Judaism is often characterized as a religion of petty details, rather than a religion of soaring spiritual concepts. Judaism does pay close attention to the details of daily life–how we treat employees, how we speak to one another and about one another–not out of pettiness but out of a desire to sanctify life. No behavior is more essential to life than eating, and it, too, is subject to Jewish law.
This week’s Torah portion explains one of the fundamental restrictions of kashrut, which types of meat can or cannot be eaten. Acceptable or fit (kosher means fit) animals are primarily vegetable eaters, like ruminant mammals (cows, sheep and goats) or birds that do not hunt or eat carrion, and fish with scales and a backbone. By the way, there are no restrictions on the consumption of any food that is grown, only food that comes from living creatures.
A reasonable person can argue that this list is arbitrary and serves no useful purpose. They are right and wrong. Right in the sense that the system is arbitrary, unless you believe God established it. But wrong, because conscious eating serves a profound purpose.
Making conscious choices about what we eat and what we do not eat cultivates a deep sensitivity to the foods we eat and can elevate the purely physical act of consuming nutrients to a spiritual act, particularly if you add a blessing.
Kashrut is not different from vegetarianism, veganism, or the locavore movement. All of these systems of eating place a deep value on the choices we make as consumers of food. Some people eat to feed their bodies; kashrut teaches us that food can also feed our souls.
Shmini – Leviticus 9:1-11:47 – Parashat ha Shavuah for Saturday, April 10, 2021
April 9, 2021 by Dean Kertesz • Drashot
Judaism is often characterized as a religion of petty details, rather than a religion of soaring spiritual concepts. Judaism does pay close attention to the details of daily life–how we treat employees, how we speak to one another and about one another–not out of pettiness but out of a desire to sanctify life. No behavior is more essential to life than eating, and it, too, is subject to Jewish law.
This week’s Torah portion explains one of the fundamental restrictions of kashrut, which types of meat can or cannot be eaten. Acceptable or fit (kosher means fit) animals are primarily vegetable eaters, like ruminant mammals (cows, sheep and goats) or birds that do not hunt or eat carrion, and fish with scales and a backbone. By the way, there are no restrictions on the consumption of any food that is grown, only food that comes from living creatures.
A reasonable person can argue that this list is arbitrary and serves no useful purpose. They are right and wrong. Right in the sense that the system is arbitrary, unless you believe God established it. But wrong, because conscious eating serves a profound purpose.
Making conscious choices about what we eat and what we do not eat cultivates a deep sensitivity to the foods we eat and can elevate the purely physical act of consuming nutrients to a spiritual act, particularly if you add a blessing.
Kashrut is not different from vegetarianism, veganism, or the locavore movement. All of these systems of eating place a deep value on the choices we make as consumers of food. Some people eat to feed their bodies; kashrut teaches us that food can also feed our souls.
You are what you eat.