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Eight Not-So-Deadly-Sins

By Susan Glass

The first and the last paragraphs of this diary entry indicate that the writer has violated some kind of moral code; the trick is to realize that the code being transgressed is the Jewish Sabbath laws. The date on the top, 7/2/2005, is a Saturday, and therefore "last night" is a Friday evening and is the Sabbath.

There are 39 categories of activities that are forbidden on the Sabbath as outlined in the Mishnah Shabbat section 7:2; every paragraph in this diary entry, except the first and the last, contains a single action that falls into one of these categories, using generally accepted (or at least generally google-able) modern interpretations. If you take the number of the category in order in the text, and convert the number to a letter using an nth-letter-of-the-alphabet algorithm (all numbers are less than 26), you spell out the 8-letter word that is the answer.

The transgressions are as follows:

Violation # in M.S. Letter

Washing – Includes removing a stain from clothing

13

M

Sowing/Planting – Includes putting cut flowers in water.

1

A

Beating/ Combing – The principle is to prohibit creating usable fibers from a mass of tangled fibers. Includes untangling a completely tangled-up necklace.

14

N

Grinding – Includes grinding coffee. A hand-cranked grinder was specified so as not to violate a separate prohibition.

8

H

Dyeing – Includes application of cosmetics.

15

O

Shearing– Includes eyebrow plucking.

12

L

Threshing – The principle is to prohibit separating food from its natural container. Includes squeezing a fruit for its juice.

5

E

Weaving Two Threads – Includes flattening out a loose thread in a woven sweater or garment by pulling it.

19

S

And the final answer is MANHOLES.