He gives food to those who fear him, he remembers his covenant forever.
Genesis, Chapter
38, Verse 11
Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Remain a widow in your
father’s house until my son Shelah grows up”—for he feared that Shelah also might die like his brothers. So Tamar went
to live in her father’s house.
Judah feared the his
youngest would die like his two brothers who married Tamar and failed to
provide for her children from the marriage sending her back to her father; fearing she was cursed causing Judah’s
two older son’s deaths. This sordid tale reads like a soap opera.
Tamar is first described as marrying Judah's eldest son,
Er. Because of his wickedness, Er was killed by God. By way of a
Levirate union, (a marriage in which the brother of a deceased man is obliged
to marry his brother's widow) Judah asked his second son, Onan, to provide
offspring for Tamar so that the family line might continue. Tikva Frymer-Kensky
explains that this could have substantial economic repercussions, with any son
born deemed the heir of the deceased Er, and able to claim the firstborn's
double share of inheritance. However, if Er was childless, Onan would inherit
as the oldest surviving son. Onan spills his seed out on the ground as an act
of greed. His actions were deemed wicked by God and so, like his older brother,
he died prematurely. At this point, Judah is portrayed as viewing Tamar to be
cursed, and is therefore reluctant to give his remaining and youngest son to
her. Rather, he told Tamar to wait for Shelah, his son to grow older. However,
even after he grew up, Judah did not give Tamar to Shelah in marriage.
At the time Shelah grew up, Judah became a widower.
After Judah mourned the death of his wife, he planned on going to Timnah to
shear his sheep. Upon hearing this news, Tamar disguised herself as a
prostitute and immediately went to Enaim which was en route to Judah's
destination. Upon arriving at Enaim, Judah saw the woman but did not recognize
her as Tamar because of the veil she wore over her face. Thinking she was a
prostitute, he requested her services. Tamar's plan was to become pregnant by
this ruse in order to bear a child in Judah's line, because Judah had not given
her to his son Shelah. So she played the part of a prostitute and struck a deal
with Judah for a goat with a security deposit of his staff, seal, and cord.
When Judah was able to have a goat sent to Enaim, in order to collect his staff
and seal, the woman was nowhere to be found and no one knew of any prostitute
in Enaim.
Three months later, Tamar was accused of prostitution on
account of her pregnancy. Upon hearing this news, Judah ordered that she be burned
to death. Tamar sent the staff, seal, and cord to Judah with a message
declaring that the owner of these items was the man who had made her pregnant.
Upon recognizing his security deposit, Judah released Tamar from her sentence.
Tamar's place in the family and Judah's posterity secured, she gives birth to
twins, Perez and Zerah. Their birth is reminiscent of the birth of Rebekah's
twin sons. The midwife marks Zerah's hand with a scarlet cord when it emerges
from the womb first, but Perez is born first. Perez is identified in
the Book of Ruth as the ancestor of King David.[1]
Whew!
To Er is human but to love is divine---It is stuff like this that sometimes
makes you want to go out into the desert and become a hermit.
Catholic Recipe: Saint Antony of the Desert Soup[2]
Saint Antony, called the
Great, lived in Egypt between A.D. 251 and 356. At age 18, the gospel text
"If you wish to be perfect, go and sell all that you have and then follow
me" so moved him that he left everything behind and retired to an
inaccessible place in the wilderness where he dedicated his life to God in
manual work and continual prayer. In his old age, he imparted wisdom to his
disciples and encouraged them to lead a monastic life. Because he was the first
Christian to retire to a monastic life, he is considered to be the first monk
and also the father of all monks. His feast is celebrated on January 17. Try
this simple, healthy recipe in honor of Saint Antony the hermit.
INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons oil of
choice
1 cup barley
1 carrot, finely grated
2 leeks, sliced
1 bay leaf
1/3 cup fresh parsley,
minced
salt to taste
7 cups water
1 bouillon cube, if
desired
chopped mushrooms, if
desired
DIRECTIONS
1. Heat the oil in a
soup pot and add the barley, stirring continuously for one minute. Immediately
add the carrot, leeks, bay leaf, parsley, salt, and water.
2. Cook the soup over
low to medium heat, covered, for 40 to 45 minutes, until the barley is tender.
Add more water if needed. For extra taste, add the bouillon and the mushrooms
during the last 20 minutes of simmering. Remove the bay leaf. Serve hot.
Recipe Source: From a
Monastery Kitchen: The Classic Natural Foods Cookbook by Brother Victor-Antoine
d'Avila-Latourrette, Gramercy Books, 1997
Visit our Lord today in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel.
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