Monday, March 13, 2023 Festal Shouts and Egg Whites

Just to clear up any confusion, this is NOT about the festal shouts of egg whites, although that is certainly an intriguing topic. Perhaps another day… No, these are two separate topics that come straight from the Holy Writ.

We read through a psalm every morning in the Book of Common Prayer and I have placed a special marker on Psalm 89:15.

Happy are the people who know the festal shout!
They walk, O LORD, in the light of your presence.

In my New King’s Jame Version Bible, the phrase is “joyful sound,” which is plenty appealing, but there’s something extra jazzy going on with the idea of the “festal shout.” I not only want to know what the festal shout is, I’m a festal shout kind of gal. If I knew the festal shout, I would be shouting it at the feast, at the appropriate time, of course. I’ve been contemplating to what this phrase might refer. My best hypothesis is that it is the Shema: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!” (from Deuteronomy 6:4. Shema is the Hebrew word for “hear”). I delight to think of everyone shouting this together at the next fellowship feast, although perhaps this isn’t to be shouted at just any feast. My Bible notes say that the Shema was recited every morning and evening by the Jews of the Old Testament. I’m open to other ideas; please share with me any wisdom of the festal shout variety that you have.

Onward to egg whites. Remember the Dark Ages when we were told that eggs were evil? Yes, those days, when cholesterol was a bad word and egg yolks were sent in shame to the dietary dungeon. During those dreary days, restaurants did their best to kowtow to the Dietary Powers That Be and promptly put “egg white omelets” or “scrambled egg whites” on their menus. For all I know this may still be a thing in places where people are living in unenlightened misery. If you should happen upon those items on a restaurant menu, I give you permission to quote from the Book of Job:

Is there any taste in the white of an egg?
My soul refuses to touch them;
They are loathsome food to me. (Job 6:6b-7)

You couldn’t pull the wool over Job’s eyes and we should be just as discerning as he was in these matters.

And now we come to the audience participation segment. I have 5 egg whites leftover from recipes that called for egg yolks. What should I do with them? I know some of you jokesters will immediately suggest an egg white omelet, but beware: you will be cast into the Lynniebeemuseoday Blog Dungeon.

I’ll probably delete this in the morning with a blog postal shout.