the hang of it – and Shabbat can be a highly rewarding experience when spent in nature. This book will show you how to properly prepare so as to avoid any compromise on Shabbat observance, and enjoy the experience with full peace of mind.
Some of what you will find in this book:

> How to plan your sleeping, eating, washing, and toilet areas
> The basics of building an Eruv around a campsite
> Methods of baking bread in the outdoors
…And much more!

Available for purchase here https://www.createspace.com/4512825

Akiva Seems to have  a mind of his own and likes to wonder of in search of an adventure. I will not be surprised if he’s climbing mountains, and going on multi-day treks within the next few years. Please G-d I hope I’ll be able to keep up with him.

This coming Thursday is Anzac Day. I am not an Australian though I have a deep sense of respect and gratitude for the sacrifices Australia has made in a number of wars over the years. In September 2012 I walked the Kokoda Track and it gave me a profound appreciation of what the ‘Diggers’ (Australian soldiers) endured. The battles along the Kokoda Track were brutal, and it would be hard to find a more inhospitable place on planet earth where a war was ever fought. The Diggers, with incredible bravery and determination, held back the Japanese who were bent on taking Port Moresby from where they could then attack Australia.

I hope over the next few days to post more about my Kokoda Track experience and how I walked it solo in both directions. For now here is an article about my Kokoda walk.

Well I’ve made it two weeks eating only fresh raw fruit, nuts and vegetables. The longest I’ve ever done in the past was 10 days. Like in the past I’ve maintained exercise and living a normal life. I feel great, and thank G-d have plenty of energy. The only down side is that it takes a lot of time to eat on a raw food diet. Salad takes longer to chew than a chocolate bar, and considering how much salad I need to eat…

Well the good thing is that I can read and eat at the same time. I learned this from my father, who always studies Torah while eating breakfast. Now normally when we learn Torah we should recite the words as vocalising the holly Hebrew letters and words of Torah purify all of our body as explained in many Jewish sources. However reciting Torah aloud while eating is not possible. Therefore my father will read Torah based books in English.

I think I’ve taken on the same practice though not as diligently. I sometimes find it hard to eat and read at the same time. Instead I prefer watching some Jewish study lesson on the internet. There is no shortage of how much Torah there is out there to study.

So maybe the real benefit of this raw food diet I am doing is not entirely physical. Sure there is the increased energy, need for less sleep, clarity of mind and so on. However, perhaps it is all the time gained learning Torah while eating?

Raw Food Lunch and Snacks to Take to Work

At last I am doing it. I have become a ‘raw foodist,’ this means eating only uncooked foods. In the past the longest I’ve ever done was a 10 day fruit and vegetable fast, which meant eating only fresh fruits and vegetables. I remember feeling awesome, experiencing loads of energy and a clear mind.
I’ve always thought about doing a raw food diet for longer, though it is seriously challenging. There is the personal aspect of overcoming

temptations from corrupt taste buds and the desire to consume other foods. Next is communal pressure of going to other people’s homes and events and not being able to eat. And further we have the Jewish religious observance challenges. There seems to always be a chag, some sort of festival that necessitates consuming various foods. And of course there is Shabbat where we need to eat bread Friday night and Saturday, day. There is also the obligation of having some hot food on Saturday. Thus I will never be able to do a pure 100% raw fast for more than six days. However on Shabbat I can minimise my consumption to only a small piece of bread and just a drop of hot food.

Eating only raw food has its challenges and one of them is the time it takes to shop for and prepare food. It is a lot easier to put a pot of rice on the stove to boil than throwing together a fresh salad. It is easier to make a coffee in the morning than a fresh cup of orange juice, never minds the time it takes to make an apple, carrot, celery, kale juice, with added coconut oil, cacao powder and other stuff.

On the upside, there is not much dishes to wash. There is no grease and burn stains to scrub off the bottom of a pot. Usually just a cutting board, a knife and either a blender, food processor, or juicer.

Books on Raw Food Diet, and Juicing

For me having to work full time along with a million other time commitments I need to multi task in order to prepare my food. I do an hour of vocal exercises in the morning while I prep the food I’ll need for the day. I used to just do the vocal exercise by themselves but found I could move around and prepare food at the same time. Then in the evening I can listen to an hour lecture while I continue with food prep.

If you choose to go on a raw food diet or any diet for the matter and want to succeeded at it, you must take responsibility for your own eating. Many people fail at their diet and blame someone else. For me it starts with the food shopping. This past Sunday I went the market. It took three hours to buy everything I needed for the week: 20kg carrots, 8kg tomatoes, 13kg bananas, 5kg cucumber etc…It takes a good bit of time walking around to find everything and then loading it into the car.
You may also say, “Wow, that’s a lot of fruit and veg and must be expensive!” Not true. At the local market it’s far cheaper than what it would cost in the supermarket. I also buy very ripe or damaged stuff because it makes no difference if it’s going through the juicer or in the blender.

Here is some of what I paid: $10/20kg carrots, $4/8kg cooking tomatoes (These are delicious, the best I’ve tasted in months!) $5/for a 13kg box of ripe bananas! So is this really expensive?
Anyway I am now one week into it and hope to go at least a month. I will please G-d post more on how it is going.

Lots of healthy bannanas for fruit fast

Apologies for my absence and the resultant lack of d’var Torahs over the past month.  Sadly, my laptop died an untimely death (it was going for a while) and I have not yet replaced it.  Without it, I have not been able to draft posts as I normally would.  In a spate of bad luck, the battery in Rabbi Ben’s laptop died and was only replaced this week.  Hopefully now I will be able to make posts using his laptop until I can replace my own.  Anyone with friends who work for Apple who’d like to help me replace it are more than welcome to speak up now!

In the meantime, I hope everyone is well and I am looking forward to resuming my posts… starting right now!

Rebbetzin Rachel (with Adventuring Akiva on my lap… he says o9nibo87a MQ,MA78A M,AMKAB7A8AVVYU 6TKQ76N!)